BLUES TRADE FOR GOALIE FALLON
The St. Louis Blues acquired goaltender Joe Fallon and defenseman Daryl Boyle from the Chicago Blackhawks for goaltender Hannu Toivonen and defenseman Danny Richmond.
What does it give the St. Louis Blues
Fallon is a maturing prospect who's having a solid season so far playing for the AHL's Rockford IceHogs (generally out-playing Toivonen, who's also in the AHL this season). With the aging Chris Mason set for free agency in the summer the Blues are obviously looking to shore up their netminding position and would appear to like Fallon more than Toivonen as a potential future backup to Ty Conklin (assuming Mason leaves). The Blues also have big Ben Bishop getting closer to NHL readiness, so they have enough depth in the system to let a former first-rounder in Toivonen go while taking a shot on the fast-improving Fallon. Boyle is AHL fodder.
What does it give the Chicago Blackhawks
This is a solid move by the Blackhawks depth-wise. Toivonen still has some untapped talent (he was a first-round pick by the Bruins back in 2002) and Richmond is similar in that he has a high talent level but needs to keep rounding out his game at the AHL level. They lose a more polished goalie prospect in Fallon, but Toivonen's upside may be greater and their young goalie depth (with Antti Niemi starting now and Corey Crawford waiting in the wings) makes rolling the dice on him a solid risk.
Fantasy impact
