Fantasy NHL Trade Impact: Brassard to Penguins in three-team deal

Fantasy NHL Trade Impact: Brassard to Penguins in Three Team Deal:

Welcome to an action packed NHL Trade Deadline as we should continue to see a flurry of activity leading up to the 3PM EST deadline on Monday, February 26. We have already seen a handful of trades heading into today and we will break down the fantasy hockey impact of each of those deals as they break throughout the day, for Fantasy NHL!

In a much watched trade between three teams, Derick Brassard going to the Penguins was the ‘what is going on with this?’ trade of the season. We had reports from reputable NHL writers that Brassard was off to the Penguins in a three-team trade, but few could explain the trade. As it turns it, it was a very complex trade. So complex, at one point the NHL realized they had to reject the trade due to some technically illegal, but not necessarily intention, contractual agreements.

In the end, the Senators received defenseman Ian Cole, goalie prospect Filip Gustavsson, and a 1st round draft pick in 2018 and third round draft pick in 2019 from the Penguins. Ryan Reaves and a fourth round 2018 draft pick, originally from Vancouver, was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas also agreed to hold 40% of Derick Brassard‘s salary, which is signed through next season, and has a $5M annualized value.

The Penguins get center Derick Brassard, 21-year-old defenseman Vincent Dunn, and 22-year-old Swede winger prospect Tobias Lindberg, along with a 2018 3rd round pick. Apparently a person within each organization understood the value of each component of this trade and made the decision is was a benefit to their organization. To be honest, we’re still confused and not sure it’s that easy to evaluate. Regardless, this trade has huge fantasy NHL impacts.

Immediate Fantasy NHL Impact:

For fantasy NHL purposes, ignore the salary and draft parts of the trade. Also, for the most part, the prospect parts of the trade or dull at this point, but it’s worth remembering Filip Gustavsson is a uniquely talented goalie prospect and was traded to a team who’s aging in net and is in desperate need for a goaltender of the future. They may have just gotten that person, and we could see Gustavsson in the NHL soon.

While Ryan Reaves is playing in the NHL now, the 31-year-old winger has only averaged just over six minutes of ice time per game, and has four goals and four assists in 58 games. It’s very likely the Knights snagged Reaves in order to plug him into their fourth line for enforcement, and to have experience backing up their playoff push.

The biggest fantasy impact is 30-year-old Canadian Derick Brassard going to the Penguins. At team who has Sidney Crosby centering their top line, and Evgeni Malkin centering their second line, now has Derick Brassard leading the third line. Crosby and Malkin are arguably two of the top centers in the NHL right now. Brassard isn’t as elite as Sidney and Evgeni, but he has 18 goals and 20 assists with the Senators this season, certainly an upgrade from Riley Sheahan.

Brassard has been hot lately, and was already a great season-long and DFS option for fantasy NHL. Now he has Jake Guentzel on his left side and veteran Phil Kessel on his right side. The top three lines for the Penguins almost don’t even seem fair.

Now, Derick could see less ice time because of so many great offensive options for the Penguins trying to take to the ice. But, we expect Brassard to be a big part of the power play as well, and they’re likely trying to give Kessel some help, and more breathers, as they work through the final run of the season.

If you’re playing DFS, look for Brassard each time the Penguins are on the ice. He’s likely a value pick at center right now. If you’re playing season-long, see if you can get him in a trade, or pick him up if your league is crazy enough to let him sit on the waiver wire.

Next: FanDuel NHL Picks February 26

Stay tuned for the breakdowns of the rest of the NHL trade deadline deals and for all of your DFS needs!