As NHL general managers re-tool their teams through free agency, fantasy owners stand by and watch values rise and fall as players' addresses change and depth charts are shuffled.
These five skaters all see their value take a hit due to a questionable landing spot or their team signing a free agent who'll cut into their playing time. These players won't be able to match the fantasy contributions expected of them in recent years and owners in keeper leagues may want to consider trading them before the season starts.
Related: 5 players who gained fantasy value in free agency
James van Riemsdyk, Maple Leafs
After the Maple Leafs were led to the 2017 playoffs by an incredible group of rookies just one season after finishing 30th, their biggest additions this offseason include 36-year-old defenseman Ron Hainsey and 37-year-old forward Patrick Marleau, who is now the team's highest-paid player on a three-year, $18.75-million contract.
Marleau's signing currently has the Leafs $1.68 million over the $75-million ceiling for the 2017 salary cap. This total includes the contracts of Nathan Horton and Joffrey Lupul, but NHL teams need to be salary cap compliant before being able to place players on the long-term injured reserve. Of course, the Maple Leafs could always just send both players to the AHL via waivers.
A much less desirable strategy to meet the conditions of the salary cap could involve trading James van Riemsdyk, who is owed $4.25 million in the final year of his contract. The extremely team-friendly contract for the 29-goal scorer could fetch the Leafs some help on defense. A potential move would almost surely be a negative for van Riemsdyk as he would leave a team which ranked fifth in the league with 3.05 goals per game last season.
Should he remain, Marleau will cut into the 238 shots on goal van Riemsdyk tallied last season with the two together on the team's second line.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
John Gibson, Ducks
With former tandem partner Frederik Andersen traded to the Maple Leafs ahead of the 2016-17 season, Gibson appeared in a career-high 52 games and made 49 starts last year. He posted a career-best .924 save percentage, keeping him in net for the lion's share of starts over Jonathan Bernier who had a .915 SV%.
Soon-to-be 37-year-old Ryan Miller now heads to Anaheim to serve as Gibson's backup. Miller started a total of 105 games over the past two years with the Vancouver Canucks and joins the Ducks with a much higher pedigree than Bernier along with the ability to make many more starts. Should Gibson struggle at any point during the 2017-18 season, Miller could take over as the starter for a prolonged stretch.
Sam Gagner, Canucks
Gagner is coming off a career resurrection with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Playing for his fourth team in as many seasons, Gagner matched a career high with 18 goals and set a new career best with 50 points, his most since notching 49 in his rookie season. Eight goals and 18 of those points came on the man advantage, where he played with Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, and Zach Werenski for 46.1 percent of all the Blue Jackets' power-play minutes.
Gagner goes from Columbus' 12th-ranked power play to Vancouver's 29th-ranked unit. The most common five-man configuration used by the Canucks consisted of Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter, Sven Baertschi, and Troy Stecher.
The Canucks scored 10 fewer power-play goals than the Blue Jackets, despite receiving an additional 16 opportunities with the man advantage. Last season's ineffectiveness should hand Gagner the opportunity to lead the special teams system, but he'll have a grossly inferior supporting cast than the one he worked with in 2016-17.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Max Pacioretty, Canadiens
Pacioretty played 12.21 percent of the Montreal Canadiens' 5-on-5 minutes last season with Phillip Danault and the recently departed Alexander Radulov. Pacioretty scored 35 goals - his fourth consecutive season with at least 30 - and tied a career high with 67 points. His 268 shots on goal were a four-year low, but he benefited from a 13.1 shooting percentage, largely inflated as a result of the quality of passes he received from Radulov.
Radulov led the Canadians with 16 primary assists at full strength and ranked second with eight primary helpers on the power play. He recorded a total of 36 helpers in all situations.
Radulov's pass-first style will be missed by Pacioretty and his prospective fantasy owners. Danault was able to record a career high of 40 points in 15:35 of ice time per game. Anyone selected to play with Pacioretty will be informed of their role to set up the team's top goal-scorer, but they'll have a difficult time doing so with Radulov's efficiency.
Semyon Varlamov, Avalanche
The Avalanche's decision to protect Varlamov - who started just 23 games due to injury - in the expansion draft and the Vegas Golden Knights' subsequent selection of Colorado's backup goalie Calvin Pickard seemed to have Varlamov on track for an increased workload in 2017-18.
However, Bernier rebounded in a backup role last season, greatly improving on two poor seasons as the Maple Leafs' starting goaltender. The recently signed free agent will likely be given a shot at a true platoon role with Varlamov, even on just a one-year deal, cutting into the Russian's minutes.
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