Toronto has traded Luke Schenn to Philadelphia in exchange for winger James van Riemsdyk. A precursor to a Luongo trade? How about Bobby Ryan? Justin Schultz? This one has serious fantasy ramifications…

Toronto gets:

A young power forward with immense offensive upside. JVR’s offensive game is well rounded – he has no weaknesses. He skates well for a big guy, he has a terrific shot, and he sees the ice really, really well. He has 40-goal upside and Toronto will give him a chance to flourish as a top line star (something that hadn’t happened yet in Philadelphia). JVR played 2:47 per game on the PP last season for the Flyers. Injuries are a bit of a concern, though – he missed a lot of time in 2011-12 with a concussion.

Linemates from 2011-12:

Philadelphia gets:

A talented young defenseman who has lost his way a bit in Toronto. Schenn came into the league hyped as the next Shea Weber, but inconsistent play has plagued him in his first few years as a pro after an impressive rookie campaign. The Flyers did a great job turning the career of Braydon Coburn (once a hyped prospect) around – hopefully they can do the same with Schenn.

Welcome to Philly:

He is very strong and a good skater (forwards and backwards), but he struggles at moving the puck and seems to think the game a step or two behind others. He will be reunited with his brother Brayden, and getting away from the immense pressure that was on him in Toronto will probably help a lot.

Schenn could slide in nicely alongside Andrej Meszaros on the second pairing. Lots of options there – Grossman, too.

Fantasy players impacted:

To me, the most interesting part of this trade isn’t necessarily who was traded, it is what it does for each team. In Philadelphia, this signals that Chris Pronger probably isn’t coming back. It also opens up a spot on the left wing – Bobby Ryan, perhaps?

JVR wasn’t the top dog yet, but he still played an important role for the Flyers. They will have to find a way to replace his offense. His injury concerns may have hurt his trade value a bit, but the Leafs are getting a stellar young forward.

In Toronto, this frees up one of Nik Kulemin or Clarke MacArthur for a trade to Vancouver. I know the Canucks like Kulemin a lot. Joffrey Lupul has some competition for that top LW spot now, too.

On the back end, there is now an opening on the right side. Justin Schultz plays the right side. Connect the dots…. (Yes, I know they are completely different players.)

Some potential line combinations as of right now:

Lupul – Bozak – Kessel

JVR – Grabovski – Kulemin

Kadri – Connolly – Frattin/MacArthur

Players this trade helps:

1. JVR

2. Schenn

3. Eric Wellwood

4. Jakub Voracek

5. Scott Hartnell

6. James Reimer/Ben Scrivens

7. Grabovski

Players this trade hurts:

1. MacArthur

2. Kadri

3. Lupul

4. Kulemin

Comments (9)

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Mr. Guru said:

	... I got confused for a second. "He is very strong and a good skater (forwards and backwards)" You can't be talking about Luke Schenn, right? Right????? He is a decent skater forwards - decent because his foot speed is horrible, but he is disgusting skating backwards. Gets beat on the outside all the time with relative ease.
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June 23, 2012
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Rollie1967 said:

... Im not a Schenn fan, so I think Toronto wins this deal by a landslide (assuming JVR is healthy). Not sure why JVR came so cheap- Philly sure doesnt hang onto their offensive stars very long. Richards,Carter now JVR...does Giroux get moved in the next 2 years? Philly shouldve atleast got a 2nd or 3rd rounder thrown in, although Schenn may play better being out of the spotlight. I was hoping that Toronto was going to flip JVR for Luongo-but that doesnt sound like the case

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June 23, 2012
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donpaulo said:

	... I have a question. If the Leafs have defensive issues, then why are they trading away guys like Schenn and the Monster ? You would think they want to improve the goals against. I guess they are going to rely on Franson, Gunnarsson and to a lessor extent Komisarek to clear the crease. Are these guys an improvement on Schenn ?
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June 23, 2012
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germant said:

	Simmonds Hurts Wayne Simmonds who played about 25% of his shifts with JVR.
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June 23, 2012
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TOCanadafan said:

... Schenn is NOT a good skater, contrary to what is said in the article, and is very slow for a NHL d-man. Unfortunately his skating has not improved since his junior days. He has poor lateral movement and has never been able to react to the speed of the NHL game. Shea Weber ha ha ha ha... Schenn has one of the weakest slap shots in the league. Ended up having to wrist the puck from the point most of the time.

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June 23, 2012
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Mr.Hyde said:

	Shea Schenn? I recall Adam Foote's name popping up as an accurate description in comparison and I recall Schenn wanting to be a Shea Weber type defenceman, but I don't recall Schenn ever being compared to Shea Weber.
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June 23, 2012
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Dan De Leon said:

	'Help' for Reimer and Scrivens Maybe, but the Leafs were 10th in the league in goals scored last year, but second last when it came to letting in goals. They have a significantly bigger problem letting in goals than they do scoring them.
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June 23, 2012
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Corstyles said:

	'Help' for Reimer and Scrivens The 25 goals that JVR puts in will help them win another game or two, even if they allow a few more goals. I don't think that was an "addition by subtraction" slap at Schenn.
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June 23, 2012
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Dan De Leon said:

	Helps Reimer/Scrivens??? This trade helps Reimer/Scrivens??? Man.... Schenn's defense must be really really bad.
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June 23, 2012
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