Mike Ribeiro has been traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Cody Eakin and a draft pick.

Washington gets:

A very skilled center that will slide in on the second line behind Nicklas Backstrom. Ribeiro has fantastic hands and sees the ice well. The 32-year-old Ribeiro has spent six seasons with the Dallas Stars, topping 60 points in all but one of them. This fills a hole for the Capitals that has existed for the past few seasons.

Ribeiro’s linemates from this past season:

Dallas gets:

In Eakin, the Stars get a very good prospect with top six upside. Eakin has been compared to Zach Parise because of his tenacity and skill level. He is a former Memorial Cup Champion (with the Kootenay Ice). Eakin spent 30 games in Washington last season, scoring four goals. He has upside to be a solid second line center in a few years. His days in the AHL are likely over as the Stars are very lacking in the center department.

Fantasy players impacted:

This move solidifies the center position in Washington behind Backstrom. The Caps struggled mightily last season after Backstrom went down with a concussion. Marcus Johansson will slide down to line three (or over to the wing), a role he is better suited for at this moment in time. This trade will help all wingers in Washington, as they now have two highly skilled centers to potentially line up with.

In Dallas, the center position was already thin to begin with. Without Ribeiro, the Stars are now left with Eakin, Jamie Benn (who is a natural winger), Verne Fiddler, and Tom Wandell. This move save them some money, but the Stars aren’t in a position where they need to clear cap space right now. I expect that they will add at least two centers over the course of the summer.

Eakin will get a chance to play with some good wingers in Dallas – he could be centering their second line depending on Benn (if he moves back to wing or not).

Eakin’s linemates from 2011-12:

This trade, from the Stars perspective, is definitely part of something bigger – it would be a strange move for a team thin at center to trade away their best one for futures.

Players this helps:

1. Troy Brouwer

2. Brooks Laich

3. Ribeiro

4. Eakin

5. Joel Ward

Players this hurts:

1. Brenden Morrow

2. Michael Ryder

3. Loui Eriksson

4. Johansson

Comments (3)

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Kingchev said:

	MEMORIAL CUP WINNER? The Ice won the WHL, not the Memorial Cup unfortunately (Sea Dogs).
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June 27, 2012
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Rollie1967 said:

	... Absolutely retarded trade for Dallas. Nothing against Eakin,but Ribiero was a top line forward for Dallas,and they were one of the weakest at center. Eakin may develop into a 2nd liner, but more likely a 3rd liner- and he could still be a year or two away. With so little available July 1st- you wouldve thought they couldve got more than that for him.
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June 24, 2012
Votes: +1

Grinningbuddha said:

	... Dallas' draft pick in this deal ended up being Mike Winther at 54th overall.
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June 23, 2012
Votes: +0