This article is part of our Ice and Fire series.
It's been more than two weeks since Columbus and Nashville traded former No. 4 picks Seth Jones and Ryan Johansen for one another. The Preds have won three of their last four contests after four straight losses, while the Jackets have continued struggling, winning just three of their last nine games.
While the two young stars are settling in with their new teams, several of their teammates have also seen a rise in production.
In the Hockey Tonk, Johansen has filled a gaping need for the Predators, giving them the top-line center they've lacked for years. As expected, Johansen has eight points in as many contests for Nashville and three multi-point efforts; five of those eight points have come on the man advantage.
Filip Forsberg has also seen an uptick in production, but not necessarily because of his newly acquired teammate. The duo doesn't skate together at even strength regularly, but they do work together on the power play. Forsberg has four goals and five total points in the last eight games, including the empty-net goal and assist he snagged in Saturday's win over Edmonton. (Fun fact: the Capitals traded Forsberg to the Preds for Martin Erat and Michael Latta.)
Much was expected of Forsberg this season after his 63-point rookie campaign. However, the young Swede started this season the same way he finished 2015: inconsistently. His 31 points through 48 games aren't bad numbers, but most owners expected more from the supremely talented sniper. He's certainly seeing the
It's been more than two weeks since Columbus and Nashville traded former No. 4 picks Seth Jones and Ryan Johansen for one another. The Preds have won three of their last four contests after four straight losses, while the Jackets have continued struggling, winning just three of their last nine games.
While the two young stars are settling in with their new teams, several of their teammates have also seen a rise in production.
In the Hockey Tonk, Johansen has filled a gaping need for the Predators, giving them the top-line center they've lacked for years. As expected, Johansen has eight points in as many contests for Nashville and three multi-point efforts; five of those eight points have come on the man advantage.
Filip Forsberg has also seen an uptick in production, but not necessarily because of his newly acquired teammate. The duo doesn't skate together at even strength regularly, but they do work together on the power play. Forsberg has four goals and five total points in the last eight games, including the empty-net goal and assist he snagged in Saturday's win over Edmonton. (Fun fact: the Capitals traded Forsberg to the Preds for Martin Erat and Michael Latta.)
Much was expected of Forsberg this season after his 63-point rookie campaign. However, the young Swede started this season the same way he finished 2015: inconsistently. His 31 points through 48 games aren't bad numbers, but most owners expected more from the supremely talented sniper. He's certainly seeing the ice time and opportunity to produce, but there have been barren stretches. In a 17-game span from late October through Thanksgiving, Forsberg went without a goal and managed just seven assists. In the 27 games since, he has potted 12 goals and eight assists along with a healthy 3.37 shots per game. The numbers should continue coming.
The time to acquire Forsberg relatively cheaply from frustrated owners may have passed, but there could be some blue-line help available from Nashville. After Saturday's two-goal effort against the Oilers, Mattias Ekholm is at the 20-point mark for the first time in his career – and seven of those points are goals. Ekholm's emergence and chemistry with Ryan Ellis gives the Predators a solid second pairing, which likely factored into management's reasoning when Jones was dealt away.
Ekholm may be bouncing around waivers in shallower leagues, but jog toward him. Don't sprint. He does have four points in his last three games and 10 since Dec. 29, but the presence of Roman Josi, Shea Weber and even Ellis will cut into his scoring chances. Ekholm is behind all three in average power-play time; however, he has seen a slight increase of late. To achieve true fantasy success, though, he'll need to follow in the footsteps of his fellow Predators blueliners and shoot the puck more – with a modest 63 in 48 games, he's a prime candidate for goal-scoring regression.
Evening Jackets
Heading northeast from Nashville to Columbus, the Blue Jackets recently received reinforcements, albeit briefly. They welcomed captain Nick Foligno back to the lineup Saturday and saw Sergei Bobrovsky for a short time. Goalie Bob returned from a groin injury this past Tuesday, only to aggravate the injury again Thursday against Calgary, leaving him out indefinitely. Meanwhile, the team's leading scorer, Scott Hartnell, returned to the ice Thursday after being a healthy scratch. All in all, this season has not been enjoyable for Columbus.
On the bright side, Jones has started finding his name on the scoresheet often after a cool start post-trade. Jones still has just one goal on the season, but is playing significantly more with the Jackets than he did in Nashville. He has played 22 minutes or more in every game since joining Columbus and over 25 minutes in three of the last four. Jones has registered five assists in the last four games and has seen an increase in power-play time since arriving in Columbus. In a Jan. 12 loss to the Islanders, he logged 7:20 on the man advantage, and he saw 3:23 in Saturday's shootout loss to Boston.
Jones isn't the only Columbus blueliner doing better of late, as Ryan Murray is starting to produce more. He has a point in three straight games, grabbing a goal and two helpers over that span. Murray, 22, has struggled mightily this season. Over a 24-game span from late November to mid-January, Murray managed just three points and a minus-10 rating. He still sees plenty of power-play time, yet has faltered, as have many of his teammates. Murray has 16 points for the year and five on the man advantage, and he's seeing top-pairing minutes with Jones. The talent is there for Murray. All he needs is a shred of consistent production to start turning some heads. He's trending upward and could be of use for those needing blue-line assistance.
Midseason MVP
Roberto Luongo, Florida: Bobby Lou's efforts in Sunrise have the Panthers sitting atop the Atlantic Division with less than half a season to play. Only several other players in the league are close to as valuable to their team as Luongo is to the Kitties. Luongo was in special form this past week, with a shutout over Chicago and strong performance Saturday in a win over Tampa Bay. He has 21 wins on the season and an astronomical .930 save percentage. His resume for MVP is more narrative than statistical achievement, but his play this season and value to his squad is undeniable.
Other candidates: Patrick Kane, Braden Holtby, Patrice Bergeron, Cory Schneider, Erik Karlsson, Jamie Benn.
Kane's prolific scoring makes him an obvious choice. Holtby has been amazing for Washington, but the presence of Alexander Ovechkin and other teammates makes it hard to make an MVP argument. Benn is in a similar boat with Tyler Seguin alongside him in Dallas. Bergeron is in the midst of a tremendous offensive season for a Boston team that has surprised. As for Schneider and Karlsson, their teams would be nowhere near playoff contention without their considerable exploits.
