The trade deadline has come and gone, and … it wasn’t bad, right? We get a decent serving of deals, some more important than others, and while it didn’t fully live up to the hype, deadlines never quite do. There are ways in which we could give the annual market a boost, but this one delivered some interesting moves.
It also should probably shuffle up our rankings, although I’m still working through that part. Let’s dig through a few of the teams that made the strongest case to move up or down based on what they did or didn’t do.
Bonus five: Teams I’ve changed my views on the most after the deadline
5. The Western Canadian teams — Yes, we’re one entry in and I’m already cheating by cramming three teams into one slot. What can I tell you, it was a busy deadline.
I like what the Oilers did, landing Adam Henrique and some solid depth. I haven’t had them in my top five for a few weeks, but they’re hovering right around it, and maybe this is the week I find a way to get them back in. The Canucks are a tougher call after a quiet deadline day, albeit one that came after they swung big on Elias Lindholm in January. That move feels fascinating in hindsight, with Lindholm struggling early in his Vancouver tenure and even seeing his name pop up in deadline rumors, which has to make for an interesting dynamic going forward. Oh, and they didn’t sign Phil Kessel, so boo this team.
As for the Jets, the good news is that they had a solid deadline, especially if you include a Sean Monahan deal that’s looking like a better fit than I’d thought it would be. The bad news is that Dallas and Colorado both improved too, so finishing first in the Central feels absolutely crucial right now. And that’s before you try to figure out how to get out of a Western Conference where everyone loaded up except the Kings.
4. New Jersey Devils — From the sounds of things, they tried to land their goaltender. It didn’t happen, so we got some version of Plan B, with Jake Allen and Kaapo Kähkōnen. I don’t hate the Allen move as much as others might have, and sometimes you have to pivot. But this was a backup plan with a little too much emphasis on the backups for my tastes, and combined with the Toffoli deal, it sure felt like the Devils were taking a knee. I’ve been reluctant to write them off all year long, most notably when I refused to even consider that they could miss the playoffs back around U.S. Thanksgiving. It looks like I was wrong.
3. Boston Bruins — At times, the days leading up to the deadline felt like a game of chicken between the Bruins and Leafs, with a first-round matchup looking likely and upgrades available for both rosters. Neither team blinked in the end, settling for depth adds, although it sure sounds like Don Sweeney was aiming higher. Boston has to feel good about that playoff meeting after beating the Leafs twice during the week, but you wonder what comes after that given they seemed to lose ground to the Panthers and Hurricanes.
2. Carolina Hurricanes — I didn’t love the Evgeny Kuznetsov gamble as much as others seemed to; even at 50 percent retained I think there’s a chance they’re stuck with a lemon next year, and they moved a decent pick for him. But these rankings are for this season only, meaning we don’t really care about the pick or next year’s cap. And for this year, Kuznetsov is worth the risk. Adding Jake Guentzel is of course a major boost. And the fact their only real rival for division supremacy was more conservative is enough to move the Hurricanes into Metro favorite status.
Jake Guentzel is a Hurricane, according to @PierreVLeBrun.
Carolina is sending Pittsburgh a conditional first-round pick that becomes Philly’s second rounder if the Canes do not make the Stanley Cup Final. pic.twitter.com/ERl04V2fwI
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 8, 2024
Hey, by the way, can we just acknowledge that the big pick in this deal is not a conditional first? If a team has to…
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