Nick Schultz

Pittsburgh Penguins:

• Acquired Ron Hainsey from Carolina Hurricane for 2017 second-round pick and Danny Kristo
• Acquired Mark Streit from Tampa Bay Lightning for 2018 fourth-round pick
• Acquired Frank Corrado from Toronto Maple Leafs for Eric Fehr, Steve Oleksy, and a 2017 fourth-round pick

Sure, the Penguins didn’t get Kevin Shattenkirk or Martin Hanzal, both of whom they were targeting. They also didn’t add a single forward. Oh, and they never moved Marc-Andre Fleury. But are you really worried? Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup in 2016-17 with an almost identical group. With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the fold, they simply make due up front. Matt Murray has been lights out and the team can deal with Fleury after the fact. The only real issue facing the Penguins was injuries on defense and they responded by acquiring three defensemen, two of which are bona fide starters and the other could be a long-term addition. GM Jim Rutherford didn’t plan on having a big deadline this season and he carried out that plan. Pittsburgh is ready for the postseason.

Washington Capitals:

• Acquired Kevin Shattenkirk and Pheonix Copley from the St. Louis Blues for a 2017 first-round pick, a conditional 2019 draft pick, Zach Sanford, and Brad Malone

This one is pretty self-explanatory. The best team in the NHL went out and got the best player available and did so without having to give up all that much. A first-rounder is always tough to surrender, but that is the going rate for top-of-the-line rentals. Sanford is a good prospect and will be a good player. However, he and whoever St. Louis selects at #31 will mean nothing if and when the Capitals take home the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Losers

Columbus Blue Jackets:

• Acquired Kyle Quincey from New Jersey Devils for Dalton Prout
• Acquired Lauri Korpikoski from Dallas Stars for Dillon Heatherington

The Blue Jackets weren’t expecting to be in the position they are right now, but the reality is that they are in this position and they should have made the most of it. While the Capitals add Kevin Shattenkirk and the Penguins load up on defensive depth, the Blue Jackets simply swap Prout for Quincey in what very well could be a lateral move. If Columbus had added Quincey without losing Prout, then they at least would have bolstered their depth, but the one-for-one trade was confusing. As for Korpikoski, he is a solid player having a comeback year in Dallas, but he’s not all that exciting from an offensive standpoint. Is he really worth a 2013 second-round pick in Heatherington? An odd deadline for sure for Columbus, who both simultaneously overpaid and didn’t do enough.

New York Islanders:

• No trades

A good tip when you’re in a tight playoff race but your team has major needs: do something. By standing pat as the Panthers and Maple Leafs (and Bruins and Senators and Canadiens) all got better, the Islanders have crippled their own playoff hunt. Currently tied with Florida for ninth in the Eastern Conference and just one point behind Toronto, the postseason is a real possibility for an Islanders team that struggled mightily earlier this season. Despite a miraculous comeback, New York still needs talented top-six forwards, depth on the blue line, and probably could have looked at a backup goalie. Instead, the team did nothing. If they though they didn’t have a chance this season, the Islanders should have at least accepted an offer on Jaroslav Halak or shopped Dennis Seidenberg. By virtue of everyone around them improving, either in the short-term or long-term, New York is one of the 2017 deadline’s biggest losers.

New York Rangers:

• Acquired Brendan Smith from Detroit Red Wings for 2017 third-round pick and 2018 second-round pick
• Acquired Daniel Catenacci from Buffalo Sabres for Mat Bodie
• Acquired Taylor Beck from Edmonton Oilers for Justin Fontaine

Much like the Blue Jackets, the Rangers really didn’t do enough to keep up with the Capitals and Penguins. The trade for Smith was likely an overreaction to Washington adding Kevin Shattenkirk; at least the high price they paid would indicate that they were desperate. Smith is a good player, but definitely not a game-changer. The Rangers have been hurt in the past by giving away too much at the deadline, but if the Eastern Conference standings hold, New York has an easier shot at the conference title through Montreal and Ottawa/Boston than their division rival do having to battle each other. With that in mind, the Rangers should have made more moves again this season with an eye on that elusive Stanley Cup. All that said, nice move by GM Jeff Gorton to quickly add Beck upon hearing the news of Jesper Fast’s injury status.

Philadelphia Flyers:

• Acquired Valtteri Filppula, a 2017 fourth-round pick, and a conditional 2017 seventh-round pick from Tampa Bay Lightning for Mark Streit

The Filppula trade is really not that bad. It makes a confusing Expansion Draft situation even more confusing, but Filppula may be the consistent, veteran presence – on and off the ice –  that the Flyers need to get their talented forwards playing to their potential. Filppula may work out really well in Philadelphia in fact. It was still a bad day for the Flyers, though. Impending free agent defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Nick Schultz were not moved, and the team likely could have gotten more from the Lightning if they had simply traded Streit to the Penguins themselves. There was also little talk of the team moving Matt Read or Scott Laughton, one of which will likely instead be selected in the expansion draft for nothing. Steve Mason will also walk in free agency. However, the worst part of deadline day for the Flyers were those extensions. The team overpaid for both Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Michal Neuvirth on two-year deals. There had to be better ways to deal with impending expansion then two give those two more money than they deserve.