It is almost a week past the trade deadline, and we are going to take the opportunity to do some quick reactions to a few of the players who have changed scenes. There were projected assessments of winners and losers for fantasy purposes, but now we have a few games under our belt let's go round robin and take a quick look at what has actually been happening.

Because of the writing schedule, stats are as of March 13th. For all of these we are only looking at two or three games, so there is a lot of wait and see potential, though we do have enough data in some cases, particularly with deployment to get excited, or raise some red flags.

The biggest name out of the way first: Mikko Rantanen moved, not sure if you heard. There really isn't much actionable advice here. A top-notch player went to a top team and is getting top deployment. Three points, six shots and averaging over 20 minutes a night in his first two games.

Logan Stankoven on the other hand was only getting 12 or 13 minutes of ice time before his trade and as the main piece back for Rantanen, surely he is getting some prime minutes in Carolina right? Well yes and no. He was on the top power play with Sebastian Aho on March 11th, but he was also on a line with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook and getting 15 or 16 minutes a night in his first two games. Fast forward to practice on March 13th and even with Andrei Svechnikov out of the lineup, Stankoven is on the second power play. He put up one point and four shots in his first two games so immediate returns still leave something to be desired. I am still definitely watching, but not really invested until a top line or top power-play role is consistent.

Andre Kuzmenko on the other hand goes from out of favor in Philly to on the top line and top power-play with Anze Kopitar and Andrian Kempe. Unfortunately he did not top 12 minutes in the King's game on March 11th. He did put up six shots over his first two games though. Kuzmenko seems to start strong with a new team, and with those linemates he has a chance to do so. I am a little bit interested as long as the shot rates, power play, and top line deployment sticks. If the time on ice stays low, or if he loses any of things though I am out.

The early returns for Oliver Bjorkstrand have honestly not been great, but I am still kind of irrationally hopeful. He had an 'ease in' sort of game, but for the last two he has been on the top power play. He doesn't have much to show for it with 15 or 16 third line minutes, four shots and one point over three total games in Tampa. Nikita Kucherov also did not play in the third period on March 11th and was out on Thursday night, so that is something to monitor. Bjorkstrand has historically had such a 'could be good if only…' vibe that if he can stick on that top power play (with a healthy Kucherov) I might be willing to throw caution to the wind and give him a chance.

Three points in three games for Dylan Cozens since joining the Senators is a nice little run. He has two goals on his eight shots in that span, he is getting some power-play time and 16ish minutes of overall ice time. He has not been playing with Brady Tkachuk or Tim Stutzle at even strength, but has been on their power-play unit. Overall, early returns are good for Cozens.

Well, the days of 55-point, power-play one Jake Walman are definitely over. San Jose utilized him as an offensive d-man, but Edmonton won't be. In his first two games he saw about a minute of combined power-play time. Maybe he joins Darnell Nurse sometimes on a second unit, but generally points won't be his primary contribution. He did see almost 25 minutes of ice time in his first game though and has five shots, two hits, and five blocks through those first two games. The D core is thin right now in Edmonton so at least at even strength he should be able to maintain that time on ice and therefore seems like a good bet still for peripherals, just probably not points.

Early returns are not great for Fabian Zetterlund. In his first two games he played about 10 minutes on what looks like a fourth line and on the second power play. As of practice on the 13th his deployment has also not improved. In San Jose he was putting up a strong peripheral floor, and in his first two games in Ottawa he put up two shots, seven hits, and one block. We will take the hits for now, but without increased time on ice the shots and point paces seem to be in jeopardy.

The implications for Brock Nelson's first three games are varied. In actual production he has one assist and three shots, which is not great. But he has played over 18 minutes twice in those three games on the second line and has spent some time on the top power play with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Like with Bjorkstrand there is some real optimism about potential deployment, but the actual stats have not yet materialized.

Josh Norris has played three games so far with Buffalo, and the returns have not been quite as exciting as his trade counterpart Cozens. He does have two points which is nice, but only two shots and one of his points is a goal. Two shots over three games isn't a recipe for a goal every three games. He was playing with Tage Thompson at even strength and on the power play and overall his time on ice numbers average over 18 minutes a night. Those are positive trends so definitely worth watching to see if the deployment holds and those shot rates increase.

Petr Mrazek moved from a time share to a worse time share. He is now part of a three headed goalie monster in Detroit. He started for the first time on the 12th, and while he got the win he allowed three goals and had a .885 save percentage. Moral of this story is that unless you have a confirmed start for Mrazek this is a downgrade and he is someone you likely do not want to roster going forward.

While he didn't move right at the deadline I did want to make a quick note on Seth Jones. Everyone expected him to bump Aaron Ekblad and get a turn on the top power play and initially that did not happen. Fast forward a few games and a 20-game suspension for violating NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program and Jones is now up on that top power play. He likely isn't available in most leagues, but good news if you already roster him.

Finally, I wanted to touch on Cody Glass. I didn't write about every move made and tried to limit it to folks who were most likely fantasy relevant, and I will be honest Glass was not on my original list. After scanning through some lines and production though it feels pretty relevant to bring him up. In his first two games Glass has three points and is skating with Jesper Bratt at even strength. He got almost two minutes of power-play time and over 16 minutes overall on March 11th. These returns do provide some reasons for optimism. Overall, he does have a goal on the only shot he has taken and that good deployment was only one game (though he was with Bratt again on practice on March 13th). He was only on a 28-point pace though so if he sticks with Bratt and gets some decent power-play time there is an opportunity here for an improvement.

That is all for this week.

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