While fantasy players await the 2009-10 destination of some useful names, here is a rundown of notable players changing teams since July 2.

Nik Antropov signs with the Atlanta Thrashers -- Has the big enigma found his stride after nine NHL seasons? Or was his "breakthrough" a product of a contract year or getting out of the Toronto fish bowl? Splitting his time between the Maple Leafs and the Rangers, Antropov, 29, had career-highs across the board with 28-31-59 in 81 games. Antropov (6-foot-6, 230 pounds) has played center in the past, but with the Thrashers he projects as a right wing (the same position Toronto and New York media notes from last season usually listed him). Atlanta's depth chart at center lists Colby Armstrong, Bryan Little and Chris Thorburn, but no matter where Antropov lines up, he's a top-six forward. In 527 career games, he is 132-172-304 with 483 penalty minutes.

Tyler Arnason signs with the New York Rangers -- Arnason doesn't appear to be a useful fantasy player with the Rangers despite some good seasons in the past with Chicago. The 30-year-old center, who scored a full-season career-low 5 goals and 22 points with Colorado last season, signed a two-way contract, suggesting that he could be a frequent commuter between New York and AHL Hartford. Arnason (5-11, 204) provides depth to a corps that includes Chris Drury, Brandon Dubinsky, Brian Boyle, Artem Anisimov and recently-signed youngster Corey Locke.

Adrian Aucoin signs with the Phoenix Coyotes -- Even at 36 years old, Aucoin plays a lot of minutes and still possesses a powerful shot that has produced 10 goals in back-to-back seasons. With the Flames last season, only Dion Phaneuf logged more overall (26:31) and power-play (5:34) ice time per game among blueliners than Aucoin (22:17, 4:14). On the 2008-09 Coyotes, Aucoin (6-2, 212) would have led all defensemen in goals and placed second to Ed Jovanovski in points. He'll make a useful No. 3- 4 fantasy defenseman.

Francois Beauchemin signs with the Toronto Maple Leafs -- Though his addition is part of Leafs GM Brian Burke's grand makeover, Beauchemin, 29, has been an inconsistent fantasy player for much of his career. Before missing all but 20 games last season due to a torn ACL, Beauchemin (6-foot, 207) went from 34 to 28 to 21 points despite increasing his games from 61 to 71 to 82 with the Ducks since 2005-06. To his credit, Beauchemin was pinned behind Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger on the depth chart during his time in Anaheim. With Toronto, Beauchemin, who kills penalties and plays on the power play, will be a top-four blueliner with Mike Komisarek, Luke Schenn and Tomas Kaberle, though the latter has been the subject of trade rumors that may be accelerated with Beauchemin's arrival.

Chris Conner signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins -- The 25-year-old forward is worth a late-round flier in the deepest fantasy leagues because of the potential for a new start with the defending Cup champs after three seasons of being a frequent minor-league call-up by the Dallas Stars. Conner (5-8, 180) has displayed some ability in the AHL (50-59-109 in 148 games), and it's likely he'll play the majority of his minutes with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after the baby Penguins lost several minor-league assets last week. In 38 games with Dallas last season, he had 3 goals and 13 points with 10 penalty minutes.

Jonas Gustavsson signs with the Toronto Maple Leafs -- Straight from the keyboard of NHL.com Scandinavian blogger, Risto Pakarinen -- "Gustavsson is the best goalie in Sweden, and to come out of Sweden since Henrik Lundqvist. Big guy, athletic -- very, very strong mentally." Gustavsson, 24, was the top goaltender in the Swedish Elite League in 2008-09 while playing for Farjestad, posting a 1.96 goals-against average, .932 save percentage and three shutouts in 42 regular-season games en route to winning the league championship. Nicknamed "The Monster," Gustavsson (6-3, 192) had several suitors before settling on Toronto, where he's expected to backup Vesa Toskala at first.

"He's a very good goalie over there," Dallas winger Loui Eriksson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "He is considered just below Henrik Lundqvist."

Alexei Kovalev signs with the Ottawa Senators -- The Senators finally have a legitimate scoring threat to take some pressure off the Dany Heatley-Jason Spezza-Daniel Alfredsson line. Kovalev, 36, also might be the replacement for Heatley as the team continues to try and trade the disgruntled scorer. Either way, Kovalev (6-1, 215) will be a top-six forward and counted on heavily for his offensive flair. But which version of Kovalev will show up in Ottawa -- the 2007-08 model (82, 35-49-84) or the 2008-09 edition (78, 26-39-65)? As long as the potential to dazzle is there, Kovalev will remain an attractive fantasy option, and you'll especially love his power-play production (28-51-79 since 2007-08).

Jason Krog signs with the Atlanta Thrashers -- A prolific scorer in the minor leagues and Europe, NHL and fantasy success for Krog has been fleeting, yet the 33-year-old center has latched on with his sixth team to provide depth down the middle. If Krog (5-11, 191) doesn't make the Thrashers out of training camp, he could be a frequent call-up. He's not draftable at this point.

Jordan Leopold signs with the Florida Panthers -- After two injury-plagued seasons, Leopold, 28, appeared in a League-high 83 games last season split between Colorado and Calgary, going 7-17-24. It was his third season with 20 or more points. Leopold (6-1, 200) had a nice bounce-back campaign in 2008-09, but don't expect he'll suddenly take off with the Panthers, who also have offensive defensemen Bryan McCabe, Keith Ballard and Ville Koistinen.

Andrew Raycroft signs with the Vancouver Canucks -- Nothing against Raycroft, but it's difficult to recommend any Vancouver backup goalie with Roberto Luongo being one of the workhorse stars at his position. Last season Raycroft, 29, went 12-16-0 with a 3.14 GAA and .892 save percentage with Colorado. He could not supplant the inconsistent Peter Budaj, who has since seemingly lost his No. 1 job following Colorado's signing of Craig Anderson, a career backup, as a free agent. That says all you need to know about Raycroft, who is 94-96-10-16 in 230 career games.

Mikael Samuelsson signs with the Vancouver Canucks -- Out of the shadow of the star-studded Red Wings roster, the 32-year-old Swedish wing will become a top-six forward with the offensively-starved Canucks. The Vancouver Province pointed out that at the 2006 Olympics, Samuelsson (6-2, 213) was a linemate of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, a spot that most often was held by Alexandre Burrows last season, so that's a development to keep an eye on during training camp. Samuelsson has scored 20 goals once and three times he has reached 40 points, but his value to Detroit was more about his strong two-way game. Last season, he went 19-21-40 in 81 games. Players over 30 typically don't possess a lot of breakout potential, but he may be an exception.

Rob Scuderi signs with the Los Angeles Kings -- The five-year veteran is not known for his offense, and 3-36-39 in 300 career games doesn't lie. Scuderi has more real-life value to the Kings than he'll ever possess in fantasy. So if it's late in your draft and you're looking for a defenseman, take a risky pick or a prospect with potential and ignore Scuderi.

***

Smyth trade analysis -- On July 3, the Los Angeles Kings acquired left wing Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche for defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing and a 2010 fifth-round pick.

Smyth, 33, a veteran of 14 seasons, takes a lot of pressure off Alexander Frolov, who until now was the Kings' only scoring option on left wing. His character and leadership are highly respected, but those values are negligible in fantasy. Smyth (6-1, 190) had 26 goals and 59 points in 77 games this past season, not that far off his production with the Oilers before the lost season of 2004-05, but alarming was his minus-15 rating in 2008-09. Smyth's 30-goal days probably are over, making him a No. 3 fantasy forward at best.

Quincey, 23, came out of nowhere last season to lead all Kings defensemen in points with 38 (4-34), more production than he displayed in three AHL seasons. Last season, only Andrei Markov and Kimmo Timonen had more power-play assists than Quincey (25) among NHL defensemen, so his fantasy potential is enticing. At this point it's hard to see how Preissing, 30, fits into Colorado's plans. Since 2005-06, his points have decreased for four consecutive seasons, and last season he was a frequent healthy scratch before being sent to the AHL for a while.

---------------------

Have a fantasy question you want answered? Want advice on a trade proposal, or have a hot tip you want to share with the NHL.com fantasy community? Write to the Forecaster at fantasy@nhl.com and your question may be answered in the Fantasy Forecast.