Well, the trade deadline has come and passed now, and simultaneously leagues are winding down in roto, or head-to-head leagues, playoffs are either just starting or on the cusp of starting soon. It's a crazy time for fantasy hockey right now and after Monday's trade deadline, there was a bit of extra thinking to do one some of your fantasy players. Last week I went over the fantasy implications of the major trades that went down involving Florida and Boston. Monday actually saw a pretty high volume of trades, but a minimal number of them has any impact on fantasy hockey. But with that being said, there are still some things worth pining over, so let's take a look at some of the players of interest.

Andrew Copp

In a move that I certainly wasn't expecting, the Jets shipped forward Copp to the New York Rangers in exchange for a prospect and a package of picks. Copp for a long time now has been a fringe top-six guy, and in my mind, he was a big part of the heart and soul of the Jets. But I guess things were a bit too crowded in the Jets' forward corps, so as a result, Copp was Broadway-bound.

Copp's move to the Big Apple could bring about an increase in his production though. He debuted on the Rangers' second line with Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin on Tuesday and in two games he has a goal and two assists. Sure, the sample size is small, but it seems like he has acclimated to his teammates fairly well already. Copp fills out the Ranger's top-six nicely. His arrival pushes former first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere to the third line. It should be interesting to see where Kaapo Kakko slots into the lineup once he comes back from his lengthy IR stint. My guess is that Kaako will join Lafreniere on the third line and in turn, that will push Barclay Goodrow down to the fourth line. 

Copp is a versatile forward who can play both wings as well as center. He is a nice blend of grit and skill and does a little bit of everything both for the Rangers and in fantasy hockey. This season has been his best in terms of shot rate, averaging 2.7 per game, which is a great number to be at. My one concern is how much power play deployment he will be seeing for the Rangers. A total of 10 of his 38 points this season have come on the man advantage while he was with the Jets, so taking that out of the equation in New York could be costly for his performance, so keep an eye on that if you are thinking about adding him.

Copp can still be had in some formats depending on what site your league is on. On Yahoo he is 43% rostered, while Fantrax has him at 62% owned, and ESPN has him at 69%. As a nice added bonus, the Rangers have a heavy schedule next week and have four games, so Copp would serve as a nice streamer forward if you are looking for one.

Rickard Rakell

After playing as a Duck for almost a full decade, Rakell was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon, Calle Clang and a second-round pick in this year's upcoming draft. The Ducks continue to recoup assets for their rebuild, meanwhile the Pens hope to get a good two-way forward with some scoring ability. Earlier in his career, Rakell showed his scoring prowess when he stacked up back-to-back 30 goal seasons in 2016 and 2017. Unfortunately, since then, his career has been somewhat marred with nagging injuries. When you add in the fact the Ducks have been pretty bad the past few years, along with all the COVID shenanigans the league has endured over the past couple of seasons, Rakell has kind of lost his competitive edge. 

The Pens will try to spark Rakell and turn the clock back on his career by a few years. Rakell should be motivated to perform well as his contract is expiring at the end of this season, so what he does in the next couple of months could be big for him financially going forward. The plan is to have him play alongside Evgeni Malkin. Shockingly, Malkin is out right now, so Rakell is on a makeshift second line with Jeff Carter and Kasperi Kapanen. He has been pointless so far in three games, but maybe when Malkin gets back in the lineup that will provide a boost to the line. 

Despite being held off the scoresheet, Rakell has still managed to be a reliable source of hits for fantasy owners, dishing out seven hits in his short three game stint in Pittsburgh thus far. This is in line with his averages, so you can always depend on him to get you a bit of a boost in that department if you need some extra hits. He shoots at an average of 2.6 shots per game, and his shooting percentage is at 11.4% this season, so although he hasn't lit the lamp yet for the Pens, I think if you are patient the goals will come. 

He is pretty readily available in most formats. Yahoo has him at just 24% rostered, while Fantrax shows him at 51% and ESPN at just 15%.

Artturi Lehkonen

Okay, so I am going a little off the board with my last player, but I really love this move for the Avs. Montreal is clearly in rebuild mode, and as such, they opted to deal 26-year-old Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a prospect and a 2022 second-round pick. With the Avs losing their captain due to injury for the rest of year, the team obviously took a huge blow. And while Lehkonen certainly isn't going to put up Landy-level point totals, he can most definitely fill the physical void left behind. Lehkonen is an absolute pest to play against and adds a hefty amount of grit and sandpaper to the Avs roster.

I'm not sure where he will slot in, as he currently has yet to play a game for the team since his trade on Monday due to immigration issues, but surely, he ought to be close to sorting that out by now. You could literally make a case for him to play on just about any line, but I think he would complement Nazem Kadri perfectly, but with that being said I don't know if the Avs want to mess with the chemistry of Kadri's current line. You could even argue could add a lot to the top line in Valeri Nichushkin's spot, though that would be unlikely. 

In 58 games with the lowly Habs this season, Lehkonen has managed 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points in total. While those numbers certainly don't jump off the page at you, keep in mind he was playing on the offensively deficient Canadiens and only getting an average of 14:43 minutes per game. I think going to the Avs and playing for a contender could really boost his game and maybe we could see more out of him going down the stretch here. Of course, outside of his offense, he is good for a hit or two per game. 

Right now, this is nothing more than a speculatory add since we have no idea how he will be deployed, so monitor his situation closely when he finally joins the team. He will undoubtedly make the Avs a tougher team to play against, but how much of that translates to fantasy hockey is another matter entirely. You should have no problem snagging him in most leagues. He is sub-15% owned across all three of the major fantasy platforms. 

That puts a bow on the trade deadline. There's not much left on the horizon now folks, as we are officially in the final stretch! Hopefully you all manage to finish strong here in the coming weeks and pocket some winnings for yourselves. Until next Sunday, best of luck and have a great week!