This year’s March 21 NHL trade deadline, later than usual because the league was supposed to be shut down during the Olympics, is fast approaching.
Pending unrestricted free agents such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Claude Giroux, and Phil Kessel could be on the move. Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk’s trade demand remains active. The expansion Seattle Kraken could deal players to add prospects and the Arizona Coyotes could make moves.
Here are some of the trades or signings that have taken place before deadline day or injuries that could affect trade outlooks (a separate file will be published on deadline day):
NHL TRADE DEADLINE:The players who could be moved with less than a week to go
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March 19: The Bruins acquire defenseman Hampus Lindholm and defenseman Kodie Curran from the Ducks for defensemen Urho Vaakanainen and John Moore, a 2022 first-round draft pick, a 2023 second-rounder and a 2024 second-rounder.
The Bruins’ defense took a hit in the summer of 2020 when Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara left in free agency. Now, they have a high-quality defenseman to go with Charlie McAvoy. Lindholm is the third pending free agent that the Ducks have traded and they have been loading up on draft picks. Moore is a veteran defenseman and Vaakanainen is a 2017 first-round pick who has played only 31 NHL games.
March 19: The Wild acquire forward Nicolas Deslauriers from the Ducks for a 2023 third-round pick
The Wild become more rugged. Deslauriers’ 210 hits will put him first on his new team and his 90 penalty minutes will rank him second.
March 18: Lightning acquire Brandon Hagel from Blackhawks
The Lightning, aiming for a three-peat, gave up 2023 and 2024 first-round picks and young forwards Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk for Hagel and fourth-rounders this year and in ’24. That might seem a steep price for a player who has a career-best 21 goals this season. But he’s 23 and he’s signed for two more years at a reasonable cap hit of $ 1.5 million. That will help the Lightning this offseason after they lost their entire third line and other players last summer. The first-rounders will help the Blackhawks with their rebuild. Raddysh and Katchouk, who were scorers in juniors, could thrive with more ice time in Chicago. Raddysh and Blackhawks All-Star Alex DeBrincat played together in Erie, Pennsylvania.
March 16: Canadiens trade Ben Chiarot to Panthers
The Atlantic Division leaders remained active in the trade market Wednesday as they landed Chiarot, a pending unrestricted free agent who was long suspected to be on the move. In exchange for the 30-year-old defenseman, the Panthers shipped the Habs a 2023 first-round pick, a 2022 fourth-round pick (via the Rangers) and prospect Ty Smilanic. The Canadiens are retaining 50% of Chiarot’s contract in the deal.
– Jace Evans
March 16: Kraken trade Calle Jarnkrok to Flames
The Pacific Division-leading Flames added Calle Jarnkrok in a trade with Seattle as they continue to gear up for the playoffs. In exchange, the Kraken received a 2022 second-round pick (via Florida), a 2023 third-round pick and a 2024 seventh-round pick. The 30-year-old Jarnkork is a solid depth addition sporting 12 goals and 26 points in 49 games this season. He brings a lot of playoff experience thanks to his time di lui with the Nashville Predators.
– Jace Evans
March 16: Tomas Hertl re-signs with the Sharks
He’s getting eight years, the team announced Wednesday night. Reports say his average annual value of him is $ 8.1375 million a year. That gives him a nice raise from his $ 5.65 million cap hit and takes a major trade target off the market. He’s having his best season in three years with 25 goals.
March 16: The Rangers acquire forward Frank Vatrano from the Panthers for a 2022 fourth-round pick.
The pending unrestricted free agent is coming off a two-goal game but had only 10 at the time of the trade. But he had 24 in the NHL’s last full season and the Rangers need more scoring from their bottom six forwards. The Panthers clear more than $ 2.5 million in cap space in case they make another move. The Panthers will receive whichever fourth-round pick is lower, the Rangers’ pick and one they previously acquired from the Jets.
March 16: The Kraken say captain Mark Giordano won’t play in Wednesday’s game.
The defenseman is a prime trade target. He’ll be in the same situation as Flyers captain Claude Giroux, honored for playing 1,000 NHL games, which Giordano did on the road, then gone by deadline day.
March 15: The Avalanche acquire forward Nico Sturm from the Wild for forward Tyson Jost.
Both could use a change of scenery during down years. Sturm has three more points than Jost’s 14 and has better faceoff numbers. Jost, a good defensive player, will help a team that has given up a lot of goals recently. The Avalanche save $ 1.275 million in cap space, which could help if they choose to make another move. They’ve been linked to Giroux. Sturm is a pending unrestricted free agent and Jost has another year on his deal before becoming a restricted free agent.
March 15: The Canadiens are sitting out defenseman Ben Chiarot.
He’s a top trade target, so Montreal wants to make sure he doesn’t get hurt before the deadline.
NHL TRADE DEADLINE:The players who could be moved with less than a week to go
March 14: The Avalanche acquire defenseman Josh Manson from the Ducks for defenseman Drew Helleson and a 2023 second-round pick.
Manson, the son of former NHLer Dave Manson, is a physical defenseman who will help the Avalanche with the playoff grind and boost Colorado’s 20th-ranked penalty kill. In the short term, he’ll also help a team missing injured defenseman Samuel Girard. Helleson, 20, has 25 points in 32 games in his junior season at Boston College and also played for Team USA at the Olympics. The Ducks signed him to a three-year entry-level deal the day after the trade.
March 13: Winnipeg’s Andrew Copp is hurt.
The Jets two-way forward left the game after a collision. He’s a pending UFA who could have been dealt if Winnipeg believed it wasn’t going to make the playoffs.
March 12: Injuries to Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog and Arizona’s Jakob Chychrun
Avalanche captain Landeskog will have knee surgery and is out indefinitely, which could hasten the team’s search for a top-six forward. Coyotes defenseman Chychrun had been mentioned in rumors, though the price to acquire him would be high. He left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury and the team said this week that he would be out two to four weeks.
March 11: The Stars re-sign forward Joe Pavelski.
He’ll get $ 5.5 million next season, plus up to $ 500,000 in games played bonuses. Pavelski has been one of the Stars’ best players this season, and it was a matter of time before this got done, especially with Dallas in the thick of the playoff hunt.
March 10: The Flyers re-sign defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
He’s off the potential trade list with a five-year, $ 25.5 million extension. The Flyers had given up a first- and a second-round pick to acquire Ristolainen in the offseason, so it made sense for Philadelphia to keep him.
March 2: The Sharks acquire goaltender Alex Stalock from the Edmonton Oilers for future considerations.
The Sharks made the move after goalie James Reimer was hurt. Stalock began his career with San Jose and had missed the 2021 season with Edmonton because of a heart condition. He played five American Hockey League games this season before the trade.
Feb. 19: The Coyotes acquire forward Nick Ritchie and a conditional draft pick (Toronto’s 2023 third-round pick or its 2025 second-round pick) from the Maple Leafs for forward Ryan Dzingel and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.
Ritchie’s free agent deal in Toronto didn’t pan out as he dropped from a top-six forward to the fourth line to the American Hockey League. The key for Toronto is Lyubushkin, a 6-2 right-shot defenseman who plays a strong defensive game and had seen his ice time rise in Arizona. Dzingel was placed on waivers and claimed by the Sharks for his sixth move in the last three years.
Feb. 14: The Flames acquire forward Tyler Toffoli from the Canadiens for a 2022 first-round pick, a 2023 fifth-rounder, forward Tyler Pitlick and unsigned drafted player Emil Heineman.
The top-six forward adds important secondary scoring to a team that’s a Stanley Cup contender. He won the 2014 championship in Los Angeles with the Kings coach Darryl Sutter and went to the Final with Montreal last season. He’s also signed through 2024. Pitlick’s move helps with the cap numbers. Heineman is a winger in the Swedish league.
