Poll: Who Won The 2023 Trade Deadline Week?
The 2023 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, with most of the action spread among the days leading up to last Friday. Playoff contenders were as active as ever, with an eyebrow-raising 13 first-round picks dealt in the weeks leading up to the deadline. With so much activity, though, it’s difficult to immediately say which team (and which general manager) came out on top.
First off, the world-beating Boston Bruins made a pair of significant deals with conference rivals. Their biggest acquisition came in the form of Dmitry Orlov from the Washington Capitals, who had been quietly one of the best defensive defenders in the league over the past few years. His two-way play has made an immediate impact, recording three goals and nine points in just five games with the Bruins since the trade, already doubling his goal total on the season. The team also acquired a pair of aggressive forwards, Tyler Bertuzzi and Garnet Hathaway, who seem to fit seamlessly into the tapestry of a quintessential Bruins lineup.
However, their Atlantic Division rivals were some of the most active teams on the market too. No team made more additions to their roster than the Toronto Maple Leafs, who added a significant complement of defensive-minded skaters in Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty, and Luke Schenn while also adding some power-play depth in the form of defenseman Erik Gustafsson. Like Boston, they were able to avoid parting with a top prospect in the process, although young NHLer Rasmus Sandin, already off to a strong start with his new team, the Washington Capitals, was a casualty of the roster crunch.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, looking to make a fourth straight Stanley Cup Final, made one of the most controversial moves of the deadline by parting with five draft picks in exchange for depth winger Tanner Jeannot. They also made some salary cap flexibility by swapping Vladislav Namestnikov for Michael Eyssimont, who’s provided some quiet upside in his first extended NHL opportunities with the Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks.
The best forward on the market on the market was undoubtedly Timo Meier, who the New Jersey Devils landed to complete a formidable top-six forward group alongside Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, and Tomas Tatar. The 26-year-old is amidst his second consecutive 30-goal season and is a powerful two-way force. They also acquired Curtis Lazar in a minor deal with the Vancouver Canucks to improve their fourth line.
No team made more star-studded acquisitions than the New York Rangers, not unexpected from one of the most aggressive front offices in the league. A pair of veteran stars headed their way in the form of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane, who the Rangers hope will enjoy some revitalization alongside a more robust core on Broadway. It looks like that’s happened so far for Tarasenko, who’s scored four goals and nine points in 12 games as a Ranger. Kane is still looking for his first point and has a -4 rating in two contests since the trade.
It was one team out of the playoff picture, though, that may have made the most effective roster improvement. The Ottawa Senators acquired defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes for a trio of draft picks, filling a gigantic hole in their defensive makeup. Now 7-2-1 in their past 10 games, the acquisition of Chychrun (under contract through 2025) gives the Senators a fighting chance at making the playoffs for the first time since advancing to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017.
It’s up to you, PHR readers, to decide who they think had the best overall haul at this year’s deadline. Cast your vote and let us know who you think came out on top.
Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Nick Bonino
Forward Nick Bonino has been re-acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the San Jose Sharks. The 34-year-old center previously played for the Penguins from 2015 to 2017 and was a key member of their back-to-back Stanley Cup Championship teams in 2016 and 2017.
To make the cap work, the Montreal Canadiens were included as a third party. The full deal looks like this:
- To Pittsburgh: Nick Bonino
- To San Jose: Arvid Henriksson, conditional 2024 fifth-round pick (PIT), 2023 seventh-round pick (PIT)
- To Montreal: 50% of Bonino salary, Tony Sund, 2024 fifth-round pick (SJS)
Bonino played center on the team’s third line for both Stanley Cup victories, scoring 18 points in 24 games in 2016 while playing on the “HBK Line” with Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel. The trio gave the Penguins great depth, and Bonino will look to add some depth for them once again.
With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter already lining up down the middle, Bonino likely takes on a fourth-line role this time around. Bonino has ten goals and 19 points in 59 games this season with the Sharks.
For San Jose, adding a couple of draft picks for an expiring contract is exactly the kind of work that needs to continue in a rebuild. Bonino was an important veteran voice in the locker room, but is nearing the end of his career and not much use to a club trying to reorganize around young talent.
The fifth-round pick will turn into a 2024 fourth-round selection if Pittsburgh advances to the Conference Finals this season.
They’ll also grab the rights to Henriksson, who is finishing up a four-year career at Lake Superior State after coming over to North America in 2018. The 25-year-old defenseman was a seventh-round pick by the Canadiens in 2016, and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if not signed to an entry-level contract by the middle of August.
Montreal grabs a pick for playing the middleman and the rights to Sund, an interesting inclusion in a deal like this. The 27-year-old signed an entry-level contract with the Sharks back in 2019-20 but never came over to North America. Now, he is playing with Rogle in the SHL, where he partners with Canadiens 2022 draft pick Adam Engstrom.
There’s a chance that Montreal has spotted Sund as a potential target to sign this summer while watching their young prospect, though his rights will expire at the end of the season anyway, given his age.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the news early Friday morning.
Sean Kuraly Out Six Weeks
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Kuraly is expected to miss six weeks after suffering a left oblique strain during practice on Thursday. The team made the announcement on Friday, adding another name to a long list of Blue Jackets injuries this season.
Game 82 of Columbus’ season, against the Buffalo Sabres, is exactly six weeks from today, meaning Kuraly may have played his last game of 2022-23. If so, he finishes the campaign with 10 goals and seven assists in 59 games, his second consecutive season hitting double-digit goals.
Kuraly had averaged 14:49 per game, serving as a quintessential bottom-six checking center for Columbus. His line with Eric Robinson and Mathieu Olivier had been Columbus’ most consistently deployed unit of the season, per MoneyPuck, surviving many injury-related lineup changes.
While the Blue Jackets are the healthiest they’ve been in quite some time, they’re still without Zach Werenski, Jake Bean, and Justin Danforth, none of whom are expected to return this season. Lane Pederson, claimed on waivers from the Vancouver Canucks at the end of January, could slide into Kuraly’s spot in the lineup between Robinson and Olivier.
St. Louis Blues Acquire Jakub Vrana
The first official trade of deadline day has come across the wire. As made official by the team this morning, the St. Louis Blues have acquired forward Jakub Vrana from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for forward Dylan McLaughlin and a 2025 seventh-round pick. Per Chris Johnston on TSN’s TradeCentre program, the Red Wings retain 50% of Vrana’s $5.25MM cap hit.
Of note, McLaughlin won’t actually be leaving the Blues organization. After announcing the trade, the Red Wings immediately loaned McLaughlin back to the Blues AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Vrana’s acquisition continues a newfound trend of reclamation projects in St. Louis as the team enters a new era without Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko. He’s had an incredibly difficult 2022-23, entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program just a few weeks into the season. After more than a two-month absence, he was waived and sent to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins to extend his stay in the minors after a conditioning stint. He posted six goals and 11 points in 17 games there and didn’t record a point in three outings after his recent recall to Detroit.
It’s a season that’s made many forget Vrana scored 20-plus goals in back-to-back seasons in 2019 and 2020, and had 13 goals in just 26 games in 2021-22. The 27-year-old may be on a steep cap hit with a concerning injury history, but he has obvious scoring potential if he can string some games together with an increased role in St. Louis.
While the return for Detroit is minimal, especially after parting with Anthony Mantha to acquire him, the trade provides the Red Wings with some salary cap benefits. Elite Prospects’ Sean Shapiro reports that the Red Wings and Vrana were likely headed for a buyout had he not been traded, leaving Detroit with a shorter cap penalty in a retained salary transaction. It’s a good solution for both sides, with a 2025 seventh-round pick just a hair above “future considerations” in terms of value.
Calgary Flames Showing Interest In Joel Edmundson
Despite their inconsistent goal-scoring, the Calgary Flames are reportedly looking to add on defense. The Flames, who have been quiet so far during a busy trade season, have shown interest in acquiring Montreal Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson, per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun on tonight’s edition of Insider Trading.
Edmundson, who the Canadiens acquired in a late-offseason trade in 2020, has seen his defensive play dip sharply after a solid first season in Montreal in 2020-21. The 29-year-old has dealt with significant injuries over the past two campaigns, limited to just 24 out of 82 games last season and 39 out of 60 games this year. With the Flames on the fringes of a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, general manager Brad Treliving is looking to Edmundson to help propel the team ahead of teams in the race, such as the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, and Seattle Kraken.
The Flames have had a publically disappointing season so far, with inconsistency plaguing a refreshed, star-studded roster. With the deadline rushing into view in just a few hours, the team sits five points behind the eighth-place Jets with no games in hand. Poor goal-scoring output and a sharp decline in production from Jonathan Huberdeau have robbed Calgary of a bonafide offensive superstar, something they had two of last season in Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. Elias Lindholm has done his part, recording 51 points in 59 games despite losing his previous year’s linemates. A team save percentage far south of the .900 mark hasn’t helped, with Jacob Markstrom in the midst of his worst season since entering the NHL full-time in 2015.
Whether or not the Flames actually make a move to buy at the deadline likely hinges on the result of tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. A loss tonight would leave them seven points out of a playoff spot, a tough deficit to make up in an average but tight Western Conference. Earlier reports suggested the Canadiens could receive a first-round pick in exchange for Edmundson, as he has one year after this left on his deal-making $3.5MM per season. With the defense market dried up and Calgary not in a position to part with such a significant asset, likely to be a top-16 pick, it could be an unwise gamble on the part of Treliving.
Buffalo Sabres Place Rasmus Dahlin On Injured Reserve
The Buffalo Sabres announced on Thursday that defenseman Riley Stillman has been added to the active roster, while defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has been placed on injured reserve.
Dahlin has missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury, a significant blow for the Sabres as they continue to battle for a playoff spot. They’ve conceded nine goals in their past two outings without Dahlin, and while they were able to rally for seven goals to defeat the Washington Capitals, poor defense cost them points against the league-worst Columbus Blue Jackets.
The 22-year-old has been one of the top defensemen in the league this season, recording a jaw-dropping 62 points in 56 games. He leads all Sabres skaters in ice time, averaging 26:01 per game. He’s still classified as day-to-day, though, and could be activated ahead of Monday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers if healthy. However, the move to injured reserve confirms he’ll miss at least the next two games.
It’ll be a tough go for those two games against high-powered division rivals: the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning. Stillman is ready to join the team after being acquired Monday from the Vancouver Canucks and clearing immigration hurdles. Although he provides NHL experience, he doesn’t move the needle much to fill in for someone of Dahlin’s caliber. It means the pressure shifts almost entirely to rookie Owen Power to ensure the Sabres don’t lose too much ground in the playoff race over the next few days.
The 24-year-old Stillman had played in 32 games for the Canucks before the trade, registering five assists. Now on his fourth NHL team, Stillman could relieve Jacob Bryson in the lineup. His pairing with Ilya Lyubushkin has been the team’s worst in terms of expected goals among pairings with at least 150 minutes together, per MoneyPuck.
Buffalo remains in a playoff spot by points percentage, but the New York Islanders and now-fortified Ottawa Senators stay on their tail.
Minnesota Wild Acquire Gustav Nyquist
The Minnesota Wild are acquiring forward Gustav Nyquist from the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets. The Blue Jackets later announced they would be acquiring a 2023 fifth-round pick from Minnesota in return, originally belonging to the Boston Bruins.
Nyquist is still out long-term as he remains week-to-week after recovering from shoulder surgery. However, per Michael Russo, Nyquist expects to be back before the end of the regular season.
That’s especially important considering this morning’s news that the NHL will closely scrutinize any trade deadline transaction involving players on long-term injured reserve for the remainder of the season. Additionally, as PuckPedia notes, the Wild have enough cap space to avoid placing Nyquist on LTIR, making this a legally sound move under NHL rules.
Nyquist, 33, is in the final season of a four-year contract with a $5.5MM cap hit signed with Columbus in 2019. His tenure there didn’t work out as hoped, with him missing significant time, including the entire 2020-21 season, due to injuries. He had 10 goals and 22 points in 48 games this season before sustaining his latest injury.
Minnesota receives, if healthy, a capable middle-six winger to add to the acquisition of Marcus Johansson earlier today. It’s an added offensive boost over players in top-nine roles like Jordan Greenway and Brandon Duhaime, who haven’t produced at a top-nine pace this season.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo was first to report Minnesota’s interest in Nyquist.
New York Rangers Make Multiple Roster Moves
The New York Rangers have announced a few moves today ahead of their anticipation acquisition of Patrick Kane. They’ve recalled defenseman Braden Schneider from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, re-assigning forward Ryan Carpenter in his place. In addition, the Rangers have traded forward Austin Rueschhoff to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations, per the team.
PuckPedia notes these transactions won’t be registered until tomorrow for cap reasons related to the Kane trade.
Schneider, New York’s first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, has solidified his role full-time in the NHL this season after splitting last year between the Rangers and Wolf Pack. He was sent down yesterday in a brief cap-related move. Still just 21, the right-shot D-man has five goals and 15 points in 59 games this year, along with solid defensive play.
Carpenter, on the other hand, has seen about equal time with the Rangers and Wolf Pack this year after multiple consecutive seasons as a full-time NHLer. The 32-year-old forward has a goal and two assists in 22 games with the Rangers this season, but he’s been in Hartford since the middle of January. Like Schneider, he was moved between leagues yesterday for cap-related reasons.
With the Rueschhoff trade, the Rangers move out a contract as they prepare to make a big add. In the midst of his third season with the Wolf Pack, the 25-year-old undrafted free agent will likely report to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. The former Western Michigan University standout had 20 goals, 23 assists, and 43 points in 113 games with Hartford across three seasons and has yet to make his NHL debut.
Edmonton Oilers Acquire Mattias Ekholm
5:37 pm: The Oilers have made the trade official, also acquiring a 2024 sixth-round pick along with Ekholm.
4:28 pm: The Edmonton Oilers have made their deadline splash, set to acquire veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm and a sixth-round pick from the Nashville Predators, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. A few moments later, Friedman reported on the return, announcing that the Predators will acquire Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, a first-round pick in 2023, and a fourth-round pick in 2024. Later on, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that the Predators will also retain 4% ($250K) of Ekholm’s remaining contract.
Frequently the focus of trade rumors for the last several seasons, Ekholm will try to become the missing piece of the Oilers’ defense. After spending the last 12 years as a main piece on the Predators, Ekholm will look to transfer his two-way play to the Oilers’ back end. Since the 2015-16 season, Ekholm has always averaged over 20 minutes a game, spending time on both the power-play and penalty kill. He has the ability to block shots and create a lot of them himself, he should be the significant defense piece the Oilers have been searching for all season long.
In a surprise to many, Barrie is one of the main pieces headed back to Nashville. Benefiting by being on the same powerplay as Connor McDavid, Barrie’s playmaking abilities on the backend had a resurgence after his one year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. After signing a 1-year contract with the Oilers before the 2020-21 season, his play impressed enough to earn him a 3-year, $13.5MM contract extension. In the second year of that deal, Barrie will look to transfer his passing ability to a new-look team in Nashville. Although Barrie is most known for his offensive abilities, his possession numbers are quite good as well, earning a CF% of 54.9 throughout his career.
A now-former first-round selection of Edmonton in the 2022 NHL Draft, Schaefer will become a nice prospect the Predators will add to their system. After scoring 58 points in 66 games for the Seattle Thunderbirds, the Oilers used the 32nd overall pick to select him. Continuing to grow in the Western Hockey League, Schaefer has scored 47 points in 44 games so far this season. As the Predators have also acquired Edmonton’s first-round pick in the upcoming 2023 NHL Draft, they are guaranteed two young first-round talents if they hold on to the pick. As current GM David Poile transitions the reigns over to Predators legend Barry Trotz, Poile has left now left Trotz with 11 picks in the first three rounds of the next two NHL drafts.
In a corresponding move, the Predators announced that forward Mark Jankowski has been recalled to replace Ekholm on the active roster.
Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Luke Schenn
The Toronto Maple Leafs are making their third trade of the past few hours, acquiring a former player in the process. The team announced Tuesday afternoon that they’d acquired defenseman Luke Schenn from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick.
The move, which comes after the team already shipped out Rasmus Sandin and Pierre Engvall earlier today, is a clear effort by the Leafs to add more defensive depth, even after acquiring Erik Gustafsson in the Sandin trade.
Schenn is a veteran defenseman who was originally drafted by Toronto, taken fifth overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. After spending four inconsistent seasons in Toronto, which saw him oscillate between top pairing and depth minutes, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for James van Riemsdyk. After later career stops with the Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Canucks, and Tampa Bay Lightning, Schenn returned to Vancouver as a free agent in the summer of 2021 after two Stanley Cup championships with Tampa.
He’ll now look to defeat his former team and help another former team get over a first-round series hump that’s lasted for nearly two decades. While never living up to his top-ten potential, Schenn has had some strong defensive seasons in the past and has penalty-killing experience. In 55 games with the Canucks this season, Schenn has three goals, 18 assists, 21 points, and averaged just over 17 minutes per game.
While interest in Schenn had been high throughout the trade season, the Leafs were able to acquire him without surrounding a prospect or a pick in the first two rounds of the draft. While Schenn may not immediately hold a place in Toronto’s top six on defense, he’ll be immediately called upon to enter the lineup in case of injury.
Schenn, 33, is in the final season of a two-year contract with an average annual value of $850,000. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was first to report that Schenn was heading to Toronto, while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the return.