Fantasy Impact: The Blues Singing Ryan Miller

steve laidlaw

2014-03-01

RyanMiller


Fantasy Impact: The Blues acquired Ryan Miller and Steve Ott from the Buffalo Sabres for Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart, William Carrier and picks.


The Blues get: A bonafide #1 goaltender. No more off-brand patch jobs for them. It's going to be all Miller, all the time. They also acquire a great second/third line centerman in Ott who will make them that much tougher to play against – if that's possible.


The Sabres get: More trade chips. I'm only partly kidding. Halak is a solid 1A type goaltender with a troublesome injury history. He's also a pending UFA so there's a chance the Sabres could move on from him.

 

They also get an intriguing young power forward in Stewart who has had success at both of his previous stops but has ultimately fallen out of favour. There are rumours Stewart will be on the move elsewhere but he is under contract for another season so the Sabres don't have to make a move.

 

Most importantly, the Sabres get some futures in Carrier and the picks to help them save face moving on from their franchise player.


Fantasy Players Impacted: First and foremost the goaltenders flip value. Halak goes from an intriguing but worrisome option on your fantasy team to borderline droppable. It takes an excellent goaltender to excel on this tank-tastic Sabres team. Halak may not be one. If the Sabres decide that for whatever reason Halak isn't their guy then we will see more Jhonas Enroth. I'm not sure that that's actually a good thing for his stock but there will be an opportunity. Ditto for top prospect Matt Hackett.

 

Miller on the other hand did better than tread water on the Sabres. He was fantastic despite losing two-thirds of all his games. Now he goes to what might be the best team in the league. Dear diary, Jackpot. It's not hyperbole to say that Miller may be the best goalie to own from here on out. Great goalie, fantastic and stingy team. There's no better scenario.

 

Ott will receive a boost but it will mostly be in the form of plus/minus. His points could go up in theory but he was actually used in something of an offensive role in Buffalo. He'll be a straight checker in St. Louis so any gains because of the environment will be negated by the usage.

 

Ott is a player who can play both wing or center and will allow the Blues a lot of flexibility. More than anything he provides them with more depth. It would be easy to say that he pushes one of Derek Roy or Patrik Berglund down the lineup but Roy is already buried fairly well except for the power play shifts he takes and Berglund is a rock in the Blues lineup who doesn't see much power play time. It's more likely that Ott moves around as they try to find the right fit.

 

Stewart had fallen out of favour in St. Louis skating just 13:41 a night. In Buffalo he'll likely be a top line player because who else are they going to give minutes to? It's also possible he gets moved to a third team before all is said and done so one can't be certain of his opportunity. What we do know is that the Sabres have the worst offense in the league and may be tearing thing down even further. This scenario may not be conducive to success for Stewart even with the increased opportunity.

 

Stewart leaving St. Louis will open up a hole on the wing for next season. It is likely that Dmitri Jaskin jumps into that role as he has already received a few cups of coffee. It's also possible that Magnus Paajarvi grabs that spot but Jaskin is the better player and better fit.

Carrier gets moved from a loaded Blues team to a Sabres team where there will be quicker opportunities. That said, he's still a long term prospect so you shouldn't view this as a grand improvement.

 

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Read more on Carrier at DobberProspects.

Fantasy Players this helps, in order:

 

1. Ryan Miller

2. Ryan Miller

3. Ryan Miller

4. Ryan Miller

5. Ryan Miller

6. Dmitri Jaskin (next year)

7. Chris Stewart (especially if he finds a third team)

8. Matt Hackett

9. Steve Ott


Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:


1. Jaroslav Halak

2. Jaroslav Halak

3. Jaroslav Halak

4. Jaroslav Halak

5. Oh you get the idea…

6. Every Sabres player takes a hit to plus/minus

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