The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and there was plenty of action on deadline day and in the weeks leading up to it. Now that the dust has settled, which teams came out as winners and losers as we enter the stretch run of the regular season?
Winner: Dallas Stars
The Mikko Rantanen acquisition was a big win for the Stars at this trade deadline, but that’s not all they did. Over a month before deadline day, they acquired Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks to give themselves a bit more depth. Between Granlund, Ceci and Rantanen, the only roster player they gave up was Logan Stankoven in the Rantanen trade.
Related: Analyst Suggests Maple Leafs Had Best Offer on Table for Mikko Rantanen
That’s pretty good business by general manager Jim Nill, and he’s put his team in a position to finally get over the hump after losing in the Western Conference Final in each of the last two years. Rantanen is one of the best wingers in the NHL and could make for a dominant top line with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson. Granlund gives them center depth with Tyler Seguin out for the remainder of the regular season, and Ceci should manage in a third-pair role. This team has the goods to win the West.
Loser: Carolina Hurricanes
Since the Hurricanes are the team that flipped Rantanen, let’s move on to them next. While they picked up four draft picks and Stankoven in the trade, this can’t be anything more than a major defeat for the organization. After acquiring Rantanen in a shocking trade from the Colorado Avalanche, they flipped him after just 13 games in Raleigh.
Furthermore, the Hurricanes didn’t do anything else to improve their roster other than adding Mark Jankowski for a mid-round pick. He’s a solid bottom-six center, but he doesn’t move the needle much. I expect the Hurricanes to be aggressive again this offseason, but at some point, they have to go for it, and this was the year to do it with how open the Eastern Conference is. Now, it seems they’ve fallen behind other teams who improved their rosters at the trade deadline.
Winner: Tampa Bay Lightning
One of those teams that the Hurricanes have fallen behind to is the Tampa Bay Lightning, who acquired Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand from the Seattle Kraken. That was their lone major move ahead of the deadline, but it was one of the best for any team in the weeks leading up to deadline day.
The Lightning are familiar with Gourde from their Cup-winning days a few years ago, and he will improve their center depth behind Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli. Bjorkstrand will give them a bit more scoring pop in the top six, and he’s under contract for next season at a reasonable cap hit of $5.4 million. The Lightning had been playing great hockey before this trade, but they have a better and more complete roster after acquiring Gourde and Bjorkstrand. They could make noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs again.
Loser: Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings did not have a particularly active trade deadline, but that’s part of the problem. Their lone trade was acquiring Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Joe Veleno. Smith is a solid bottom-six winger, but Mrazek has struggled this season, totaling an .890 save percentage while allowing 14.4 goals above expected. I know it’s the Blackhawks, but his netminding partner, Arvid Soderblom, has saved 4.7 goals above expected this season.
What’s worse is Mrazek has another year on his contract at a cap hit of $4.25 million. Veleno is a fourth-liner, so it’s not an outrageous price to give up, but Mrazek is not an upgrade for the Red Wings in net. General manager Steve Yzerman did nothing else to improve the team, either, and they’re right in the thick of the wild card race. It was a disappointing deadline, to say the least.
Winner: Colorado Avalanche
It’s hard to win the trade deadline when you lose a player like Rantanen, but the Avalanche’s trade deadline went about as well as it could have. Part of the reason for that is Martin Necas has been electric for them since the Rantanen trade, totaling 16 points in 15 games. They also addressed a huge need by acquiring Brock Nelson in a trade with the New York Islanders.
Because the Avalanche got their second-line center, they dealt Casey Mittelstadt to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Charlie Coyle, who’s under contract for next season at a cap hit of $5.25 million. A 1-2-3 punch of Nathan MacKinnon, Nelson and Coyle down the middle is a significant improvement from where they were before the trade deadline. The Avalanche had a good team before the deadline, but they should hit another level now.
Loser: Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have been struggling since the 4 Nations Face-off, and I don’t think general manager Stan Bowman did much to help them. Jake Walman was a solid addition to their blue line, especially since he has another year left on his contract. But Trent Frederic doesn’t move the needle much, and neither does Max Jones.
Furthermore, Bowman failed to address their goaltending situation. Granted, it doesn’t seem like there was a goalie market at all this trade deadline. But I would be worried about entering the playoffs with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard as their tandem. I know they got one win away from a Stanley Cup with them as their tandem last season, but the West is an absolute gauntlet right now. I don’t think they’ll be as lucky with Skinner and Pickard this time.
Winner: Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers continue to be in rebuild mode, but they did well to collect assets. Getting a first-round pick for a bottom-six forward in Scott Laughton is good work by GM Daniel Briere, and they got a decent prospect in Nikita Grebenkin. They also acquired a third-round pick, though it’s in 2027, for Andrei Kuzmenko.
Ahead of the 4 Nations Face-off, they acquired Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier and two draft picks in exchange for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. They have more draft capital and prospects to work with to begin moving their rebuild forward, and taking a gamble on a former top prospect in Pelletier can’t hurt.
Loser: Los Angeles Kings
I don’t mind the Kings taking a chance on Kuzmenko. He’s shown he can score goals at this level, even though it hasn’t happened this season. Still, it feels like another missed opportunity for GM Rob Blake. Once again, the Kings lack high-end scoring talent, and it looks like they could take on the Oilers in the first round for the fourth consecutive year. Even though they’ll be going against Skinner and Pickard, the Kings will need to score goals, and there’s not much firepower on their roster.
It does appear the Kings made plays for top-six wingers, so it’s not like Blake didn’t try. But coming up empty-handed again may cost them in the playoffs, especially with so many teams in the Western Conference improving over the last week.
Loser: Winnipeg Jets
It’s hard to call the Jets a loser when they have a 44-16-4 record and 92 points, ranking them first in the entire NHL. But they need a second-line center badly and did not come away with one before Friday’s deadline. Vladislav Namestnikov has played that role admirably this season, but with the Stars acquiring Granlund and the Avalanche getting Nelson, it could be a problem come playoff time.
Nelson would have made sense for the Jets, but the Avalanche had Calum Ritchie as trade bait, one of the best prospects in the NHL. It would have been hard for the Jets to top that. Still, plenty of centers moved ahead of the deadline, and the Jets’ only additions were Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev. They’ll help the team’s depth, but it feels like a missed opportunity to keep up with teams like the Stars and Avalanche, who improved down the middle; in the Avalanche’s case, significantly.
Stars & Avalanche Among the Biggest Winners
The Stars and Avalanche look like the biggest winners of the trade deadline, and if things keep up, a first-round matchup between the two teams could be where we’re heading. Otherwise, some teams who needed to make more significant moves failed to do so, and time will tell if that comes to hurt them in the playoffs.
