The Phoenix Coyotes have traded defenceman Derek Morris to the New York Rangers for defencemen Dmitri Kalinin and forwards Nigel Dawes and Petr Prucha.
Fantasy Outlook: The New York Rangers were able to add an aggressive d-man with a bit of offensive ability rolled in.
Morris will fit into the top 2 pairings in New York and provide some grit that they were missing on the back end.
Fantasy owners should be cautious when looking at adding him via the waiver wire. Morris has 12 points in 57 games this season and should not expect an outpouring of points the rest of the way. He is a decent depth option in you need to fill a bench spot.
The Phoenix Coyotes have reloaded their roster obtaining players that have been exiled from their previous teams because they under perform or their contracts are too heavy.
The 3 new Coyotes have no fantasy appeal and owners should steer clear of of these desert dogs.
Mark
Look for Morris to be a goat in the Big Apple come playoff time. Why any team would want Morris and Redden in their top 4 come playoff time is beyond me. He will have some high points but many more low points in the blue and red.
ReplyDeleteAs for Dawes and Prucha, they could both be decent contributers over the next few seasons. Gretzky and Maloney are collecting young players that had potential but have become cast-offs (see also Upshall, Lindstrom, etc). The hope is Gretz can untap this potential and turn them into servicable players. The dimunitive Dawes has high-end skills but has struggled establishing himself against the Bigger NHLers. Prucha scored 30 goals as a rookie but has looked lost without Jagr. Either one of these guys could become decent contributers over the next year if Gretz can figure them out. Pay attention to how they finish the season as they may end up on the sleeper radar going into next year.