Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 6:16pm

TORONTO TRADES SOSHNIKOV TO ST. LOUIS

The St. Louis Blues acquired winger Nikita Soshnikov from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fourth-round draft pick in 2019.

What does it give the St. Louis Blues
In Soshnikov, the Blues add a reasonably skilled, gritty winger who should fit in well with the team's overall philosophy. St. Louis was lacking natural wingers because of long-term injuries to both Robby Fabbri and Zach Sanford this season. Therefore, Soshnikov should help the Blues immediately as a top-nine forward.

What does it give the Toronto Maple Leafs
For Toronto, this move is merely to relieve themselves of some of their excess forwards. Soshnikov was not going to play much because Kasperi Kapanen has earned a spot in the Maple Leafs lineup this season. While the Leafs have a few pending UFA forwards at present time, they also have a lot more talent on the way.

Fantasy impact
Soshnikov's immediate fantasy value spikes up significantly now that he has moved from Toronto to St. Louis (simply due to an obvious increase in playing time). That said, he is no more than a fantasy dark horse at this point (albeit someone who is worth taking a chance on).