Fantasy Hockey Trades: Mikael Granlund, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Cody Ceci and More

Hey folks, as promised, here is a breakdown of the rest of the trades that have broken in the past 24 hours. Included are the Flames and Flyers, Canucks (again) and Penguins, and Stars and Sharks.

The Flyers are making a push for playoffs so are trying to add, the Penguins are in full blown sell mode, the Stars get even better, and the Sharks are really building for the future.

Let’s break these down one at a time.

Flames and Flyers Trade

To the Calgary Flames: Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost

To the Philadelphia Flyers: Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, second-round pick (2025), seventh-round pick (2028)

The Flames and Flyers Breakdown

From a team standpoint, the Flames got way better here. Bringing in a good consistent veteran like Farabee and a young-ish prospect in Frost is genuinely going to give them a fighting chance this year.

On the flip side, the two players going to the Flyers will have to adjust to head coach John Tortorella. This may not fare so well for Pelletier, who is a younger player, as Torts loves his veterans. The Flyers gain players who are rosterable, some cap space, and future picks for their continuing rebuild. Could they have gotten more for the likes of Farabee and Frost? Maybe, but this trade isn’t terrible for either side.

From a fantasy standpoint, this trade is meh at best. In deeper leagues, Farabee and Frost are both depth players who could be considered streamable, but I don’t think either are worthy of a long-term roster spot. Neither Kuzmenko or Pelletier are rosterable at all this year, or worth a draft pick in a dynasty league, in my opinion. Pelletier even cleared waivers once this year, and is the younger of the two.

Farabee has eight goals, 11 assists, and three powerplay points this season. He also has 99 shots on goal, 55 hits, and 34 blocked shots. He will get some top line minutes with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, as well as second powerplay unit time. So there’s that.

Frost, on the other hand, has 11 goals, 14 assists, and seven powerplay points. He also has 86 shots on goal, 35 hits, and 39 blocks. He’ll be playing a middle six role, but is poised to get number one powerplay unit time. It’s also worth noting both Frost and Farabee should see an uptick in production under a less scrutinizing coach and increased roles respectively.

Canucks and Penguins Trade

To the Vancouver Canucks: Marcus Pettersson, Drew O'Connor

To the Pittsburgh Penguins: Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, Melvin Fernstrom, conditional first-round pick (2025)

The Canucks and Penguins Breakdown

Well there are two significant factors in this trade that are not player related. One being that this is the first sign that Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas has begun to sell. Look for more trades from him between now and the trade deadline. Second is that the Canucks are buying, as this was their second trade in one day, and are certainly looking to make a push ahead of the playoffs.

How many Petterssons do the Canucks need? If you said three, then you are correct. Maybe they're trying to make a full Pettersson line. They do like to name their lines. Remember the mattress line? Two twins and a King. Oh the glory days..

The Penguins picked up a first round pick in this trade, so that should not go unnoted. Dubas needs to accelerate the ‘retool’ for the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. It’s no secret that anyone without a Stanley Cup is for sale, and those three aren’t going anywhere.

Without bringing in roster players while trading away the future, first round picks are a great way to accomplish this. No impact players came back to the Pens in this trade, and none of them are rosterable in your fantasy team. Nothing more to discuss Penguins wise.

The Canucks, on the other hand, got a middle six forward in O’Connor and a bottom four defender in Pettersson back. Although, neither of which are worth more than a streamer spot in deeper leagues either.

For argument's sake, we’ll quickly review the stats in three of the players for this trade with the most value, but again, they aren’t impact players.

O’Connor has only six goals, 10 assists and two powerplay points. He does have decent peripherals with 82 shots on goal, 51 hits, and 40 blocked shots, but again nothing to write home about.

Pettersson has only three goals, and 15 assists, with the majority of his fantasy league points coming from his peripherals putting up 43 shots on goal, 56 hits, and 83 blocked shots.

Bringing up the rear, and the only noteworthy player going to the Penguins is Heinen. He has six goals, 12 assists, and two powerplay points. He also has 45 shots on goal, 52 hits, and 25 blocked shots.

Stars and Sharks Trade

To the Stars: Mikael Granlund, Cody Ceci

To the Sharks: First-round pick (2025), conditional third-round pick (2025)

The Stars and Sharks Breakdown

Hear me out here. This trade makes sense. The stars just lost Miro Heiskanen for at least four weeks, so they need help on the blueline. Veteran Ceci will help there, plus the Stars are trying to make a push to go deep into the playoffs and Granlund will be a huge addition to this already stacked roster.

Players such as Jason Robertson have had a very slow start to the season, and Tyler Seguin out until April, they need a spark to their offence. Granlund, while likely to play a slightly diminished role with the depth on the Stars, is going to be the spark they need.

The Sharks got two picks back, a third and a first, which is huge for them. Yes they added Macklin Celebrini, but gone are the days of a number one pick being able to carry a team on their own. Just look at the Chicago Blackhawks with generational talent Connor Bedard. 

It's not going so well in Chicago this year for Bedard, and he is by himself, too. Celebrini needs help in San Jose, and this was a perfect way to get him some support and ensure that they get a better pick placement by trading away talent with no roster players coming back. Smart!

Granlud has great numbers this year, and they are definitely going to get better. He has 15 goals, 30 assists, and 15 powerplay points. He also has 126 shots on goal, 37 hits, and 37 blocked shots.

Surprisingly, he is only going to be playing a middle six role, likely up the middle of the third line. That’s just how deep the Stars are. He will definitely see time on the second powerplay unit, though, again up the middle with veteran captain Jamie Benn.

Ceci has four goals, 11 assists and typical decent peripherals for a defender with 60 shots on goal, 51 hits, and 100 blocked shots.

Obviously Ceci will be eating huge minutes until Heiskanen returns, getting a prominent role on the penalty kill. That said, Ceci is Ceci. That’s not a knock, but his glory days are over and he is what he is. A streamer at best, but expect him to eat a lot of minutes and lead the team in blocked shots. Keep in mind when Heiskanen comes back, Ceci’s minutes and deployment will suffer.

Granlund, on the other hand, should be on your roster, or be a trade target. He’s put up great numbers for a points or bangers league, and has landed on a way better team. Despite slightly worse deployment, it shouldn't slow his production down.