Fantasy Fallout: Subban's move to Nashville a boon for keeper league owners

Here are the fantasy repercussions following the blockbuster trade between the Nashville Predators and the Montreal Canadiens, exchanging defensemen Shea Weber and P.K. Subban:

Subban and the Predators

Subban's stock is on the rise with the move to the Music City. He joins Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis to form the most mobile defense core in the entire NHL. Weber played almost exclusively with Josi, but it is unclear at this point whether Subban will fill that same role.

Regardless of who his partner will be, Subban will play big-time minutes. He averaged 26:22 per game last season, whereas Weber played 25:23.

While Weber has an absolute bomb of a slap shot, Subban is no stranger to letting it rip. His six goals last season represent the lowest single-season total of his career, but he still managed 51 points in 68 games. Subban is a much better puck-mover than Weber however, vastly improving the Predators power play.

Nashville had the 16th-best power play in the NHL last year, but the addition of Subban (and a full year of C Ryan Johansen) makes it a very strong possibility it moves into the top 10 or even the top five. Fellow potential power-play mates Josi, Johansen, RW Filip Forsberg and LW James Neal are all that much more dangerous with an elite puck-mover like Subban on the back end.

While an improved supporting cast will certainly help Subban, perhaps the biggest reason why the defenseman could have the a career-year is head coach Peter Laviolette. As one of the few coaches in the NHL with an offense-first mentality, his teams have always been fantasy-friendly.

In the 10 years where Laviolette was the head coach of a team for the entire season, those clubs have finished in the top-half of the league in goals every single year. His system was truly put on display in his first year in Nashville when many players suddenly became fantasy relevant after playing for the defensive-minded Barry Trotz for many years.

This will be a very nice change for Subban, who played under the defensive-minded Michel Therrien for the past four seasons. It is worth noting Therrien and his star defenseman didn't always see eye-to-eye, so the fresh start will certainly be nice for Subban.

Redraft Leagues

Subban joins a clear-cut top-three fantasy defenseman trio of Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns. Karlsson still has a step ahead of the other two, but don't be surprised to see Subban surpass Burns, despite a 27-goal season last year from the San Jose Sharks blueliner. All three will undoubtedly be taken in the first two rounds of 10- or 12-team drafts.

Keeper Leagues

If he wasn't already before, Subban is a player who must be kept in dynasty leagues. As previously mentioned, the 27-year-old is entering his prime seasons in a much better situation than he was previously in.

In draft-position-based keeper leagues it all depends on where you took Subban in 2015. If he was a third-round pick in 12-team leagues, keeping him in the second-round presents solid value. He likely didn't go later than that. Don't bother keeping him in Round 1 if you took him in Round 2 last season.

Weber and the Canadiens

Weber finished with 20 goals a season ago - good enough for fourth among NHL defensemen. However, he likely won't reach this total in Montreal. As mentioned in the Subban breakdown, he goes from the offensive-minded bench boss of Peter Laviolette to the defense-first Michel Therrien.

He will still play big-time minutes for the Habs and anchor their top power-play unit, but his upside is limited. Veteran D Andrei Markov is still an adequate power-play specialist, but he is well past his prime and is a significant downgrade from Josi.

Subban played mostly with Markov last season, so it's possible Weber could slot right in there. Markov is 37, however, which would represent a very old top-D pair with the 30-year-old Weber.

While Weber might help the Habs more in the defensive end and in the locker room, all of the club's forwards are hurt by the loss of Subban's puck-moving ability.

Redraft Leagues

Don't be the one to take Weber in your redraft league. It's not that he has no value all of a sudden, but he likely won't return his ADP value. Weber was the ninth defenseman off the board in most standard leagues a season ago, and his 2015-16 20-goal campaign will keep him in the top-15.

Younger defensemen with more upside like Victor Hedman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and John Carlson among others should all be taken ahead of Weber. He will likely finish outside of the top-20 defensemen by the end of 2016-17.

Keeper Leagues

In standard keeper leagues, it's still probably best to keep Weber. His name alone can still garner plenty in return via trade. His 20-goal season a year ago can be the main selling point.

In draft-position-based keeper leagues, don't bring back Weber.