Fantasy Hockey Roundtable

02/06/2010 3:40 PM - 

What player(s) do you think will benefit the most from the recent transactions? Who do you think was hurt the most due to the moves?

I’m going to stick with the Broadway Blueshirts for both answers.

First, the player that has to benefit the most from the recent trades is Olli Jokinen. The chemistry wasn’t there with Jarome Iginla, so Jokinen will get to take his reps with Marian Gaborik. Jokinen’s point totals have declined from 91 points in 2006-07 to 71 points to 57 points to 35 points this season. It’s now or never for the underachieving Finn, who is playing for a new contract and will find himself in the KHL next season if he doesn’t improve dramatically on his 11 goals.

Honorable mention: Jonas Hiller, J.S. Giguere

The player that will be hurt the most from the recent trades is Gaborik and Jokinen’s teammate Brandon Dubinsky. The Rangers are a very inconsistent lot when it comes to scoring, and the only forwards that have any meaningful fantasy value are the ones that line up with Gabby. To illustrate, Gaborik has scored nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of his team’s goals this season. He has nearly three times as many goals (34) as the second-leading goal scorer on the team (Ryan Callahan with 13). The Jokinen trade means that Dubinsky will be pushed down to the second line while the Rangers wait for chemistry to evolve between Gaborik and Jokinen. Dubinsky was a sleeper entering this season, but that sleeper tag was contingent upon icetime with Marian Gaborik.

Honorable mention: Vesa Toskala, Jonas Gustavsson

Ian Gooding, fantasyhockey.com

To read the rest of the article, go to Rotoworld.