Purcell is signed through the next two seasons with a $4.5 million dollar cap-hit. The 6-foot-3, 203 lbs. right winger had 12 goals and 30 assists (42 points) in 81 games with the Lightning. Purcell has missed just three games over the last four seasons and is capable of scoring 25 goals with the Oilers this season. He will likely find himself in the Oilers top-6.
Pasquale, 23, was 17-13-1 with a 2.43 GAA and .920 SV% in 31 games with the St. John's IceCaps last season. He will likely find himself with the Hershey Bears in 2014-15.
Bollig scored seven goals with seven assists and appeared in all 82 games with the Hawks last season. He brings a physical style of play to the Flames, but he likely won't help anyone's fantasy team next season.
Gunnarsson had three goals and 14 assists in 80 games with the Maple Leafs last season. He averaged 19:25 TOI playing on the top pairing with Dion Phaneuf. He will likely slot in on the Blues' bottom pair or on the second unit with Kevin Shattenkirk. He will be better off playing a reduced role in St. Louis.
Polak, 28, is 6-foot-1, 225 lbs. and plays a very safe, stay-at-home defensive style. The Leafs blueline was questionable at times in 2013-14, but now they can slide the physical Polak beside Jake Gardiner or Morgan Rielly and allow them to play more offence while Polak provides a steady presence in the defensive zone.
Vey had five assists in 18 games with the Kings last season. While in the AHL he recorded 14 goals and 34 assists (48 points) in 43 games. Vey will challenge to make the Canucks out of training camp.
Spaling, who is a pending a restricted free-agent, had a strong season with the Predators in 2013-14. He goes to Pittsburgh where he will find himself in a third or fourth-line role. If he can repeat the 13 goals and 19 assists (32 points) in 71 games he had last season, the Pens will be more than happy.
Hornqvist has 22 goals and 31 assists (53 points) in 76 games last year. 2013-14 was a career year for the 27 year-old winger who will see his fantasy value rise heading into this year. He has never played with a centre like Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby, but that is about to change. Hornqvist should be around 30 goals and 30 assists with his new team.
Neal missed 23 games this season, but still notched 27 goals and 34 assists (61 points) in the 59 games he did play. After a strong regular season, Neal struggled in the playoffs posting just four points (2G / 2A) in 13 games. The Penguins were looking to dump some salary but they part ways with a $5 million dollar cap-hit and take on a $4.25 million cap-hit in Hornqvist. Neal beams the focal point of the Predators offence and should produce around the same rate as he did on Evgeni Malkin's wing in Pittsburgh.
Morin had 11 points (5G / 6A) in 24 games with the Blackhawks this season. While with Rockford (AHL) he scored 24 goals and 23 assists (47 points) in 47 games. The 23-year-old has a strong chance of making the Hawks out of of training camp in 2014-15.
Dorsett, 27, had four goals and four assists (eight points) with 128 penalty minutes in 51 games with the Rangers this past season. He is a go-hard player who gives it his all on every shift. New Canucks' head coach Willie Desjardins was Dorsett's head coach with the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) from 2004-2007. Dorsett has 64 points in 61 games and a 16 playoff points in 17 games en route to a WHL Championship in 2006-07. Desjardins brings in a player he is familiar with to fill an important fourth line role.
After scoring 16 goals (9 PPG) with the Panthers in 2011-12 the Canucks signed him to a six-year, $27.6 million dollar deal. In two seasons with Vancouver, Garrison had 15 goals and 34 assists (49 points) in 128 games. Trading Garrisson is a cap-dump by the Canucks. It is not just for this season, but the next four seasons he is signed through while carrying a $4.6 million dollar cap-hit. He heads to an aging blueline where he is expected to get a lot of power-play time because of the cannon he possesses.
Sbisa, 24, missed 52 games this past season with a combination of ankle, hand and knee injuries. He finished the season with six points (1G / 5A) in 30 games. Sbisa does not shy away from contact but has yet to develop into the offensive-defenseman he was expected to be. He will look to stay healthy in 2014-15 and attack his career high of 24 points (2011-12).
Bonino had the best season of his young career in 2013-14. He scored 22 goals with 27 assists (49 points) which shattered his previous career-high of 18 points (2011-12). Bonino should head to Vancouver and slide into the second-line centre role that was just opened by dealing Ryan Kesler.
Kesler scored 25 goals and 18 assists (43 points) but was a career worst minus-15 in 77 games this season. Kesler has spent his entire 10-year career with the Canucks but will now move the Anaheim where he will likely centre the second line behind Ryan Getzlaf. This trade makes the Ducks a much more difficult team to play against, especially come playoff time. Kesler will turn 30 in August and is signed through the next two seasons at a $5 million dollar cap-hit.
The 31-year-old journeyman back-up played his most games in one season in 2013-14 . After Sergei Bobrovsky went down with injury, McElhinney stepped in. He started 21 games, his previous career-high was 16 in 2010-11 with Anaheim. He finished the season 10-11-1 with a 2.70 GAA and .909 SV%. For the first time 2009-10, McElhinney will not be with a new team to start next season.
Gustavsson has spent the last two seasons as the Red Wings back-up while earning $1.5 million. He gets a raise heading into 2014-15 after turning in a 16-5-4 record with a 2.65 GAA and .907 SV%. Jimmy Howard is the Red Wings clear number-1, but The Monster was as steady a number-2 as there was last season. Should Howie struggle again next season, Gustavsson's fantasy value will once again be on the rise.
The Kings acquired Gaborik for a very reasonable price at the trade deadline and what they got in return was 16 points (5G / 11A) in 19 regular season games and then he went on to lead the playoff in goals with 14, while adding eight assists en route to a Stanley Cup win. The longterm deal has him signed until he is 39, which is alarming, but the annual cap-hit of just $4.9 million is reasonable for a player of Gaborik's caliber.
The Oilers acquired Nikitin's rights from the Blue Jackets in exchange for a fifth-round pick. The 28-year-old Nikitin has had a very difficult time staying healthy. He missed 16 games this season with a combination of upper and lower-body injuries. He has missed a total of 54 games over the last three seasons (25.5% of games). However, when he is in the lineup he has shown flashes of top-4 defenseman. He had 32 points in his first year with the Blue Jackets but saw his production fall to two goals and 13 assists (15 points) last year.
Callahan was acquired with a pair of draft picks for Martin St. Louis at the trade deadline. In 20 games with the Lightning he had six goals and five assists (11 points) to go along with a plus-4 rating. Callahan did not see a ton of playing time with Steven Stamkos next season, but that is something that may change heading into 2014-15. He is typically good for 20-plus goals and 20-plus assists, but regular ice-time with Stamkos and we could see those numbers inflate.
