The 2022 NHL trade deadline has passed. Some teams got better. Some teams didn’t. One team might have made both the best and worst trades of the deadline by itself.
Here’s a look at the winners and losers of the 2022 deadline, from the players who controlled their fate to the teams that took fate into their own hands. A full 32-team report card will arrive later this week.
More: Trade tracker | Grades on the biggest deals
Wyshynski: The Avalanche took their swing at acquiring Claude Giroux from the Philadelphia Flyers, but he had other plans. So rather than go all-in for another top six guy, the Avs smartly addressed a couple of their smaller but glaring needs.
I’ve been screaming since the offseason that the Avalanche had to address their lack of veteran forward depth, having lost a few key players in the last year. They did that and more by acquiring Artturi Lehkonen from the Montreal Canadiens at a steep cost — prospect Justin Barron was likely part of the Giroux package — but with 50% salary retention. The Sharks retained 50% on Andrew Cogliano, who hopefully has some fourth-line contribution left in his tank. Nico Sturm brings more physicality than Tyson Jost.
Meanwhile, they pulled off a great trade in snagging defenseman Josh Manson for the Ducks, who addresses a lack of physicality and defensive zone play that will be vital against the crashing forecheckers from Calgary and (maybe) Vegas. Manson also didn’t cost what Ben Chiarot did for Florida. The rich got richer at the trade deadline. These are the types of moves one looks back on fondly during a championship parade.
Shilton: If GM Jim Nill truly believed Dallas could win a Stanley Cup this season, then not trading John Klingberg and/or not making any notable moves before the deadline would be understandable. But the Stars are not built for that type of success this season (especially not with Miro Heiskanen out indefinitely with mononucleosis). So why is Klingberg, a pending unrestricted free agent who has been publicly sour about the lack of a new contract and would fetch a solid-to-good return on the trade market, still with the team?
We witnessed some serious returns for other rental defensemen. Mark Giordano pulled two second-rounders and a third out of Toronto. Ben Chiarot drew a first-rounder from Florida. So did Hampus Lindholm from Boston. There were options that Nill could have exercised to improve Dallas for the future. Now Klingberg is probably going to walk for nothing and keeping him won’t, in all likelihood, change the Stars’ fate this season.
Shilton: Unlike the GM in Dallas, the new GM in Anaheim knows what he doesn’t want — and it’s pending UFAs.
Pat Verbeek traded away four of them prior to the deadline, finding new homes for Josh Manson (Colorado), Hampus Lindholm (Boston), Rickard Rakell (Pittsburgh) and Nic Deslauriers (Minnesota). In return, Verbeek pulled one first-round pick, four second-round picks, one third-rounder, two prospects (Urho Vaakanainen and Drew Helleson) and two players (Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon).
To top off the deadline, Verbeek grabbed Evgenii Dadonov and another second-round selection from Vegas.
That’s quite a haul for the Ducks. It not only sets them up in future drafts but it makes room for Verbeek to get a look at more players Anaheim already has in its ranks. That will be crucial to decisions made moving forward as he guides the Ducks out of this rebuild and back towards playoff contention.
Loser: Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon
Wyshynski: The Golden Knights’ salary cap had been an absolute mess well before they added Jack Eichel‘s $10 million hit this season. They’ve been living on the edge, making specious cap-impacted deals for the last few offseasons, costing them good players and better teammates.
That cap management hindered their ability to add reinforcements at the deadline or seek to shore up their goaltending. Instead, they were forced to trade winger Evgenii Dadonov to the Ducks to open $3.375 million in salary cap space, hoping it will help them bring back some of their injured stars as they hang on to a playoff berth for dear life.
But consider this asset management: The Golden Knights traded a 2022 third-round pick and defenseman Nick Holden for Dadonov last summer in a deal that didn’t make a ton of sense at the time given their cap crunch. Now they’ve traded him to the Ducks along with their choice of a 2023 or 2024 second-round pick. So that’s a second, a third and an NHL defenseman for 62 games of Dadonov. It’s not a first, second and third for Tomas Tatar in 2018, but it’s still bewildering.
Wyshynski: The Bruins won the Hampus Lindholm derby with a massive offering to the Anaheim Ducks, trading them a 2022 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2023 and 2024 along with defenseman Urho Vaakanainen in the multi-asset deal. Then they signed him to an eight-year, $52 million deal with a no-movement clause through 2026-27.
Lindholm is not the player he once was, but he’s still better than anything the Bruins have had on their left side since they let Torey Krug walk. They could pair him with Charlie McAvoy or have him anchor his own unit. Whatever the case, GM Don Sweeney finally landed the defenseman the Bruins have been chasing.
Shilton: Yes, the Maple Leafs landed Mark Giordano to bolster the blue line. That was a priority. But Toronto did nothing to improve its lackluster goaltending situation, although it wasn’t for complete lack of trying.
On Sunday, GM Kyle Dubas did sign Finnish netminder Harri Sateri — fresh from an Olympic gold medal win — to a one-year deal. Per NHL rules though, Toronto had to place Sateri on waivers in order to add him to the roster. Arizona, of course, claimed Sateri, leaving the Leafs no better off. And Dubas didn’t complete any transactions to add another goaltender before 3 p.m.
So, Toronto is where it is. Beleaguered goalie Petr Mrazek was also placed on waivers Sunday, which Dubas clarified was for cap-related purposes and Mrazek cleared so he’s still around. That doesn’t help the Leafs much, though. Mrazek has allowed four or more goals in each of his last four starts (1-2-1) and was recently usurped by rookie Erik Kallgren. It appears Kallgren (who is 2-1-1 with a .930 SV%) will have to continue carrying the load for now, at least until Jack Campbell is up and running.
Toronto’s starter has been sidelined by a rib injury but returned to the ice this week. Can Campbell return to his previous form, and be the top-end goalie he was early in the season? The Leafs can only cross their fingers and hope.
Shilton: After 24 hours of wheeling and dealing, the Kraken now hold 34 picks in the next three entry drafts. That’s … a lot of choices. It should translate into a whole lot of fun for Seattle’s scouting staff, which will basically be building this franchise from the ground up with their recommendations (both in draftable players and trade candidates). Talk about having an impact!
Wyshynski: One questions the philosophy of GM Lou Lamoriello at their own peril, but … seriously?
The Islanders have been one the biggest disappointments of the season. Lamoriello’s response at the deadline was not only not to move a single player from this roster, but to extend forwards Cal Clutterbuck and Zach Parise in new contract deals. There were no takers for goalie Semyon Varlamov, or any of the forwards with term? Maybe these end up being summertime moves. For now, the Islanders’ deadline paralysis was as baffling as their season’s been.
Wyshynski: The temptation was no doubt there to really push hard for someone like J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks, a former Ranger who would have been an ideal acquisition at the deadline. Instead, the Rangers and GM Chris Drury made a series of smart smaller moves that could add up to something positive come playoff time. They traded for Panthers winger Frank Vatrano, Jets forward Andrew Copp, Canucks forward Tyler Motte and Flyers defenseman Justin Braun.
Copp was a coup. He cost a bit — a 2022 second-rounder that could become a first and another 2022 second-rounder — but he’s one of those players that can be effective down the lineup or playing up with the skilled stars, as was the case with the Jets this season. Braun, meanwhile, is a win-at-all-costs defensive defenseman with 100 games of playoff experience, something in short order on their blue line.
Shilton: The inaction from GM Tom Fitzgerald here is a head-scratcher. The Devils aren’t in the playoff hunt this season so they had some pieces that could have been moved, like Pavel Zacha or P.K. Subban or even Damon Severson, and yet, New Jersey did nothing.
Now, you might argue it’s better to complete no trades than to make a bad move. That’s true. Fitzgerald noted on Monday he wasn’t going to trade a player like Severson just because he’s got one year left on his deal, for example, when Severson is helping New Jersey win games now. It’s just that the Devils aren’t collecting victories that often, and the choice to stand pat is different when you’re a perennial contender or up against the salary cap or have already acquired a boatload of future draft choices. That’s not what the Devils have been up to, either.
As it is, New Jersey will enter the final stretch of this season near the bottom of their division and having made no strides in any direction. Fitzgerald may well like his team. Maybe he just has a lot of patience. But in his results-oriented business, patience only stretches so far, for so long.
Shilton: Everything’s coming up Flower!
Monday couldn’t have played out much better for Fleury. He put his time in with Chicago — a place the veteran clearly enjoyed playing — and now gets to reunite with old teammate Bill Guerin in Minnesota and chase another Stanley Cup. At 37 years old, those opportunities are increasingly rare. While Fleury had some control over a new landing spot, the fact Minnesota is a contending team that could make room (by trading Kaapo Kahkonen), satisfy the Blackhawks in return (with a conditional first-round pick) and offer a fellow veteran goalie (in Cam Talbot) to pair Fleury with … it seems like a great match.
There’s no pressure for Fleury to carry the load immediately, he can ease into the role and figure out getting his family settled if needed. Minnesota has needed a spark to help it climb out of a recent funk, too. Given Fleury’s reputation as the league’s most beloved teammate, this deal was a pretty big winner for the Wild, too.
Loser: Other big-name trades
Wyshynski: We had some players like Sharks center Tomas Hertl and Stars center Joe Pavelski that re-signed with their teams — and another in Filip Forsberg that appears on his way to doing so with Nashville. We had other players like Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks and Jakob Chychrun of the Arizona Coyotes that are likely summertime moves.
Then we had players like Phil Kessel, Braden Holtby, Tyler Bertuzzi, Paul Stastny and Jeff Petry that were rumored to be on the move but never moved. There was some star power at the deadline in Fleury and Giroux. But for the most part, the flat salary cap meant a lot more singles than home run swings.
Winner: Player empowerment
Wyshynski: If there’s one takeaway from the 2022 NHL trade deadline, it’s how much player empowerment played a key role. Claude Giroux had a full no-movement clause. According to veteran Philadelphia reporter Anthony SanFilippo, Giroux wanted to leverage that into a guarantee that the Flyers would bring him back in the offseason, agreeing to expand his trade options. Reportedly, they wouldn’t, so he didn’t and would only go to Florida, taking away any leverage from Philly. (Please note that GM Chuck Fletcher and Giroux’s agent Pat Brisson both deny this was the case.)
Marc-Andre Fleury agreed to join the Chicago Blackhawks when they gave him their word that he would have approval over any trade they’d make with him, despite not having a no-move clause. He was presented with a chance to play for former teammate and Minnesota GM Bill Guerin, and he accepted. Seattle captain Mark Giordano had modified trade protection and the team’s backing to choose his next destination, and he ultimately chose to play for the Maple Leafs.
This didn’t make for the most thrilling trade deadline, but was certainly a moment where veteran players gladly controlled the narrative.
Shilton: Brett Kulak and Derick Brassard were the best Edmonton could do, eh? It really felt like this team deserved more.
The Oilers have worked hard to turn a corner in recent weeks. After losing six of eight, Edmonton responded with five straight wins where they scored four or more goals in each. More notably, the Oilers goaltending seems to be (somewhat) stabilized and they’re back to sitting third in the Pacific.
So, why did GM Ken Holland do so little to reward his group for their efforts? McDavid and Draisaitl are in their prime, right in front of you. And there are clear indications of buy-in throughout the lineup to gain ground and maybe make a push in the crowded Western Conference field. It just seems like a missed opportunity by Holland to let the deadline pass and not capitalize on the momentum Edmonton has generated.
2:24
Check out the unconventional but hilarious locations in which Kevin Weekes broke NHL trades throughout the week.
Loser: Decorum
Remarkable moment in our interview with @MapleLeafs GM Kyle Dubas, as @KevinWeekes asked him about leaks out of Chicago on a Marc-Andre Fleury trade. #NHLTradeDeadline @espn
“We rely on other teams to keep that confidential, so it’s disappointing.” pic.twitter.com/OJMVESEDaf
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) March 21, 2022
Wyshynski: There’s nothing general managers hate more at the NHL trade deadline than juicy details of deals that didn’t happen leaking out to the media.
The Maple Leafs were engaged in trade talks that involved Marc-Andre Fleury. News and notes about those talks were reported by TSN.
“I’ve never had that in our time here, where conversations on something that didn’t happen are out a day later,” said Toronto GM Kyle Dubas, referring to Chicago GM Kyle Davidson. “We rely on other teams to keep that confidential, so it’s disappointing.”
Wyshynski: There isn’t a team that made a move that I loved and a move that I loathed more than the Panthers did at the trade deadline.
Acquiring Claude Giroux is an absolute coup — a veteran leader with loads of playoff experience, top-line production and lineup versatility. On top of it all, a star that’s dreamed about winning a Stanley Cup for so long that his pillow has etchings on it. Did they luck out by only having to give up Owen Tippett, a conditional first-rounder in 2024 (!) and a third-rounder in 2023, because Giroux — for whatever his reasons — would only play for the Panthers? Absolutely, but that’s hockey: How do you think the Rangers ended up with Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox?
I also liked the trade for defenseman Robert Hagg too.
Unfortunately, I did not like that move they made for another defenseman: Ben Chiarot.
I’ve been told incessantly by Montreal fans that the analytics don’t properly tell the story of Chiarot this season. The Panthers had better hope so because, based on the numbers, that story was written by Stephen King. Even if you believe Chiarot can reclaim what made him a solid defender before this season — and without a functional Shea Weber next to him, that’s not likely — this was an overpayment. Like, a torrid housing market level of overpayment. They gave up a conditional first-rounder (top-10 protected in 2022, unprotected in 2024 if necessary) at a deadline where players like Josh Manson, Mark Giordano and Rickard Rakell moved without a first-rounder being sent the other way. Quinnipiac’s Ty Smilanic isn’t a bad prospect, either, and he was included in the deal. You could argue this is around the same price that Tampa Bay paid for David Savard last deadline. You could also argue that Savard is a better player, or at least was having a superior season.
Again, a lot to like and not to like from Florida at the deadline. But you can’t say they weren’t aggressive, and maybe that pays off in their first playoff round series win since 1996.