LEAFS LAND STEMPNIAK
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired winger Lee Stempniak from the St. Louis Blues for forward Alexander Steen and defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo.
What does it give the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto has been surprisingly competitive this season under new head coach Ron Wilson, and a big part of that has been his new charges buying into Wilson's hard-nosed culture of accountability. Steen and Colaiacovo struggled mightily under Wilson (at least on the score-sheet) so this deal may be as much about subtraction for Toronto as it is about addition. Stempniak isn't a huge upgrade offensively over Steen, but he's doing better than Steen this season. Stempniak will likely compete for a spot on the top two lines, but will need to show he can stay up to speed defensively (as he is a total minus-15 over his NHL career).
What does it give the St. Louis Blues
The Blues have scored just 55 goals this season, the lowest total in the Central Division. With top scorer Andy McDonald out until sometime in January due to a fractured leg and the team likely without talented young rearguard Erik Johnson for the entire regular season, the team needs a boost in overall scoring and Steen and Colaiacovo might be able to provide it. Both are talented offensive players who have been underachieving lately, and while Stempniak has been pretty productive this season he has been streaky during his career and is defensively challenged. Steen and Colaiacovo both have untapped potential so this is a good two-for-one risk for the Blues.
Fantasy impact
