NHL Trade Deadline Winners and Losers - (The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Losers)

Pittsburgh Penguins (Losers)

With the Pittsburgh Penguins trading away Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes a division rival, it felt like the Penguins taking their first steps into preparing for the post-Sidney Crosby era.

Guentzel was the best winger Crosby has played with in his career and the two were dynamic together, but even with the addition of Erik Karlsson at the start of the season the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves well outside of a playoff spot.

The Penguins come as loser for two reasons.

Having to sell when they have a team with four or five hall of famers on it just sad.

Secondly, they probably didn't get enough for Jake Guentzel, and they tried to split the difference between selling and still trying to make the playoffs. This never works, so pick a lane.

Selling Guentzel was the Penguins best option, but if you're doing it, go all the way down that road.

Guentzel is a free agent at the end of the year and would have likely walked for nothing if the Penguins had not dealt him at the deadline. This just has to be a sad realization for Penguin fans that the Crosby, Evgenii Malkin era is coming to an end in Pittsburgh.

To recap, the Winners of the NHL Trade Deadline 2024 are the Rangers, Jets, Knights, Avalanche and Panthers.

The loser are the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canucks and the Penguins.