Fantasy Hockey Trades: Kirill Marchenko and Matthew Knies Swapped in Blockbuster Plus More

Hey folks. We're back with another pre-season catch up, but this time, we're focusing strictly on the latest trades around the NHL. With the regular season starting tomorrow, we somehow still got a massive blockbuster just one day before the puck drops - what a buzzer beater!

The biggest news is obviously the blockbuster between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets. This is a trade that has been in the works and discussed around the league since the beginning of the summer, and after months of speculation, the two teams finally pulled the trigger with the regular season literally one day away. Both teams gave up significant pieces, and it has been one of the biggest stories around the NHL as we head into opening night.

It's a huge move for both organizations and an even bigger one for fantasy hockey. There are immediate questions about how the new pieces will fit into their respective lineups, what happens to the players around them, and whether either side sees a significant change in fantasy value. We'll also touch on a much quieter trade between Tampa Bay and Ottawa that sent a goaltender to a new team for future considerations. Let's dive into these two trades and really break down the blockbuster and what fantasy league impacts it will have.

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Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators Trade

To the Tampa Bay Lightning: Future considerations

To the Ottawa Senators: Jonas Johansson

Fantasy Breakdown

This is pretty much a nothing burger from a fantasy perspective. Tampa Bay gets some future considerations while Ottawa takes a chance on Johansson, who has shown flashes in the past but hasn't been able to turn those opportunities into a consistent NHL role.

Johansson had a decent run a few years ago when Andrei Vasilevskiy was dealing with an injury, but he couldn't sustain that success once Vasilevskiy returned. He quickly settled back into his backup role and hasn't really done enough since then to establish himself as a reliable NHL starter.

For Ottawa, though, I don't hate taking the chance. Sometimes, a change of scenery is exactly what a goaltender needs, and Johansson could potentially get a better opportunity with the Senators than he was getting in Tampa. I'm not expecting him to suddenly become a fantasy-relevant goalie, but if he finds his game and earns some starts, he could at least become an interesting name to monitor.

There isn't really much to see here for fantasy hockey. Johansson is not someone I'm drafting, but this is a move worth keeping an eye on if he starts getting regular playing time in Ottawa. Tampa doesn't take much of a fantasy hit either. This is essentially a move to give Johansson a fresh start somewhere else and see if Ottawa can get anything out of him.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets Trade

To the Toronto Maple Leafs: Kirill Marchenko, Elvis Merzlikins, Miles Wood

To the Columbus Blue Jackets: Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz, Emil Andrae, 2027 second-round draft pick

Fantasy Breakdown

I've already talked about this trade with several people because I was getting texts almost immediately after it broke. I think this is a really fair trade for both sides. What's interesting is that both fanbases seem upset about losing their guy. Maple Leafs fans don't want to see Knies go, while Blue Jackets fans don't want to see Marchenko leave. When both sides are unhappy about losing the centerpiece of a trade, that's usually a pretty good indication that this is a legitimate hockey trade.

Knies has seen a slight decline in his production and has also had trouble staying healthy, including dealing with concussion issues. He's still a massive, physical winger who plays like a power forward, but I don't think he ever really got into the groove of becoming that true power forward we thought he might be. He still put up 66 points last season, though, so Columbus isn't getting some throwaway prospect here. They're getting a 23-year-old forward who has already shown that he can produce in the NHL and still has plenty of room to grow.

Marchenko, meanwhile, finally fills the winger hole left by Mitch Marner and brings the Leafs another legitimate offensive weapon for their top six. He's coming off a 27-goal, 67-point season and has established himself as a consistent scoring threat in Columbus. Now, he gets to play with much better offensive talent around him in Toronto, and I think that's where his fantasy value gets really interesting.

The other major fantasy piece here is what this does to Gavin McKenna. I think McKenna is now pretty clearly locked into the second line alongside John Tavares and William Nylander. That isn't necessarily a bad thing because that's still an excellent offensive situation, but Marchenko takes away the possibility of McKenna immediately stepping into that premium top-line winger role. Toronto is clearly going all in, and when you look at this roster, man, it is getting scary.

Merzlikins is another interesting piece of this trade. Once he's healthy, I think this all but spells the demise of Anthony Stolarz as the backup in Toronto. This may have been more of an on-paper transaction depending on Merzlikins' health, but Toronto wouldn't be taking on another goaltender without having some sort of plan for him. Merzlikins is currently dealing with a shoulder injury, so we obviously need to see how quickly he can get back on the ice before making too many fantasy assumptions.

I also don't love seeing Lorentz go as part of this trade, and giving up Andrae and a second rounder on top of Knies is a significant price. Toronto is once again selling off some of its future assets to bring in another established player, although in this case, they're getting a 26-year-old winger they immediately locked up on a long-term extension. That tells you exactly how much the Leafs believe in Marchenko.

I see Knies taking a slight hit in fantasy value moving to Columbus, while Marchenko's value increases significantly simply because of who he's going to be surrounded by in Toronto. If you already picked up Marchenko in a fantasy league, I think you got him at a bargain. The opportunity to play with Toronto's elite offensive talent and potentially receive premium powerplay deployment gives him a chance to take another step offensively.

McKenna is still a player I absolutely want in fantasy, but I think his path to immediate elite production is a little different now. He should have plenty of offensive opportunity with Tavares and Nylander, but Marchenko is going to get the premium deployment that many of us were hoping McKenna might eventually receive. As for Knies, I still like him as a player, but moving from Toronto's offensive environment to Columbus makes me a little less excited about his fantasy ceiling this season.