Avalanche Land Nelson From Islanders
Previously published analysis for this trade can be found via this link.
2025 NHL Trade Deadline: Trade Tracker and Analysis Leading Up to March 7
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The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline is set for 3 p.m. ET on Friday, March 7.
Many trades will occur in the days and weeks before that cutoff. In fact, we've already seen a flurry of moves. J.T. Miller's return to New York and Mikko Rantanen's stunning departure from Colorado to Carolina headline what has already been a memorable season of trades.
There are still many players who are up for grabs between now and the deadline. Brock Nelson and Brad Marchand highlight the list of remaining players potentially available. Meanwhile, contenders like Edmonton, Vegas, and Winnipeg have yet to make their big strikes.
Remember, too, that big moves occurred well before the deadline. This misled many into thinking the leadup to the deadline would be anticlimactic. In fact, absence in the market usually leads to unexpected names popping up. Who anticipated that Mattias Ekholm or Tomáš Hertl would be traded? Not many.
Which middle-of-the-road teams will decide to become buyers or sellers? What final pieces will contending teams add in the pursuit of a Stanley Cup? What players who slipped under the radar will surprisingly head to a new team?
Follow along and bookmark our trade tracker, as we will update this page with news and analysis of every notable trade as they are announced in the next three-plus weeks.
Wild Get Big Justin Brazeau From Bruins
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Minnesota Wild
Justin Brazeau is an example of where hockey may be headed. The winger is a 6'6", 227-pound mammoth. Teams coveting size is nothing new, but Brazeau took the long route to the NHL, spending a number of years in in the minor leagues developing a skill game to complement his size.
Brazeau is a relentless, intimidating forechecker and he throws a lot of hits, but it's not all crash and bang. The 27-year-old has worked incredibly hard to on his hands and execution with the puck. Brazeau only debuted in the NHL just last season but he has 15 goals and 12 assists in 76 career games.
Among all of the depth wingers available, Brazeau was arguably the most intriguing. He's built for playoff hockey; a luxury fourth-liner who has enough touch on the puck to flirt with third line opportunities.
Though I like the player, the Wild have now moved notable assets for rentals in Gustav Nyquist and now Brazeau. The two don't really change the outlook for Minnesota this season. Perhaps these moves will make more sense in the context of an incoming difference-maker (Brock Nelson?) but the worry now should be that the Wild are paying up to look a little bit better in a first- or second-round exit.
Grade: B-
Boston Bruins
Moving Brazeau is among the easier decisions the Bruins will have to make in the final hours leading up to the trade deadline. He's a good player but the 27-year-old was basically found money, signed as a free agent in the AHL just last season. Headed to unrestricted free agency in July, he's due for a big raise. The Bruins need to begin to accumulate prospects and draft picks after a long run of emptying the reserves in a contention window.
Marat Khustnudinov, drafted 37th overall in 2020, came over to Minnesota at the end of last season after a successful start to his career in the KHL. The Wild did no favors to the rookie center this season, handing him 11 or 12 minutes most nights with a heavy workload in defensive zone situations. To his credit, he put in the work and kept pucks out of Minnesota's net.
The 22-year-old has provided very little offense in the NHL and he'll need to bring more to that dimension of his game if he is to be anything more than a fourth-line center, but the Russian showed skill in the KHL and he has a good motor. He'd be served well by a stint in the AHL where he could play 20 minutes per night in all situations. He has third-line center upside.
Opting for Khustnudinov over a better draft pick may be a sign that Boston does not expect to stay behind the pack for too long. Draft picks take years to pan out. This is a player who is on the brink of being ready for a regular NHL role.
Grade: A-
Rangers Acquire Defenseman Carson Soucy
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Previously published analysis for this trade can be found via this link.
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Rangers Send Reilly Smith Back to Vegas
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Previously published analysis for this trade can be found via this link.
Panthers Acquire Center Nico Sturm From Sharks
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Florida Panthers
Pending free agent Nico Sturm is a fourth-line center who is one of the league's premier faceoff specialists. He also plays respectable defense and, while he doesn't create a lot of offense, he finishes the occasional opportunity; two seasons ago he had a career-high 14 goals.
The Panthers anticipate another deep playoff run and that usually requires more than 12 forwards. The German center will compete with Tomas Nosek for the fourth-line role and Paul Maurice will be able to deploy the hot hand or whoever's style fits a particular need; Nosek is a more dependable defensive player but Sturm injects more offense. Sturm won a Stanley Cup in Colorado three seasons ago in a similar role.
The Panthers technically don't even concede a draft pick here, instead moving down from round four to round seven (though in different years) to add quality insurance at an important position.
San Jose Sharks
Sturm is a 29-year-old fourth-line center who becomes an unrestricted free agent in July. Presumably, this was the best offer anyone had sent the Sharks for Sturm and they took what they could get for a depth player who would have walked in a few months.
Devils Acquire Dumoulin from Ducks for Defensive Support<br>
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New Jersey Devils
Brian Dumoulin won two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh as a top-four shutdown defenseman. He doesn't have the legs he once did, but the 33-year-old remains reliable for a depth role. The 6'4" lefty uses his reach to take away space, blocks shots, and takes a surprisingly low number of penalties given his usage and style of play.
The Devils need a third-pairing lefty but a second-round pick and prospect is an ugly price to pay for a depth rental. It makes even less sense in the context of New Jersey's situation. Jack Hughes is done for the season, playoffs included, and two key defensemen, Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, are out for the foreseeable future. The Devils don't need to give up, but paying high prices to nibble around the edges of the roster isn't going to make up for those heavy blows.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks acquired Dumoulin from the Seattle Kraken for a fourth-round pick over the summer. Now, they jump up two rounds and add a decent prospect. It's a good moment for GM Pat Verbeek but it's also indicative of where the market is at. Lots of teams are looking for help on defense but the available players are underwhelming in both quantity and upside.
The Devils took Herman Traff at the end of the third round of the 2024 draft. A right wing pushing 6'3", Traff plays for HV71 in the Swedish Elite League. His three goals and seven assists are decent for someone his age in the SHL but his role has diminished in recent games. Traff has a strong build. He possesses a heavy one-timer and a powerful skating stride. The totality of his game is unrefined and he'll need a few years abroad to learn how to think the game better and become a more consistent, well-rounded presence. He's a true project but one with NHL upside.
Penguins Send Bunting to Preds for Novak, Schenn
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Pittsburgh Penguins
It's a weird little trade. Two teams out of the playoff picture swapping veteran NHLers with no particular impetus.
It plays into what GM Kyle Dubas is trying to accomplish. The Penguins want to add young NHL players who can help the team quickly re-open its competitive window.
Tommy Novak turns 28 in April, making him over two years younger than Bunting, and he is signed through 2027. The Penguins need a capable third-line center who can make the Penguins a threat whenever Crosby is off the ice. Novak fits the glass slipper. He is a smart player who can move pucks through the neutral zone and thread needles in the offensive zone. He's also a cerebral defensive center. Low-end shooting ability and very little in the way of a physical game are what knock him down to a third-line appraisal but he is holds his own in all three zones and his $3.5 million cap hit is totally fair for what he brings to the table.
Luke Schenn, 35, is not one for the future in Pittsburgh. The veteran right-handed defenseman is extremely physical and is dependable defensively. He's respectable third-pairing defenseman who brings valuable locker room influence. The Penguins could flip Schenn to a contender for a mid-round pick without much trouble but they may choose to hold off. Schenn is signed through next season at $2.75 million and the Penguins have already traded two defensemen, with Matt Grzelcyk a potential third.
Nashville Predators
The Predators' mix is underwhelming and it makes sense that GM Barry Trotz would want to shake things up. But what's the point of this deal? Bunting is a middle-six winger who makes his home around the net. That's all well and good, but he'll be 30 next season and on the final year of a contract paying him $4.5 million. The success he's had in his career has been in a limited role alongside elite playmakers or on the power play. Outside of potting some goals, Bunting provides some forechecking pressure and not much else. And Nashville lacks the superstar power who can get the most out of him.
Why give up Novak, a younger, cheaper, and better player signed for longer? Not to mention that he plays a premium position. We can call the fourth-round pick good enough for Schenn but there surely were teams in need of a center who would have given the Predators actual assets they could build with.
Panthers Address Goaltending Depth With Sharks' Vanecek
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Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers traded young backup goaltender Spencer Knight as part of the deal to acquire Seth Jones from Chicago. With no obvious internal candidates to replace Knight, the Panthers needed to find someone to fill the void.
Vitek Vanecek has had a below-average season in San Jose and his conceding 7.8 goals more than expected ranks towards the bottom of NHL goaltenders. It's a particularly ugly mark given that he's played just 18 games.
But let's be fair to the Czech netminder. The Sharks get pounded on a nightly basis and he's not built for that type of dependence. In the past, Vanecek has proven in Washington and New Jersey that he can be a dependable backup goaltender on a team that doesn't get shelled. This is Bobrovsky's team. He'll get spot starts in Florida and, as long as he makes the routine saves, he'll give the Panthers a chance to win. The reduced role could take some pressure off and allow him to return to serviceability.
The clinching detail for Florida was likely the fact that they only had to give up a nondescript AHLer in return.
San Jose Sharks
Vitek Vanecek has been a subpar goaltender for a few seasons now and, even with an expiring contract, his $3.4M cap hit is a tough sell. The Sharks are already using the three spots allocated for retaining salary.
Patrick Giles, 25, can play a fourth-line role in a pinch but is destined for the minors for the rest of his career. The only real benefit to this trade for San Jose is lowering payroll for a few months and clearing a spot for top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov to stay in the NHL once and for all.
You can blame the Sharks for getting almost nothing for an asset with negligible value, but it does resurrect the question of why GM Mike Grier did the Devils the favor of taking Vanecek's contract last season for the low price of a 7th-round pick.
Rangers Send Lindgren and Vesey to Colorado
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Previously published analysis for this trade can be found via this link.
Predators Sell Off and Trade Nyquist to Wild
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Minnesota Wild
The 2024-25 Predators are allergic to scoring, but don't let that scare you away from Gustav Nyquist's abilities.
Nyquist has reliably hovered around the 50-point mark, with ebbs and flows each season depending on usage, fit, and puck luck. One way to measure this with Nyquist is by the disparity between the offense generated and the output on the score sheet. With the Swedish winger on the ice, the Predators scored only 42 goals despite creating chances that amount to 71.5 expected goals, according to Evolving Hockey.
So Minnesota is getting a better player than the box scores will tell you. He’s a second-line winger, which is exactly what the Wild need. Neither Vincent Hinestroza nor Marcus Johansson belong in the top six. With Nyquist and the eventual return of Kirill Kaprizov, the Wild will have two formidable scoring lines. And Nyquist is a cerebral playmaker who should mesh well with the other dynamic puck-movers in Minnesota.
I’m not completely sold on the big picture. The Wild are a pretty good hockey team, sitting third in the Central Division, and they’ve added a pretty good player here. Even when Kaprizov is on the ice, they are the fifth- or sixth-best team in the Western Conference. Trading a second-round pick for a few months of Nyquist feels like a move that only true Tier-One contenders should pursue.
Either the Wild need to do some heavy lifting to ascend to a class of teams like Dallas or Vegas or they should be looking for more frugal options. This feels like it sits awkwardly in no-man’s land. They’ve given up a significant asset for a perfectly good player who does not change their place in the Western Conference hierarchy
Still, they had a clear need and got one of the better players available to fit that need. Let’s see if GM Bill Guerin has other moves coming to more definitively push this team towards bonafide contender status.
Nashville Predators
A second-round pick is a good payout for the rental of a 34-year-old, lower-end second-line winger. Nashville’s season was over basically when it started. The Predators should already feel very nervous about the trajectory of this team with aging forwards like Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault signed long-term.
The Predators need to re-examine their expectations for the team and inject some youth into the lineup. Trading Nyquist and getting good draft capital in return is at least a step in that direction.
Mikko Rantanen to Hurricanes in Blockbuster 3-Way Trade
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Previously published analysis for this trade can be found via this link.
Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci Dealt by Sharks to Stars
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Flyers Send Frost and Farabee to Flames for Kuzmenko and Pelletier
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Previously published analysis for this trade can be found via this link.
Canucks Send J.T. Miller to Rangers for Filip Chytil
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Previously published analysis for this trade can be found via this link.
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