Ho-boy! The trades keep coming. The trade deadline is still over a month away (March 7, 2025). We saw three trades, two with sizeable fantasy hockey impact go down.
We had a blockbuster deal go down for the second Friday in a row. The much-maligned J.T. Miller, C/LW, was finally traded to the New York Rangers. Erik Branstrom, D, and prospect Jackson Dorrington, D, were also sent to the Rangers. Â Filip Chytil, C, Victor Manini, D, and a conditional First-Round Pick went the other way to the Vancouver Canucks.
Hours later, the Canucks traded the Rangers’ first-rounder to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They also sent three players, Vincent Desharnais, D, Danton Heinen, LW, and Melvin Fernstrom. In return, Vancouver landed depth forward Drew O’Connor, LW, and Marcus Pettersson, D.
For our purposes, only the J.T. Miller deal is of concern.
The other trade saw Mikael Granlund, C/RW, and Cody Ceci, D, get traded from the San Jose Sharks to the Dallas Stars. In return, the Sharks landed a 2025 first-round pick and a 2025 3rd round pick.
Fantasy Hockey Impact of J.T. Miller Trade
J.T Miller, C/LW – Â to New York Rangers
The saga is finally over. Miller waived his no-move clause to make the trade happen. The Rangers are familiar to Miller, He wasted no time showing he’s happy to be there. In his first game, he scored two goals on six shots. For an encore, he notched two power-play assists.
Miller looks energized like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders.
Miller’s production this year has been a disappointment. Especially after setting a career-high in points with 103, last year. The window to buy low on Miller, if you found a willing seller, is now gone.
Expect Miller to build on his hot start with the Rangers. Expect Miller to chase a 100-point pace the rest of the season.
Filip Chytil, C – to Vancouver Canucks
Chytil has the opportunity to be the real winner in this deal. he’s been buried on the Rangers’ third-line and second power-play unit for an eternity.
That all changed with the trade. In his first game he played 20:03. After averaging 14:28 all year with the Rangers, Chytil will be given every opportunity to become the Canucks number two center.
Don’t let the 0:00 on the power play cloud your judgment. As he practices with the team and learns the Canucks system, this will change. The departure of Miller opens up a spot on the first power play unit for Chytil.
Chytil is a strong buy. It’s unlikely most owners are forecasting him to become a 65-plus-point center, just yet. Swoop in before he strings together a few good games. He’s only rostered in 23% of pools. There’s a strong likelihood he will only cost you a free-agent claim.
The fantasy hockey impact of this deal goes beyond these two players. The trickle-down effect is mostly to affect players on the Rangers. Here’s who I think will feel the Miller acquisition the most:
Mika Zibanejad, C, New York Rangers
It’s been a crappy year for Zibanejad. He’s on pace for 52 points. That is a far cry from the 72 points he scored last year, or the 91 he put up in 2022-23.
I’m expecting Zibanejad to return to his point-per-game form for the rest of the season. This trade will be big for his production.
Alexis Lafrenière, LW/RW, New York Rangers
Bad news for Lafrenière owners. Any chance Lafreniere had of stealing a spot on the Rangers’ first power-play unit took a big hit with the acquisition of Miller.
Instead of a 70-point breakout for Lafrenière, we find ourselves spinning our wheels. Owners are caught in a conundrum. The talent is there, so owners don’t want to give up on him. However, there’s no opportunity, and fantasy hockey GMs are often fickle. Everyone wants him for nothing.
It’s more ‘hurry up and wait’ for Lafrenière owners. The fantasy hockey impact of this trade isn’t anything good for Lafrenière.
The only hope is he sees a few shifts on a line with Miller and there is instant chemistry giving the coach no choice but to run with him. I’m reaching.
Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks
I can’t help but think Pettersson will also benefit from the drama saga finally ending. Expect Pettersson’s production to begin to ramp up over the next few games.
Mikael Granlund, C/RW – to Dallas Stars
This is one of those trades that is great for the Dallas Stars, but not so great for fantasy owners. Granlund had been playing on the Sharks top line and top power-play unit, and excelling.
He moves to the Dallas Stars and slides onto their second line and second power-play unit.
Granlund found his game in San Jose. His .87 point-per-game was identical to his pace from 2023-24.
While he is destined to see a reduction in overall ice time and power play ice time, he will benefit from the Stars’ deep lineup.
In his first game, he lined up with Jaime Benn, C/LW, and Evgenii Dadanov, RW. This should balance the deployment hit.
Still, there’s going to be a hit to his production. That 71-point pace is going to take a dip. The biggest impact should be on his power play production. I’m expecting a 60-point pace over the last 30 games. That works out to roughly a five-point dip in production for the rest of the season.
Well, there’s my take on the fantasy hockey impact of the trades over the weekend.
Thanks for reading.
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“much-aligned?” hhh.
Thanks for catching the type – much-Maligned. Fixed.