Another trade deadline season has come and gone. While the main deals were completed before the day itself, we still had a solid run of transactions. Just like every major deadline in sports, there were a ton of teams that made out very well, while others did not. Here are some of those squads.
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Winner: Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche tendered towards their depth rather than star power after missing out on Claude Giroux. Given where the team is at, this made a lot of sense. What helped them out, even more, is that the trades they made were beneficial. Perhaps they paid a bit too much for defender Josh Manson, but he will replace some weak point on the blue line.
The trade for Montreal Canadiens forward Artturi Lehkonen might be the best one made all cycle long. Lehkonen is an analytical darling and has arguably been the best player on his team this season. The cost was 2020 first-round pick Justin Barron and a second-rounder in 2024. Lehkonen has drawn comparisons to Valeri Nichushkin and is also a restricted free agent at the end of this season, meaning that the team can keep him. Veterans Andrew Cogliano and Nico Sturm were also good additions.
Loser: Washington Capitals
There isn’t an abundance of time for Alex Ovechkin to win another Stanley Cup. So when they have a deadline that is a dud like this one, there’s a reason for it to feel underwhelming. Two trades were made by the Caps, but neither move the needle too much. Johan Larsson is a solid defensive add from the Arizona Coyotes who rounds out their center core. They also brought back Marcus Johansson, who despite his still relatively young age of 30, has fallen off since leaving Washington. The price was also not good, trading the elite shot of Daniel Sprong plus two mid-to-late-round draft picks. Given what other Metropolitan teams did, Washington is not looking great.
Winner: New York Rangers
The Rangers did not make a major, Earth-shattering acquisition, but all of their moves were effective. They dealt two fourth-rounders for Tyler Motte and Frank Vatrano to clean up their rough bottom-six. They also brought in Andrew Copp, a solid two-way, middle-six forward who has 35 points this season. On the back-end, New York improved by sending a third-round pick to the Philadephia Flyers for defensive stalwart Justin Braun. He improves another weakness for the team. The Rangers seemed to fix all of their minor problems.
Loser: Nashville Predators
This could all be fixed by the announcement of a Filip Forsberg extension. If he leaves, then not trading him today was a mistake. The return would have been insane but all that is now lost. The Predators are a bubble playoff team, but they are not in a position to go on a crazy playoff run. The thing that killed them is their one noteworthy trade. They sent a second-round pick to the Seattle Kraken for defender Jeremy Lauzon. Lauzon is yet to show anything that would warrant that price tag. It was just a strange week for the Predators.
Honorable Mentions
Winners: Detroit Red Wings, Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild
Losers: New York Islanders, Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes
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