It’s one of my favorite posts of the year! Sure, a lot of trades have been done in advance of the deadline, but there’s sure to be more action today. Starting around noon eastern, I’ll be updating this post with instant analysis on every trade that takes place. All of the moves from Wednesday and Thursday are below as well, with all previous moves in other posts.
LAST UPDATE: 3:15 PM EST
Minnesota Wild acquires Oskar Sundqvist from the Detroit Red Wings for a fourth round pick.
Sundqvist is a decent depth player. It looks like Johansson has the inside track for the second line with JEEK and Boldy, so if Sundqvist is on the third line, it’s hard to see more than a bottom end streamer.
Reports are that John Klingberg is going to the Minnesota Wild. This will kill Calen Addison‘s value. It’s so hard to say what we’re going to get from Klingberg. He’s been so bad for the Ducks. That said, the Wild PP is very good and he could get back to previous levels. I don’t mind a spec add.
Nashville Predators acquire forward Rasmus Asplund from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a seventh round pick.
Good get for Nashville. Asplund is a solid fourth liner with good defensive metrics and they get him for a 7th. Nothing really for fantasy, although he has scored plenty for Sweden in the past, so maybe there’s more there.
Dallas Stars acquire forward Scott Reedy from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Jacob Peterson.
More AHL deals!
Calgary Flames acquire forward Dryden Hunt from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Radim Zohorna.
I don’t really see how Hunt gets the role it would take for him to be fantasy relevant.
Anaheim Ducks acquire defenseman Austin Strand from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Chase Priskie
AHL deal.
Buffalo Sabres acquire Jordan Greenway from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for second and fifth round picks.
Well, the Sabres did something. Greenway has had a tough year offensively, but his defensive value is still very high. That doesn’t help us much in fantasy, but perhaps in a higher scoring environment in Buffalo, Greenway can get back to where he was last season, when he had 27 points in 62 games. That’s not 12’er worthy outside of a bottom end streamer, but he could regain his deep league value.
Reports are indicating that the Penguins are acquiring Dmitry Kulikov from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Brock McGinn and a third round pick. McGinn has been terrible this season; Kulikov has been even worse. I have no idea what the Penguins are doing.
Los Angeles Kings acquire forward Nate Schnarr from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Frederic Allard.
AHL swap
Winnipeg Jets acquire Vladislav Namestnikov from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2025 4th round pick.
As mentioned below the first time Namestnikov was traded in the last three days, it was clear the Sharks were going to flip him. I have very little interest in Names at this point in his career. He’s going to be stuck in Winnipeg’s bottom six and even if he goes onto PP2, he provides very little.
Philadelphia Flyers acquire Brendan Lemieux and a 5th round pick in 2024 from the L.A. Kings for Zack MacEwen.
A plug for plug swap, and Philly gets a pick for their trouble. I could see Lemieux picking up some real deep league value between hits and PIM if he plays every day in Philly, but that’s it.
Sounds like Nick Bonino is going back to Pittsburgh, but it’s not official at this time. Assuming it goes through, Pittsburgh’s bottom six has been dreadful, so Bonino will help, but little to no fantasy value.
New Jersey Devils acquire forward Curtis Lazar from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 4th-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
A fourth liner for New Jersey to round out their bottom six. Nothing for fantasy.
St. Louis Blues acquired forward Jakub Vrana from the Detriot Red Wings in exchange for forward Dylan McLaughlin and a 7th-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft
Vrana gets a fresh start with the Blues. I like the move by St. Louis trying to get the careers of Vrana and Kapanen back on track while they’re retooling. I’m not looking to stream him yet, but we know that Vrana has big upside.
Dallas Stars acquire forward Max Domi and goalie Dylan Wells from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for goalie Anton Khudobin and a 2nd-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Wells has been okay in the AHL, but that’s what he is. Khudobin is a contract dump at this point. Domi is obviously the main piece here, and I was skeptical of him being a value for whoever acquires him. He’s been piling his points on the power play with Kane, and he won’t be on PP1 in Dallas or with a Kane-level playmaker. I’m dropping him to a middling streamer for now, and while there’s some upside from there, I can’t see him ever being a hold there.
Anaheim Ducks acquire forward Dylan Sikura from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for forward Maxim Golod.
Classic AHL swap.
Edmonton Oilers acquire forward Nick Bjugstad from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenseman Michael Kesselring and a 3rd-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Nice piece of business by Edmonton getting Bjugstad. He’s the kind of depth player they needed for their bottom six. It won’t help much in fantasy, but it will in real life. Kesselring is organizational depth.
Chicago Blackhawks acquire forward Anders Bjork from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for future considerations.
Call him Kevyn “future considerations” Adams because apparently that’s all he’ll trade for. I can’t believe the lack of effort to improve a team sitting in the playoffs by points percentage. Anyways, Bjork is a fringe NHL’er, so nothing here.
Vegas Golden Knights acquire Jonathan Quick from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Michael Hutchinson and a 2025 seventh-round pick.
It’s hard to say how much Quick is going to play in Vegas. To be blunt, he’s been absolutely terrible this season. Like, worst goalie in the league bad. Maybe he gets a resurgence there? I still think Hill plays more than him and then Thompson should be back eventually, but it’s worth monitoring to see. Worse goalies have gotten hot over six weeks. Hutchinson probably backs up Elvis now? I have no interest in a Columbus goalie.
Arizona Coyotes acquire forward Jakub Voracek, 6th-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Jon Gillies.
The Coyotes should feel shame. That’s all I have here. Put Voracek’s jersey in the rafters with Datsyuk, Weber, Pronger, etc.
Boston Bruins acquire forward Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a conditional 1st-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and 4th-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
The rich get richer, and Detroit makes the logical choice to sell a rental. With the news that Taylor Hall is out for at least the rest of the regular season, Bertuzzi should step right into that spot. Bertuzzi is a solid streamer with upside, but he hasn’t been at his best this season, and I don’t think he’ll go onto PP1 right away. I’m not rushing to grab him, but it’s worth monitoring.
Pittsburgh Penguins acquire forward Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators in exchange for 2nd-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
I have no idea what Pittsburgh is doing. Granlund is… not good at this point, and now they committed to him for two years after this one at $5m per year, and gave up a second rounder to boot. Great deal for Nashville. There’s not even room for Granlund in Pittsburgh’s top six, so now he’s a bottom end streamer at best. Perplexing to say the least.
San Jose Sharks acquire forward Vladislav Namestnikov from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Michael Eyssimont.
This feels like a precursor to something else for Tampa, as this move clears cap space. Eyssimont has looked good for the Sharks, so it’s a bit surprising they’d move him, but now I’m sure they’ll flip Names for a pick. Essentially, they’ll turn a waiver claim into a draft pick which is good business. Eyssimont should go on their fourth line or be a scratch, so nothing here for fantasy.
Vegas Golden Knights acquire forward Teddy Blueger from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Peter DiLiberatore and a 3rd-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Just a depth add for the Golden Knights, who could be missing Nic Roy for some time. DiLiberatore has bounced between the AHL and ECHL so far this year, so I don’t expect him to turn into anything.
Los Angeles Kings acquire unsigned draft rights to goaltender Erik Portillo from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 3rd-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
It became clear that Portillo didn’t want to sign with the Sabres for whatever reason, possibly unwilling to compete with UPL and Levi for the Buffalo crease. The price for the rights to players unwilling to sign has been set as a third, so this was a trivial return. Long term, the Kings could use a goalie, so Portillo should have some opportunity. He’s a good prospect, but not one of the ten best goalie prospects, so expectations should be kept in check. That said, this is a boost for him in dynasties because he was either second or third on the Buffalo totem pole long term, but he could be #1 in L.A.
Ottawa Senators acquire defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 1st-round pick in 2023 NHL Draft, a 2nd-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a 2nd-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
After all of this time with Chychrun on the block, the return was extremely underwhelming. Great deal of business for the Sens, who get immediate and long term help at a reasonable price. It looks like the early plan for Chychrun is for him to play with Sanderson and on the second power play unit. It’s a slight hit to his value compared to his bigger role in Arizona, but he should still be very good. As for Arizona, with Gostisbehere gone too (more on that below), Juuso Valimaki is running PP1. He’s been solid since he was claimed on waivers, so I would definitely use him in deep leagues and he’s on the fringe of shallow ones.
Vancouver Canucks acquire defenseman Filip Hronek and a 4th-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a conditional 1st-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and 2nd-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
I really like Hronek as a player, but this takes the cake as the worst trade at the deadline. I have no idea why Vancouver is trying to retool on the fly, and if I was trying to, I wouldn’t be doing it buying high on a player having the best season of his career. This hurts Hronek’s fantasy value, as he has no chance to play on PP1 with Hughes there. He’s on the fringe of 12’ers now. This boosts Moritz Seider a bit as they have no choice but to play him on the first unit now. This is the worst trade since the Flyers acquired Risto. Great move by Detroit to get extra ammo to make a real push starting next season.
Carolina Hurricanes acquire defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 3rd-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Well then. Gostisbehere should step right into the role DeAngelo had last season, playing on the third pair and power play. This is a huge win for his value, as the plus-minus should be an asset now, and he was already solid at everything else. He’s already owned in 80% of leagues, but Gostisbehere should be owned everywhere now. As mentioned above, Valimaki is now the top guy in Arizona.
Colorado Avalanche acquire forward Lars Eller from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2nd-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Eller’s offense has really dried up in recent years. He went right onto the third line in Colorado and is locked into the bottom six. It’ll help Colorado’s PK, but that doesn’t help us in fantasy. I wouldn’t even look to stream Eller.
Columbus Blue Jackets acquire goalie Jonathan Quick, a conditional 1st-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a 3rd-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goalie Joonas Korpisalo.
This feels like the Coyotes tried to get Chychrun and Vejmelka, couldn’t get the deal done, and settled for the C- version. Gavrikov provides nothing but some blocks for fantasy, and I don’t think he helps much in real life either. Korpisalo has been hot lately and had good streaks in the past, but overall, he’s been a bad goalie in the NHL. You can make the spec add if you need help, but Copley started on Thursday, so I’m not rushing to do so. Quick was screwed over so badly by the L.A. front office by this trade. It would be amazing theater if he gets to play some meaningful games for Vegas against the Kings.
