DUCKS DEAL FOR CAPS' C PERREAULT
The Anaheim Ducks acquired center Mathieu Perreault from the Washington Capitals for forward John Mitchell and a fourth-round draft pick in 2014.
What does it give the Anaheim Ducks
Perreault is a gifted playmaker and could slot in nicely as Anaheim's third center. For a while now the Ducks have been looking for quality scoring chances behind their top two pivots ({P Ryan Getzlaf} and {P Saku Koivu}) and {P Nick Bonino} hasn't quite proven himself yet in that capacity at the NHL level. Perreault has the talent to play on the second line instead of Bonino, or he'll get back to playing a fourth-line role under coach Bruce Boudreau (something he did in Washington).
What does it give the Washington Capitals
Mitchell is a big-bodied forward with some grit to his game, so he'll provide solid organizational options for the Caps (probably mostly at AHL Hershey). That said, he's not nearly as offensively gifted as Perreault so the key for Washington here is helping with their cap space by trading in Perreault's more-expensive contract for Mitchell's. By doing so they save about $0.5 million, get a fourth-round pick in the bargain and open up ice time for the emerging {P Michael Latta}.
Fantasy impact
Perreault's fantasy value probably stays roughly the same (for now) as it was with the Capitals, since he'll likely have a similar role with his new team. That said, he's reunited here with head coach Boudreau, so a fresh start may see him get the most out of his impressive scoring tools. This deal adversely affects Bonino's fantasy chances, likely pushing him to more fourth-line duty (and possibly pushing {P Peter Holland} and {P Rickard Rakell} out of the fantasy picture completely). On the Caps side of the swap, Mitchell isn't a fantasy-worthy player to keep on the radar (even if he plays regularly in the NHL). That said, this deal does make rookie pivot Latta one to keep an eye on (since he may see some third-line shifts now that Perreault is with the Ducks) and it probably helps {P Eric Fehr}'s fantasy stock too.
