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This year’s NHL trade deadline was rather anticlimactic, wasn’t it? We figured there might be a dip in action this year thanks to the condensed season and some of its limitations, but Monday’s deadline was even slower than most anticipated. Most of the big names on an already-weak trade board were dealt in the days leading up to the deadline, meaning we were left to gobble up scraps in the final hours.
When all was said and done, we saw the lowest number of trades (17) on deadline day in over 20 years. Many of those deals were minor in nature, with only one or two deals of larger significance truly moving the needle.
Still, we’ve got takeaways. Never doubt a sports fan’s ability to instantly react (and overreact) to even the most inconsequential of dealings, especially on deadline day. For this week’s edition of Power Rankings, I’ll rank the league’s 31 teams as they stand right now while also providing a snapshot of my feelings toward their overall deadline performance.
If you’re looking for a more expanded look at the deadline’s winners and losers, you can find that here.
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The Avs brought in some familiar depth pieces (Patrik Nemeth and Carl Soderberg) and tried to add some goaltender insurance in Devan Dubnyk, who hasn’t been good in a few years. They didn’t make any major changes but, as the team at the top of this list, you can argue they didn’t really need to. | — | 28-9-4 |
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Tampa continues to prove that the “salary cap” is just a figment of your imagination. You thought they didn’t have any room to make a significant move? Ha, here comes David Savard to reinforce the blue line. | — | 28-11-2 |
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You can make the argument that the Maple Leafs overpaid for Foligno, and you’d probably be right. But at the end of the day they got the guy they wanted, and it’s a guy that fits their needs. Foligno is a gritty, defensive-minded forward who slot up and down the lineup and make them a more complete team. Picking up Dave Rittich for insurance purposes between the pipes was also a smart move. | 3 | 28-11-3 |
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They may have been able to use a guy like Foligno for the sake of getting harder to play against in the playoffs. Instead, they stayed quiet and watched a couple other teams in the division (Tampa and Florida) get better. | 1 | 27-10-4 |
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They may have overpaid for Mattias Janmark a bit but he does fit in with the Vegas identity. He’s a responsible two-way forward who skates well and can pressure the puck. That’s Golden Knights hockey. | 1 | 27-11-2 |
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The Isles got their work done early by adding Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac, and they did exactly what they needed to do. | 1 | 27-11-4 |
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Not crazy about the price they paid for Sam Bennett (essentially two first-round picks for a guy depth player who isn’t great defensively and takes too many penalties) but they did get better. Brandon Montour isn’t Mattias Ekholm but he will help in the absence of Aaron Ekblad. | 2 | 26-12-4 |
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The Capitals may have had the most interesting trade of deadline day with their deal for Anthony Mantha. On the surface, they massively overpaid, but Mantha could be a great fit in Washington and he comes with more control than Jakub Vrana. Still, giving up two high draft picks and a good player to save some money and bring in a player who is marginally better (at best)? They gotta hope it works out. | — | 27-11-4 |
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Nobody saw the Jeff Carter trade coming but it does make sense for the Penguins. He’s versatile and may be able to help the offense with his volume shooting and his right-handed shot. He’s not the impact player he once was but it’s not bad value for a guy with an extra year of control and 50% salary retention. | 1 | 27-13-2 |
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It was a disappointingly quiet deadline for them. Seemed like they could have used another offensive piece or two. Foligno may have been on that list. | 1 | 24-13-3 |
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They got Jordie Benn. Call me crazy, but not sure that’s going to fix their defensive issues. | 1 | 25-14-3 |
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Dmitri Kulikov? Fine, but what about helping out Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with some forward depth? No? Okay, well then it just seems like the North division is conceding to the Maple Leafs this year. | 1 | 25-15-2 |
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Boston may be the biggest winner of the deadline based on pure value. They swiftly addressed their three main areas of concern — secondary scoring, forward depth and defensive help — with two trades, neither of which cost them anything of major importance. Taylor Hall has a chance for redemption on the second line in Boston, where he’ll finally get to play for a good team. Curtis Lazar can be a good back of the lineup add. Mike Reilly provides some support on the blue line. Will these deals “fix” the Bruins? Maybe not, but they improved without breaking the bank. | 1 | 21-12-6 |
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They stayed quiet, which isn’t shocking. Jeff Gorton seems to like the direction of his young team, as he should. Still, it might come as disappointing news for fans who were hoping they might push for the playoffs this year. | 1 | 19-16-6 |
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Talk about completely mismanaging the early stage of Victor Mete’s career. Eric Staal, Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson aren’t gonna sell many season tickets but they could help the Habs’ depth down the stretch. | 2 | 18-12-9 |
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They decided not to sell and now they better pray they hold it together long enough to justify keeping some of the pieces that may have commanded a premium. (See: Ekholm.) | 2 | 23-19-1 |
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They didn’t really do anything, unless you consider the Scott Laughton extension to be part of their deadline work. They’re going to ride this frustrating season out and, if things stay the course, probably miss the playoffs. | 4 | 19-16-6 |
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They had a number of players they could have moved, including Vince Dunn, Mike Hoffman and even Tyler Bozak. But they stood pat and decided to ride it out in hopes of a playoff spot. Looking at how many games they’ve got left against the Wild, Avalanche and Golden Knights…good luck. | 1 | 19-16-6 |
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The league’s most boring team had a boring deadline. Go figure. | 3 | 19-18-5 |
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Jamie Oleksiak didn’t go anywhere, which is a bit surprising considering Dallas claimed Sami Vatanen and a number of teams could have used a defensive add. | 1 | 15-14-11 |
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Stan Bowman did well in the Mattias Janmark deal and he netted some additional picks and prospects with his expiring assets. It was a pretty decent deadline for the Hawks, as they bolstered their pool of future assets without subtracting anything of long-term significance. | 1 | 20-18-5 |
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Shoutout to Doug Wilson for scoring some free draft picks in his brokering of deals. If you’ve got the money and you’re not going to add, you may as well use it to buy some draft picks. | — | 18-18-4 |
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Not a bad job with the Jeff Carter trade, but I wonder about the Iafallo extension. It’s fair enough from a dollars perspective, but does it align with the team’s rebuild timeline? Is he going to eat up valuable minutes that could be used on a younger player’s development? Would they have been smarter to just cash in on his expiring deal? | 1 | 16-18-6 |
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I have no clue what Jim Benning is doing anymore. | 1 | 16-18-3 |
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They did a good job selling the assets they needed to. Sam Bennett earned them more than I expected. Now you wonder if more sweeping changes are coming this offseason. | — | 17-21-3 |
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They did fine with the Palmieri trade and some of their others, but they couldn’t get anyone to take Ryan Murray? I find that hard to believe. | — | 14-20-6 |
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They’ve now got three 1st-rounders this year (including their own) after doing well with the Nick Foligno and David Savard deals. They also added three picks next year. That’s some good reloadin’. | — | 15-20-9 |
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I’m stunned Luke Glendening didn’t move but, in fairness, Steve Yzerman got plenty of other solid deals done. Getting two high picks (including a first-rounder) and Jakub Vrana for Anthony Mantha was one hell of a move for a rebuilding team. | 1 | 15-23-6 |
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I think they sold and somehow stumbled into getting better by accident. I like the addition of Victor Mete. He should be able to grow with that young group. | 1 | 14-25-4 |
30 |
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They were poised to be one of the biggest sellers and instead they held onto Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson. Not sure why that happened. | — | 12-23-7 |
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To not get a 1st-round pick or a player better than Anders Bjork in return for Taylor Hall is a tough pill to swallow, and it’s wild that they pulled the trigger on that deal well in advance of Monday’s deadline. They may have screwed themselves by giving Hall that NMC this offseason…and, you know, not putting a halfway decent team around him. | — | 10-25-6 |