Fantasy Hockey Analysis of Carter/Johnson Swap

Last night, Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson continued what will likely be a fire sale in Ohio. In an attempt to improve a poor situation, he sent disgruntled sniper Jeff Carter to the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Jack Johnson and a first round pick. And while the deal won’t be completed until Carter passes a physical, we won’t hold out on our fantasy hockey advice.

Jeff Carter to Los Angeles

In Carter, the Kings get the sniper they desperately needed. Even though he didn’t play with friend and teammate Mike Richards too much last season, their past chemistry should be enough to rekindle the Kings’ offense. Their defense and netminding could not be any better so a sudden uptick in goals could put this should-be contender over the top.

Before the trade, head coach Darryl Sutter used rookies Dwight King and Jordan Nolan in the top six. One of those two is likely bumped to a lesser role, or both as the team has Dustin Penner and Jarret Stoll ready to contribute. Nevertheless, bringing Carter to an offense-starved team should help as the versatile forward scored 15 goals in 40 games despite not enjoying his surroundings. In other words, this guy can score 30 goals in his sleep, which is why I recommended you buy low on him a few weeks ago.

The Kings do lose a piece in Jack Johnson, but they should be able to replace him with relative ease. Johnson was formerly drafted third overall as an all-around defenseman but was really a secondary scorer and somewhat of a defensive liability in California. Slava Voynov, who was recalled last night, should be able to fill his void at even strength and on the power play. Even though the Kings sacrifice a bit of physicality on the blue line, their production really can’t get any worse.

Jack Johnson to Columbus

Howson gets Johnson, an arguably untapped talent, as well as an unknown prospect and some financial flexibility out of the deal. Carter had been playing between Vinny Prospal and Mark Letestu but that role is likely given to rookie Ryan Johansen. In fact, Johansen should benefit the most from the Blue Jackets selling as he not only gets back into the lineup, but he should be playing around 18 minutes per night.

Furthermore, rookie Cam Atkinson gets another crack at the lineup as the Blue Jackets were short a forward. The rookie posted a pedestrian goal in his first five games before getting his feet wet at the AHL level. In 50 games with the Springfield Falcons, he scored 29 goals and 44 points. If given the appropriate amount of minutes, he could show his worth in the big leagues.

As far as replacement value, Johnson likely keeps Brett Lebda out of the top four and pushes one of Grant Clitsome, John Moore and David Savard out of the lineup. Moore had been playing a great deal of minutes so he is probably the most impacted. Johnson most likely lines up with James Wisniewski while Fedor Tyutin and Nikita Nikitin are the other guaranteed pairing. Luckily, Moore’s offense has been relatively nonexistent with two goals and six points in 49 games.

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To conclude, Carter and Voynov are winners, as are Johansen, Atkinson, and to a lesser extent Johnson. Let us know how you feel in the comments.