NHL Trade Deadline Recap and Highlights
Vegas Makes the Biggest News Again, But Is It Enough?
We’ve always said that that trade deadline in the NHL is as exciting of a time as any in pro sports with Major League baseball close behind. It’s the time of year when teams have a second chance to kick start their season or solidify their spot in the NHL playoffs standings. There are plenty of hockey games tonight to keep an eye on but let’s take a look back at the NHL trade deadline highlights now that the dust has settled.
Boston Bruins (Stanley Cup Odds: 10-1)
38-13-15, 91 Points
Additions: F Pat Maroon (49 GP, 4G, 12 A, 16 points from Minnesota), D Andrew Peeke (23 GP, 1G, 7A, 8 points from Columbus).
The Boston Bruins added a three-time Stanley Cup Champion in Maroon. But their salary cap issues held GM Don Sweeney from making a bigger splash. We currently have the Bruins ranked seventh in our current power rankings and fourth in the East.
The good news is Boston was able to keep a 1-2 punch in net that is as good as anybody in the league with Linus Ullmark (17-7-7, 2.72 GA, .912) and Jeremy Swayman (21-6-8, 2.44, .922).
There was a rumor that Boston was on the verge of dealing Ullmark to the Los Angeles Kings, but that never came to fruition.
At this point, we were hoping that Boston would have upgraded their secondary scoring, but you can put their top six against any team in the league which should get them at least to the conference semi-final.
Florida Panthers (Stanley Cup Odds: 7-1)
44-17-4, 92 points
Additions: F Vladimir Tarasenko (59 GP, 19G, 25A, 44 points with Ottawa), F Kyle Okposo (61 GP, 12G, 10A, 22 points with Buffalo), G Magnus Hellberg (3G, 1-0-0 with Pittsburgh)
We have the Florida Panthers at the top of our recent power ratings and GM Bill Zito made sure they stayed there with the acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko who has already made a splash with a 3-point night in a 5-1 victory against the Calgary Flames in the Russian’s second game with his new team.
Besides the new additions, the Panthers have a top six that features two 30-goal scorers (Sam Reinhart 45 goals, Carter Verhaeghe 30 goals). Reinhart is second in the NHL in goals and owns an insane 25.6 shooting percentage.
Speaking of teams with a solid 1-2 combination in net, the Panthers are led by Sergei Bobrovsky (31-12-2, 2.28, .918) with back-up Anthony Stolarz (13-5-2, 2.02, .925). We think the Panthers are good enough to win the Stanley Cup.
Tampa Bay Lightning (Stanley Cup Odds: 25-1)
34-25-6, 74 points
Additions: F Anthony Duclair (57 GP, 17G, 12A, 29 points with San Jose), D Matt Dumba (59 GP, 4G, 6A, 10 points with Arizona)
Many have not talked about the Tampa Bay Lightning as a team that will be in the Stanley Cup mix and we have them 13th in our power rankings. We think they’re still on the outside of the legit Cup contenders but Duclair gives them an upgrade to their top six.
He will skate with Steven Stamkos (24/31/55) and Anthony Cirelli (14/20/34) on the second line. The Lightning are seventh in the league in scoring with 3.40 goals per game, aided by a power play that has converted on 29.2% of their power play leading to a league-leading 57 goals.
Tampa is 7th in five-on-five scoring with 1.21 goals per game. What has plagued Jon Cooper’s team for most of the season is the 740 penalty minutes (5th) they’ve had to overcome (11.39 per game). If that happens in the postseason, they’ll be facing the league’s best power play units every night.
Toronto Maple Leafs (Stanley Cup Odds: 14-1)
37-19-8, 82 points
Additions: F Connor Dewar (58 GP, 10G, 4A, 14 points with Minnesota), D Joel Edmundson (45 GP, 1G, 5A, 6 points with Washington), D Ilya Lyubushkin (60 GP, 0G, 5A, 5 points)
The Toronto Maple Leafs occupy the eighth spot in our overall power rankings and fifth in the Eastern Conference.
There is no doubt GM Brad Treliving added to the Leafs’ blue-line depth but that’s not enough to make most who cover the team happy with one writer stating that Lyubushkin could easily be one of the league’s worst defensemen with a -14 plus/minus this hockey season and -24 for his career.
To be fair, the 29-year-old has played with the worst teams in the league (Arizona, Buffalo, and Anaheim). This is also his second stint in Toronto after accumulating six points in 31 games in 2021-22. It was obvious that Treliving wasn’t going after skilled d men, it was about adding postseason grit which they have done.
Carolina Hurricanes (Stanley Cup Odds: 9-1)
39-19-6, 84 points
Additions: F Jake Guentzel (50 GP, 22G, 30 A, 52 points from Pittsburgh), Evgeny Kuznetsov (45 GP, 6G, 11A, 17 points with Washington)
We have the Carolina Hurricanes second to the Florida Panthers in our latest power ranking and that may improve after a tremendous trade deadline. Last season, Carolina’s offense ran dry in their loss to the Florida Panthers, but the addition of Guentzel and Kuznetsov will ensure that they’ll match up well with anyone in the East.
The question is if Guentzel will be as successful when not playing alongside Sidney Crosby after he returns from an upper-body injury that has kept him out since February 14th. When Guentzel does return, he likely will be on the top line with Sebastian Aho.
Colorado Avalanche (Stanley Cup Odds: 8-1)
40-20-5, 85 points
Additions: F Brandon Duhaine (63GP, 4G, 4A, 8 pts with Minnesota), F Casey Mittelstadt (63GP, 14G, 33A, 47 points with Buffalo), F Yakov Trenin (61 GP, 10G, 4A, 14 points with Nashville), S Sean Walker (64 GP, 6G, 16A, 22points with Philadelphia).
Most have said the Colorado Avalanche are among the biggest winners of deadline day even though they did part with defenseman Bowen Byram.
Mittelsstadt will come in and give them a second-line center while Walker will give them defensive depth. We have Colorado listed as fourth in our power rankings overall and second behind the Edmonton Oilers in the West.
The biggest addition could be Walker who is a right-handed shot that can take some minutes away from Cale Makar on the power play as the season progresses. He’ll likely be on the third pairing with Jack Johnson to start.
Dallas Stars (Stanley Cup Odds: 11-1)
40-17-9, 89 points
Addition: D Chris Tanev (59 GP, 2G, 13 A, 15 points with Calgary)
The Stars were quiet at the deadline but they added some blue line depth with Chris Tanev who will likely be paired with Esa Lindell or Miro Heiskanen on the top pairing.
We have the Stars at the fifth spot in our power ratings and third in the West behind Edmonton and Colorado. GM Jim Nill got what the team needed in Tanev and Tyler Seguin will be back from an NHL injury soon.
They are also very high on a young prospect Logan Stankoven who was a better option to bring up than making a trade for another scorer while having to give up a first-rounder in the process. The Stars are a legit Stanley Cup contender.
Winnipeg Jets (Stanley Cup Odds: 14-1)
41-18-5, 87 points
Additions: F Sean Monahan (64GP, 21G, 24A, 45 points with Montreal and Winnipeg), D Colin Miller (41GP, 4G, 4A, 8 points with New Jersey), F Tyler Toffoli (26G, 18A, 44 points with New Jersey).
It seems the Jets shook down the New Jersey Devils for whatever asset they were willing to give up with Miller and Toffoli while striking an early deal to get Monahan from Montreal. The Jets are the last hockey team on our list of legitimate Cup contenders but may be moving up after acquiring two 20-goal scorers.
With the Jets at 10 in our NHL power rankings, what held them back was a lack of firepower. It looks like they’ve addressed these needs with the addition of Monahan who already has 10 points in 15 games with Winnipeg after being acquired on February 2nd from the Montreal Canadiens.
The Jets are just two points behind the Dallas Stars in the Central with two hockey games in hand and a couple of new weapons.
Vegas Golden Knights (Stanley Cup Odds: 11-1)
34-23-7, 75 points
Additions: D Noah Hanifin (63 GP, 11G, 26A, 37 points with Calgary), F Tomas Hertl (48 GP, 15G, 19A, 34 points with San Jose), F Anthony Mantha (58 GP, 20G, 14A, 34 points with Washington).
There is no doubt that the rest of the league always keeps an eye out for the Knights’ NHL scores. There is also no doubt who won the trade deadline and that was once again the wheelin’ and dealin’ Vegas Golden Knights under general manager Kelly McCrimmon and President George McPhee, who is every bit involved in making these moves as McCrimmon.
While the rest of the league cries foul for a CBA they agreed to, the Knights continue to put themselves in the best position to win. Currently, we have the Knights ranked 12th in our power ratings but those ratings are based on what you’ve done, not what a team potentially will do.
The Knights are looking at a very friendly schedule ahead with games against the Blackhawks, Ducks, Blue Jackets, and Coyotes as well as two left with the Vancouver Canucks who will be without starting goaltender Thatcher Demko for 2-4 weeks with a knee injury.
The Knights went all-in, the question is will it be enough with 18 games to go? That has been your NHL trade deadline highlights, it should be another incredible run towards the Stanley Cup.
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