Atlanta has traded goaltender Kari Lehtonen to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth round draft pick.

The Stars get: a young goalie with huge upside and a laundry list of injuries in his past.

The Thrashers get: a top offensive defenseman prospect who is on the cusp of making the show.

Fantasy Players Impacted: Rumors are already swirling about a Marty Turco trade to Philadelphia. Obviously Lehtonen will cut way into his starts and unless he is traded his fantasy value becomes almost nil, unless you have daily transactions. A platoon situation is never good for poolies. Alex Auld is obviously on the outs until another deal goes down.

Atlanta obviously lacks a franchise talent, but their future on the blue line is very promising with Vishnevskiy, Zach Bogosian, Johnny Oduya and Tobias Enstrom. Vishnevskiy could join the big club because he is close to NHL-ready, though I wouldn't expect points right away when he is recalled. For now he will play in Chicago (AHL).

Players impacted positively, in order:

1. Lehtonen

2. Ondrej Pavelec

3. Vishnevskiy

4. Johan Hedberg

Players impacted negatively, in order:

1. Turco

2. Auld

Pretty simple and straightforward.

Comments (11)

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bpoz16 said:

	... I wonder if Kari pulled his groin getting up onto the net?
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February 10, 2010
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Jocular Hockey Manager said:

	Either team can win Vishnevskiy could be a PP QB for years to come, making this a horrible trade for Dallas. Lehtonen could be an All Star, making this a horrible trade for Atlanta. His health issues... are sickening.
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February 10, 2010
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Dobber said:

	... You have to analyze this based on the current actual situation, not speculative (or even likely) ones. When Turco is traded, then obviously he gets a new fresh analysis where he would be in the positive.
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February 09, 2010
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Zorro said:

	... I am not sure how this negatively affects Turco? I think this means he is guranteed to get traded and to a contender, wouldn't you think that is a POSITIVE?
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February 09, 2010
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Dobber said:

	... damn fzusher...that's awesome stuff! Great post!
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February 09, 2010
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fzusher said:

... A few more impacts of this deal, more from a keeper perspective ... Word out of DAL earlier this winter was that they were concerned that Vishnevski would bolt for the KHL next season if they don't make roster room for him. The talk was they were shopping Niskanen. Now Niskanen, RFA this summer, has no one breathing down his neck and this may be a vote of confidence in him. Vishnevski, in this respect moves to a team with a PP spot opening up in the summer, namely, Kubina. If Kubina is resigned or replaced by someone else, Vishnevsky becomes more of a KHL risk, but if he stays, somebody will have to lose a PP spot in ATL, and I think the likeliest is Hainsey. The end of his fantasy relevance. Another player who wins big time is whoever Dallas get to be the backup next season ... and their no. 3. Bachman? This also leaves Dallas with only one D with notable offensive promise in the system - Philip Larsen, and he is years away. They will need to address that via trade, college FA, or the upcoming draft.

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February 09, 2010
Votes: +4

Evan H said:

	... lol, I picked Lehtonen up the other day just in case he was traded! This means I should definitely keep him for the rest of the season, right? but damn, why couldn't Ottawa make a deal like this
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February 09, 2010
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Dobber said:

... Time will tell, Stone. He'll be on the team next season and he wasn't going to give you 50 points within three years regardless of his team. But at least in Atlanta he's a bigger part of the team's picture. And keep in mind that I don't assign values to these impacts (please don't make me), but it could very well be: (out of 10) Lehtonen - 6.0 Pavelec - 5.0 Vishnevskiy - 0.2 Hedberg - 0.2 Right?

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February 09, 2010
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STONE. said:

	... Why does this benefit Vishnevskiy? Wasn't Dallas' lack of PP D a good thing for him? Now he's in a Coburn-esque situation: a solid D stuck at 3rd or 4th in line for minutes.
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February 09, 2010
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Dobber said:

	... Thanks Praba - you are too quick for me. I adjusted the list after learning that Vish would be assigned to Chicago
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February 09, 2010
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praba said:

	... i really like how you list the impact on players (+ve and -ve). can't wait for deadline day
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February 09, 2010
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