The goal of the trade deadline, for the teams that are aggressive and buying to be exact, is to win the Stanley Cup. Only one team every season can look back and say they won the deals they made because they ended up winning it all.
Related: NHL’s 5 Best Win-Win Trades From the Past 3 Years
What about the deals that don’t do that? Every season, some teams make great trades where they add elite rental talent and the player does well in their short tenure with the new roster, but they don’t win the Cup and the player leaves in free agency.
Those types of trades show that the team clearly benefitted from adding the player. They land an elite talent and have a great run but ultimately come up short. These trades leave a unique feeling for the fanbase and everyone associated with the franchise. The player gives them a brief moment of excitement but not enough to make it worth the price of adding them (or for some fans, that thrilling run does make it all worth it in the end).
10. Jake Guentzel to the Hurricanes (2024)
Jake Guentzel was the top player on the trade block at the 2024 Trade Deadline. The Carolina Hurricanes were having a great season but they were always one step behind the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division. They needed a superstar to get them over the hump and make them favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
The Hurricanes spent big to get him. They gave the Pittsburgh Penguins Michael Bunting and two draft selections in exchange for Guentzel (and defenseman Ty Smith as a minor add-in to the deal). Guentzel only played 17 regular season games with the Hurricanes but was arguably their best skater with eight goals and 17 assists in his short time with the team.
Guentzel then took it up a notch in the playoffs, scoring four goals and five assists in 11 games. The Hurricanes were a better team with him in the lineup but they never caught up to the Rangers, who won the division and defeated them in the second round in six games. The Hurricanes didn’t have the salary cap space to re-sign their rental addition and despite the impressive run, he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the offseason.
9. Chris Tanev to the Stars (2024)
The only other 2024 Trade Deadline addition that made this list is Chris Tanev. He was acquired by the Dallas Stars from the Calgary Flames, a team trading anyone and everyone playing on an expiring contract. At 34 years old, he wasn’t the same skater and overall defenseman as his younger self but it was amazing to see how he transformed that defense.
The Stars allowed 3.06 goals per game before the trade. After acquiring Tanev, they allowed only 2.23 goals per game. Simply put, the Stars’ defense became one of the best in the league, and even in a minor role, he fixed the unit. Tanev played the second or third pair on a nightly basis to prevent the unit from having any glaring weaknesses and it helped the team, which already had a dynamic offense, finish the season with the best record in the Western Conference.
Tanev continued to play at a high level in the playoffs as he never missed a game and averaged 22:18 ice time during the run. The Stars came up short in the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers but Tanev’s tenure with the team proved he’s still a valuable defenseman even at 34. It’s why the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him to a six-year deal in the offseason.
8. Cristobal Huet to the Capitals (2008)
Christobal Huet is the only goaltender to make this list. Typically, goaltenders aren’t traded at the deadline, and rarely do they make a significant impact as it takes time for them to acclimate to their new setting. The Washington Capitals acquired him from the Montreal Canadiens at the 2008 Trade Deadline as a team that was poised to make a deep playoff run but had a glaring weakness in the net.
Huet was a wall in the 13 regular season games he was with the Capitals. He had a .936 save percentage (SV%) and a 1.63 goals-against average (GAA) on 329 shots while putting up a mind-boggling 8.9 goals saved above average (GSAA). Unfortunately, his luck ran out in the playoffs as the Capitals lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in a seven-game first round series. Along with his impressive run, he also became one of the notable one-hit wonders in the league as his 2007-08 season was memorable (he finished eighth in Vezina Trophy voting) but he didn’t have a great career otherwise.
7. Matt Duchene to the Blue Jackets (2019)
The Columbus Blue Jackets went all-in during the 2018-19 season. They had a few players playing on expiring contracts, notably their top forward Artemi Panarin and Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, so they pushed all their chips into the middle of the table. One of the big moves they made was acquiring Matt Duchene from the Ottawa Senators.
Duchene didn’t have a great end of the season with the Blue Jackets, scoring only four goals and eight assists in 23 games as the team barely snuck into the playoffs as the final wild card team. However, he stepped up in the playoffs. He scored five goals and five assists in 10 games to allow the Blue Jackets to defeat the Lightning in the first round, which was one of the greatest upsets in NHL history, and push the Boston Bruins to a six-game series in the next round.
Typically, it’s easy to say that the Blue Jackets didn’t win this deal since Duchene left in the summer and they didn’t win it all. However, considering where this franchise was and where it is these days, winning a playoff series means a lot to a fanbase that doesn’t see it often. Keep in mind, the Blue Jackets have only one series victory in their franchise history and it came after they acquired Duchene.
6. Claude Giroux to the Panthers (2022)
It’s easy to forget that Claude Giroux was on the Florida Panthers. After spending his first 15 seasons with the Flyers, he was traded to the Panthers who were already the best team in the league and ended up winning the Presidents’ Trophy by the end of the season. Giroux was great in his brief tenure, scoring three goals and 20 assists while adding three goals and five assists in the playoffs, for a team that fell apart as they were swept by the Lightning in the second round.
Giroux’s time with the Panthers is forgettable in part because he signed with the Senators, his hometown team, that offseason. The Panthers meanwhile weren’t affected by the move in the end as they went to the Stanley Cup Final the next season and won the Cup in 2024. So, it worked out for everyone involved.
5. Peter Forsberg to the Predators (2007)
Another former Flyer makes this list. Like Giroux, Peter Forsberg was putting a bow on a great career but the Flyers needed to move on from him at the trade deadline with hopes of getting a strong return for the rental. They did this by trading him to the Nashville Predators who were looking to take their offense to the next level.
Forsberg did just that with the Predators’ offense. He only scored two goals but added 15 assists and his great play across the board helped them finish with the second-best record in the Central Division. It didn’t help much since they lost in the first round of a five-game series to the San Jose Sharks. The brief stint wasn’t enough to convince Forsberg to stay either as he signed with the Colorado Avalanche that offseason to finish his career with the team he started it with.
4. Andrew Copp to the Rangers (2022)
Andrew Copp was a depth skater who burst onto the scene after he was acquired. The New York Rangers added him along with a few other minor additions, including Frank Vatrano, Justin Braun, and Tyler Motte, for their 2022 playoff run. Copp played on the second and third lines and made a significant impact both after the trade deadline and in the playoffs.
In 16 games, he scored eight goals and 10 assists while adding six goals and eight assists in the playoffs to help the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final. Ideally, the Rangers would have kept Copp after his impressive stint to keep him around as a valuable depth forward. However, he wanted to return home to Michigan and he did, signing with the Detroit Red Wings in the 2022 offseason.
3. Jaromir Jagr to the Bruins (2013)
Jaromir Jagr has been around the block a few times and even in his 50s, he’s still playing hockey at a professional level. By the time the 2012-13 season rolled around, he was playing in the NHL before some players were born. That season was a shortened one because of the lockout and for the veteran, it was the third lockout he experienced. He made the most of the 48-game season.
After a strong start with the Stars, the Boston Bruins acquired him and he played like prime Jagr. He scored two goals and seven assists in 11 regular season games and then helped the Bruins make a run to the Cup Final. He didn’t find the back of the net but he showed out as a passer with 10 assists.
The Bruins pushed the Chicago Blackhawks to six games in the Final but ultimately, they were no match for the best team in the league. And with that, Jagr was back to journeying around the NHL in search of a new team. He signed with the New Jersey Devils that offseason and was traded at the 2014 Deadline to the Panthers.
2. Paul Stastny to the Jets (2018)
The Winnipeg Jets were already putting together a great season and Paul Stastny put them over the top. He was acquired from the St. Louis Blues and solidified their top six while also making them a tough team to stop in the playoffs. Sure his numbers are underwhelming as Stastny scored only four goals and nine assists in 19 games followed by six goals and nine assists in the playoffs but he was the final piece in the puzzle.
Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers were both dynamic skaters on the wing and needed a center to complement their skill sets. Stastny did and after the trade both wingers thrived in the offensive end of the ice, combining for 18 goals and 15 assists while contributing five goals and 14 assists in the playoffs. With another elite forward line, the Jets were able to defeat the Minnesota Wild in five games and then knock off the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Predators in seven games to reach the Western Conference Final.
The Jets fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games and Stastny left that summer, signing ironically enough with the Golden Knights. However, like the Duchene trade with the Blue Jackets, Stastny going to the Jets and helping them make a significant run had a lot of significance for the fanbase. Since moving back to Winnipeg, the fans had never experienced a deep playoff run and they finally got one in 2018 as they made it to the conference final. It doesn’t happen without that trade.
1. Marian Hossa to the Penguins (2008)
Marian Hossa had quite the career. It’s easy to forget that early on, he was tagged as an elite player who was always on teams that would never get over the hump. Like Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, or Patrick Marleau, he’d always been on great teams that would come up short when it mattered the most.
That reputation took off when Hossa was traded from the Atlanta Thrashers to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2008 Deadline. The Penguins were a young and rising team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Marc-Andre Fleury entering the prime of their careers and dropping a veteran on the roster immediately changed expectations. Hossa only scored three goals and seven assists in 12 games but was incredible when the playoffs came around, scoring a team-leading 12 goals and adding 14 assists to help the team reach the Stanley Cup Final.
The Penguins battled the team of the decade and Presidents’ Trophy winner, the Red Wings, in a hard-fought series. However, they came up short, losing in six games in one of the more memorable matchups in recent memory. The next season, Hossa was on the Red Wings and eager to hoist the Cup on a roster with many skaters who’d done so multiple times in their careers. The Penguins won the series in seven games and Hossa was once again on the losing end of things. Talk about some bad luck.
The third time was the charm for Hossa as he was on the Blackhawks in the 2009-10 season and they won the Stanley Cup title, the first of his career and the first in franchise history since 1961. After getting the monkey off his back, Hossa became a staple of the modern dynasty as he won the Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013 and again in 2015. So, it all worked out for him in the end.
Honorable Mentions
The Stars have one of the best general managers in the NHL, Jim Nill, and it shows when he makes great rental additions. In 2019, he acquired Mats Zuccarello from the Rangers, who didn’t do much in the regular season but was one of their best players in the playoffs, scoring four goals and seven assists for a team that lost to the Blues in the second round in seven games.
Nill was back at it when the 2023 Trade Deadline rolled around. He acquired Max Domi from the Blackhawks and he emerged as one of their best playmakers in the playoffs. He scored only three goals but had 10 assists as a middle-six winger to help the Stars reach the Western Conference Final.
Is there a rental addition who didn’t win the Cup who comes to mind? Let us know in the comment section below!
