Photo by: Keith Allison

And we’re off! TSN reported earlier this afternoon that the New York Rangers traded center Scott Gomez to Montreal for Christopher Higgins. They deal actually involved several players from each side:

Montreal Acquires
Scott Gomez
Tom Pyatt
Mike Busto

New York Acquires
Chris Higgins
Doug Janik
Ryan McDonagh
Pavel Valentenko

I was going to post this article at about 5pm, but rumors were flying around that Heaters was headed to New York, so I held off. Since I re-opened the article this evening, Heatley was traded to Edmonton but rejected it soon after. Whew! I’ll leave Dany for another post all together.

Fantasy Impact on New York
It’s obvious that the Rangers have cleared some cap space in order to bring in a bigger name, so any analysis now may change in the near future. However, as of right now, New York’s top line looks like Sean Avery, Chris Drury and Nik Zherdev. Yikes. Like I mentioned though, that’s bound to change before the summer is out.

Higgins could get a shot at the top line if Avery flakes, but consider him a 2nd liner who should be prominent on the penalty kill for the men in blue. Higgins should be of consideration in moderate to deep fantasy leagues as a 2nd/3rd option at left. Also, there is a chance that he gains both center and left wing eligibility, as he has done so in the past in some services, so be aware of his versatility.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Rangers acquired two dynamite prospects from the Canadiens. Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko come highly touted and could offer serious improvements to New York’s blue line in a couple of years. For fantasy purposes, McDonagh has the bigger upside as an offensive defenseman, but is still a couple of years away from making an impact in the NHL. Something to throw on the backburner for now though.

Fantasy Impact on Montreal
Gomez should produce fairly well in Montreal but it’s certainly ok to throw caution to the wind on fantasy draft day. Take into account his extremely mediocre effort last season and use him as a 2nd option at center in any format, just to play it safe.

Managers willing to wait on centers because of the depth at the position are the only ones who should consider using Gomez as a number one option.

The prospect the Habs get aren’t fantasy worthy at this point in time.