The Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues swung a trade Tuesday night, with Matt D'Agostini of the Habs and Aaron Palushaj of the Blues switching teams. Here is the fantasy breakdown of the deal and why it should be of interest to owners in deeper fantasy hockey leagues.
The Canadiens and Minnesota Wild pulled off a similar type deal earlier in the season. The Canadiens traded Guillaume Latendresse to the Wild in exchange for Benoit Pouliot. Both players were highly touted but struggled to find their games at the NHL level. It seems as though a change of scenery has helped and both players are flourishing with their new clubs.
Now, the D'Agostini and Palushaj trade is not a direct comparison but in essence it's not far off, either. D'Agostini has proven he can be an effective player at the AHL level but hasn't been able to find his role in Montreal. While he doesn't project to be a top-6 forward, he should become a solid third liner.
D'Agostini might be in the Blues lineup on Thursday night as he would have to pass waivers in order to be sent to the AHL.
Palushaj, meanwhile, was quite highly regarded in the St. Louis organization and was pushing for a roster spot last fall. He has a lot of raw skill and a lot of talent but it has been suggested that the Blues thought he wasn't going to become a top-6 NHL forward. Palushaj has really struggled in the AHL this season, putting up just 5 goals and 22 points in 44 games. Still, he's only 22 years old and the Canadiens are well known to give their young players opportunities so it shouldn't be surprised to see Palushaj get his chance at some point, maybe next season.
The moral of this story is for fantasy owners in really deep keeper leagues. If we learned something from the Latendresse/Pouliot trade, it's that sometimes opportunity is all that is needed to get a player going. With both D'Agostini and Palushaj going to new homes, it should be expected that the opportunities will follow.
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