Most teams build through the draft. There’s this idea in the NHL that it’s the best and only way to add talent and become a Stanley Cup contender. While the draft is the best way to build a contender, it’s not the only way to do it. The great teams draft, develop, and continuously add through free agency and trades. The trade deadline and the offseason generally are bad ways to build, and the moves typically don’t work out.
Related: 4 Lessons to Be Learned From the NHL’s Final 4 Teams
The final four teams suggest otherwise. The Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, and Florida Panthers all took a big swing at one point in recent seasons. Some backfired (like the Jack Campbell deal in the 2022 offseason), but each team rolled the dice, and a move or two allowed them to reach the conference final round.
Carolina Hurricanes: Logan Stankoven
Logan Stankoven will always be linked to the Mikko Rantanen trade tree as one of the branches in a deal involving a superstar. Since Rantanen was traded from the Colorado Avalanche, every team has either won or lost the trade, depending on who you ask or what time of year it is (it’s why trades need time to process before a grade is handed out).
At the moment, it looks like the Hurricanes lost the trade, especially considering how they look against the Panthers. They made the splash to have a player who can win a series like that one, and right now, they could use a Rantanen in their lineup (he would close the gap for a team that’s been outscored 16-5 through four games).
That said, Stankoven is one of the best players on the Hurricanes and one of the bright spots offensively. He scored five goals and three assists in 14 playoff games and particularly stepped up in the first two rounds against the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals. The Hurricanes cruised their way to the Eastern Conference Final, and Stankoven’s strong play was one of the reasons why.
Rantanen was never a fit with the Hurricanes, and they needed to pivot once they realized the trade wasn’t working out. They got Stankoven, who is arguably better than Martin Necas, the original elite player they moved in the deal with the Avalanche. The Hurricanes had a project when they acquired him, hoping the 21-year-old forward would be ready for the playoffs, and the move paid off.
Honorable Mention: Brent Burns – Right now, the move doesn’t seem rewarding since Brent Burns is a slower skater who, at times, is a liability on the ice. That said, it’s hard not to look back at the past few seasons and how well the move worked out for the Hurricanes. They took a chance on an aging skater who was going nowhere with the San Jose Sharks, and he’s resurrected his career and been a key part of the Hurricanes’ blue line, especially on the offensive end of the ice.
Dallas Stars: Mikko Rantanen
Without question, the Rantanen trade was the most impactful of the season. The saga ended at the trade deadline when the Stars acquired and then extended him, putting an end to any uncertainty surrounding the elite forward. The question was how Rantanen would fit after an uneventful run with the Hurricanes, where he only had two goals and four assists in 13 games while failing to make a mark in the possession-based offense.
Rantanen is the best player on the Stars and an early Conn Smythe Trophy favorite. He has nine goals and 12 assists, while his hat trick in Game 7 against the Avalanche sealed the game and the series, and his Game 1 hat trick set the tone against the Winnipeg Jets, a series the Stars won in six games. Rantanen is single-handedly winning games for the Stars, and is doing so in multiple ways, from dirty goals to his shot finding the back of the net.
The impact he has is why teams make the big moves. Even when the Stars are facing a team that has them figured out, Rantanen can take over, and he has. Rantanen’s cooled off recently, failing to find the back of the net in the last five games, but as he’s shown in the playoffs, he’s a shift away from taking over a game.
Honorable Mention: Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci – This move was a Jim Nill classic. The Stars’ general manager (GM) added both skaters from the Sharks to bolster the depth of the forward group and the defense. Mikael Granlund has five goals and four assists as one of the best forwards in the playoff run, while Cody Ceci has stepped up as a second-pair defenseman.
Edmonton Oilers: Evander Kane
It’s easy to forget how Evander Kane was run out of town when he was with the Sharks. After multiple issues, including being placed on waivers and violating team rules and protocols, the Sharks terminated his contract. It left an uncertain NHL future as teams worried about his off-ice issues and if he was a ticking time bomb.
The Oilers took a chance on Kane and brought him in for the 2021-22 season. The decision paid off as he became the power forward the top six needed. Kane has scored 62 goals and 49 assists in three seasons with the Oilers, and he’s been integral to the playoff success, scoring 13 goals in the 2022 Playoff run while contributing four goals and six assists in the 2025 run. His tenure had plenty of low points, but the bet the front office took on him and their team to keep him in check moved the needle for a team that couldn’t get over the hump.
Honorable Mention: Corey Perry – Like Kane, Corey Perry joined the Oilers after the Chicago Blackhawks waived him. He joined the Oilers with the intention of winning the Cup, and he’s become a key part of their playoff success, with five goals in the nine playoff games this season.
Florida Panthers: Matthew Tkachuk
The Matthew Tkachuk trade changed the culture in South Beach. The Panthers went from being a good team that couldn’t make noise in the playoffs to the team to beat in the Eastern Conference and the NHL altogether. They became a complete team that would impose their will and win in multiple ways while the rest of the league is still trying to catch up.
GM Bill Zito gave up a significant haul to make this deal. He traded Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar, arguably the top forward and the top defenseman on the Panthers. Both skaters have played well with the Calgary Flames, and it makes the trade, at times, look like a win-win.
The thing is that the Panthers acquired Tkachuk in the deal, a difference-maker who moved the needle for them. Aside from doing it all, he’s built for playoff hockey with a physical forechecking presence on the wing that is tough to stop. In the past three seasons, Tkachuk has taken over games and been a focal point of the Cup runs, including helping the Panthers win it all in 2024.
Honorable Mentions: Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, and Sergei Bobrovsky – The Panthers took multiple risks in the previous offseasons, with many of them paying off. The Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart trades were bets on both skaters and the upside they could provide, while Sergei Bobrovsky was signed to a lucrative deal with the hope that eventually it would pay off. Bennett and Reinhart became elite skaters in the top six, while Bobrovsky is a playoff-proven goaltender who can blank any offense. So, it goes without saying, the bets paid off.
The Takeaway From the Big Swings
Every team, specifically, every front office, must make a splash to become a Cup contender. Free agency is more important than ever before with the salary cap increasing and elite players being available (at least, more so compared to the previous eras). Likewise, a great trade deadline can be the difference between winning the Stanley Cup and not.
Many teams try to emulate the final four teams, and one thing that stands out is the need to take risks. The rebuilding teams often proceed with caution and avoid trading prospects or signing free agents, but the right fits allow teams to enter the contention conversation. Conversely, teams that avoid trades and free agency altogether are left in a slow decline while the rest of the league passes them by.
