Fantasy Hockey Breakdowns for Latest NHL Transactions: Nikolaj Ehlers, Brent Burns and More

Welcome back folks! We are still breaking down the activities that have happened in the aftermath of the NHL free agent frenzy. 

We've got a couple trades, and several blockbuster signings to go over, so let's get right into it!

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. 

Blockbuster Signings

Morgan Frost - Calgary Flames - $4.375M AAV - Two Years

A staple on the Flames' depth chart, Frost is a good re-signing. A middle six forward who sees a lot of powerplay time, Frost is a decent streamer or depth forward for your fantasy league.

Frost had 14 goals, 23 assists, and 15 powerplay points in 81 games played as a forward. He also had 144 shots on goal, 69 hits, and 60 blocked shots.

Brent Burns - Colorado Avalanche - $1M AAV - One Year

Burns might have made my washed-up players list earlier this year, I can hardly believe that the Avs have inked him to a deal. While he might not be the Burns of the past, this move to the Avs takes essentially any pressure off of his shoulders and allows him to coast.

A still elite level puck-moving blueliner, who will not undoubtedly be picking up +/- and some apples for just being on the ice with the powerhouse Colorado club, he may go from a streamer to a depth defender for your fantasy team next year. I would take a look at him, especially as he will likely be quarterbacking the second powerplay unit (when Cale Makar gets tired and can't do both).

Burns had six goals, 23 assists, and three powerplay points in 82 games as a defenseman. He also had 175 shots on goal, 11 hits, and 98 blocked shots.

Dmitry Orlov - San Jose Sharks - $6.5M AAV - Two Years

The second Cane to ship out in free agency, Orlov now finds himself on the Sharks. There are some positives and negatives here. A positive is Orlov will be jumping up the depth and deployment chart with his new club, however the negative is he won't be nearly as insulted with talent as he was in Carolina.

Orlov will be seeing some powerplay time, and potentially some penalty kill time too. His deployment will be excellent, but I would keep an eye on his +/- on this new squad.

Orlov had six goals, 22 assists, and 24 penalty minutes in 76 games as a defenseman. He also had 117 shots on goal, 101 hits, and 60 blocked shots.

Nikolaj Ehlers - Carolina Hurricanes - 8.5M AAV - Six Years

Speaking of the Canes, how do they keep hitting moves out of the park? They are easily my darkhorse of the Eastern Conference for next season.

We've talked about losing both Mikko Rantanen and Martin Necas, but guess what? They just acquired Ehlers for (essentially) free through free agency AND inked him for six years.

Ehlers is an elite scoring and passing forward who excels on the powerplay. He's also fast, and has a high hockey IQ with a high level of compete. He will be an absolute asset to the already stacked Canes for the next half-decade plus!

Another blockbuster move by Carolina who is among the top winners for this offseason.

Ehlers had 24 goals, 39 assists, and 22 powerplay points in 69 games as a forward. He also had 174 shots on goal, 38 hits, and 33 blocked shots.

Anthony Beauvillier - Washington Capitals - $2.75M AAV - Two Years

A good sandpaper re-signing for the Caps here. A bottom six forward with not great deployment, Beauvillier brings more value to a bangers league and is a streamer at best.

Beauvillier had 15 goals, 10 assists, and one powerplay point in 81 games as a forward. He also had 149 shots on goal, 139 hits, and 36 blocked shots.

Dmitri Voronkov - Columbus Blue Jackets - $4.175 AAV - Two Years

Voronkov had a great season last year after completing his entry-level contract. He played a middle six role and saw powerplay time and proved his worth to the overachieving Blue Jackets and inked a short-term deal. He is definitely worth picking up in the middle rounds of your next draft, as he is likely to take another offensive step forward. Great underrated player that you may be able to take later than his production warrants.

Voronkov had 23 goals, 24 assists, and 11 powerplay points in 73 games as a forward. He also had 154 shots on goal, 71 hits, and 47 blocked shots.

Cam York - Philadelphia Flyers - $5.15M AAV - Five Years

The Flyers are rebuilding and need whatever help they can get. They won't be good for a few years yet, and York is going to keep helping the young talent by blocking shots. A decent streaming defenseman, but with any player on a bad team, keep their likely poor +/- in mind when adding to your fantasy roster.

York had four goals, 13 assists, and 26 penalty minutes in 66 games as a defenseman. He also had 65 shots on goal, 60 hits, and 126 blocked shots.

Jack McBain - Utah Mammoth - $4.25M AAV - Five Years

Another good sandpaper pickup here. McBain has more than double the hits than everyone else on this list. A good bangers league value, and OK at best offensively for a defenseman. His value is almost solely based on hits, so give him a pass if your league doesn't count them.

McBain had 13 goals, 14 assists, and three powerplay points in 82 games as a forward. He also had 90 shots on goal, 291 hits, and 50 blocked shots.

Free Agent Frenzy Trades

Devils and Sharks Trade

To the New Jersey Devils: Thomas Bordeleau

To the San Jose Sharks: Shane Bowers

This was an AHL deal, just giving two minor league forwards a fresh start. Sometimes change can be good for change's sake when it comes to depth.

Bordeleau had 14 goals and 24 assists in 59 games as a forward last year.

Bowers had three goals and 14 assists in 65 games as a forward last year.

There is zero fantasy impact here, even for the future likely.

Oilers and Lightning Trade

To the Edmonton Oilers: Isaac Howard

To the Tampa Bay Lightning: Sam O'Reilly

A step up from the previous trade, this deal has two former first-round draft picks swapping teams. The players were taken last, and second to last in the first round, respectively.

Howard's rights were traded to the Oilers, and then he immediately signed his three-year entry level contract as soon as the swap was complete. Howard played the last two years at Michigan State University, where he put up really decent numbers.

Howard had 26 goals, 26 assists, for 52 points in 37 games played as a forward. He also had 10 penalty minutes.

O'Reilly was drafted just last year, so the wait on his development may not be in line with where the Oilers want to be, who after two straight Stanley Cup Finals runs, need help now. He has played three seasons for the powerhouse London Knights.

The Lightning have time on their side and need more depth in the system. This was a deal that makes sense for both teams; trading a late first-round forward who is a couple years ahead in development for one who may have more of an upside, but at the cost of those two years.

O'Reilly had 28 goals, 43 assists, for 71 points in 62 games played as a forward. He also had 40 penalty minutes.