Debate Team: Which Lesser Fantasy Name Was Helped Most By the Trade Deadline?

Despite a relatively quiet NHL trade deadline, several moves were made that could alter a player's fantasy fortunes, as well as having a real-life impact. Which less-obvious name (no Eric Staal or Andrew Ladd allowed) had his fantasy stock boosted most by joining a new club?

Ken Conrad: He's managed two points in as many games as a Bruin, and winger Lee Stempniak gets to skate alongside C Patrice Bergeron and LW Brad Marchand, who's scored a career-high 33 (and counting) goals.

The journeyman is quietly in the midst of a great season, with his 16 goals and 43 points the most he's registered in those categories since 2010-11 and 2009-10, respectively. He's on pace to set a new career high in points, with his previous best of 52 set back in 2006-07, his second year in the NHL.

Stempniak was rescued at the trade deadline from the Devils, who have been a sinking ship offensively since W Mike Cammalleri was lost to a hand injury in late January. New Jersey has scored just 26 goals in 14 games since the start of February. Boston, on the other hand, ranks third overall in terms of goals per game.

Whether Stempniak is scoring himself or helping to set up Marchand, it's hard to imagine a player whose situation was improved more by the trade deadline.

Josh Wegman: There's no doubt Stempniak is a decent addition to the Bruins. It's his third time in as many years being dealt at the deadline, so adjusting to new surroundings shouldn't present a problem.

However, the best under-the-radar pick up was Anaheim's acquisition of Sabres winger Jamie McGinn. His fantasy value is much better than Stempniak's moving forward. He already has two goals and one assist in two games while skating alongside the red-hot C Rickard Rakell and RW Corey Perry.

Anaheim has been the best team in the entire NHL since the All-Star break - even better than Washington. They're an astounding 16-1-1 since January 20, much in part to the strong play of Perry and C Ryan Getzlaf.

McGinn's physical play is a perfect fit in Anaheim's attack. At 27, he's in the prime of his career, compared to the over-the-hill, 33-year-old Stempniak. Playing with one of the NHL's worst offenses in Buffalo, McGinn already has 14 goals. With his 16th of the season on Thursday, he's a sure-bet to surpass his career-high of 20.

KC: Whoa, hey, let's not call Stempniak old and over-the-hill! I like the fit of McGinn with the Ducks as well, but he's had a grand total of one 20-goal season despite apparently being such a young stud. Stempniak has at least had two such seasons in his career, as well as a 19-goal campaign.

And while McGinn managed 14 goals on the NHL's 29th-ranked team in terms of goals-per-game, Stempniak tallied his 16 scores while on the 30th-ranked Devils. He's used to doing more with less, and now gets world-class forwards like Bergeron and Marchand to play with.

Because of Anaheim's horrendous early-season scoring slump, Boston ranks far ahead of the Ducks in terms of goals per game, so that's not really a fair comparison, especially given that Anaheim has been putting the puck in the net with regularity of late.

The Bruins, however, are significantly worse defensively than the Ducks, having allowed 175 goals to Anaheim's 143. That increases the chance that Boston will need to chase a game, rather than trying to shut things down with a 2-1 third period lead. While that's not great in real life, for fantasy purposes, it means that Stempniak, Bergeron and Co. may have to go all out to score as many goals as possible. The same can't necessarily be said for the Ducks and McGinn.

JW: It's hard to deny the truth. Based on a study done by the University of British Columbia, NHL forwards peak at the age of 28 and typically begin "a significant decline in their early 30s."

An 82-game NHL season is grueling. McGinn will likely have fresher legs down the stretch compared to Stempniak, a 10-year NHL veteran.

The fact that Anaheim has been the hottest team in the league only plays to McGinn's advantage. Imagine where the Ducks would be on the NHL's scoring list if it weren't for their early season woes?

Bergeron and Marchand are both great players, but are they the of the same caliber of Perry - a former Hart Trophy winner? Even if there was a line shakeup, McGinn could wind up playing with Getzlaf, a consistent point-per-game producer.

I'll sink or swim with McGinn and the surging Ducks any day over the aging Stempniak and the Bruins.

KC: Fair enough. There's really no way to settle on a winner here now, anyway, except to chart Stempniak's and McGinn's respective points between now and the end of the season.

I'm not overly worried about fatigue for Stempniak. Last season, after being acquired by the Jets at the deadline, he put up six goals and four assists in 18 games the rest of the way. That Winnipeg team was firmly middle of-the-pack in regard to goals per game, and with two points in as many games with Boston, Stempniak is off to a fine start.

Like McGinn, even if Stempniak drops out of his current line arrangement, the veteran has a favorable alternative. Stempniak could well end up receiving passes from C David Krejci, who averages better than one assist every other game.

There's a reason Stempniak keeps getting dealt at the deadline - real-life NHL teams want him, and fantasy owners should, too.

JW: There's no denying that Stempniak can step in and be a solid contributor on a playoff team, but his upside is lower than McGinn's. As I previously mentioned, Stempniak's best years are behind him, while statistically McGinn should play his best hockey between now and 2017-18.

The majority of Stempniak's offensive success, including both of his 20-goal seasons, came early in his career. Since becoming a full-time NHLer in 2011-12, McGinn has averaged 0.24 goals per game, while Stempniak has averaged 0.20. It may not seem like a lot, but that's the difference between 16 and 20 goals over an 82 game season.

While it can't be translated to every single fantasy league, many head-to-head formats use hits as one of the categories. McGinn gets the edge with 116 on the season, compared to Stempniak's respectable 85.

Thanks to Stempniak's early season success when his legs were fresh and Cammalleri was healthy, his daily fantasy salary happens to be slightly higher than McGinn's.

Count on McGinn to fill the net down the stretch. Not only is he getting better himself, but the Ducks are showing no signs of letting up as a team.