The New Broad Street Bully

Philadelphia trades Scottie Upshall and a 2011 2nd round pick to Phoenix for Daniel Carcillo.

Motivation:

Gretzky fell in and out of love with Carcillo over the past year. Danny was all the rage for the Coyotes in the first half of last season but his antics got tiring. A bit of a head case, Carcillo would snap at any given time, often costing the Coyotes with bad penalties and game misconducts. Gretzky was much more stern with Carcillo this year but that translated to Carcillo struggling to put up points. Once considered a 40 point, 200 PIM player, Carcillo is off to Philadelphia to try to get his offensive game back. Upshall is a good 3rd liner with some offensive upside. It will be interesting to see where he nets out in the Coyotes depth chart as they seem to have quite a few borderline 3rd/2nd liners.

Fantasy Outlook:

Daniel Carcillo: Last year's 24 points and 324 PIMS (in just 57 games) made Carcillo a hot commodity in leagues that reward PIMs. This year, he is on pace for just 12 points and 223 PIMS. The move to Philly should help in both categories. GM Paul Holmgren has already said that Carcillo will be a top 9 forward and he expects him to contribute some offence. Philly already shipped out one head-case this season in Steve Downie (who by the way is serving a 20 game suspension in the AHL for sticking a referee) and will not allow Carcillo to hurt the team on the ice. Look for Danny to contribute with a few points down the stretch and be a valuable player in the playoffs. I like Carcillo as a great pickup next year in fantasy leagues with PIMS. I see him putting up 30-35 points and 200 PIMS for the Flyers next season, making him a nice mid-late round pick at next year's draft.

Scottie Upshall: Upshall has always been able to provide energy and timely scoring but has struggled to stay healthy, and stay on a scoring line. With a career high 30 points in 2007-2008, he seems to have limited offensive upside. Upshall should develop into a very good 3rd liner in the desert but has very limited fantasy value. He'll get a chance to play more offensive minutes in Phoenix but will eventually lose ice-time to the Yotes' younger, offensive studs Turris, Mueller, Boedker, Tikhonov and Hanzal. Look for him as a late round depth player or waiver pickup next year.

Marks' Take: Carcillo will get every chance to fit in with the Flyers. However, they have walked down this road previously with Steve Downie. If Carcillo can't control himself and be productive, he could very well find himself playing in the AHL.