Other potential beneficiaries of the Horvat trade on the Islanders include wings Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri, Zach Parise and also defenseman Noah Dobson (lower body) whenever he returns from injury. Because the Islanders now have so many strong center options, they could try to shift Barzal or Nelson to the wing, which could benefit either player to have even-strength exposure to Horvat. Although the trade may not significantly alter the fantasy value of Barzal or Nelson, it should provide more support around them with Horvat being a workhorse center (20:49 per game; tied for 10th among NHL forwards).
Horvat remains one of the best fantasy centers in leagues that count face-off wins (625; second in NHL behind Patrice Bergeron's 702) and/or face-off win percentage (56.0; ninth among 42 players with at least 700 face-offs).
RELATED: [Horvat traded to Islanders by Canucks | Horvat, Islanders agree to 8-year contract]
IMPACT OF HORVAT TRADE ON CANUCKS
The Canucks lose Horvat, their leading goal scorer and second-leading point producer (54 in 49 games) behind Elias Pettersson (58 in 47 games), but add forwards with sneaky upside in Anthony Beauvillier and prospect Aatu Raty. Beauvillier is expected to start on the top line with Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko in his Vancouver debut on Monday.
Vancouver will likely have Pettersson and J.T. Miller, who signed a seven-year contract Sept. 2, 2022 to remain with them past this season, as the centers on their top two lines. A change of scenery could help Beauvillier, who ranks fifth on the Islanders in points (209 in 457 games) and fourth in goals (102) and shots on goal (897) since entering the NHL in 2016-17. Beauvillier's best goal-scoring season came in 2017-18 (21 in 71 games).
Raty, 20, is another potential long-term fantasy asset for Vancouver, which has had a disappointing season and recently made a coaching change (fired Bruce Boudreau; hired Rick Tocchet) but has a strong young core (Pettersson, Kuzmenko, defenseman Quinn Hughes, forwards Brock Boeser, Vasily Podkolzin).
Raty, who has scored two goals in 12 NHL games this season, will likely start in Abbotsford of the American Hockey League but could play for the Canucks down the stretch and is worth considering in fantasy keeper and dynasty leagues. He has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 27 games for Bridgeport of the AHL this season and was a standout for Finland at the 2022 World Junior Championship (10 points in seven games).
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