Winners and Losers From the First Half of 2026 NHL Trade Deadline Week

Believe it or not, the NHL trade deadline is just about one day away. It's been a quieter lead-up, especially given the mini-deadline before the Olympic freeze that saw Artemi Panarin become an LA King.

We are starting to see movement, with Mackenze Weegar heading to Utah and some depth trades on Thursday.

Will we see a huge amount of activity in the next two days?

While we await the big day, let's take a look at the winners and losers from the week so far, leading up to March 6.

Winners: Selling Teams

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Vincent Trocheck

There are going to be plenty of new-coming buyers this trade deadline as the playoff bubble is extremely lively: Just ask the Buffalo Sabres.

This obviously provides potential sellers with the opportunity to initiate or keep chugging along with their rebuilds. Any team with a center for sale is going to get a particularly handsome return, as coveted center depth is always a hot commodity at the trade deadline when teams are gearing up for long playoff runs. This deadline will be even more lucrative in this regard, as the buyer-and-seller situation is more uncertain. There's definitely an added urgency to finding your guy quickly this year, given the lack of certainty.

You'd think potential sellers would see this and, instead of standing pat, decide to get in the mix and abandon their playoff hopes. Still, teams are going to be hesitant to do that either on principle -- or because they don't have the best assets to surrender at the moment. So the teams we know are true sellers — St. Louis, New York, Vancouver — are going to command the market and attract suitors.

Losers: The Leafs, Because They're Screwed

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Craig Berube

The Leafs needed a convincing playoff push right out of the gate after the Olympic break. A five-game losing streak is, well, not that. Now Toronto looks destined to miss the playoffs, eight standings points and five teams out of a Wild Card spot in the East.

This season had some uncertainty heading in without Mitch Marner, but few anticipated things would go this south. To make matters worse, it doesn't really make sense for Toronto to do much selling at this trade deadline, given its options.

Trading Auston Matthews — especially in a down season — would rewire their entire operation, and good luck finding someone proven and better than Matthews for your first-line center anyway. Trading Matthew Knies would just leave the front office looking for another player exactly like Knies. Those are Toronto's best options at a return worth something substantial.

Scott Laughton, Bobby McMann, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson sat out Wednesday for roster management reasons (AKA, these are the three biggest names on Toronto's trade block).

In this market, it's hard to believe any of them could command a first-round pick that the Leafs desperately need to start building for the future. This is a tough spot for Toronto with an unexpectedly down season and cons outweighing the pros, whether they sell or not.

Winners: Sabres Fans For Finally Having a Buyer and Contender

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Rasmus Dahlin

Look, you can't criticize Colton Parayko for not waiving his no-trade clause. He's earned the right to say no and keep his family in St. Louis.

Still, it's slightly disappointing for Sabres fans that they couldn't land a solid veteran defenseman after Parayko decided not waive his no-trade clause.

The Sabres may have whiffed on Parayko through no fault of their own, but going for it signals that GM Jarmo Kekäläinen is on a mission this trade deadline. He's been known to make the big swings happen, so watch out for his next move. Sabres fans, don't be too discouraged: The night is still young, and there are still some enticing defensemen on the market. Dougie Hamilton, anyone?

If there's any time to break the 14-year, league-worst playoff drought, it's now.

Losers: The Central Division for Being a Battle Royale

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Jason Robertson and Cale Makar

It's ridiculous to think that only one Central Division team can emerge from the West. But due to the format of the Stanley Cup playoffs, three of the best teams in the league -- the Wild, the Stars, and the Avalanche -- will have to battle it out early on for a trip to the Western Conference Finals and beyond.

Each team has already done tweaking over the past year and a half to try to make it out of the Central, with the Wild's acquisition of Quinn Hughes the latest and greatest addition.

How will the Stars and Avalanche respond to the Hughes move this trade deadline? The Stars have bolstered their blue line by acquiring veteran defenseman Tyler Myers from the Canucks for a 2027 2nd-round pick and a 2029 4th-round pick. Expect a few more tweaks and perhaps a bigger swing with Tyler Seguin's cleared cap space. As for the Avalanche, they upgraded their center depth with a deal for the Leafs' Nicolas Roy.

Regardless, it's just nutty to think about the amount of moves, effort, and talent each team here has and will display just to beat each other to a pulp in the early rounds.

And don't forget about the Utah Mammoth, which made the biggest official move on Wednesday, acquiring Mackenzie Weegar. They're in it to make the playoffs and will be a team to watch in the next 24 hours.

Winners: Canucks Fans For Finally Seeing a True Rebuild

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Tyler Myers

Look, Canucks fans don't have to be happy that the Quinn Hughes era has ended in utter turmoil and disappointment. You never would've thought that homegrown Hughes would eventually be traded away after years of trying to -- and sometimes nearly -- making it work to no avail.

But that's the reality of the situation, and the more the Canucks tried to force this era to work, the more frustrating things got. Once management faced reality, Vancouver got a great package for Hughes to finally start a true rebuild. Perhaps that return will encourage the Canucks to keep going and find new homes for their three pending UFAs: David Kämpf, Evander Kane, and Teddy Blueger.

Could we also see Elias Pettersson traded for the right cost? It'll be interesting to see what the center could go for. His north of $11 million contract is tough to stomach -- as is his lack of production lately -- but with some salary retained, and if a team sees a change of scenery as a move that could revive the once-coveted center, it could happen.

Either way, Canucks fans can find some relief in the fact that management is actually doing something and going somewhere, between the Hughes and Myers deals.