ESPN Staff 6:35 PM ET14 Minute Read
After the Bruins, who is the best team in the east?
Ray Ferraro and Kevin Weekes discuss their Eastern Conference power rankings and debate who is the best team behind the Bruins.
The 2023 NHL trade season was tough: Competitors like the Boston Bruins, the New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils were invited.
Star players were on the way, like Patrick Kane, Ryan O’Reilly, Timo Meier and Jakob Chychrun.
On social media, there was a lot of fear among fans about trades that did or didn’t materialize.
Unfortunately, much of this happened in the days and weeks leading up to Deadline Day – which left nothing too exciting in Friday’s final push.
Still, ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski have identified winners and losers from the trade deadline, including a variety of players, teams and a former coach.
More: Commercial Qualities
Trade tracker 2022-23
fantasy twist
The Bruins are the fastest team in NHL history to accumulate 100 points in a season. They’re the best defensive team and second best offense in the league, a steamroller that could flatten anyone on their way to the Stanley Cup. So what did they do? They got better.
Ever since the Bruins acquired Dmitry Orlov from the Washington Capitals, the “Dmitry Orr-lov” jokes have been doing the rounds, giving them a physically skilled puck mover who is already making a difference. With him came Garnet Hathaway, a smash for the bottom six that other teams had coveted. Not happy with that – and after Boston lost Taylor Hall down left wing to injury – Boston took over from the Red Wings’ Tyler Bertuzzi, adding just another playmaker to the mix.
The Bruins’ hour is now, and they will not waste it. But that doesn’t mean they can’t think about the future, too: The Bruins ended the drama and signed star winger David Pastrnak to an eight-year, $11.25 million-a-year contract extension. The hometown discounts may be over in Boston, but now that the Patrice Bergeron era has ended, there’s a clear path ahead. – Vyshynsky
The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t getting any younger. No seriously.
Pittsburgh was the oldest team in the NHL before Friday’s deadline. Then GM Ron Hextall targeted Mikael Granlund (31), Dmitry Kulikov (32) and Nick Bonino (34) to bolster the Penguins’ tenuous hopes of a long playoff run.
Strange.
It’s a great story to have Bonino back in the mix. After all, he won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. But Bonino isn’t the same player he was then, and while he’s able to put a defensive punch up front for the Penguins, that may not be enough to really fix their lack of depth rating.
The same goes for Granlund. Can those two experienced additions make an impactful difference where 20-year-old Kasperi Kapanen (claimed on waivers from St. Louis), Brock McGinn (traded to San Jose in the Bonino deal) and Teddy Blueger (traded to Vegas) could not ? ?
Yes, all three of the above forwards also had downtime. But because of that, Pittsburgh had to improve their previous lineup. After these final moves, will the Penguins be able to keep up without adding speed and skill that has been lacking throughout the season?
There are many Eastern Conference teams that have prepared for what lies ahead. Time will tell if Pittsburgh’s first experiential experiment was the right one. – Shiton
Timo Meier is everything GM Tom Fitzgerald pursued. He’s the prolific winger the roster was missing and a potential boon on the power play that ranks 17th in the NHL. He’s the physical presence the team needed in their top six. He brings scars from the postseason rivalry wars while with the San Jose Sharks and helps with the Devils’ lack of playoff experience. (Forward Curtis Lazar, who the Devils acquired from Vancouver, will also help in this category.)
There’s some risk here, as Meier arrives with no contract extension and a $10 million limited free agent qualification offer due this summer, though Fitzgerald believes Meier could be persuaded to sign for Jersey. But the Devils acquired the most influential winger in the trade market without giving up any of their true blue chip assets like Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, Alexander Holtz or Dawson Mercer. Trading was an ordeal, but Fitzgerald got a player he coveted at a price the team could handle. – Vyshynsky
Part of the conversation around bottom-of-the-table teams was how they could use their wealth to add draft capital. It’s something that the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Coyotes and Sharks were able to meet that deadline. Or those mid-tier teams like the Blues and Predators who also added significant draft capital.
However, the Ducks were not among those teams. It seemed like this deadline was a chance for the Ducks to make the best of their current situation. They had upcoming UFA defenders like John Klingberg, Dmitry Kulikov and Kevin Shattenkirk to relocate, while the second-line centerline market made Adam Henrique an attractive option for teams looking for help down the middle.
Klingberg was transferred at almost the last minute, bringing back a 2025 fourth-round pick, a minor league defender and a potential forward. The return for Kulikov put Brock McGinn back in front and a 2024 third-round pick. Shattenkirk remained with the team while Henrique, who moved to injured reserve before the deadline, appears to have changed everything the Ducks could have received for his services.
Perhaps the worst aspect of all is that the Ducks didn’t make a trade until the last day of the deadline. They’re still in the hunt for winning the lottery and still have promising young talent leading the next wave in Jamie Drysdale, Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras. They also have nine picks ahead of this year’s draft. It’s just that the teams they’re up against to get back in contention via this year’s draft have more picks — the Blackhawks (11 picks), Coyotes (11), Sharks (12) — than the nine of the ducks – Clark
Let’s face it: Patrick Kane has always chosen his own destiny. No-movement clauses will do that.
But Kane really seemed to be manifesting in becoming a New York Ranger. In a league of players who often prefer to remain secretive, Kane has been open about his disappointment that Rangers had targeted Vladimir Tarasenko before the trade deadline. Such a move might not leave Kane any room to come on board. And there seemed to be no other team that the longtime Chicago Blackhawk wanted to join.
Well, fast forward a few weeks and it was showtime on Broadway.
As odd as it was to see Kane in colors other than the Blackhawks’ red and black, the player-club pairing just made sense. Reunited with his former Chicago linemate Artemi Panarin, Kane transitioned from a team with zero playoff chances to one that could easily contend for a Stanley Cup championship (even before he got there).
For 34-year-old Kane, the chances of chasing a fourth trophy will only dwindle. And there’s no telling where he could potentially sign the last multi-year deal of his career in July. For now, Kane can focus on the present and help New York potentially get over the hump into another final.
Good for the player. Good for the team. – Shiton
Patrick Kane didn’t set the world on fire on his debut for the Rangers, but his new signing takes them to the Stanley Cup favorites. Vincent Carchietta – USA TODAY Sports
Chychrun requested a trade with the Coyotes in 2021. Arizona general manager Bill Armstrong knew he was bringing a desirable player onto the market – especially given his contract – and set his asking price high for him. Over the next 1½ years, the Coyotes held discussions with various teams, but none hit the mark.
As the 2023 trade deadline neared, it looked like the Chychrun saga was finally coming to an end and the Coyotes getting their windfall. But instead of an unexpected stroke of luck, some believe Arizona got a gust of wind: They earned a conditional first-round pick in 2023, a conditional second-round pick in 2024, and a second-round pick from the Ottawa Senators in 2026 for the 24-year-old defenseman.
No blue chip prospects. No young rising stars. Just more picks for a team already overflowing with them.
The problem for Armstrong was money. The Coyotes are in cost-cutting mode during their remodel and play at a college hockey arena at Arizona State University while awaiting a new building in Tempe. They didn’t feel like adding contracts or withholding money in a chychrun deal. That knocked out teams like the Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, who were on the precipice of a chychrun trade a few weeks ago. Chychrun would not land on a Stanley Cup contender as expected. Instead, the focus shifted to upswing teams like the Buffalo Sabers and the Senators, who eventually landed him.
The hype that led to this trade spiraled out of control. Chychrun was built to be an elite talent, not a player who could become one. The Coyotes’ potential return from trading reached mythical proportions. In the end, Arizona performed as well as it could given the cost constraints. But the whole thing ended up feeling like air escaping from a balloon. – Vyshynsky
Deciding whether or not the Predators were a playoff team, or one that should at least consider an overhaul, was the big question before the deadline. Predators GM David Poile — or rather, outgoing Predators GM David Poile — answered that question by making the sort of moves his heir apparent, Barry Defiance, would make in the years to come.
Nino Niederreiter, who has one season left on his current contract with a $4 million cap hit, was the first to be postponed. Poile then received five draft picks and Cal Foote from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Tanner Jeannot. Just for context, Jeannot received the same amount of draft picks as Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko for the Blues in their combined trades, which sent them to the Maple Leafs and Rangers, respectively.
But being able to also move players with big cap hits like Mattias Ekholm and Mikael Granlund when initially thought the off-season might be a better time for such trades? It allowed the Predators to take a total of $15 million in cap space off the books for the next season. That doesn’t even count what they would have paid Jeannot, who is a pending RFA.
CapFriendly predicts the Predators have $18.297 million in available Cap space this upcoming offseason. They also have 13 picks going into the 2023 draft. It’s the kind of return that allows them to go in a few directions. Regardless of which path they choose, the Predators now have options they didn’t have just two weeks ago. – Clark
One of the key challenges of the NHL trade deadline is self-reflection. There are elite teams and recovery teams, and then there’s what a general manager called me the “muddy middle.” It’s up to the teams in the middle to clearly define who they are, and that often means coming to terms with not being a contender.
The Capitals, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues all came to that realization and are better off with it — the Capitals in particular have the assets and cap space to make spontaneous moves this offseason rather than rebuilding.
However, the Flames chose to reside in a hockey purgatory. You have less than a 50% chance of making the Western Conference playoffs. They have shrunk significantly following the departures of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk last summer. They could have moved some of their veterans—Tyler Toffoli and Elias Lindholm among them—but chose to stand their ground.
But if you want to stay stable, shouldn’t you upgrade? Because neither did they. The flaming “C” is the personified muddy middle. – Vyshynsky
Winner: Chasing a place in the playoffs
That’s how life works for teams in the Eastern Conference Wildcard Chase. On Monday they appear to be in pole position for the last wildcard spot. By Saturday they could be behind and have three teams between them and whoever the number 8 is. The West is no different – except that instead of the wildcard, the whole conference can be rearranged within a week.
We’ve seen teams like the Islanders preempt the deadline madness early on by bringing in Bo Horvat, which set the tone for what followed. There are seven teams in the East that are within seven points of the last wildcard spot. Some teams like the Sabers and Senators used the trade deadline to make the kind of acquisitions they believe could help them get into the postseason. Other teams like the Capitals may remain in the hunt but have also made the trades that show they have their eyes on the future. And then there were teams like the Cap-Straped Panthers who have to try and make it work with what they’ve got.
As for the west? There’s a chance that the eight teams currently in playoff spots could be the eight teams making it to the postseason. But the Flames are five points behind the last wildcard spot, meaning they could take a shove to get in or be left out. Even then, the top eight teams are separated by seven points. Seven of those teams made a move within the last week of the deadline that they believe can help them fight for a spot and maybe even progress once the postseason actually begins. – Clark
Conversations are sparked when a team trades for a 25-year-old top-four defender in the belief it will make them better now and in the future. But what if that trade means parting with a first-round pick thought to have been at the heart of your captain’s swap earlier this season?
And that means you have less than $1 million in cap space ahead of next season?
Yes, people talk about these things too.
The Canucks’ decision to act for Filip Hronek has continued the referendum on how the franchise plans to arrive at its ultimate goal of a brighter future. That’s not to say that Hronek can’t be part of that future. But the cost of getting him raises questions.
In fairness, beyond the Hronek trade, the Canucks have gotten younger. They added more youth by bringing in Anthony Beauvillier, Vitali Kravtsov and Aatu Raty to other deals. Beauvillier has another year left after this season with $4.15 million. Kravtsov is a pending RFA while Raty remains on his entry-level contract for two more years.
Where it gets complicated is weighing Hronek’s promise against whether the Canucks were in the strongest position at the time to make the move to get him. Hronek has another year on his contract after this season at $4.4 million. CapFriendly reckons the Canucks will have $894,583 in available Cap space ahead of next season, and that’s with Bo Horvat’s withheld salary and the Braden Holtby and Jake Virtanen buyouts coming off the books.
It can be argued that getting Hronek would be different if the Canucks didn’t have their current financial constraints. After all, they still have a top-four defender who seems to be an important part of their future. A future spearheaded by Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, and the possibility that their own first-rounder could win them in the draft lottery and pick up the presumed No. 1 in North Vancouver’s Connor Bedard.
But the question still lingers: Given their current cap woes, was the decision to bring in Hronek a move the Canucks were now ready to take? – Clark
Winner: Bruce Boudreau
It’s been a tough year for coach Bruce Boudreau.
But new media darling Bruce Boudreau is thriving.
The Vancouver Canucks dragged Boudreau around for half a season before mercifully firing him in mid-January. The veteran bank executive brought his talents to TSN for their trade deadline show and was the perfect acquisition on a slow(ish) league news day.
Who needs trades to announce when Boudreau has stories to tell or words of encouragement? And who better to talk about deals that are unfolding than someone who has been a player and coach in the league for decades?
Boudreau is a magnetic personality; It makes sense why he’s always been so popular with gamers. To see him shine in another forum after such a difficult, uncertain autumn and winter was touching. A (happier) ending for one of the NHL’s good guys.
We often hear about trades converging at the 11th hour.
This is one that fell apart spectacularly before the finish line.
Detroit came so close to acquiring Philadelphia’s James van Riemsdyk, a landmark development that spread like wildfire among hockey insiders. And then, almost as suddenly, the deal fell through. van Riemsdyk would stay with the Flyers.
Well, that’s difficult for a number of reasons.
For van Riemsdyk it means staying in Philadelphia and not seeing the playoffs this season instead of going to the Red Wings who still have a fighting chance.
It’s a failure for the Flyers to move a commodity that can now just walk away as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
For the Red Wings, that meant not adding experienced forward depth that could potentially help with the aforementioned postseason push.
Talk about a bad breakdown.
It’s hard not to have anything to do with van Riemsdyk on a human level either. After long weeks of hearing your name in trade rumors and answering questions about a future you can’t control, it finally looked like the wheels were turning… until they weren’t. To add insult to injury, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher stated in his press conference that he hadn’t received a single offer for van Riemsdyk as of 1:40 p.m. – just 1 hour and 20 minutes before the deadline. That also stings.
At least van Riemsdyk will have a say in his next goal on July 1st. – Shilton