Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 2:20pm

CAPITALS ACQUIRE BIG WINGER PENNER

The Washington Capitals acquired winger Dustin Penner from the Anaheim Ducks for a fourth-round draft pick in 2014.

What does it give the Washington Capitals
The Capitals are taking a bit of a gamble here with Penner, a winger who has struggled outside of Anaheim throughout his career. The 31-year-old Penner will head to the Eastern Conference for the first time in his career, where he could wind up in a top-six winger role with the Caps. This move adds more size up front and also gives Washington more depth. They are likely to deal winger {P Martin Erat} (who has requested a trade) and possibly even {P Marcus Johansson}, so adding another left-winger makes sense here.

What does it give the Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are clearing out cap space, and also moving out a regular on the {P Ryan Getzlaf}-{P Corey Perry} line. Therefore, expect Anaheim to pursue a new scoring left-winger for their top line. It could be the Islanders' {P Thomas Vanek}. It might be Buffalo's {P Matt Moulson}, or perhaps the Flames' {P Mike Cammalleri}. In any event, this deal was designed to shed salary for other pursuits. If Anaheim doesn't add anyone else, {P Kyle Palmieri}, {P Matt Beleskey} and {P Patrick Maroon} are all candidates for Line 1.

Fantasy impact
This could be bad news for Penner fantasy owners, as he seemed to play his best hockey alongside Getzlaf and Perry. In Washington, he could have significant fantasy value if he plays on the top line with {P Nicklas Backstrom} and {P Alex Ovechkin}, but that's far from certain at this point. As per usual, Penner is a sleeper and a fantasy underachiever. As for the other Ducks, their shot at playing with Getzlaf and Perry isn't great if Anaheim brings in another winger.