Fantasy Hockey: Untraded players whose fantasy value increased

Dobber checks in every Thursday to force-feed you the latest fantasy hockey trends. The founder of DobberHockey.com and a columnist for The Hockey News website, he long ago immersed himself into this rollercoaster world and is unable to escape.

The Internet is loaded with embarrassing Rob Ford videos opinion and columns on the NHL players who were moved at the deadline and the subsequent fantasy value shift of those players. My own website, as well as my upcoming columns for The Hockey News, offer no shortage of opinion on the Thomas Vaneks, Matt Moulsons and Marian Gaboriks of the fantasy hockey world.

But what about the domino effect? You know -- those players who play for the same team now as they did a month ago, yet their value in fantasy leagues gets a bump. Not enough opinion on that, and I'm here to fill the void. You're welcome.

Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks

Although the trading of Viktor Fasth has no impact on Andersen's one-year value, his keeper value sees a nice bump. After all, instead of two guys in front of him there is now just one - and that one is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. While I don't for a second believe that the Ducks will lean on Andersen as their starter next season (in fact, I think they re-sign Jonas Hiller), I do believe that Andersen will be a 35- or 40-start goaltender in a 1B capacity. He's shown that he can stop pucks.

Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets

When Marian Gaborik was in the lineup these past four games, Atkinson witnessed his ice time decreasing by about two minutes per contest. With Gabby out of the mix for good this time, Atkinson can go back to being a 50-point player again. The 24-year-old has a lot of upside in the long term, but for now we'll settle for the solid first full season he's been giving us.

Mikael Granlund, Minnesota Wild

Granlund has been absolutely flying lately while playing on a line with Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, posting 12 points in his last 10 games. He's been so impressive that even with Mikko Koivu back in the lineup, Granlund has maintained his plum spot on the first line. However, when it comes to rookies and sophomores, they are generally on a short leash and I get the feeling that as soon as Granlund goes three or four games without a point, he's off the line. Now, with the acquisition of Matt Moulson, Mikko Koivu has a top goal scorer to pass the puck to and the urgency of moving him back to the Parise line has abated. Granlund's spot is safe and so the production will continue.

Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota Wild

Not sure what the Wild were thinking when they re-signed injury-prone goaltenders Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom. And this isn't to make light of Harding's MS diagnosis, which neither Harding nor the Wild had any indication of prior to signing the contract. But Harding has always been quite injury prone and thus a risky signing to begin with. So it was clear that the team needed another goaltender. Thank goodness they managed to secure the brick wall known as Ilya Bryzgalov, who…ahh I can't type with a straight face…

Anyway, if Bryzgalov's your competition, then your job is secure. So Kuemper owners, rejoice.

Eddie Lack, Vancouver Canucks

Here is the single player who wasn’t traded who benefits the most. What kind of odds would you have gotten a year ago if you put a hundred bucks on Eddie Lack emerging as Vancouver's starter today? In his last five starts he's given up six goals. If the Canucks can figure out how to score, Lack will be an elite goalie to own down the stretch. If they can't figure out how to score, then Lack will struggle in the 'W' category. But his SV% and GAA seem to be doing just fine.

Kyle Palmieri, Anaheim Ducks

With Dustin Penner out of the mix, that's one less player competing for that sweet spot on the Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry line. While Jakob Silfverberg, Matt Beleskey and even, to an extent, Patrick Maroon are still eyeing the job, it's once again Palmieri's to lose. In Wednesday's game Palmieri saw nearly 18 minutes of ice time, 6:29 of power-play time and he fired six shots on goal.

Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators

With all due respect to Cory Conacher, Ales Hemsky is an upgrade in skill. Jason Spezza is running out of excuses not to produce - and now Hemsky is also without an excuse for poor numbers. Hemsky was off the first power-play unit in Edmonton thanks to all the skilled youngsters in the lineup. And he was often on the third line. Now he's playing with Spezza and seeing proper PP time. Spezza and Hemsky were held off the scoresheet in their first game together, but give it time.

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