Joel Edmundson was traded to Carolina along with prospect Dominik Bokk in exchange for Justin Faulk. Faulk would then sign a seven-year extension worth $45.5 million.
Fantasy Impact: Faulk is one of the better goal-scoring defensemen in the NHL. He has six straight seasons of 30+ points but only one (2014-15 with 49). Faulk is not currently on the top-level of fantasy defensemen but he is a good option who should be owned in the vast majority of leagues.
Free agent defenseman Tony DeAngelo finally ended his holdout Saturday by signing a one-year deal worth $925,000. (Source: NY Post)
Fantasy Impact: DeAngelo will be with the New York Rangers for another year after he ended his holdout Saturday.
Ivan Barbashev re-signed with St Louis for two years and $2.95 million. He is best known for his hit against Tomas Hertl in the playoffs. (Source: ESPN)
Fantasy Impact: Barbashev set career-highs in goals, assists, and points in 2018-19. The Russian center played on the fourth line last season and it remains to be seen where he will fit into the lineup in 2019-20.
Defensemen Andreas Borgman was acquired by St Louis from Toronto. The Maple Leafs received fellow defensemen, Jordan Schmaltz. (Source: ESPN)
Fantasy Impact: Borgman spent the past season in the AHL and stands a good chance of starting this season down there again. He did score 11 points in 48 games at the NHL level in 2017-18 so he has some potential whenever he earns a stable spot with the Blues.
Oskar Sundqvist signed a four-year extension with the Blues worth $11 million. He played a role in the title with nine points in the playoffs. (Source: ESPN)
Fantasy Impact: 2018-19 was Sundqvist's first season of true success in the NHL. He will need to score a few more points to rise above a depth option in most leagues but he is young enough for there to be some hope.
Jordan Binnington resigned with the Blues for 2 years for $8.8 million. He was the breakout story of the season in 2018-19 as he turned around a team with the worst record in the league in January and lead them to the title. (Source: ESPN)
Fantasy Impact: Binnington was a great fantasy asset once he took over and should be an exciting option. There are two concerns to be aware of. First of all, he was not regarded as the next great goaltender before his breakout so we are judging him on basically half a season. Two, the Blues still have Jake Allen under contract for the same two seasons. Binnington and Allen will make for one of the top examples of using a handcuff in drafts, as whichever owner takes one of them should make the other a priority.
Dakota Joshua was traded from the Toronto organization to the Blues for future consideration. Joshua was a 2014 draft pick who stayed in college and recently completed his college career. (Source: ESPN)
Fantasy Impact: Joshua did not put up gaudy numbers in college while playing on the wing. It is far too early to have a read on what he could become but he is a name to stick in the back of your memory for the future.
Sammy Blais rejoined the Blues on a 1-year deal worth $850,000. He was a 2014 6th round pick. (Source: ESPN)
Fantasy Impact: Blais is not much of a fantasy option, especially for a winger. Avoid him outside of very deep formats.
Carl Gunnarsson, who scored the overtime goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, has returned to the Blues with a two-year contract. (Source: ESPN)
Fantasy Impact: Gunnarsson is a more important real-life player than a fantasy one. He only played 25 games in the 2018-19 regular season due to injury and has never bested 20 points in a season.
Mon, Sep 16th, 2019 9:36pm EDT
By Brendan Ballantyne
Restricted free-agent Brock Boeser and the Vancouver Canucks have agreed to a bridge deal that will pay the right-winger $17.625 million over the next three years. (Source: Elliotte Friedman on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: At just 22 years of age, Boeser has established himself as a real threat to put the puck in the net. In his rookie season in 2017-18, he burst onto the scene with 29 goals and 55 points. In 2018-19, he proved that production was no fluke by posting 26 goals and 56 points while firing 209 shots on net. A pretty solid showing considering how weak the Canucks have been, but when you consider he's only managed to play 62 and 69 games in his first two seasons, it's hard not to wonder how much more impressive those totals could've been. You certainly hope Boeser can stay healthy going forward, because with budding superstar Elias Pettersson set to center his line once again, an electric fantasy combo could be emerging.
Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny has signed a six-year extension with an average annual value of $5.5 million. (Source: Dave Isaac on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Travis Konecny is coming off of his third season in the NHL that saw him put up 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points; almost identical to his 24 goals and 47 points from the season prior in 2017-18. Konecny has proven he can be a decent contributor with limited opportunity, as he only averaged 15:16 of ice-time last season (a career-high). Even more encouraging is that of the 48 goals Konecny has posted in the past two seasons, 43 have come at even strength. The Flyers certainly have some high-end weapons, with the Giroux's, Voracek's and Couturier's of the world, and this extension exemplifies the commitment the Flyers have to the young Konecny riding shotgun with them. He has proven he has a solid fantasy floor with minimal even-strength minutes, so he could be a very nice buy if he earns himself some more ice-time.
Josh Morrissey has signed an eight-year, $50 contract extension with the Winnipeg Jets. The contract carries an annual cap hit of $6.25 million. (Source: TSN)
Fantasy Impact: Josh Morrissey had a productive season in 2018-19, putting up 39 points in just 59 games. The 24 year-old should have another productive season in 2019-20. The departure of both Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers has left the Jets with a lot of minutes to fill on the back-end. Josh Morrissey will be a main beneficiary of the vacated minutes and opportunity in Winnipeg. Morrissey will see increased playing time this year — he set a career-high with 22:24 minutes in 2018-19— as well as a greater role on the power play. Josh Morrissey's point totals have increased every year he has been in the NHL, and 2019-20 should see that trend continue. Morrissey certainly has some fantasy break-out appeal.
Restricted free-agent Ivan Provorov has agreed to a contract extension with the Philadelphia Flyers. The deal is for six years and will pay the defenseman $40.5 million. (Source: Elliotte Friedman on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Provorov recorded just 27 points and -16 rating in 2018-19, which was quite disappointing after what was a very encouraging sophomore season that resulted in 41 points and a +17. This regression clearly wasn't all on Provorov though, as much of the Flyers also took a step back. Just look at Shane Gostisbehere, who dropped from 65 to 37 points a season ago. Provorov feels like one of those players that is better in real life than in fantasy. He'll play his low-to-mid-20s shutdown minutes on your top pair, but he's not needed on the Flyers power-play. However, he's a very solid depth defenseman in fantasy leagues that record hits and blocks, as he's a consistent contributor that is not a black-hole offensively.
Zach Werenski and the Columbus Blue Jackets have agreed to terms on a three-year extension worth $15 million. He will report to training camp this week. (Source: Chris Johnston on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: After Werenski's contract situation was publicly called out by his head coach John Tortorella, the D-man has finally agreed to a bridge deal that will keep him with CBJ. At just 22 years of age, Werenski already has three solid seasons under his belt, most recently putting up 44 points in 82 games in 2018-19. The Blue Jackets are going to have a different look to them after the departures of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, but Werenski remains locked into his top-pairing minutes, with some power-play opportunity sure to be sprinkled in as well.
Joe Thornton has signed a one-year, $2 million contract extension with the San Jose Sharks. (Source: TSN)
Fantasy Impact: The 40 year-old Thornton has decided to return to the Sharks for his 22nd NHL season. Despite his advanced age, Thornton has remained a productive player for the Sharks, he had 51 points in 73 games last season. At this point in his career 50 points is probably his ceiling, but he can certainly still produce enough to be considered in fantasy.
Fri, Sep 6th, 2019 2:31pm EDT
By Ty Lafreniere
Jake Gardiner has signed a four-year deal with the Hurricanes, with an average annual value of $4.05 million. (Source: Sportsnet)
Fantasy Impact: Jake Gardiner was a reliable offensive option from the back-end during his tenure with the Leafs. He had a bit of drop in production last season, 30 points in 62 games, but managed an impressive 52 points in 2017-18. Gardiner should have an opportunity to contribute on the power play this season.
Clayton Keller has reportedly signed an eight-year extension with the Arizona Coyotes. It's believed the deal will pay him in the range of $7.15 million annually. (Source: Elliotte Friedman on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The 21-year-old winger was a 7th overall pick back in 2016 and is now locked into the core of the Coyotes moving forward. The playmaker managed to put up 65 points in his rookie season but took a bit of a step back with just 47 a season ago. However, he's still led the 'Yotes in scoring in both of his seasons. Keller is a product of the high-skilled, smaller game that the NHL has been heading towards in recent years, but his size has not been a detractor to his ability to stay healthy, as he's yet to miss a game. The young Coyotes are moving in the right direction and it's certainly a bonus to have an established sniper in Phil Kessel joining the fold. This new deal clearly demonstrates the confidence the Coyotes have in Keller, so there is some nice upside here.
The Detroit Red Wings acquired Adam Erne from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2020 fourth-round pick. (Source: Detroit Red Wings on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Erne is a physical player who rarely finds himself in the penalty box. With a plethora of bottom-six players to compete with, Erne has his work cut out for him if he's going to make the roster out of training camp.
Mon, Aug 5th, 2019 10:58am EDT
By Ty Lafreniere
Kevin Shattenkirk has signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Source: TSN)
Fantasy Impact: Kevin Shattenkirk had a difficult 2018-19 season with the Rangers, managing only 2 goals, and 28 points in 73 games. That was certainly not what the Rangers were expecting when they signed him as a free-agent in 2017. Shattenkirk established himself as an offensive threat in St. Louis, putting up five-seasons of 40 or more points. Now a member of the leagues most powerful offense, there is a strong chance that Shattenkirk improves on last seasons point total. Despite his recent struggles, Shattenkirk has a solid opportunity to rebound with the Lightning.
Samuel Girard has signed a seven-year, $35 million extension with the Avalanche. (Source: TSN)
Fantasy Impact: Samuel Girard has become a key member of the Colorado Avalanche defense over the past two-seasons. Girard finished the 2018-19 season with 4 goals and 27 points, while playing nearly 20 minutes a game. At only 21-years old it is a safe bet that his offensive production will continue to grow. Along with Cale Makar, and Bowen Byram, Girard will be part of one of the most exciting young defense corps in the NHL. There is still plenty of opportunity for growth for Samuel Girard in 2019-20, as he will be counted on to help offset the loss of Tyson Barrie.
