Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky has been traded from the Anaheim Ducks to the New York Islanders in exchange for a 2013 2^nd round draft pick.

New York gets:

A veteran defenseman to add to their group. Visnovsky will likely play with Travis Hamonic. He  earns his money on the power play, where he is equally adept at scoring goals and moving the puck. Visnovsky has one year left on his contract – cap hit of $5.6 million, but actual salary of only $3 million.

New York’s potential defensive pairings:

Andrew MacDonald – Mark Streit

Lubomir Visnovsky – Travis Hamonic

Matt Donovan – UFA/trade

Fantasy players impacted:

This move may help Visnovsky, but he was already playing with stars in Anaheim. Going from Perry, Getzlaf, and Ryan to Tavares, Moulson, and Streit isn’t a huge downgrade, and he could feature very prominently on a power play that has the potential to be one of the league’s best.

Some question whether his shot is the same after a recent shoulder injury, though. He had only six goals in 68 games last season, after scoring 18 in the previous campaign. Even if Visnovsky doesn’t get to double digits in goal production again, this move really helps the Islanders on the ice.

In Anaheim, this move clears up room for Cam Fowler to be the power play quarterback. Fowler wasn’t good at all in 2011-12 (most of his issues were in the defensive end), but the Ducks are confident that their young blueliner will rebound this season.

Players this helps:

1. Fowler

2. Sami Vatanen (puck moving Ducks prospect, and number nine on my top 10 keeper league defensive prospects to own list)

3. Hamonic

4. Tavares/Moulson (and whoever else plays PP1 for the Islanders)

Players this hurts:

1. Calvin de Haan (short term)

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