Ranking the Top Stanley Cup Contenders After the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline

The 2016 NHL trade deadline has come and gone, which means this year's playoff picture is starting to come into focus.

Player movement slowed to a trickle this season as general managers of contending teams struggled to deal with salary-cap limitations.

With trades that do happen, clever tricks and a whole lot of salary retention have become far more common than the traditional wheeling and dealing of imminent free agents on expiring contracts.

Here's a look at how trades—throughout the season as well as at the deadline—have impacted the top contenders for the 2016 Stanley Cup.

8. Dallas Stars

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2015-16 Record: 65 GP, 38-20-7, 83 pts, second in Central Division, second in Western Conference.

Impact of Trade Deadline Moves

In 2014-15, the Dallas Stars ranked 27th in the league defensively, giving up an average of 3.13 goals per game. As a result, they finished the season 19th overall and missed the playoffs.

This year, Dallas has ranked among the league's top teams all season, but the club remains weak defensively. The goals-against has improved, but only to 2.88, tied for 22nd in the league with the Colorado Avalanche and the lowest of any team currently in playoff position.

No wonder the Stars were looking for defensive help at the trade deadline. Jim Nill decided to acquire shot-blocker extraordinaire Kris Russell from the Calgary Flames to help keep the puck out of the net.

Russell will be an upgrade on the departed Jyrki Jokipakka, who was scratched for 13 of Dallas' last 19 games before being traded. But the Stars' high-risk, high-reward approach usually doesn't take teams very far in the playoffs.

Projected Playoff Finish: The Stars will win their first playoff series since 2008, but they will need another year of learning before they can truly challenge the Western Conference powerhouses.

7. Florida Panthers

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2015-16 Record: 63 GP, 36-19-8, 80 pts, first in Atlantic Division, third in Eastern Conference.

Impact of Trade Deadline Moves

Not content simply to crash the playoff party this year, the Florida Panthers showed they're going to try to make some noise when they picked up veterans Jiri Hudler, Teddy Purcell and Jakub Kindl at the trade deadline. 

Those moves were offset, to some degree, by casting off Brandon Pirri, who has been sidelined since Feb. 13 with an ankle injury.

The Panthers' crazy alchemy of grizzled veterans and young talents has paid dividends sooner than expected—which is great news for the old guys, who know every playoff run might be their last.

Projected Playoff Finish: Expect to see some real fire in the bellies of Jaromir Jagr, Roberto Luongo and Willie Mitchell—if he gets back in the lineup after his current injury—as they lead the Panthers to their first playoff series win in 20 years.

6. Tampa Bay Lightning

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2015-16 Record: 63 GP, 37-22-4, 78 pts, second in Atlantic Division, fourth in Eastern Conference.

Impact of Trade Deadline Moves

With Steven Stamkos still in the fold and no movement yet on suspended young winger Jonathan Drouin, the Tampa Bay Lightning will go into the playoffs with the same group of players they've used all year.

Considering the vast majority of that group made it to the Stanley Cup Final last season, that's not a bad place to be. The Lightning have won seven straight games now that they're finally healthy, and Stamkos has rediscovered his scoring touch, with 23 points in 25 games so far in 2016.

Still, the other top teams in the Eastern Conference all upgraded by adding players. Do the Lightning have enough juice to get to the end of the race?

Projected Playoff Finish: Playoff competition in the East is tougher this year, which is going to mean a step backward for the Lightning. Expect a second-round loss.

5. Anaheim Ducks

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2015-16 Record: 61 GP, 34-19-8, 76 pts, second in Pacific Division, fifth in Western Conference.

Impact of Trade Deadline Moves

Mired in the Pacific Division basement for months, the Anaheim Ducks got rolling as the calendar flipped to 2016 and are now poised to challenge the Los Angeles Kings for top spot thanks to their current eight-game winning streak.

With 16 points in 18 games, David Perron has helped generate secondary scoring since he was acquired in mid-January. General manager Bob Murray is hoping the same will be true for Brandon Pirri, a 22-goal scorer last season who was picked up from the Florida Panthers for the bargain-basement price of a sixth-round draft choice. The 24-year-old won't join the Ducks right away—he's currently sidelined with an ankle injury.

Deadline acquisition Jamie McGinn and pesky Ryan Garbutt, acquired in January, add depth to the bottom six—and not one of the new Ducks is over 30 years old.

Projected Playoff Finish: Those younger legs could help Anaheim during a long playoff run, but it doesn't look like there will be an easy route through the Western Conference after the first round is complete.

The Ducks have already been playing hard for two months. Expect to see them run out of gas before they reach their desired destination, most likely in the conference semifinal.

4. New York Rangers

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2015-16 Record: 63 GP, 37-20-6, 80 pts, second in Metropolitan Division, second in Eastern Conference.

Impact of Trade Deadline Moves

The New York Rangers are one of the few teams that picked up a significant rental player, bringing in Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal to join his brother, Marc, in exchange for two draft picks and 19-year-old Finnish prospect Aleksi Saarela.

Though he is only 31, Staal's stats have declined significantly over the past three seasons. The Rangers are betting that the change of scenery and his first chance in seven years at a meaningful playoff run will help to revive his game.

Staal's relatively low price of acquisition should make it easy enough for him to live up to the often lofty expectations of Blueshirts fans.

Projected Playoff Finish: They take a lot of heat, but the Rangers will again end their season as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Add in all their recent playoff experience and top it off with an enthusiastic Eric Staal, and another trip to the Conference Final seems like a good bet.

3. Los Angeles Kings

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2015-16 Record: 62 GP, 37-21-4, 78 pts, first in Pacific Division, fourth in Western Conference.

Impact of Trade Deadline Moves

The Los Angles Kings made their big trade of the year back in January, when they brought in Vincent Lecavalier and Luke Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers to add some depth to their roster.

Closer to the deadline, general manager Dean Lombardi doubled down on the idea of veteran experience when he reacquired defenseman Rob Scuderi for his second tour of duty and added Kris Versteeg, who joins the sixth different team of his NHL career.

Since the Kings' 2014 Stanley Cup win, players like Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll, Willie Mitchell and Robyn Regehr have moved on. Working with very limited cap space, Lombardi is doing his best to fill those gaps with character players he can afford.

Projected Playoff Finish: After a slow start, the Kings have been solid if unspectacular since laying claim to the top spot in the Pacific Division.

No longer able to hide in the weeds as underdogs, Los Angeles will come into the playoffs with guns blazing and should push their way through to the Western Conference Final.

2. Washington Capitals

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2015-16 Record: 62 GP, 46-12-4, 96 pts, first in Metropolitan Division, first in Eastern Conference.

Impact of Trade Deadline Moves

This year's top regular-season team by a long shot, the Washington Capitals made a couple of small moves, acquiring depth defenseman Mike Weber from the Buffalo Sabres and dealing longtime Cap Brooks Laich to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for penalty-killer Daniel Winnik.

The January acquisition of Mike Richards was also intended to help tighten up the defensive aspect of a team that has been known for years as a run-and-gun club.

The Caps will almost certainly win the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top regular-season team this year. Last time that happened, in 2010, they went out in the first round against the Montreal Canadiens.

Washington fans temper their optimism with plenty of caution, but the organization looks like it has taken all the right steps to set up for a long, successful playoff run.

Projected Playoff Finish: This is the year! Book the Capitals for just their second Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history.

1. Chicago Blackhawks

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2015-16 Record: 64 GP, 39-20-5, 83 pts, first in Central Division, first in Western Conference.

Impact of Trade Deadline Moves

The Chicago Blackhawks got a jumpstart on the trade deadline, moving early to shore up their roster for the postseason.

The big prize was the reacquisition of left wing Andrew Ladd, who helped lay the foundation for the current dynasty during his two-and-a-bit seasons in Chicago between February 2008 and July 2010. 

Later, Stan Bowman added depth forwards Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann and veteran defenseman Christian Ehrhoff. Bowman finished off on Monday with a couple of small moves involving minor leaguers.

None of the players acquired are gamebreakers, but they don't need to be. They bring hard-earned experience and roster depth to a team whose salary-cap issues have forced them to fill some secondary roles with greenhorns for much of the season.

Projected Playoff Finish: The Blackhawks will represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final again this season and have an excellent chance of being the first defending champion to repeat since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings.

Stats from NHL.com, current through games Mar. 1. Trade details from the Sportsnet Trade Tracker.