Blue Line Buzz: Don't Cling to Klingberg

Over the next few weeks, expect trade rumors to ramp up and crescendo into a frenzy heading toward the trade deadline, which is just a month away.

Perhaps no trade involving a defenseman will top the excitement of the Seth Jones-Ryan Johansen swap, but blueliners are always targets at the deadline. With the wear and tear of the playoffs, any team expecting its six-man unit to stay healthy during a lengthy run is in for a rude awakening.

More often than not, the players switching addresses are depth players; trades involving big names and marquee talent can be difficult to pull off. The biggest name that remains in the rumor mill is Kevin Shattenkirk, who has one more year remaining on his contract after this season. Otherwise, expect most trade targets to be impending unrestricted free agents as non-playoff teams look to capitalize on their expiring assets and build for the future.

A change of scenery can have a significant impact on a player's fantasy value. For certain players, such as Tyler Myers, a trade (in his case, from Buffalo to Winnipeg last year) can be a fresh start that leads to more enthusiastic play; for others, it can be a straight-up disaster, such as when Cody Franson returned to Nashville and subsequently saw his stock plummet so far that he remained unsigned until a month before this season began.

Then there's also everything in between, with some teams zeroing in on certain types of defenseman (like Andrej Sekera for the Kings' depth and Marek Zidlicky for the Red Wings' offense) to sneakily acquiring pieces for the future (Jeff Petry for the Habs and Simon Despres for the Ducks), all with varying degrees of success. It's always tough to say who does or doesn't get traded and how exactly they'll fare with their new teams, but here's a list of players (asides from Shattenkirk) who may get moved.

Dan Hamhuis, VAN – The only thing preventing the Canucks (assuming they don't make the playoffs) from peddling Hamhuis for a pick, then bringing him back to his home province over the summer is his injury. After he took a shot to his face, his conditioning will be a concern and he has very little time to get up to speed.

Matt Bartkowski, VAN – The ex-Bruin hasn't played too well of late, but is still quite a good skater. It's hard to see Bartkowski as anything beyond a No. 6 defenseman for a Cup contender, but depth is key to a long playoff run. His role on a new team may be smaller, but what he lacks in quantity, he'll make up for in quality with better teammates.

Nikita Nikitin, EDM – He's been a disaster with the Oilers and his cap hit is a stumbling block, but he's a warm body who isn't too long removed from having a regular role in the NHL. Nikitin's a potential seventh defenseman with some upside, if you can swallow that cap hit.

John-Michael Liles, CAR – The veteran's an intriguing name with his improved play in Carolina this season, but then again, he could be worth retaining as a mentor to the team's young defensemen. He can still move the puck, and on a team that can score in bunches, he should be able to get a few assists here and there.

Simon Despres, ANA – He's been sidelined with a concussion since Oct. 16, and though there's no rule against trading injured players (Chris Pronger to Arizona, anyone?), head injuries are difficult to predict and in all likelihood Despres will finish the season as a Duck. Still, the writing's on the wall in Anaheim: Someone needs to go. Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm may net the biggest returns, but they're sentimental homegrown talents. Cam Fowler's been their best when healthy, Kevin Bieksa just signed an extension and Clayton Stoner won't fetch much in return. That leaves Despres.

Last week's top five performers:

David Schlemko, NJ – The 28-year-old journeyman spent most of his career with the Coyotes as a dependable bottom-pairing defenseman, then moved on to Dallas and Calgary before catching on with the Devils this season, where he's been a regular and played his best stretch of hockey. He has three assists in his past two games, helping extend the Devils' winning streak to four. Of course, he has little fantasy value with 12 points in 41 games on the season, but his play this past week has been noteworthy.

Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI – With 19 points in 27 games, on a per-game basis Gostisbehere is one of the most productive offensive defensemen in the league, and based on the eye test, it's no fluke. The silky-smooth skater out of Union College was a big reason why the Dutchmen were able to capture their first NCAA title. Gostisbehere also has 17 shots in his last four games, and there's no good reason for the Flyers to send him back to AHL Adirondack at this point. The regression may come next year instead.

Mattias Ekholm, NAS – The emergence of Ekholm and Ryan Ellis is one reason why the Preds were willing to part with Seth Jones to nab Ryan Johansen, who again is flashing elite talent but very little effort without the puck. Regardless, Ekholm had two goals and two assists this past week, and the Preds seem to be back on track, having gained three wins in their past four games, with encouraging work from Pekka Rinne. Ekholm is fourth behind Shea Weber, Roman Josi and Ellis in terms of fantasy value, but he could be worth a late-round flier next season with an increased role.

Ben Hutton, VAN – He was featured in this column last week as one of the league's best surprises, and Hutton's continued his strong play with a goal and two assists in his last four games. The Canucks have allowed 10 goals in their last three, and Alexander Edler's clearly not good enough to do everything himself, so it's up to Hutton now to carry a lot of the load. He has just 13 points and 60 shots this season, but his upside is very good; Hutton's another one who's worth taking a chance on in the later rounds next year.

Victor Hedman, TAM – The Panthers snapped the Lightning's seven-game winning streak Saturday, and over their past eight games, Hedman has two goals and eight assists, bringing his season total to 28 points in 47 games. Though he has not been a top-five fantasy defenseman this year, falling a little short of expectations, he's still been one of the league's more productive blueliners. He's still worth owning in all formats, but don't be surprised if he gets taken a little later in drafts next season.

Top five trending up:

Seth Jones, CLM – His stock dipped after a trade to Columbus, an underperforming team that was ready to thrust him into a No. 1 role, which can be a monumental task for any 21-year-old, no matter how talented. Though the Blue Jackets continue to slide with yet another injury to Sergei Bobrovsky (groin), Jones has certainly been pulling his weight, notching five assists in the last five games. But always be cautious when adding a No. 1 defenseman from a weak team; despite all the talent in the world, Jones still needs the rest of his mates to pick it up.

Ryan Murray, CLM – Much of the same could be said about Murray, who was drafted as a franchise defenseman, but failed to make much of an impact due to various injuries that have impeded his development. Adding Jones to the lineup has taken a little pressure off Murray, who plays an understated two-way game and has a goal and two assists in his past four. He has just 16 points this season, but is also one of the team's biggest minute eaters and still has plenty of upside as a 22-year-old who was 2012's No. 2 overall pick.

Jonathan Ericsson, DET – The stay-at-home defenseman has just eight points and 41 shots on the season, getting a chunk of those stats this past week with two assists and eight shots over his past four games. Offensive production will likely never come for the 31-year-old, but with 450 NHL games under his belt, the ninth-round pick has been a diamond in the rough for Detroit.

Luca Sbisa, VAN – Although he's been a lightning rod in Vancouver because of his special ability to cough up the puck on every single possession, Sbisa's return from a broken hand has let the Canucks, who are still without Hamhuis, breathe a sigh of relief. In four games since his return, Sbisa has a plus-6 rating with an assist and nine hits, though he admittedly felt out of shape after his first game. He's an aggressive defenseman who hits and takes chances on offense, which makes him an intriguing fantasy defenseman.

Dion Phaneuf, TOR – He's flown very much under the radar this season with much of the focus on a potential goalie controversy (#TeamReimer) and the inaugural season of the Lamoriello-Shanahan-Babcock era, but the Leafs' captain is quietly playing some pretty good hockey. Though Toronto's only won once in the past eight games, Phaneuf has two assists in his past four and 101 shots on goal for the season, tops among Leafs defensemen. He's recently even started to rack up the penalty minutes, as Phaneuf tends to drop the gloves more often when his team is losing.

Top five trending down:

Dennis Wideman, CGY – His cold streak was extended to five games Sunday and he remains stuck at 19 points on the season, putting him on pace to fall well short of matching his 56-point total from last year. The entire Flames defense has regressed this season, which may be no surprise, but Wideman's been particularly terrible.

John Klingberg, DAL – It bears mentioning that Klingberg received a maintenance day earlier in the month when Lindy Ruff admitted he was "a little bit tired." Klingberg was a monster for the Stars in the first half of the season, rocketing toward the top of the NHL's elite and spawning whispers that Dallas might run away with the division title with a juggernaut offense, but now Chicago is five points ahead, while the Stars have lost six of their past 10. Klingberg has just one assist in his past seven games, and it really looks like fatigue is starting to settle in for the young defenseman. It would be surprising to see Klingberg be a top-10 offensive defenseman in the second half of the season.

Dan Boyle, NYR – He always seems to play a little bit better against the Lightning, who traded him five months after signing him to a big six-year extension, and incidentally that was also the last time he scored a point – 10 games ago. If the Rangers are serious about trading Keith Yandle, then Boyle needs to show that he can still quarterback a power play, because as good as Ryan McDonagh is, that's not the type of role he excels in. As long as Boyle struggles, the Rangers will be inclined to keep Yandle for the playoff run; if Yandle stays, Boyle won't get more power-play opportunities.

Andrei Markov, MON – Call it fatigue, call it Carey Price-itis, call it whatever you want. Markov is minus-4 over his past four games and has just two assists in nine games in 2016. The Habs' troubles are starting to get worrisome, and this is coming from someone who has nothing to gain from them either making or missing the playoffs. Just know that for fantasy purposes, Markov's value is freefalling as well. Though he may pick up the scoring again, the burden of the Habs just seems so large and onerous that it's hard to see them coming out of the slump without Price, and that won't be for close to another month.

Brian Dumoulin, PIT – After three seasons in the AHL, the 24-year-old is finally a fixture in the big leagues, but offense hasn't come by easily with just 10 points – all assists – in 47 games this season. Penguins fans looking for some sort of breakthrough with him and Derrick Pouliot will have to wait a little bit longer.