Welcome back to another edition of Lining Up! Following the trade deadline last Friday, this week we will take a look at how some of the recent acquisitions have been lining up with their new teams.

Let's dive in.

Tyler Toffoli

After the trade deadline ended Friday, it took until last night for fantasy owners to see where Tyler Toffoli is lining up in Winnipeg. In his first game, Toffoli played on the second line with Sean Monahan and Alex Iafallo as well as joining Monahan, Mark Scheifele, and Kyle Connor on the top power play unit. The power play deployment is what fantasy owners will want to see as Toffoli had been averaging a career-high 69.3% of power play share in New Jersey. Anything less would certainly cut into his already mediocre pace of 58 points this season.

What is more interesting is his line deployment alongside Monahan. Both players were briefly together on a line in the 2021-2022 season when Toffoli was traded from Montreal to Calgary. In roughly 80 minutes together through the end of the season, they had four goals and three against with positive possession metrics. So, there may be some chemistry between both players that will make the transition for Toffoli just a little bit easier, perhaps allowing him to hit the ground running. The line scored a goal last night, although both players did not get a point on the play. However, this upcoming week is great for Winnipeg and Toffoli as they pay three more times on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. If you are battling for a playoff spot, consider adding Toffoli or Monahan for the prime schedule.

Timo Meier

More as a fallout to the trade of Toffoli to Winnipeg, Timo Meier has finally (I'm not bitter) stepped up his game and it may all be due to the fact that he is at last getting some prime deployment at even strength and on the top power play unit. In his last seven games, Meier has 10 points and seven goals along with an average of four shots and two and a half hits per game to go with it; just like the Meier of old. Specifically in the three games that Toffoli was held out of the lineup and subsequently traded, Meier has averaged a 69.8% share of the power play time and 19:32 of overall time on ice which are both big jumps from the 39.9% and 16:59 averages he's had on the season and much more in line with what we saw while he played in San Jose. In addition, those three games have continued to see him line up with Nico Hischier at even strength and with all the big guns in Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes with the man advantage. It is a hot streak that is seeing Meier scoring on 25% of his shots, an unsustainable rate to be sure, but also long overdue. Regardless of the scoring binge, the change in his deployment figures to help drag his totals back to the realm of a respectable fantasy performer down the final stretch of the season.

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Evgeny Kuznetsov is looking to make the most of a fresh opportunity in Carolina. So far, he is being given quality deployment, playing on a line with Stefan Noesen and Martin Necas while also joining the top power play unit. He has seen a 61.1% and 60.8% share of power play usage in the first time two games which is solid. This will hopefully help with rallying something of a comeback for him this season as he is only pace for 31 points and has had struggles off the ice as well. The concern is that Jake Guentzel will soon be returning and could replace Kuznetsov on the power play (the expectation is Kuznetsov still has that role for now). Guentzel looks set to return on Tuesday night so we'll see how this all shakes out very soon.

Michael Bunting

Going the other way in the trade that moved Guentzel to Carolina was Michael Bunting switching over to Pittsburgh. He is cold at the moment with only one point in his last five games but has taken seven shots in two games while joining Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust on the top line and on the top power play. In those two games, he also averaged 19:13 of ice time, a huge jump from his 15:15 average on the season and saw a total of six minutes with the man advantage. Pittsburgh seems to have resigned themselves to their fate and mailed it in, but players of this calibre, or more specifically Crosby's calibre, will still compete to the end and Bunting is poised to join him for the ride down the stretch. In the immediate-term, Pittsburgh has four games remaining this week including a match against Ottawa tonight and San Jose on Thursday. This is a great opportunity to stream Bunting in for some meaningful usage if you are vying for a playoff spot still.

Jack Roslovic

In his first two games with the New York Rangers, Jack Roslovic joined Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider on the team's second or 1B line. Although he will likely not crack the top power play unit as that core has been largely solidified all season, this is a good spot for him to be in with the change in teams and should be considered as an upgrade over Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau. He has averaged 15:17 through the first two games which would be a decrease from his overall ice time on the season, but it is a small sample size and both games saw a some extended time with special teams. Regardless, this week is a good time to jump on Roslovic and see what he can do, the Rangers have four games still to come on what is a great schedule for the team. That volume alongside the team's top players will be worth gambling on.