This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Ontario was all abuzz Tuesday, as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators pulled off a big, nine-player trade. Of course, you read that, and you get all enthused about the potential fantasy ramification, but, in truth, there is only one player in the trade who has any real fantasy relevance. That would be the key focal point of the trade, defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who is headed to Ottawa.
No disrespect is meant to Matt Frattin, Colin Greening, or even Milan Michalek, who used to be a fantasy commodity. Phaneuf is in a different league, inasmuch as somebody might consider owning him in a fantasy league. This trade seems likely to help Phaneuf's numbers. He will be playing for a better team, and he will be asked to shoulder less of a load. Erik Karlsson is the man in Ottawa. Phaneuf just has to be a guy, and he can do that. He had three goals and 21 assists when he was traded, and, even though Toronto isn't terribly good, he was only a minus-4, despite playing over 22 minutes a night.
Those minutes will likely come down a tinge, but only a tinge. Ottawa is a team harboring playoff dreams, and they think Phaneuf can help them in that regard. They took on the entire five years left on his deal and his $7 million cap hit. You don't do that for a player you don't plan on making good use of.
For the Leafs, of course, the entire point was ditching salary. Phaneuf is a good player, but he was paid too much for a team this poor. Now, Toronto has managed to get David Clarkson, Phil Kessel, and now Dion Phaneuf off their books, by and large. They are gunning for cap space, and presumably for Steven Stamkos. Good luck to them on that front, but they are probably smart enough not to put all their eggs in that basket. This year, they will be worse, which, in the long term, should help make them better.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Senators (Craig Anderson) at Red Wings (Petr Mrazek), 7:00 PM
Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 8:00 PM
Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Coyotes (Louis Domingue), 9:30 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Senators
David Dziurzynski, LW (undisclosed) – On injured reserve
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) – Out indefinitely
Red Wings
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) – On injured reserve
Mike Green, D (groin) – Day-to-day
Niklas Kronwall, D (knee) – On long-term injured reserve
Drew Miller, LW (lower-body) – Out 4-6 months
Rangers
Ryan McDonagh, D (concussion) – Day-to-dayy
Rick Nash, LW (leg) – Unlikely to play Wednesday
Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (upper-body) – Out long-term
Nick Bonino, C (hand) – Unlikely to play Wednesday
Eric Fehr, RW (lower-body) – On injured reserve
Evgeni Malkin, C (knee) – Day-to-day
David Warsofsky, D (concussion) – Out indefinitely
Canucks
None
Coyotes
Boyd Gordon, C (upper-body) – Week-to-week
Mike Smith, G (lower-body) – Still likely out a few weeks
Joe Vitale, C (eye) – On injured reserve
Hot
Drew Doughty, D, LAK – The Kings completely obliterated the Bruins on Tuesday, scoring nine goals to Boston's two. However, despite that, no player had more than two points. Doughty was one of them, though, notching a goal and an assist. He gets a nod here, because this gives him five points in his three games since the All-Star break. Doughty also tallied points in the two games before the break. He's one of the best defensemen in the NHL, and he's playing at the peak of his powers at the moment.
Sam Reinhart, C, BUF – Reinhart was the second overall pick last year. He only played in nine games, and only notched one point, but this year he's showing why he was drafted so highly. Reinhart lit the lamp twice Tuesday, giving him a goal in three straight games. More interestingly, he has 16 goals in total now. Did you realize Reinhart was on pace to score over 20 goals, and possibly 25? Sure, he only has eight assists, and that's a problem, but he's shown himself to be a player with a nose for the net.
Cold
Mikkel Boedker, LW, ARI – Boedker did score a goal two games ago, but that's his only goal in his last 10 games, and his only point in his last five. On top of that, he's a minus-6 in his last four games, dropping him to a lowly minus-23 on the season. He was playing well early in the year, when the Coyotes were a nice surprise team, but right now that simply is not the case.
David Desharnais, C, MTL – Desharnais has been a solid fantasy contributor the last couple of seasons. He's averaged 15 goals, 50 points, and has been well on the plus side of the ledger. This year, that's not the case, and his recent cold snap is a big reason why. He has a seven game pointless streak going, and he's a minus-6 in that time. Fittingly enough, he's also a minus-6 on the season, and he's stalled out at nine goals. He's not really helping fantasy teams at all right now and, given the fact he isn't one of the league's top players, he's not necessarily worth holding onto. Given his sinking ownership percentages, fantasy player seem to agree.
Recommended Pickup
Jordan Staal, C, CAR – Staal's move to Carolina to play with his brother Eric never really saw him take off like many expected. He got a bigger role than he ever could have in Pittsburgh, but he also found himself playing for a largely lousy and unforgettable team. However, this year, a surprisingly good one for the Hurricanes, Staal is finally putting it all together. He has 12 goals and 19 assists on the year, and he seems primed to set new highs for goals and points with Carolina. These numbers are owed, in part, to putting up nine points in his last seven games, so he's been hot recently. He's also a plus-8, and he has seven power-play points. Finally, investing in Jordan Staal could pay off.
