Losers
The common theme amongst the 'Losers' category is that... I have no idea what they are doing or what the end goal is.
Detroit Red Wings
My main takeaway from the Detroit Red Wings deadline is… What are they? What is their goal? They are fighting for a wild card spot, sitting only one spot back and decided to trade Joe Veleno for a slight upgrade in 35-year-old Craig Smith and an overpaid third-string goalie in Petr Mrazek, who carries a $4.25 million caphit until the end of next season. Although this move may technically constitute a "buy" in the literal sense of the word, it does not inspire much confidence in what has been a puzzling last few seasons in hockey town.
There have been many cracks in the "Yzerplan" over the last few years and many have started calling into question the man who was once seen as one of the best Managers in hockey. This deadline is the cherry on top of these questions and for a team that has spent nearly a decade outside of the playoffs, this move does not push them much closer. This year is certainly not a "all-in" season for the Wings but it feels like a wasted opportunity for Yzerman to not at least spend a part of his draft capital to shore up his team in order to secure a playoff berth and try to get some of his young core pieces even a taste of playoff action.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights are in the loser category, partially because of the reputation that they have made for themselves as aggressive and ruthless buyers, being in on every marquee free agent and deadline target year-over-year. The only deadline add that the team made was re-acquiring Reilly Smith for Brendan Brisson and a 2025 third round selection. I understand that sometimes you cannot go all-in every year and with them being a great team and having signed Brandon Saad that he counts as a deadline add but I am not overly convinced.
Division rival Edmonton Oilers went out and bolstered their team by acquiring Jake Walman and a legit bottom-six center in Trent Frederic and depth winger Max Jones. Fellow Western Conference team Dallas Stars brought in Rantanen, as well as Granlund and Ceci and another team from out West in the Avs had a major roster overhaul over the month or two.
The Golden Knights are in win-now mode as much as any other team, top line center Jack Eichel is one year out from free agency and core pieces like; Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl, Alex Pietrangelo, and William Karlsson are all over 30. The team is without a first until 2027 but those have been dealt at this very deadline and with quite all but two picks outside the first round for the next three drafts, GM Kelly McCrimmon is not completely devoid of assets to spend. The team should have done more to bolster their lineup and unfortunately only made a small add to reacquire an original Golden Knight.
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a team that puzzles me. Due to locker room issues, the team traded away a core piece in JT Miller just over a month ago and were able to fetch a decent return in a young second-line center in Filip Chytil, depth defender Victor Mancini and a 2025 conditional first. They then flipped that first along with Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, and prospect Melvin Fernstrom to the Penguins to acquire Drew O'Connor and Marcus Pettersson.
They then locked up both Pettersson and O'Connor for a few additional seasons and largely stood pat, shipping out blueliner Carson Soucy who has another year on his deal for a below market return of a 2025 third round pick. They are a team that has been in and out of the playoffs the last handful of years and are currently battling for a wildcard spot after making a second round postseason appearance last spring.
There have no doubt been complications for the Canucks front office but the team has been a rollercoaster to watch from afar, especially after they made two major buys last season in Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. There have even been reports that they may be shopping star center Elias Pettersson due to the locker room problems, which would make this a dumpster fire. The Canucks need to pick a lane because they are another team that is at risk of having to tear it all down once again or battle with mediocrity as well.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers plan seems very confusing, full disclosure, I have always been quite low on them and feel that they are more a product of having one of the league's best goaltenders than an actual Cup contender. However, the team seems way too conservative for a team that has made the conference finals in two of the last three seasons, making multiple attempts to sell players, while also dumping cap and making buys?
The deadline moves themselves are confusing enough as they shipped out Reilly Smith and Ryan Lindgren for what I would consider below market returns, while at the same time acquiring Calvin De Haan, Juuso Parssinen, Brendan Brisson, and a 2025 second, third, and fourth round picks.
They then went to the Canucks and traded for Carson Soucy for a 2025 third round pick. It seems clear that the plan is to get a different look on the backend but the Rangers are not really a team positioned to be just shuffling deck chairs. Going further back this season, forcing their captain out of town, trading their former second overall pick and acquiring a player who has garnered a reputation as a locker room issue in JT Miller is a very strange sequence of events. Hopefully, these moves work out for the Rangers and they can steer the ship in the right direction but as of right now, things look murky.
When the day is done, there were seven winners and four losers on deadline day but many others fall everywhere in between. A few teams that did not make the cut but still made some notable moves are; Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Chicago Blackhawks.