{"id":519505,"date":"2026-03-07T03:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T03:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/519505\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T03:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T03:15:08","slug":"avalanche-lap-field-as-other-cup-contenders-whiff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/519505\/","title":{"rendered":"Avalanche lap field as other Cup contenders whiff"},"content":{"rendered":"

That was\u2026interesting. Trade Deadline Day 2026 played quite the game of chicken. It yielded 19 total deals,<\/a> fewer than we saw last year, and the number was looking even smaller before a bunch of GMs slipped their trade calls in under the wire.<\/p>\n

What happened? The trading was likely hindered by a concoction of (a) the looming playoff salary cap, (b) the block on double salary retention within a 75-day period and (c) the fact so many of the best available players had term left on their contracts and thus weren\u2019t must-trade players Friday if their GMs\u2019 asking prices weren\u2019t met.<\/p>\n

So while we saw a handful of significant swaps happen, grading out which teams fared the best and worst is as much about the moves that didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

Welcome to my 2026 NHL Trade Deadline winners and losers.<\/p>\n

First, some disclaimers:<\/p>\n

(a) The list factors in trades made in the past two months, as I consider them \u201cdeadline deals\u201d in spirit. We shouldn\u2019t penalize a team for completing its shopping early, after all.<\/p>\n

(b) If a team doesn\u2019t appear on the list, it means I graded its deadline haul as merely OK, not significantly great enough nor poor enough to warrant mention in here. A good example would be the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> nabbing Corey Perry. They did just fine adding an experienced 40-year-old clutch scorer to a dressing room he knows from his previous tour with the Bolts in 2021-22, but he isn\u2019t an earth-shaking acquisition. Today, we focus on the teams that flourished or flopped on a larger scale.<\/p>\n

WINNERS<\/p>\n

Even if he doesn\u2019t re-sign, John Carlson makes for a helluva rental. He\u2019s a massive upgrade for a power play that ranks 23rd in the NHL, and he could lead an excellent apprenticeship for young Jackson LaCombe. The Ducks deepened an already-deep blueline, and they\u2019re so flush with prospects that punting a conditional first-round pick and a third-rounder was chump change for GM Pat Verbeek. In an extremely winnable Pacific Division, the Ducks gained major ground on their competition Friday.<\/p>\n

Given how underwhelming the deadline had gone for most of the league\u2019s top Stanley Cup contenders, even getting Nicolas Roy as a third-line center, plus steady defensemen Brett Kulak, had Colorado trending toward winner status. But Chris MacFarland, consistently one of the league\u2019s most aggressive GMs<\/a>, showed up the field with a late-announced acquisition of Nazem Kadri, who last suited up for Colorado when it hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2021-22. Kadri brings jam and, just as importantly, scoring ability to a powerhouse team that has somehow been awful on the power play this season. Does this mean Roy is your\u2026fourth-line center now? Bravo, Colorado. As a bonus, the Calgary Flames<\/a> retained $1.4 million annually on Kadri through the end of his deal in 2028-29.<\/p>\n

Hey, before you judge: look around the league. Landing Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy may not feel sexy, but the Oilers addressed their top roster needs in acquiring them: third-line center, right-shot defenseman and not one but two members of the NHL\u2019s top-ranked penalty kill coming over to help an ailing penalty kill. It was no use chasing a goaltender if his name wasn\u2019t Sergei Bobrovsky, so the Oilers fared well, especially when we consider how few playoff contenders really moved the needle with their trades this week.<\/p>\n

The Blues had easily the best, deepest, most interesting pool of assets to dangle on Deadline Day. So many of them stayed put, from Colton Parayko to Jordan Binnington to Jordan Kyrou to Robert Thomas, but it\u2019s crucial to remember they all have lots of term left on their contracts and can still be dangled leading up to the 2026 Draft, when GM Doug Armstrong and GM-elect Alexander Steen will have more suitors to work with. They did tidy work moving Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk, who will be 36 and 35, respectively, when their contracts end. Their total haul from the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings for both includes two first-round picks (one is conditional), plus a pair of intriguing prospects in Marcus Gidlof and Dmitri Buchelnikov. Gidlof, acquired from the Isles, is a towering goaltender with the ceiling to be a starter someday, while Buchelnikov is one of the KHL\u2019s best young players. The Blues did strong work and still have plenty more chips to play with come June.<\/p>\n

Context is everything at the deadline. The Leafs are big-time losers for 2025-26 as a whole, to be clear. But they\u2019re Trade Deadline winners for finally recognizing their situation. They did well to turn third-line center Roy into a first-rounder during a down year for him, and they were wise to cash out their pending UFAs in Bobby McMann, who has been a revelation but is already 29 as a late bloomer, and Scott Laughton, a beloved dressing room presence but merely a bottom-six forward. Neither player netted GM Brad Treliving a first-round pick, but the Leafs still got something for both; seeing the clock reach 3:00 p.m. ET with nothing for either guy would\u2019ve been disastrous. The Leafs didn\u2019t trade their way into Round 1 or 2 of this draft, but they can still get there using their assets that have term left. Maybe they move the likes of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi and Anthony Stolarz in the offseason.<\/p>\n

Sure, there\u2019s some risk in acquiring MacKenzie Weegar, who is 32 and under contract until he\u2019s 37. But I love the aggression from Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong, who had accumulated more than enough picks and prospects and recognized that it was time to throttle up. Weegar can still vacuum up minutes as a well-rounded top-four blueliner. With him on board, the Mammoth improved more than any of the teams below them on the playoff bubble in the West.<\/p>\n

NOTABLE IN MURKY MIDDLE<\/p>\n

We might view the Sabres closer to winners had we not known what could have been. Parayko would\u2019ve been a much more interesting add than Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn. Those two blueliners bring size and viciousness, with Schenn also carrying some of the league\u2019s best intangibles as a veteran dressing room leader, but neither grades out as a particularly good actual defender. Both players are rentals as pending UFAs, and Buffalo gave up a prospect in Isak Rosen who has 25 goals in 38 games in the AHL this year. I don\u2019t hate the deal, as it still deepens Buffalo\u2019s D-corps, and Sam Carrick, acquired from the New York Rangers, will bring energy to Buffalo\u2019s bottom six. But I envisioned some splashier upgrades for a Sabres team that could win one or more playoff rounds.<\/p>\n

The Stars have made three consecutive Western Conference Finals. They moved Tyler Seguin\u2019s $9.85-million cap hit to season-ending LTIR for full relief this week. They needed a top-nine forward and a right-shot defenseman. Aren\u2019t these all characteristics of a team that should be all-in? They technically checked both items off their shopping list, acquiring left winger Michael Bunting and defenseman Tyler Myers, but I expected a bigger swing from GM Jim Nill. Meanwhile, the Stars\u2019 direct competition, the Avs, got the player Dallas really could\u2019ve used in Kadri. That stings.<\/p>\n

\u2026OK, Yzerplan, we see you. We were watching you closely. So was captain Dylan Larkin after his public expression of disappointment last year. It looked like another year of nothing, but the Red Wings pulled out the Faulk trade late in the day. His minute-munching ability on \u2018D\u2019 will bring welcome support to Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson. I would\u2019ve liked to see Detroit add a high-impact forward, but at least they did something of consequence.<\/p>\n

Talk about being caught in purgatory. The Preds don\u2019t have Barry Trotz\u2019s successor lined up for the GM chair. They\u2019re in the playoff hunt but not in a playoff spot right now. So they\u2026straddled the fence and dealt a few expiring pieces in Bunting, Michael McCarron and Cole Smith. Doing so weakened the current group enough to make the playoffs a difficult proposition\u2026so should the Preds have explored larger sell-off moves involving Steven Stamkos or Jonathan Marchessault or Ryan O\u2019Reilly? It\u2019s complicated, as it\u2019s a matter of whether those players wanted to go \u2013 and what the next GM\u2019s vision will be. I can therefore understand why the Preds had to hedge.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t deny the vibes around the Isles are impeccable this season, with budding superstar defenseman Matthew Schaefer taking our breath away nightly. Brayden Schenn is a solid veteran add, a Stanley Cup winner and leader who can play center or wing and perhaps push youngster Calum Ritchie lower in the lineup into more sheltered matchups. But GM Mathieu Darche surrendered a first and third-rounder plus a good prospect in Gidlof to get a past-his-prime Schenn. The Isles are not the Red Wings or Sabres, bursting with prospects and desperate to end long playoff droughts. The Isles\u2019 drought is one year. They just traded Brock Nelson and Noah Dobson to kickstart their retool last year. It feels a little early in the franchise\u2019s ascension to surrender a first and a prospect. But I will give some credit to Darche for upgrading his team on a day when most of the Metro Division sat on its hands.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example of why we can\u2019t judge teams solely on their actual deadline days. The Rangers still get points for the Artemi Panarin trade, which netted them prospect Liam Greentree, while their returns for Carrick and Carson Soucy included third-round picks. I expected GM Chris Drury to make bigger headlines Friday, but Vincent Trocheck didn\u2019t have to move; he has term left. Same goes for Adam Fox. The work didn\u2019t all have to be done on March 6.<\/p>\n

Vancouver managed to slip out from under Conor Garland\u2019s six-year contract before it began; he\u2019s a good player, but a rock-bottom team like the Canucks doesn\u2019t want to be attached to term like that, so it was fine work dealing him to the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a>. The Canucks also managed to sell off Myers, David Kampf, Lukas Reichel and, earlier this winter, Kiefer Sherwood, so they\u2019ve at least started the rebuild. But pending UFAs Teddy Blueger and Evander Kane remain Canucks, and the Elias Pettersson rollercoaster drags on, so it wasn\u2019t a flawless deadline for GM Patrik Allvin.<\/p>\n

LOSERS<\/p>\n

The Canes were players at the previous two deadlines, adding big-name stars. Going into today, they had the cap space, the prospect capital, the hunger to push for a Stanley Cup\u2026and all they added was a blunt tool in fourth-line banger Nic Deslauriers. Very disappointing for a team that clearly needs a No. 2 center, as the promising Logan Stankoven hasn\u2019t proven quite ready to consistently produce offense at that level.<\/p>\n

The Kings made a statement when they paid up for Panarin just before the Olympic trade freeze. They understood they needed a marquee scorer to complement their defensively stingy group. They were infusing their lineup with sufficient talent to give Anze Kopitar one final playoff run before his retirement. The days that followed included a horrific broken leg for left winger Kevin Fiala at the Olympics, ending his season; a stretch of six losses in eight games; firing coach Jim Hiller; playoff odds dropping to 31.6 percent; trading left winger Warren Foegele for a pick, one year after he set career bests in goals and points; and trading Corey Perry for a second-rounder on Friday. Woof. They strapped Panarin to a sinking ship, evidently. Might GM Ken Holland want his top prospect Liam Greentree back if L.A. could have a do-over? Just to muddy things more, the Kings doubled back on themselves with a late-day rental of Laughton. The net change amounts to Fiala, Foegele and Perry for Panarin and Laughton. And let\u2019s not forget they traded Phillip Danault earlier this season. Can someone explain what GM Ken Holland\u2019s plan is?<\/p>\n

If we zoom out at the entire Wild season: they\u2019re winners, sure. They extended Kirill Kaprizov, they traded for Quinn friggin\u2019 Hughes, and they\u2019ve spent most of this season as one of the NHL\u2019s top teams. But when GM Bill Guerin sacrificed center Marco Rossi and prospects Zeev Buium and Liam Ohgren as part of the Hughes blockbuster, Guerin established that the Wild were very much all-in as Stanley Cup contenders this season. Moving Rossi also created a must-fill crater on the depth chart at center. To keep up with its powerhouse divisional neighbors, the Avalanche and Stars, Minnesota had to acquire a scoring-line center Friday. It didn\u2019t. Ryan Hartman, Joel Eriksson Ek, Danila Yurov and McCarron are not a championship-caliber quartet up the middle. Friday was a missed opportunity and, like the Stars, they Wild now have to face Kadri, a player they really could\u2019ve used, as a divisional rival.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens\u2019 pin-drop-quiet Trade Deadline would\u2019ve made sense to me a year ago, when they were just breaking through as a playoff threat for the first time since Kent Hughes took over as GM. But this season? They have the horses to be special. They have more prospects than they can graduate to the big club. If they secured a second-line center and maybe some goalie insurance, they could\u2019ve jumped into true Cup contender status. But here\u2019s where the playoff cap hamstrung them; a year ago, maybe Patrik Laine and his $8.7 million don\u2019t reappear until the postseason, but they had to factor in his AAV and couldn\u2019t find a taker for him on Friday, which presumably stopped them from landing their desired prize \u2013\u00a0which was reportedly Kadri. You never want to see a good team fail to plug a clear hole.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said it before and I\u2019ll say it again: making the playoffs in season 2 of their existence was the worst thing ever to happen to the Kraken. It scrambled their expectations, they added too many veterans too soon, and they got just good enough to not pick high enough in the draft to land true can\u2019t-miss foundational prospects. Here they are today, barely holding a playoff spot, so mid that their leading scorer, Jordan Eberle, has just 42 points. They\u2019d be better off taking a step backward but are too good to turn back, so they opted not to move any of their pending UFAs, from Jamie Oleksiak to Eeli Tolvanen to Jaden Schwartz, and they re-signed Eberle Friday for two more years. The Kraken are doomed to many more seasons of mediocrity if they keep fighting so hard to maintain their mediocre nucleus of veterans. The McMann rental just added another Kraken-tier player to the pile.<\/p>\n

Ugh. If we strip the emotion away: fine, the Caps did well enough in their return for Carlson. His contract is expiring and, with Alex Ovechkin\u2019s deal also up and no guarantee he\u2019ll continue his NHL career, GM Chris Patrick has to prepare for the franchise\u2019s next era. But when Ovechkin, your franchise\u2019s all-time greatest icon, calls today the saddest of his career?<\/a> Yeah, you might have botched the handling of this one. The Caps are only four points out of a Wildcard spot in the East, and they just removed their second-longest-tenured player in team history. Was the morale damage to the veteran core worth the return? It\u2019s highly questionable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

POST SPONSORED BY bet365<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

Recently by Matt Larkin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"That was\u2026interesting. Trade Deadline Day 2026 played quite the game of chicken. It yielded 19 total deals, fewer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-519505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}