Fantasy Hockey Trades: Seth Jones, Spencer Knight, Gustav Nyquist, Calvin de Haan and More

Three trades happened on March 1, leading up to the NHL trade deadline. Things in the league continue to heat up, and as predicted in my February 25 article about players likely to be dealt on or before the deadline, this has obviously happened along with two other trades.

The trades that happened include a blockbuster between the Blackhawks and Panthers, as well as trades between the Avalanche and Rangers, and the Wild and Predators.

Let's break these down one at a time by order of when the trades broke.

The Avalanche and Rangers Trade

To the Colorado Avalanche: Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey, Hank Kempf

To the New York Rangers: Juuso Parssinen, Calvin de Haan, second-round pick (2025), fourth-round (2025), retain 50% of Lindgren's contract

The fantasy outlook on this trade is pretty low impact. de Haan may help the blueline of the Rangers, who are in need of some more depth there, however he will likely end up being a bottom pair of a seventh defensemen. Obviously a shoring up move for the upcoming playoffs, which the Rangers still may or may not make.

Lindgren is likely the only player on this list that is fantasy viable, but as a waiver wire on very deep teams at best. He is on pace for his highest points per season, and he has been eating a significant amount of minutes. I would still not roster him, to be fair.

Let's break down each of these players' stats for argument sake in this least significant of the March 1 trade trio, except Kempf, who has not played an NHL game.

Lindgren has two goals, 17 assists, and 36 penalty minutes as a defensemen in 54 games played. He also has 42 shots on goal, 59 hits, and an impressive 102 blocked shots.

Vesey has four goals, and two assists as a forward in 33 games played. He also has 30 shots on goal, 19 hits, and 10 blocked shots.

Parssinen has four goals, seven assists and one powerplay point as a forward in 37 games played. He also has 26 shots on goal, 69 hits, and 15 blocked shots.

de Haan has zero goals and seven assists as a defensemen in 44 games played. He also has 48 shots on goal, 59 hits, and 58 blocked shots. Yikes, his value as a depth defender has really fallen season over season lately.

The Wild and Predators Trade

To the Minnesota Wild: Gustav Nyquist

To the Nashville Predators: Second-round pick (2026), retain 50% of Nyquist's contract

The struggling Predators finally managed a win this year, and it was in the office, not on the ice. Somehow they managed to get a second-round pick out of the Wild for an underperforming Nyquist, who is on an expiring deal.

He is making just north of $3M AAV, so who cares about the 50% salary retention on his expiring deal. They were going to lose him at the end of the season anyways, they aren't going to be making the playoffs, and he is miles away from his 75-point season last year.

The Wild have some significant players out, including franchise player Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek up front and Zach Bogosian on the blueline.

While I believe the Preds won this, it's not really a big loss for the Wild either. As a whole, I do like this deal for both teams.

Nyquist has nine goals, 12 assists, and one powerplay point as a forward in 57 games played. He also has 71 shots on goal, 28 hits and 22 blocked shots.

Again, this is stark difference from his last year's outlier season, and he has almost zero fantasy league value this year - it's a decent trade for both teams.

The Blackhawks and Panthers Trade

To the Chicago Blackhawks: Spencer Knight, first-round pick (2026 or 2027), retain 26% of Jones' contract

To the Florida Panthers: Seth Jones, fourth-round pick (2026)

Here is the blockbuster you've been waiting for as per Frank Seravalli. Jones' likelihood of being moved was predicted in my aforementioned article, and as part of this deal he waived his no movement clause and was finally dealt to the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Panthers.

Meow! This is going to help their blueline immensely. Jones is poised to be on the second defensive pair with Niko Mikkola. He should also get some second unit powerplay and second unit penalty kill time. Let's also not forget that the Panthers are leading the Atlantic division and winning games, something that will only add to his value coming from the slumping Blackhawks.

Knight moving to the Blackhawks is an interesting move. Given the current lineup, in the crease there in Arvid Soderblom,  Petr Mrazek and the injured Laurent Brossoit. It's tough to predict who will end up where in that pecking order.

Knight has 12 wins in 21 starts and has a .907 save percentage, 2.4 goals against average, and two shutouts. Remember to note that this was with the Panthers, and he is certain to see a significant amount of increased shots from more dangers areas given the team in front of him. Additionally, the Blackhawks' best defender went the other way in this deal, so there's that, too.

Poor Knight really got the short end of this stick, but maybe he'll finally be able to carve himself out a permanent spot in the NHL and remain there for the year as he was poised to do prior to this trade. He'll be one to watch to see what the Blackhawks do after their tanking season this year, and who they want in the blue paint long term.

Jones, on the other hand, has seven goals, 20 assists, and 15 powerplay points as a defensemen in 42 games played. He also has 81 shots on goal, 62 hits, and 83 blocked shots.

As previously mentioned, Jones won the lotto in this deal, and all of his stats are sure to increase, with the exception of blocked shots. With a better overall roster in front of him he is likely to block shots less often, because he just won't need to. The team around him will be better and provide opponents less high danger opportunities, and the starter in net behind him in Sergei Bobrovsky is much better. His +/- will certainly take a bump, as will his assists.

For Jones' owners, if he can work his way onto the top powerplay unit then you will have won the lottery, too. This is already a huge win for you, but that would be icing on the cake.