The Florida Panthers have swung another goalie deal, acquiring Vitek Vanecek from the San Jose Sharks for minor league forward Patrick Giles. No other pieces were part of the deal and no salary was retained.

The Panthers receive:

Vanecek is an NHL goalie who hasn't put up good numbers for two straight seasons, but looked promising at the start of his career five years ago. He's very capable of playing whatever minutes the Panthers ask him to, and will provide a bit more confidence as a last line of defence than Chris Driedger would have.

The Sharks receive:

Giles is a 25-year-old minor league forward who doesn't have much scoring upside, and is not likely to be much of an NHL presence. This is likely the Panthers not wanting to get too close to the 50-contract threshold, and maybe some reinforcements for San Jose's AHL team as well.

Getting out from under Vanecek's contract is a big part of wanting to move him, as he wasn't providing any additional value to the team this year, and is a free agent in the summer.

Fantasy impact:

With the Panthers acquiring Vanecek, he now has the opportunity to pick up wins at a much more frequent rate despite less playing time being available in Florida. He should see all of his ratios tick up, and will likely take over Spencer Knight's volume, which was about one start every three games. It could even be slightly higher if the Panthers want to rest Bobrovsky down the stretch. Now, without Matthew Tkachuk the team isn't quite as powerful, but with Seth Jones now in town, and the rest of the lineup still solid, it's not difficult to envision just how much of a difference to Vanecek's numbers we may see with him going from the worst team in the league to one of the best.

Meanwhile, Driedger will likely be sent back to the AHL to continue his role as the starter in the AHL and the third goalie down the depth chart for the Panthers.

From San Jose's side, the opening created by Vanecek moving out will allow them to recall Yaroslav Askarov and run the duo of him and Alexandar Georgiev until the end of the season. This is the start of Askarov being handed the reins, for the long-term future of the team. His value the rest of the way will be similar to his ratios thus far: Four wins in 13 games, GAA of 3.10, save percentage of .896. The added value will be in the volume he gains with the team being happy to ride him, and not owing UFA-to-be Georgiev anything either.

Players this helps, in order:

Yaroslav Askarov

Vitek Vanecek

Players this hurts, in order:

Chris Driedger