Courtesy of Matias J. Ocner
For students, early March is cursed with midterms. Studying for exams, meeting for group projects and turning in assignments add stress to the equation. Tying into the theme of early-spring stress, the NHL also has its annual trade deadline, where teams have until 3 p.m. ET on whichever Friday in March it falls upon – this year, it was March 7 – to make critical upgrades to their teams and set themselves up for long-term success, or stay stuck for the rest of the season. Here are some trades from this year’s deadline, where some teams understood the assignment and others didn’t.
Tampa Bay Lightning: B
Courtesy of FOX 13 Tampa Bay
The Lightning had one of the busiest trade deadlines they’ve ever had. They acquired center Yanni Gourde, right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand, defenseman Kyle Aucoin and a 2026 fifth-round draft pick from the Seattle Kraken, as well as center Anthony Angello from the Nashville Predators.
Gourde played for the Lightning for the majority of his career, before going to the Kraken as a part of the 2021 expansion draft. He was instrumental in the Lightning’s 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup wins. Bjorkstrand is a consistent player, who has scored between 40 and 50 points each season throughout the past five seasons. Both players will add much needed depth to the Lightning’s roster and give them a boost for the rest of the season.
However, the Lightning paid a high price for Gourde and Bjorkstrand, giving up three draft picks, two of which were first-rounders. The Lightning’s core roster is already aging, and all the players they acquired have been in the league for awhile, so this probably wasn’t the wisest trade.
The Lightning received several solid players from this trade that they will likely benefit from in the short term, but it was made at the expense of their team’s future. Therefore, the Lightning get a "B."
Carolina Hurricanes: D
Courtesy of James Guillory/Imagn Images
A month ago, the Carolina Hurricanes were the talk of the NHL when they were involved in a massive three-way trade with the Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks. Left wingers Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall were acquired, and centers Martin Necas and Jack Drury were traded. Things were beginning to look up for the Hurricanes, who have had a rocky few years in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
However, Rantanen refused to sign an extension with the Hurricanes, which is something they should have looked into before signing him in the first place. Thus, he was bound to leave Raleigh at the trade deadline. The Hurricanes traded him to the Dallas Stars for forward Logan Stankoven and three draft picks.
While the draft picks are a good thing, the Canes lost someone super talented and didn’t do much to help their current situation, thus they get a "D."
Dallas Stars: A
Courtesy of Bob Frid/Imagn Images
Before the trade deadline, the Dallas Stars were already one of the top teams in the NHL. They acquired center Mikael Granlund and defensemen Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks a little over a month ago. Although those two players were expensive, both of them have been forces in the Stars’ lineup so far.
Last week, as mentioned above, the Stars acquired left winger Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes. Rantanen is ranked 10th overall in the NHL in scoring and 13th overall in goals with 74 and 29, respectively. The Stars did what the Hurricanes failed to do and re-signed him because they had some salary cap room with Tyler Seguin’s and Miro Heiskanen’s injuries.
When their team is fully healthy, the NHL needs to watch out because the Stars could very well win the Stanley Cup in the near future. Overall, the trade deadline for the Stars was a success, so they get an "A."
San Jose Sharks: B
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The trade deadline for the San Jose Sharks was a “Big Blowout! Everything Must Go!” sort of affair. Over the past few weeks, the Sharks have traded Mikael Granlund, Cody Ceci, Fabian Zetterlund, Nico Sturm, Vitek Vanecek, Jake Walman and Luke Kunin.
And, what’s the main prize been for the Sharks in all these trades? First and second-round draft picks.
The Sharks are in the middle of a massive rebuild. So, although it is disappointing to the fans in the here-and-now, all these trades make sense from a business standpoint. Having a strong base to build on in the future makes perfect sense for Sharks general manager Mike Grier, to be stock-piling draft picks. While it seems bleak now, the Sharks will be attacking the competition when their young talent like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith have some company.
Even though these trades will help the Sharks in the future, it did nothing to help them now, so they get a "B."
Montreal Canadiens: C
Courtesy of Matt Slocum/AP Photo
The Montreal Canadiens have fallen off the radar a bit since their glorious Stanley Cup playoff run in 2021. They’ve struggled through front office and coaching changes, and have never seemed to find the footing that they had that year. However, after four years of a drought, the Habs are close to getting a wildcard spot to make it back to the playoffs.
The Habs went into the trade deadline with right winger Joel Armia, center Jake Evans and defenseman David Savard as unrestricted free agents. All those players had quite a bit of trade value that the Habs could have used to acquire other players and bolster their roster to clinch a playoff spot. In the end, the Habs ended up trading none of them, and even signed Evans to a long-term contract.
Not trading Armia, Evans or Savard is the end of the world for the Habs. They didn’t get any worse, but their situation didn’t improve either. Thus, the Habs get a "C."
Florida Panthers: A-
Courtesy of The New York Times
The reigning Stanley Cup champions put themselves out there for this year’s trade deadline. With key player Matthew Tkachuk out for the remainder of the season, the Panthers knew they had to fill their roster. They acquired center Nico Sturm and goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the San Jose Sharks, goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen from the Winnipeg Jets and defensemen Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks. Then, minutes before the deadline, the Panthers pulled the move of the deadline and acquired left wing Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins.
Jones’ trade was expensive and a bit of a gamble for the Panthers. To acquire Jones, they traded 23-year-old goaltender Spencer Knight, who had the potential to be the future of their goaltending. But, the Panthers did manage to fill in the goaltending gap by adding Vanecek and Kahkonen. Additionally, Jones has been struggling, but the Panthers do have a reputation in the NHL for turning struggling defensemen’s careers around.
It will be interesting to see how the Marchand trade plays out. With a fully healthy roster, the Panthers will have Marchand, Tkachuk and center Sam Bennett all on the ice at the same time. That trio will be menaces in the playoffs and will surely add some rowdiness and entertainment.
Overall, the Panthers didn’t do too shabby by adding some big names to their roster, even if it was expensive and at the cost of losing some younger talent. Thus, they get an "A-."
Just like midterms, the trade deadline was a whirlwind of stress. Also like students after midterms, fans are relieved that it’s over. It will be exciting to see how these and all the other teams’ roster changes will impact their game as the NHL regular season slowly comes to a close and the playoffs are on the horizon.
Edited by Jenna Mandarano