Lehtonen

Atlanta has traded goaltender Kari Lehtonen to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth round draft pick.

The Stars get: a young goalie with huge upside and a laundry list of injuries in his past.

The Thrashers get: a top offensive defenseman prospect who is on the cusp of making the show.

Fantasy Players Impacted: Rumors are already swirling about a Marty Turco trade to Philadelphia. Obviously Lehtonen will cut way into his starts and unless he is traded his fantasy value becomes almost nil, unless you have daily transactions. A platoon situation is never good for poolies. Alex Auld is obviously on the outs until another deal goes down.

Atlanta obviously lacks a franchise talent, but their future on the blue line is very promising with Vishnevskiy, Zach Bogosian, Johnny Oduya and Tobias Enstrom. Vishnevskiy could join the big club because he is close to NHL-ready, though I wouldn’t expect points right away when he is recalled. For now he will play in Chicago (AHL).

Players impacted positively, in order:

1. Lehtonen

2. Ondrej Pavelec

📢 advertisement:

3. Vishnevskiy

4. Johan Hedberg

Players impacted negatively, in order:

1. Turco

2. Auld

Pretty simple and straightforward.