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Olli Jokinen will likely center Marian Gaborik upon his arrival in the Big Apple.
Fantasy implications for New York, by David Satriano
The trade that had been rumored for over a day finally went through on Monday, as the Flames shipped center Olli Jokinen and right winger Brandon Prust to the New York Rangers for forwards Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik. Here’s what the deal means for those owning any New York Rangers:
Jokinen will surely center the Rangers’ top line that includes Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal. While Jokinen has struggled to put points on the board this season (35 in 56 games), he should see an increase in that point total as Gaborik and Prospal both distribute the puck often. All three members on the Rangers’ new top line should benefit.
The one who will be most hurt by this is Brandon Dubinsky. He already hasn’t scored a goal in six games, and will now in all likelihood center the second line with Ryan Callahan at one wing position and possibly Sean Avery at the other. Physical Aaron Voros will probably remain on the fourth line, with Prust joining Erik Christensen and Envir Lisin on the third line. Prust has amassed 98 penalty minutes and five points; Voros, 70 penalty minutes and three points. Voros – who may be owned for his penalty minute value – may see a decline in that category due to the addition of another physical enforcer on the Rangers (Donald Brashear hasn’t appeared in eight of the past nine games). Coach John Tortorella will not be afraid to mix up lines if the Rangers continue struggling to score goals, which is a strong possibility.
Fantasy implications for Calgary, by Ian Gooding
The Flames have acquired six new players – five of them forwards – over the past two days of what has amounted to a major overhaul of a roster that hasn’t gelled recently. The scary part is that GM Darryl Sutter may not be finished, according to some rumblings out of Cowtown. So I’ll do my best to describe how the new pieces will fall into place once the players are past their meet-and-greet stage.
After the two blockbuster deals, the Flames are left with some good forwards, but none of superstar pedigree or upside. But Jokinen’s numbers in Calgary never amounted to legitimate first-line center numbers anyway. Matt Stajan, who is probably more of a number two center on an NHL roster and no more than a number three center on a fantasy roster, is expected to be Jarome Iginla’s pivot on the first line. Coach Brent Sutter will likely use Niklas Hagman, a pure goal scorer that the Flames coveted, on the left side of the first line.
Daymond Langkow has experienced success with Iginla in the past, but don’t expect him to play on the first line, since his goal total this season is exactly the same as that of the underperforming Jokinen (11). Langkow should center a new second line along with the underrated Rene Bourque and the newly acquired Ales Kotalik, who could also see significant power-play time with his new team. Chris Higgins has been abysmal this season (14 points in 55 games), so don’t expect him to remove any of the above-mentioned wingers out of the top six. All in all, don’t expect drastic improvements from either Kotalik or Higgins in the fantasy value department.
Having said all of this, the Flames will try just about anything to escape the quandary that they are in (one win in their last 11 games), so expect lots of line juggling as they attempt to right the ship.
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