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Ryan S. Clark
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Kristen Shilton
The NHL trade deadline has passed, and with it the chance for Stanley Cup contenders to put themselves in the best position possible to achieve the sport’s ultimate goal this spring.
This trade season featured no shortage of superstars on the move — in fact, Bo Horvat was traded in the time between being named an All-Star and taking part in the festivities down in South Florida. After Horvat’s trade to the New York Islanders came the St. Louis Blues‘ deals that sent Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers and Ryan O’Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Timo Meier landed with the New Jersey Devils. Jakob Chychrun found a new home with the Ottawa Senators. And Cup champion netminder Jonathan Quick was dealt twice: first to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who then sent him to the Vegas Golden Knights.
But not every team was making additions for this spring; some were looking ahead to this summer and beyond as they rebuild their next versions of a contender.
Either way, coming up with a coherent plan and sticking to it is what we were looking for from the league’s GMs this trade season. Here’s a look at all 32 teams, from the ones that aced the assignment to the ones that blew it.
Note: Kristen Shilton provided the guide for the Atlantic and Metropolitan teams, while Ryan S. Clark handled the Central and Pacific clubs. Teams are arranged alphabetically by letter grade. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey.
Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF
CGY | CAR | CHI | COL
CBJ | DAL | DET | EDM
FLA | LA | MIN | MTL
NSH | NJ | NYI | NYR
OTT | PHI | PIT | SJ
SEA | STL | TB | TOR
VAN | VGK | WSH | WPG
A grades
Key additions: D Dmitry Orlov, F Tyler Bertuzzi, F Garnet Hathaway
Key subtractions: F Craig Smith, 2023 first-round pick, 2024 first-round pick (top-10 protected)
Our take: Boston dominated at the trade deadline like they have everywhere else this season.
GM Don Sweeney made an already formidable team better with some shrewd moves: Adding a physical puck mover — and instant fan favorite — in Orlov to the blue line, some bottom-six punch with Hathaway, and after losing top-six winger Taylor Hall to injury, some extra firepower via Bertuzzi.
There’s no denying this is Boston’s time to shine. Sweeney’s deadline decisions look like slam dunks to help the Bruins make the most of a potential Stanley Cup run.
Key additions: D Vladislav Gavrikov, G Joonas Korpisalo, rights to G Erik Portillo
Key subtractions: G Jonathan Quick, 2023 first-round pick (conditional), 2023 third-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick
Our take: Trading one of the franchise’s all-time greats is going to create mixed emotions. It’s that balance of managing the surprise of moving on from a player who stayed with an organization through good and bad years. But the Kings also had problems to address, and that meant parting ways with Quick to make it happen.
Gavrikov gives them another top-four defenseman who can play heavy minutes and anchor a penalty kill. Korpisalo gives them another goalie they can use in tandem with Pheonix Copley to provide stability in net, which has been a challenge at times.
These are all decisions that could see the Kings take control of the Western Conference and possibly make a deep playoff run. Who knows? Maybe they end up facing a certain team from Nevada — and an old friend in the process.
Key additions: F Rasmus Asplund, D Tyson Barrie, D Cal Foote, 2023 first-round pick (EDM), 2023 second-round pick (PIT), 2023 third-round pick (TB), 2024 second-round picks (TB, WPG), 2025 first-round pick (TB, top-10 protected)
Key subtractions: D Mattias Ekholm, F Mikael Granlund, F Tanner Jeannot, F Nino Niederreiter
Our take: Is it better to make another run at a ninth straight playoff appearance that could end in another first-round exit? Or does it make more sense to start trading players and get ahead of the future even if you’re within a few points of a wild-card spot? This was the decision facing the Predators, and they chose the latter.
The returns that outgoing GM David Poile pulled off make his final trade deadline an emphatic send-off. He got five draft picks and an NHL defenseman for Jeannot in what was one of the more memorable deals of the deadline.
Poile was also able to move two contracts that had term and a sizable cap hit at a time when teams had to be creative with money. In less than a week, the Predators went from a team that had a murky path to one that is clearly concentrating on the future — with more than $17 million in cap space ahead of next season.
Key additions: F Andreas Johnsson, D Shakir Mukhamadullin, F Vladislav Namestnikov, D Nikita Okhotyuk, F Fabian Zetterlund, 2023 first-round pick (NJ), 2024 second-round pick (NJ, conditional)
Key subtractions: F Nick Bonino, D Jaycob Megna, F Timo Meier, F Vladislav Namestnikov
Our take: Sharks GM Mike Grier had one of the most coveted players going into the deadline in Meier. He didn’t rush into any deals, and the end result was getting the sort of return that gave the Sharks plentiful draft capital, prospects from one of the best farm systems in the NHL and two players who can play right now.
All the trades Grier made has the Sharks set up to have around 30 draft picks over the next three seasons. They will have 12 picks in this year’s draft and are among the teams who are in play to win the draft lottery this year and select Connor Bedard, the presumed No. 1 pick. And if they don’t win the lottery, the Sharks are still in play for their first top-three pick since 1998.
With a lottery pick, a second first-rounder along with more picks and prospects, Grier has provided the Sharks with the sort of promise of a better future that didn’t exist when he took the job last offseason.
Key additions: F Joey Anderson, F Anders Bjork, D Andreas Englund, G Anton Khudobin, D Nikita Zaitsev, 2023 second-round picks (NYR, OTT), 2025 first-round pick (TOR, top-10 protected), 2025 second-round pick (DAL), 2026 second-round pick (TOR)
Key subtractions: F Max Domi, F Patrick Kane, D Jack Johnson, F Sam Lafferty, D Jake McCabe
Our take: This season started with the expectation that the Blackhawks would be in a position to move players going into the deadline, and that held true. Of course, those expectations were adjusted when Kane made it clear he wanted the Rangers or nothing at all, while captain Jonathan Toews remained with the team after he announced he was dealing with symptoms of long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome.
Beyond that, the Blackhawks moved nearly every pending UFA they could. They also moved players like Lafferty and McCabe, who had multiyear contracts but also had manageable cap hits that made teams interested. The end result was the sort of draft capital windfall that allowed the Blackhawks to be set for the next three drafts, headlined by the fact they own two first-round picks in each of the next three years.
As for the future, all of those draft picks — including their own lottery pick, a shot at Connor Bedard — create hope. The Blackhawks also have more than $42 million in available cap space ahead of next season, which means they can go in any number of directions.
Key additions: F Timo Meier
Key subtractions: F Andreas Johnsson, F Fabian Zetterlund, 2023 first-round pick (conditional), 2024 second-round pick (conditional)
Our take: New Jersey got its man in Meier. And GM Tom Fitzgerald added him without giving up a top prospect. Nice work.
Now, Meier is also a pending restricted free agent with a $10 million qualifying offer. But that’s a future problem. This season’s team has been one of the league’s best stories, driven by a slew of young talents emerging all at once. Meier might be the missing piece to put New Jersey over the top against its rivals in New York (both the Rangers and Islanders) and beyond. Fitzgerald’s single major deadline move seems like the perfect choice.
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Who is the best team in the East after the Bruins?
Ray Ferraro and Kevin Weekes discuss their power rankings for the Eastern Conference and debate who the best team is behind the Bruins.
Key additions: D Niko Mikkola, F Patrick Kane, F Tyler Motte, F Vladimir Tarasenko
Key subtractions: F Sammy Blais, F Vitali Kravtsov, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 second-round pick (conditional)
Our take: New York clearly understood its assignment. The Eastern Conference race is on, and the Rangers weren’t about to be left in the dust. In fact, they got the ball rolling with the Tarasenko/Mikkola trade, and went back to the well dealing for Kane.
New York’s offense felt stagnant earlier this season — the Rangers were sitting just 16th overall in goals scored on Jan. 1 — and GM Chris Drury aggressively addressed the problem. And he did so without mortgaging the franchise’s future by turning over too many prospects and top draft choices. A good balance was struck and the Rangers’ depth should set them up well to challenge in the jacked-up East.
Key additions: D Jakob Chychrun
Key subtractions: D Nikita Zaitsev, F Tyler Motte, 2023 first-round pick (top-five protected), 2024 second-round pick (conditional) 2023 second-round pick, 2026 second-round pick
Our take: Full credit to GM Pierre Dorion for rewarding his team the right way. A recent 11-3-1 run had surprisingly put the Senators back in the postseason hunt, and Dorion swung for the fences by bringing in Chychrun for the stretch drive this season (and at least two more years ahead).
Dorion smartly waited out Arizona’s asking price until it became more reasonable and pounced on a difference-making defender the likes of which Ottawa hasn’t had since Erik Karlsson. Dorion wanted the Senators to play meaningful games in March. Now they are. Dorion’s deadline work should allow Ottawa to keep surging.
Key additions: F Noel Acciari, F Sam Lafferty, F Ryan O’Reilly, D Erik Gustafsson, D Jake McCabe, D Luke Schenn, 2023 first-round pick (BOS)
Key subtractions: D Rasmus Sandin, F Pierre Engvall, 2023 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected), 2024 second-round pick, 2026 second-round pick
Our take: Toronto didn’t hold back leading up to the deadline. GM Kyle Dubas added it all — a top-six talent in O’Reilly, middle- and bottom-six depth with Acciari and Lafferty, plus defensive help in McCabe and Schenn.
The Leafs are practically a new team. The makeover cost Toronto plenty in draft picks and roster players — which Dubas had tried to avoid dealing — but there was no reason to be conservative. Toronto has been a top-five team in the standings throughout this season. Now might be the Leafs’ best hope of finally slaying those first-round demons, and Dubas loaded up like he believes that’s the case.
Key additions: D Rasmus Sandin, F Craig Smith, 2025 second-round picks (BOS, COL)
Key subtractions: D Erik Gustafsson, D Dmitry Orlov, F Lars Eller, F Garnet Hathaway, F Marcus Johansson
Our take: A round of applause for GM Brian MacLellan, who proved he knows how to pivot.
Washington’s season took a turn the past few weeks as the Capitals slipped further out of a playoff spot. So MacLellan went into seller mode and moved several veterans on expiring deals whom the club wasn’t re-signing, used the acquired draft capital to trade for a young blueliner (Sandin) with potential and added a few more decent picks in the coming seasons.
MacLellan didn’t make Washington obviously better right now. But he did put the Capitals in a stronger position to bounce back faster in the coming offseason.
B grades
Key additions: 2023 first-round pick (LA, conditional)
Key subtractions: D Vladislav Gavrikov, F Gustav Nyquist, F Jakub Voracek, G Joonas Korpisalo
Our take: Columbus’ actual deadline day was, as GM Jarmo Kekalainen put it, “dull.” But only because the Blue Jackets got ahead of the crowds.
Kekalainen & Co. traded away the veteran pending UFAs they had to, got what they could in return and shed Voracek’s contract to boot. None of what Columbus accomplished improved the team’s current prospects, of course. This season has been a lost effort for some time. But Kekalainen got the wheels in motion for a more productive offseason, when he can begin to identify what will put the Blue Jackets back on track.
Key additions: F Evgenii Dadonov, F Max Domi
Key subtractions: F Denis Gurianov, G Anton Khudobin, 2025 second-round pick
Our take: One of the biggest challenges facing the Stars this season has been an overreliance on six players to shoulder the scoring load. Those six players have accounted for 67% of the Stars’ goals this season. Getting Domi and Dadonov filled a major need of trying to find other top-nine forwards who could provide another dimension.
As for what Dallas had to give up to make it happen? The understanding was the Stars were not willing to part with any of their prized prospects because they are an organization that has come to rely upon the draft-and-develop approach of building their team. Mission accomplished.
Key additions: F Nick Bjugstad, D Mattias Ekholm
Key subtractions: D Tyson Barrie, F Jesse Puljujarvi, F Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick
Our take: When you have the NHL’s most prolific attack and the most dangerous power-play unit, it should make games easier to navigate. That is, unless you have one of the worst penalty-killing units in addition to allowing the 13th-most goals per game.
In essence, this was the Oilers before the deadline. GM Ken Holland cleared space by trading Puljujarvi, then added Ekholm before getting a veteran two-way forward on a team-friendly deal in Bjugstad.
Adding those two players will help the Oilers find more defensive consistency. If so, it could lead to them making a return trip to the Western Conference finals and maybe going even further.
Key additions: D John Klingberg, F Marcus Johansson, F Gustav Nyquist, F Oskar Sundqvist, 2023 second-round pick (VGK)
Key subtractions: F Jordan Greenway
Our take: Wild GM Bill Guerin accrued picks for the future, he parlayed some of those picks to help him now, and then he cleared cap space to go get Klingberg at what was literally the last minute ahead of the deadline — and all without giving up early-round draft picks.
Guerin was faced with the challenge of trying to add players while also being confined to a limited amount of cap space. He found a way to bring in nearly an entire new line combo and D pairing. And he was able to get some much-needed breathing room by clearing $3 million in cap space annually over the next two years with Greenway going to Buffalo.
Johansson, Nyquist and Sundqvist will be charged with adding more offensive production to a team that has struggled to score at times. Klingberg will be asked to help facilitate those scoring needs, while being part of a defensive structure that has been vital to the Wild’s playoff aspirations. This could be the sort of deadline activity that pays big dividends for the Wild.
Key additions: F Pierre Engvall, F Bo Horvat
Key subtractions: F Anthony Beauvillier, F Aatu Raty, 2023 first-round pick (conditional)
Our take: GM Lou Lamoriello trading for Horvat — and then extending him to an eight-year, $68 million contract — had to be one of the most eye-popping moves of the trade season. It also accounted for almost all of the Islanders’ activity before 3 p.m. on Friday (no disrespect to Engvall, a fine bottom-six depth addition).
Horvat filled an important need for New York, which struggled to score even before Mathew Barzal, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and others were sidelined with injuries. Giving up Beauvillier — who had 20 points in 49 games prior to being traded — was tough, but like their rivals in New Jersey, these Islanders went big on a single move. Time will tell how it pays off.
Key additions: F Mikhail Abramov, F Sammy Blais, F Zach Dean, F Jakub Vrana, 2023 first-round picks (NYR, TOR), 2023 third-round pick (OTT), 2024 second-round pick (TOR)
Key subtractions: F Noel Acciari, F Ivan Barbashev, D Niko Mikkola, F Ryan O’Reilly, F Vladimir Tarasenko
Our take: Moving on from franchise cornerstones can be challenging. Why? Because you’re going from a period of prosperity to a period of uncertainty with the hope that prosperity is on the other side. That’s the reality facing the Blues now that O’Reilly is in Toronto and Tarasenko is in New York.
But their departures brought back the sort of draft capital that creates optimism for the Blues. Namely, they have three first-round picks in this year’s draft, which could lead to them finding the next wave of players who would join Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas as the members central to the organization’s future.
And by getting Vrana in a trade while claiming Kasperi Kapanen on waivers, there is a chance that a new start could see promising results.
Key additions: 2023 first-round pick (OTT, conditional), 2023 third-round pick (EDM), 2024 second-round pick (WSH, conditional), 2026 second-round pick (OTT), 2026 third-round pick (CAR), the Jakub Voracek contract, the Shea Weber contract
Key subtractions: F Nick Bjugstad, D Jakob Chychrun, D Shayne Gostisbehere
Our take: Loading up on draft capital was the plan, and the Coyotes did just that. They’re going to have close to 40 picks over the next three drafts. Where they really did the most damage was by getting several second- and third-round picks in that time. They have three third-round picks for 2023, four second-round picks along with three third-round picks for 2024 and four second-round picks for 2025.
One of the concerns with the Coyotes’ haul is they did not come away with more first-round picks. Nor did they receive the sort of return that was expected with a top-four option such as Chychrun, who was one of the biggest names of this trade cycle. Compare the Coyotes to a few of their peers that are also building toward the future such as the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Blues, Predators and Sharks; all of them added more.
The Coyotes are still in a position to win the draft lottery. They still have quite a bit of draft capital that other teams would covet. But how much will it hurt them to not have those multiple first-round picks later down the line?
Key additions: D Riley Stillman, F Jordan Greenway
Key subtractions: F Rasmus Asplund, 2023 second-round pick
Our take: Buffalo seemed poised for an eerily quiet deadline — until GM Kevyn Adams swapped a pair of picks with Minnesota for Greenway. The big, physical winger will add a different element to the Sabres’ attack up front, which is highlighted primarily by speed and skill.
Buffalo needed some grit; Greenway is poised to provide it. Stillman can add a similar element from the blue line.
Those deals were the extent of Adams’ adds, a by-design decision to see what mettle the Sabres show as is during a final push toward the playoffs. Could Adams have done more to propel Buffalo into the postseason? Maybe. But the Sabres have stayed patient and stuck to the rebuilding plan so far. Adams must have felt this was no time to start getting greedy.
Key additions: D Shayne Gostisbehere, F Jesse Puljujarvi
Key subtractions: None
Our take: Carolina handled its business early with the acquisitions of Gostisbehere and Puljujarvi, two pickups of added depth for the league’s second-place team. Frankly that’s all the Hurricanes really needed.
Puljujarvi won’t replace what Carolina hoped Max Pacioretty — sidelined most of this season by injury — would provide, especially in a playoff run. But the former Oiler can still factor into a bottom-six rotation.
Meanwhile, Gostisbehere is off and running with the Hurricanes, notching two goals and three points in his first two games. Carolina has had a good thing going this season. The quieter deadline shows GM Don Waddell’s faith in the roster’s potential.
Key additions: F Lars Eller, D Jack Johnson, G Keith Kinkaid
Key subtractions: F Shane Bowers, D Andreas Englund, 2025 second-round pick
Our take: Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland is pragmatic, to the point that he believes in filling holes without creating other holes. It’s why the Avs were going to make the sort of additions that saw them reinforce their bottom-six forward group in addition to their defensive options.
They also know that the bill for all of their recent moves eventually will come due; they’ve traded a number of draft picks and/or prospects. It allowed them to win a Stanley Cup, but it also means there are fewer players on team-friendly contracts they can call up to serve in key roles when the time comes. That’s important to keep in mind with J.T. Compher set to become a UFA this summer, while Bowen Byram and Alex Newhook are pending RFAs.
Key additions: F Michael Eyssimont, F Tanner Jeannot
Key subtractions: D Cal Foote, F Vladislav Namestnikov, 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected), 2024 second-round pick
Our take: Tampa Bay always has one trick left up its sleeve. This deadline, it was targeting Jeannot for five draft choices and Foote. An overpayment? We’ll see. The Lightning historically go for depth at the deadline, a strategy that has served them well over three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final and two Cup wins.
GM Julien BriseBois is rapidly running out of draft capital in the next three years, but he has a win-now mentality. Tampa Bay remains among the Eastern Conference elite despite a recent five-game losing streak and coach Jon Cooper benching some of his underperforming stars in the third period of a loss to Buffalo.
How long will Tampa Bay’s window stay open? BriseBois can’t know for sure. But he’s betting once again on the Lightning to make a go of it this postseason.
Key additions: F Teddy Blueger, F Ivan Barbashev, D Dysin Mayo, G Jonathan Quick
Key subtractions: F Zach Dean, the Shea Weber contract, 2024 third-round pick
Our take: Mark Stone undergoing a second back surgery in less than a year created a hole that the Golden Knights sought to fill. They created the necessary cap space by sending Stone to LTIR and traded for Barbashev to give them a two-way forward who already has a Stanley Cup on his résumé.
But injuries to Laurent Brossoit and All-Star Logan Thompson meant the Golden Knights were in search of another goaltender. Hmm. If only there was a two-time Cup winner on the market who needed a new home. They pulled off the trade for Quick, got their necessary reinforcements and suddenly made the prospect of a Golden Knights-Kings playoff series as potentially enthralling as the next season of “The Crown.”
Key additions: F Vladislav Namestnikov, F Nino Niederreiter
Key subtractions: 2024 second-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick
Our take: Many fans were waiting for the Jets to make the sort of big move that sent a message to the Central Division, the Western Conference and perhaps the entire NHL. While Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff didn’t make a blockbuster trade, he did make the sort of choices that saw the Jets meet their needs while keeping their farm system intact.
Under Cheveldayoff, the Jets have become an organization that chooses to use the draft to build from within. Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Connor Hellebuyck, Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele are among the examples of current homegrown players who have come through the system to reach stardom.
So it’s not surprising the Jets retained most of their high picks and prospects. In return, they got a bottom-six forward in Namestnikov who has quite a bit of playoff experience, and a top-nine forward in Niederreiter who adds one more scoring option.
C grades
Key additions: F Denis Gurianov
Key subtractions: F Evgenii Dadonov
Our take: It’s not GM Kent Hughes’ fault, really, that the Canadiens’ deadline was a bust. Montreal’s most tradable assets — notably Joel Edmundson and Sean Monahan (both pending UFAs) — have been continuously sidelined by injuries. It became all but impossible to deal them away, especially on a rental basis.
Hughes has been rightly disappointed in the number of Montreal’s key players impacted by ailments this season. Being stuck like this at the deadline only made matters worse.
The Canadiens did reel in a reclamation project with Gurianov coming from Dallas. He already has had an impact in the lineup and could be a nice contributor for the Canadiens going forward.
Key additions: D Jaycob Megna
Key subtractions: 2023 fourth-round pick
Our take: Think about where the Kraken were a year ago. They were moving players and taking on cap space as a third-party broker while preparing for the draft lottery. This season, they’ve been one of the NHL’s biggest surprises and entered the deadline with the expectation they could be in line for a big move.
They were the only Western Conference team in a playoff spot to not make a trade within the last week of the deadline. Kraken GM Ron Francis told reporters after the deadline that he likes the group they have, and feels they have earned the right to be in this position.
Francis is known for his pragmatism. It’s the same pragmatism that saw them go from one of the worst teams in the NHL to one that is five points out of the top spot in the West. But they are also two points clear of the final wild-card spot. How will the decision to hold firm work for the Kraken, when reinforcement options were available?
Key additions: F Anthony Beauvillier, D Filip Hronek, F Vitali Kravtsov, F Aatu Raty, 2023 third-round pick (TOR)
Key subtractions: F Bo Horvat, F Curtis Lazar, D Luke Schenn, 2023 first-round pick (NYI), 2023 second-round pick
Our take: The Canucks’ trade season was a roller coaster. The decision to trade Horvat officially kicked off the rebuild, and the return gave the Canucks a player for now (Beauviller), a prospect for the future (Raty) and another first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Then there was the trade for Schenn that brought back more draft capital.
But then came the trade to get Hronek. On one hand, the Canucks were able to get a 25-year-old top-four defenseman. He’s another player for their future plans and someone who could be used in tandem with Quinn Hughes. But it also meant losing the first-rounder acquired in the Horvat trade, which was considered the centerpiece of that deal.
And while Hronek represents the future, his contract has created a current dilemma for the Canucks in that they now have less than $2 million in available cap space going into this upcoming offseason.
Key additions: F Nick Ritchie, D Troy Stecher
Key subtractions: D Connor Mackie, F Brett Ritchie
Our take: They’re five points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot in a race that is changing by the day. But they also have roughly the same point totals as teams like the Blues and Predators that decided to concentrate on the future.
Maybe the Flames get into the playoffs. Maybe they miss the postseason. That’s what it means to live in the middle, where things can feel within grasp and out of reach at the same time. This deadline could end up looking like a missed opportunity down the line.
Key additions: 2023 first-round pick (NYI), 2023 second-round pick (VAN), 2024 first-round pick (BOS, top-10 protected)
Key subtractions: F Tyler Bertuzzi, F Oskar Sundqvist, F Jakub Vrana, D Filip Hronek
Our take: Detroit did not improve in the past week. GM Steve Yzerman arguably made his team worse by trading away Bertuzzi even when it looked and sounded like he would stay through the Red Wings’ attempt to return to the playoffs. And then there was the whole failed attempt to acquire James van Riemsdyk from the Flyers.
Yzerman picked up a few draft choices along the way, which is great for Detroit’s future. What about its present? Yzerman’s transactions from a busy offseason haven’t made the Red Wings an immediate contender. Inactivity at the deadline won’t achieve that goal, either. If this is now another season where the Red Wings are outside looking in come spring, it’s understandable why the fan base is becoming frustrated.
Key additions: F Nick Bonino, F Mikael Granlund, D Dmitry Kulikov
Key subtractions: F Teddy Blueger, F Brock McGinn, 2023 second-round pick
Our take: How did the NHL’s oldest team manage to get older? GM Ron Hextall added a string of over-30 skaters at the deadline to complement an already veteran-laden group. Targeting experience for the playoffs is one thing, but Pittsburgh had that already (hello, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and more).
The Penguins needed reliable, consistent depth scoring. Technically Granlund or even Bonino can play a third-line role, but are they enough to put Pittsburgh ahead in the surging East? We know what the vaunted Penguins core is. Mike Sullivan behind the bench is also key. What Pittsburgh brought in just feels underwhelming given the obvious gaps in the lineup.
D grades
Key additions: F Brock McGinn, F Nikita Nesterenko, D Andrej Sustr, 2024 third-round picks (PIT, SJ)
Key subtractions: D John Klingberg, D Dmitry Kulikov
Our take: This deadline was supposed to give the Ducks the sort of draft capital that would offer another layer on a promising future. It was a matter of adding that draft capital to whatever could happen in the draft lottery, which could result in them winning the No. 1 pick and drafting Connor Bedard. Now add all of that to what’s already in place with Jamie Drysdale, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras.
Yeah, that’s a pretty nice-looking future. That outlook is not totally out of play for the Ducks as they could still win the lottery. But the lack of overall draft capital does alter those expectations when compared to what other teams like the Blackhawks, Coyotes and Sharks were able to amass this trade season.
Adam Henrique going on IR didn’t help. Had he been healthy, teams seeking a No. 2 center would have offered a bounty, given what we saw in similar trades.
Having nine picks in this year’s draft is still something. But Anaheim comes up short compared to those other teams which have more total picks and two first-rounders compared to the Ducks’ one.
Key additions: F Brendan Lemieux
Key subtractions: F Zack MacEwen
Our take: Philadelphia should have been deadline sellers. GM Chuck Fletcher chose another path of essentially doing nothing.
According to Fletcher, deals he was contacted about weren’t good for the Flyers. But being almost entirely inactive isn’t good for them, either. Philadelphia doesn’t seem to be embracing a rebuild and stands to lose veteran UFAs like Justin Braun or James van Riemsdyk for nothing in the offseason.
Receiving something — anything — for those players now would have benefited the Flyers’ future in some way, no?
F grade
Key additions: None
Key subtractions: None
Our take: Florida did, well, nothing. No trades made whatsoever.
GM Bill Zito said he took calls on players; there was an opportunity to get involved. Ultimately, Zito believes in the Panthers’ room and won’t quit on it. That would be a fine sentiment if Florida were in a playoff spot — which it isn’t — or had favorable math to earn one, which it doesn’t. The Eastern Conference has stacked up around the Panthers.
A year ago, Florida was one of the league’s busiest, gutsiest teams, adding players at the deadline. It didn’t pay off in a long playoff run for the Presidents’ Trophy winners. Perhaps that scared the Panthers off from trying to improve on the fly again.