NHL Trade Deadline 2015: Winners and Losers from Around the League

If we're picking an ultimate winner of the 2015 NHL trade deadline, it might have to be the Anaheim Ducks, who made themselves mightier with the unexpected addition of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman James Wisniewski, another young puck-mover in Simon Despres from the Pittsburgh Penguins and the previous move in bringing Florida Panthers veteran Tomas Fleischmann to an already deep group of forwards.

The Tampa Bay Lightning did a nice job of balancing moves for now with adding assets for the future, and the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota Wild both bolstered their depth for what they hope will be long playoff runs.

Deadline day (which for the purposes of this slideshow could be called deadline month) produced plenty of winners and losers for all sorts of reasons. Click ahead to see one writer's take on who is in which category as the dust continues to settle.

All trade information via NHL.com's Trade Tracker unless otherwise noted.

Winner: New York Rangers Fans of Present Day

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The Rangers were major players in the hours leading up to the final day of wheeling and dealing, picking up dynamic offensive defenseman Keith Yandle and bringing in gritty San Jose Sharks forward James Sheppard to fill another need up front. They'll hope these additions help them win the Metropolitan Division title and set up a return to the Stanley Cup Final.

Yandle has another year on his contract, while Sheppard's expires this summer, so their additions are purely aimed at winning immediately.

Loser: New York Rangers Fans of the Future

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The Rangers haven't picked in the first round since 2012 and won't again until at least 2017 after dealing away this year's in the Ryan Callahan deal last season and next year's pick in the Keith Yandle deal. They also gave up a second-round pick this spring in the Yandle trade and the fourth-rounder in 2016 for rental James Sheppard.

Perhaps most painful is that the Rangers gave up prospect Anthony Duclair, who started the season with the Rangers and played a great world junior tournament with Team Canada. Watching him thrive with the Arizona Coyotes alongside Team Canada linemate Max Domi will make Rangers fans cringe unless they win a Cup in the next year or two.

Winner: Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall

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The former NHL goaltender-turned-manager made off like a bandit during the frenzy, racking up first-, second- and third-round picks in the upcoming draft and a conditional 2016 fourth-round selection that could turn into a second- or third-rounder. Plus, Hextall added a very good young defenseman to the roster in Radko Gudas.

He netted all these assets by dealing away defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who turns 40 this month and has yet to play this season while recovering from a blood-clot issue, and 30-year-old defender Braydon Coburn, who has never lived up to lofty expectations but fetched a massive return from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Loser: The Coaches in Arizona and Buffalo

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The Coyotes and Sabres rosters were atrocious heading into the deadline—which is why both teams were sitting in seller positions in the first place. With all their most attractive and available players now dumped, coaches Dave Tippett in Arizona and Ted Nolan in Buffalo have to put together new lines and attempt to motivate the leftovers in what amounts to about six weeks before vacation.

How bad are things in those two cities? The top six Coyotes forwards consists of Sam Gagner between Shane Doan and Lucas Lessio and Mark Arcobello centering Martin Erat and Tobias Rieder. The Sabres have traded both their platoon goaltenders, Jhonas Enroth and now Michel Neuvirth, via TSN's Darren Dreger, and now boast Chad Johnson and Anders Lindback as the top two.The battle for last place is on.

Winner: The Old-Timers

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Jaromir Jagr is 43. Erik Cole is 36. And Kimmo Timonen turns 40 in a couple of weeks. They were given a new lease on life, with the Florida Panthers, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks all in the thick of the playoff mix. All three are pending unrestricted free agents who leave teams that are unlikely to qualify for the postseason.

The old boys fetched their former teams nice returns as well.

Loser: The Talking Heads

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When you spend an hour-and-a-half dissecting a trade involving a concussed player and have your own panelists making fun of the day, things are not going well in terms of entertainment value.

At one point, Sportsnet's Glenn Healy said to a fellow analyst during their broadcast, "We're putting makeup on a pig. You're excited about Ben Smith?"

Things didn't get much better. For filler on top of the usual speculation, Sportsnet had a feature on Los Angeles Kings forward Justin Williams—which might have been one of the best parts of the day's broadcast if not for it being interrupted by one of the many minor deals that kept popping up.

The day has become as painful to watch as the All-Star Game.

Winner: Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff

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Kevin Cheveldayoff was the only general manager in the league not to make a deal on deadline day, but he did his best work early.

Not only did the Jets take care of a bad locker room situation by jettisoning Evander Kane in a blockbuster on Feb. 11 that brought in a first-round pick, two solid prospects and two roster players in Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford—who have played extremely well in their short time in Winnipeg, but the team has padded its present-day roster over  the last couple of weeks.

Bringing in veteran Lee Stempniak in return for a more unknown commodity in Carl Klingberg was a savvy move, and picking up pending unrestricted free agent Jiri Tlusty for a reasonable price could serve the Jets well in the scoring department.

Loser: The Leftovers

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Olli Jokinen escaped at the 11th hour, joining David Clarkson, Daniel Winnik, Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli in those who no longer have to toil for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. The lone "rental" remaining is David Booth, who has to spend the next six weeks on a terrible team and looking ahead anxiously to July 1.

The same can be said for Devils forwards Martin Havlat and Michael Ryder, who remain in New Jersey, which traded defenseman Marek Zidlicky to the Detroit Red Wings on deadline day. Martin Erat (Arizona Coyotes) is another stranded soldier.

Better luck this summer, guys.

Winner: Jordan and Jordyn Leopold

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The veteran blueliner was out of place in Columbus and struggling with his happiness there, according to a letter his 11-year-old daughter Jordyn penned to the Minnesota Wild asking for the team to trade for her dad.

You see, the Leopolds live in Minnesota and have been without Jordan for months. The letter—assuming it is real—was a heartfelt plea that panned out. I'm not sure if it actually made its way to the coaches and managers of the Wild, but it's a feel-good result for the player and his family. 

Leopold, who played high school hockey in the state and won the NCAA's Hobey Baker Award as a member of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, provides some depth and experience on the blue line for a team that could be headed to the playoffs, so it's not as if it's a move solely made on emotion.

Loser: The Chicago Blackhawks

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Some may see what the Blackhawks have done the past few days as a victory. I respectfully disagree.

With Patrick Kane out for the remainder of the regular season and the first couple of rounds of the playoffs, the Hawks were in a terrible bargaining position while looking to replace some big offensive numbers. The Arizona Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers took advantage.

Vermette cost them a prospect and a first-round pick, and despite the fact the Hawks will likely be late in the round, it's a deep prospect pool, so the Coyotes could get real value with it. For a 40-year-old who has yet to play this season, the Flyers received a second-round pick this year and a fourth-rounder next year that could become a third-round pick.

For salary-cap reasons, the Blackhawks also moved out Ben Smith for an expiring contract.

The team is in no better position than it would be with a healthy Kane, but the Hawks are without plenty of assets now as well.

Winner: The Minnesota Wild

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The big move was made way back in mid-January, but the trade for backup Arizona Coyotes goaltender Devan Dubnyk for a third-round draft pick on Jan. 15 has turned the Minnesota Wild's year around. The team is an NHL-best 15-3-2 since that date, including five shutouts in that span.

Dubnyk has a .937 save percentage and 1.64 goals-against average since joining the Wild, who were eight points out of a playoff spot before making the deal and are now in a wild-card position with eyes on moving up. That's a win-win.

At the buzzer, the Wild also added streaky power forward Chris Stewart for a 2017 second-round draft pick and previously netted depth defenseman Jordan Leopold.

Loser: The Salary-Cap Throw-ins

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It's one thing to be traded because you're a desired commodity. It's another to be included just so the team you're leaving can shed salary to make the real deal possible.

That was the case for former Anaheim Ducks Dany Heatley and Rene Bourque and new Toronto Maple Leaf Joakim Lindstrom.