Analyzing deals before March 8 trade deadline
The NHL trade deadline is rapidly approaching.
Recent history shows that many of the bigger deals happen in the days leading up to the deadline rather than on the final day.
So the Dallas Stars‘ acquisition of defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night could be a sign that things are starting to pick up again. There had been a relative lull following two significant deals by the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets during the All-Star break.
Follow this tracker for news and analysis on deals that have happened this season in the months leading up to the NHL trade deadline. A separate live blog will be posted on the March 8 deadline day.
TRADE DEADLINE: What do playoff contenders need?
Feb. 29: Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Anaheim Ducks defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin in three-team trade
The Maple Leafs are bringing back a familiar face by acquiring Lyubushkin. They also traded for Lyubushkin midseason in 2022. The 29-year-old is not known for his offense — he has just five goals and 38 assists in 334 career games. He has no goals and just four assists this season while skating to a -13.
He might not move the needle much, but Lyubushkin is a decent depth option for a team looking to go on a deep postseason run. (Prior to the trade, the Leafs saw veteran defenseman Mark Giordano exit Thursday’s game early with an injury.) Plus, Lyubushkin is coming pretty cheap in both picks and actual cost.
The Ducks are retaining 50% of Lyubushkin’s salary and the Carolina Hurricanes have been brought into the deal to retain an additional 25%. His cap hit for the Leafs will be just $687,500. The Ducks will be getting a third-round pick (2025) and the Hurricanes will get a sixth-round pick (2024). The Leafs are also getting the rights to unsigned prospect Kirill Slepets in the deal. — Jace Evans
Feb. 28: Dallas Stars acquire Calgary Flames defenseman Chris Tanev in three-team trade
The Stars give up 20-year-old defense prospect Artem Grushnikov, a 2024 second-round pick and a conditional 2026 third-rounder for Chris Tanev and the rights to UMass goalie Cole Brady. Tanev, 34, a pending unrestricted free agent, is valued for his defensive play and ranks second in the league in blocked shots. He’ll help steady a Stars team that has given 23 goals during a 1-4-2 slide. He’s also a right-hand shot, important to the Stars, whose defense is filled with left-hand shots. Brady was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 2019. The Stars sent a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Devils to retain half of Tanev’s $4.5 million salary. The Flames trade was the second in a month after they earlier sent Elias Lindholm to the Canucks.
Feb. 22: Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins make trade
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Emil Bemstrom from the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Alex Nylander and a conditional sixth-round pick. Both players are pending restricted free agents and likely could benefit from a new opportunity. Nylander, 25, whose brother William stars for the Toronto Maple Leafs, has spent most of the season in the American Hockey League. Bemstrom, 24, has played 32 games this season, recording 11 points. His career best was 22 points last season. Nylander’s career best was 26 points in 2019-20 with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Feb. 2: Winnipeg Jets acquire Sean Monahan from Montreal Canadiens
The Winnipeg Jets gave up a 2024 first-round draft pick and a 2027 conditional third-round pick for pending unrestricted free agent center Sean Monahan. The move came two days after the Vancouver Canucks acquired center Elias Lindholm.
Monahan, 29, healthy this season after recent injury-filled campaigns, had 35 points in 49 games – his best scoring pace since 2018-19. Those numbers included 16 power-play points and two short-handed goals. He had 11 points in his last seven games before the trade and had won 55% of his faceoffs.
Jan. 31: Vancouver Canucks acquire Elias Lindholm from Calgary Flames
The Vancouver Canucks showed they are going for it and the Calgary Flames showed they’ll be sellers. All-Star forward Elias Lindholm, a pending unrestricted free agent, is a strong, two-way center who will boost the No. 1 overall Canucks’ top six forward group and help their middle-ranked penalty kill.
The Flames get forward Andrei Kuzmenko, prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick. Kuzmenko, who has been a healthy scratch at times this season and had only eight goals, will benefit the Flames if he rediscovers his 39-goal form from last season.
The Flames still have to make decisions on pending unrestricted free agents Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev before the deadline.
Jan. 25: Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins make minor trade
The Minnesota Wild acquired minor league defenseman Will Butcher from the Pittsburgh Penguins for minor league forward Maxim Cajkovic. Though Butcher has 275 games of NHL experience and Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon is out for the season, Butcher will stay in the American Hockey League.
Jan. 8: Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers make trade
The rights to Cutter Gauthier, 19, voted the top forward at the world junior championships for gold-medal-winning USA, are heading to Anaheim for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick. Both players were top-six draft picks. Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said the Boston College forward wasn’t interested in signing with Philadelphia, and he called Drysdale, 21, a “pretty special” and “exciting” player. Drysdale is in the first year of a three-year contract but missed all but eight games last season and had played only 10 games this season because of injuries. He had 32 points in his lone full season.
Dec. 15: Seattle Kraken acquire forward Tomas Tatar from Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche receive a fifth-round pick in the trade. The Kraken rank near the bottom of the league in scoring, and they’re hoping for the Tomas Tatar of previous seasons, not this season. He’s a seven-time 20-goal scorer who has just one goal this season after not getting a free agent contract until September. But he’s a veteran of 810 games with 212 career goals, including 50 on the power play. He’ll help Seattle deal with injuries among its forwards. The team placed Jaden Schwartz on long-term injured reserve.
In a depth trade, the San Jose Sharks acquired center Jack Studnicka from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Nick Cicek and a sixth-round pick.
Dec. 8: New York Islanders acquire St. Louis Blues’ Robert Bortuzzo
The New York Islanders acquired defenseman Robert Bortuzzo from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a seventh-round pick. The trade was announced after the team said Ryan Pulock (lower body) was going on the injured list, joining fellow defensemen Adam Pelech and Sebastian Aho. Bortuzzo, 34, won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019 but had been limited to four games this season and often was a healthy scratch. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Dec. 6: Buffalo Sabres acquire Columbus Blue Jackets’ Eric Robinson
The Buffalo Sabres acquired winger Eric Robinson from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2025. The fourth-liner had 82 points in 266 career games, including one goal in seven games this season at the time of the trade.
Nov. 30: Vancouver Canucks acquire defenseman Nikita Zadorov
The Vancouver Canucks got stronger on defense by adding rugged 6-foot-6, 248-pound defenseman Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames. The Canucks gave up the fifth-round pick they acquired a day earlier in the Anthony Beauvillier trade, plus a 2026 third-round pick. Calgary’s return doesn’t seem high for a player who led the Flames in hits and is going to a division rival, but Zadorov had requested a trade and is a pending unrestricted free agent. The Flames, who have pushed closer to a playoff position after a tough start, also have forward Elias Lindholm and defensemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev in the final years of their contracts.
Nov. 28: Chicago Blackhawks trade for Anthony Beauvillier after waiving Corey Perry
The Chicago Blackhawks placed Corey Perry on unconditional waivers in order to terminate his contract. The team said it determined that Perry “engaged in conduct that is unacceptable, and in violation of both the terms of his Standard Player’s Contract and the Blackhawks’ internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments.” The Beauvillier trade happened later. The Vancouver Canucks, who acquired Beauvillier last season in the Bo Horvat trade, will receive a fifth-round draft pick. More important for Vancouver, the Blackhawks take on his entire $4.15 million cap hit, giving them flexibility before the trade deadline. Beauvillier, a winger like Perry, had two goals and six assists in 22 games this season.
Perry later issued an apology for his “inappropriate and wrong” behavior.
Nov. 8: Minnesota Wild trade Calen Addison to San Jose Sharks, acquire Zach Bogosian from Tampa Bay Lightning
Addison was sent to the San Jose Sharks for forward Adam Raska and a 2026 fifth-round draft pick. The defenseman is a power play specialist, but he is unreliable in his own zone. That led to him being a healthy scratch often down the stretch last season. With the Wild getting Jared Spurgeon back soon from injury (he was activated from long-term injured reserve), the power play opportunities will dwindle. Addison will be more valuable to the Sharks, who dealt Erik Karlsson last summer. He will be a restricted free agent at season’s end.
Bogosian lacks Addison’s offense, but the veteran takes care of his end of the ice. He’s a right-handed shot, like Addison.
“He’s a big guy,” Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin told reporters. “He still skates well. He brings heaviness. He brings some grit and we need that.”
The trade buys the Lightning a little bit of salary cap breathing room. Bogosian, in the final season of a three-year contract, has a $850,000 cap hit.
Oct. 10: Carolina Hurricanes acquire forward Callahan Burke from Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Caleb Jones
The Hurricanes loaded up on defense this offseason and Jones was the odd man out. Both players will play for the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles.
