More Winners
Colorado Avalanche
The Casey Mittelstadt experiment was not working in Denver and GM Chris MacFarland not only identified it but he did something about it and made some major roster adjustments. Not only did he shake the hockey world by trading pending UFA Mikko Rantanen six weeks ago but he was able to acquire an impact forward to replace his production in Martin Necas but he also received Jack Drury, and a second and fourth round picks in return.
Since then, he has went out and acquired impact players like; Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle, and Ryan Lindgren and even acquiring fan favorite and veteran leader, Erik Johnson. It cost a premium in prospects like William Zellers, Calum Ritchie, and quite a few picks including a 2026 first.
Overall, the Avalanche are a better team now than they were a few weeks ago and were able to completely overhaul their centre depth.
These are the moves that a contending team needs to make and although it should be quite the battle in the West, you cannot count out a Nathan MacKinnon lead Avs team and these moves only make them deeper and more lethal.
Toronto Maple Leafs
It looked like it would be a quiet deadline for the blue and white but in the dying hours of the deadline, Leafs management came through making two big trades to shore up the Leafs roster. He acquired the hulking top-four, right-shot defender in Brandon Carlo as well as gritty middle-six forward in Scott Laughton. These were both players I had identified as targets for the Leafs and they should help to make the team deeper for the postseason.
Both Laughton and Carlo fit Head Coach Craig Berube and GM Brad Treliving's M.O. and the cliche playoff type players. Like many buyers, the Leafs paid a premium giving up firsts in 2026 and 2027, although both are top-5 and top-10 protected respectively. The team also says goodbye to prospects Nikita Grebenkin and Fraser Minten, as well as roster players Connor Dewar and Conor Timmins. This will undoubtedly hurt the Marlies in the short-term and although it is good to have prospects who can provide surplus value on entry-level contracts, the team is in win-now mode and with multiple key pending free agents on the roster, it adds even more pressure.
Although the Laughton deal is quite steep, he fits the teams needs and should make a positive impact for the next two playoff runs and with the Flyers retaining 50%, it softens the blow. All-in-all, Treliving acquiring a top-four defender with term as well as a third-line center with another year on his deal is good business and helps strengthen the roster now and in the future.