2022 NHL Trade Deadline: Deal Tracker and Analysis of Moves Made Before March 21

The 2022 NHL trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. ET on Monday, and while every season offers surprises, this deadline in particular offers intriguing circumstances.

The playoff picture has never been this clear prior to the deadline, creating a delineation between buyers and sellers. However, the flat salary cap means that many contenders will have to get creative to make additions. This could gum up the market's gears or lead to a number of novel solutions that result in better-than-usual deadline outcomes.

Naturally, a lot of the action comes in the final hours leading up to the deadline, when the pressure of time forces teams to make decisions. Still, there will be plenty of action leading up to Monday, with a number of notable trades already coming to fruition. This article serves to offer analysis for each trade, with updates being made as new deals are announced.

Keep reading for our takes on the notable deals that have occurred.

Panthers Land Giroux in Blockbuster Deal

Trade: Flyers trade Claude Giroux (contract 50 percent retained), German Rubtsov, Connor Bunnaman, 2024 fifth-round pick to Florida Panthers for Owen Tippett, 2024 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers just traded the face of their franchise who had produced 900 points in 1,000 games with the team. That's a losing scenario from the start, and the package received from Florida isn't going to make anyone in Philadelphia feel better.

Owen Tippett has had an interesting career trajectory. Drafted by Florida 10th overall in 2019, the right winger was regarded as a one-dimensional goal scorer. Since then, he's put in a lot of work to enhance the rest of his game. His defensive game is still not a strength, but he's mitigated the deficiencies, and offensively he's become more of a driver rather than a pure opportunist. He supports the puck and makes himself available for outlets in the defensive and neutral zones, he does his part within controlled cycles and he puts himself in the middle of the ice for deflections and rebounds.

Yet somehow, Tippett's scoring has fallen off a cliff. He has just 14 goals in 94 NHL games. The lack of finishing and defensive issues were enough to keep him outside Florida's top six and, more recently, off Florida's NHL roster altogether. To his credit, he is producing in the AHL, with six goals and 12 assists in 12 games. But now 23, Tippett has just about arrived at now-or-never territory.

He'll earn some offensive minutes in Philadelphia, but it's also fair to wonder whether the good habits he developed in Florida will carry over to a team that won't be able to surround him with the same support. Tippett could realize his potential as a top-six goal scorer, but a more realistic expectation at this point might be as a middle-six winger.

Tippett, plus what will likely be a late first-round pick in 2024 and a bump from a fifth- to a third-round pick, is an incredibly underwhelming return for an All-Star like Giroux. Acquiring one of Florida's top prospects such as Mackie Samoskevich or Grigori Denisenko was the minimum necessary to give Flyers fans a silver lining, but that didn't happen. It's important to understand the circumstances of this deal, however. Giroux had a no-trade clause and would only waive it to go to the Panthers, who had zero incentive to bid against themselves. The Flyers essentially had to suck it up and take whatever the Panthers offered.

These are pieces that will help Philadelphia reprioritize for the future, but moving Giroux is a bad situation made worse by an underwhelming return.

Florida Panthers

Historically, the Panthers have frequently had to trade a franchise icon because of chronic losing. Roberto Luongo, Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester all qualify. It's about time that they were the on the receiving end.

Giroux is not the elite player he once was, but the 34-year-old still has game. The seven-time NHL All-Star has 18 goals and 24 assists in 57 games for a Flyers team that has looked lost for long stretches this year. He's a complete player who can slot in at center or wing, plays a 200-foot game and is among the game's best playmakers in the offensive zone, including in power-play situations.

Interim head coach Andrew Brunette will presumably play Giroux on Aleksander Barkov's wing, and the two are going to be a nightmare to face at even strength.

That the Panthers managed to acquire him without giving up a piece of real meaning to them makes the trade that much better. Tippett, as mentioned earlier, has done some good things in the NHL and should have a career, but he didn't have a spot in Florida, short term or long term, and he was likely going to be moved at the deadline or in the summer one way or another.

The first-round pick they gave up is not until 2024 and is top-10 protected. The Panthers were already a juggernaut, and GM Bill Zito's efforts to build the Panthers into a complete team were rewarded with a heavily discounted Giroux. Unquestionably, the Panthers are one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2022.

Leafs Acquire Giordano, Blackwell from Kraken for Draft Picks

Trade: Seattle Kraken trade Mark Giordano (contract 50 percent retained), Colin Blackwell to Toronto Maple Leafs for 2022 second-round pick, 2023 second-round pick, 2024 third-round pick

Toronto Maple Leafs

Mark Giordano, now 38, is no longer the Norris-caliber defenseman he was in the past. That does not mean he is no longer a very good player. The Toronto native is still capable of providing some offense, with six goals and 17 assists in 55 games for Seattle this season, but his defensive impact is where he shines brightest. He remains a tremendous puck transporter from the defensive zone and defends the blue line with the sort of expertise one would expect from a veteran of his reputation.

The Leafs were always going to be in the market for a top-four defenseman, and that was emphasized even more as the team's goaltender fell apart. He'll presumably be paired with TJ Brodie, his former partner in Calgary. Once Jake Muzzin returns from injury, the Leafs will have a robust top-four defense, and Giordano's prior experience as a leader in a boisterous Canadian market will be a huge locker room asset for a team that is under immense pressure to win a playoff round for the first time since 2004. And while his contract expires at the end of the season, it would hardly be a surprise to see him re-up with his hometown team.

Colin Blackwell, 28, was picked up by Seattle in the expansion draft following a breakout season with the New York Rangers in 2020-21 when he registered 22 points in 47 games. Blackwell followed that up with similar success in Seattle, registering eight goals and nine assists in 39 games after missing the start of the season because of injury. The Leafs were looking for forward depth, and Blackwell provides it. He's an opportunist in the offensive zone rather than a driver of play, but he'll give Toronto secondary offense.

While the Leafs are looking to win now, they also have a plan for the future, with all of their key players being young and signed long-term. GM Kyle Dubas orchestrated a huge move without parting with any of the team's top prospects, including Rodion Amirov, Matthew Knies, Topi Niemela and Nick Robertson. They also managed to keep their first-round pick, and unlike other contenders who have bled their prospect pools dry, the Leafs have drafted so well in later rounds the past few seasons that they could afford to move two second-round picks in along with a third-rounder rather painlessly.

This is a huge move for the Leafs that puts them in serious contention for the Cup in 2022 without having made a meaningful sacrifice to the prospect pool. That's an ideal outcome.

Seattle Kraken

When Seattle drafted Mark Giordano from Calgary at the expansion draft, it hoped he'd be a big piece on and off the ice of a successful first-year launch. However, GM Ron Francis also had to know the team might not be quite ready in Year 1 and that moving the veteran defenseman on an expiring contract would be a possibility.

While there was an argument for Seattle to re-sign Blackwell—a free agent at the end of the season who has been playing well—depth players like him are replaceable and the expansion team, by virtue of having only participated in one NHL draft, has an extremely limited prospect pool. Now that it's clear the Kraken aren't firing on all cylinders out of the gate as Vegas did, it behooves the organization to hit the reset button to some degree and build in-house.

Ideally, Giordano would have returned a first-round pick, but the market didn't work out that way for Francis. He has to settle for quantity instead, and two second-round picks and a third-rounder represent a respectable haul for two players on expiring contracts.

Canucks Add Dermott from Leafs

Trade: Toronto Maple Leafs trade Travis Dermott to Vancouver Canucks for 2022 third-round pick

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks, having just acquired a third-round pick from the Senators for Travis Hamonic, turn around and move it for defenseman Travis Dermott.

Dermott, 25, is on a $1.5 million cap hit through 2023, at which time he becomes a restricted free agent. The Ontario native was drafted by the Leafs in 2015 and played 251 regular-season games and 22 playoff games with the team over the course of five seasons. Dermott, when at his best, is a strong defender who does everything a coach wants to keep the puck out of his team's end of the ice. He defends well in the neutral zone, forces turnovers in the defensive zone and finds outlets out of trouble. His game had fallen off somewhat the past couple of seasons as his role diminished, but he was still playing adequately.

The Canucks get a younger defenseman on a highly affordable contract who can be the kind of emerging depth the team has shrugged off for so long, to its own demise. Dermott will have an elevated role in Vancouver and has all the makings of a No. 4 shutdown defenseman. GM Jim Rutherford effectively swapped Hamonic for Dermott today, which makes the team better, younger and cheaper all at once. That's a huge win.

Toronto Maple Leafs

As mentioned, Dermott was a serviceable player in Toronto for five seasons but had slipped down the depth chart, and it became clear that a change of scenery would benefit everyone. The Leafs just acquired Mark Giordano from Seattle, which effectively took away Dermott's lineup spot for good.

A third-round pick is adequate in these circumstances and recoups some of the value that the team is trading to Seattle in its big move.

Kings Add Defenseman Stecher from Red Wings

Joshua Bessex/Associated Press

Trade: Detroit Red Wings trade Troy Stecher to Los Angeles Kings for 2022 seventh-round pick

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have generated exit velocity out of their rebuild sooner than expected. Taking advantage of the Oilers' and Golden Knights' struggles, the Kings sit second in the Pacific Division by points and are highly likely to make the playoffs. Realistically, they are not in a position to be invested in a run this season. The expectation for any big move is that it would be for a younger player the team could control for multiple seasons.

That may still happen. In the meantime, acquiring Troy Stecher is a brilliant move to give the team a boost at a negligible cost. The 27-year-old defenseman is in the final year of a two-year contract and is about as good of a third-pairing defenseman as any team could hope for. He has no offense to his game, with just 88 points in 346 career NHL games, but the 5'10'" righty is solid in his own end of the rink.

The Kings are also dealing with an injury crisis on defense, with Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson among those slated to miss games in the short term. Stecher will provide stability as they heal. Similar defensemen who have more mainstream appreciation will go for third- and fourth-round picks. Getting a player of his caliber for a seventh-rounder allows GM Rob Blake to reward his team for a great season at a negligible cost.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings signed Stecher to a two-year, $3.4 million contract in October 2020 and got what they expected. He was an efficient shutdown defenseman in a third-pairing role and provided some stability as GM Steve Yzerman attempted to revamp the team's identity through a thorough rebuild.

The Red Wings have a number of talented defense prospects on the cusp of the NHL, and Yzerman seemingly decided Stecher had served his purpose. The return of a seventh-round pick is mildly disappointing, but the depth defenseman market favors buyers at the moment.

Canucks Offload Veteran Defenseman Hamonic to Senators

Nick Didlick/Associated Press

Trade: Vancouver Canucks trade Travis Hamonic to Ottawa Senators for 2022 third-round pick

Ottawa Senators

Sometimes, a team will make a risky—or even bad—decision, but there is some logic in what they are trying to do. In this case, it's difficult to figure out what Ottawa is thinking.

Travis Hamonic is 31 years old and has a $3 million cap hit through 2023. The former shutdown defenseman has shown the wear and tear from years of playing a lot of physical minutes on Long Island and in Calgary. He has not looked like a legitimate NHL contributor since 2019.

Why the Senators, the fifth-worst team in the league notorious for austerity, would want that kind of player is a mystery on its own. They're not winning this year and likely not next, and if they are, then Hamonic is unlikely to be a contributor to that cause.

But even if the Senators insist they can reform Hamonic's game and get him back to competence, it's absolutely bizarre that they are willingly parting with a third-round pick for this project. Hamonic was a burden, not an asset, in Vancouver who was literally available for free via waivers earlier in the season. They are giving up a third-round pick for a player Vancouver was desperate to offload. This trade alone won't destroy the franchise, but it's the latest example of the poor decision-making that has the team completely directionless for years.

Vancouver Canucks

The hallmark of Jim Benning's tenure as Vancouver Canucks GM was tying his team up with expensive, multiyear contracts for depth players. Hamonic, who signed a two-year, $6 million deal last offseason, was the most recent of those ill-advised decisions. Hamonic has not performed up to NHL standards this season and was waived in October after missing training camp.

Getting rid of Hamonic and his contract is on its own a massive coup for the Canucks, who have been desperate for breathing room under the salary cap. To receive a third-round pick as well is a dream for new GM Jim Rutherford. Ottawa just did the Canucks a massive favor, and now re-signing J.T. Miller in the next 12 months will be a little bit easier.

Bruins Strengthen Blue Line with Hampus Lindholm Trade

Trade: Anaheim Ducks trade Hampus Lindholm (salary 50% retained), Kodie Curran to Boston Bruins for Urho Vaakanainen, John Moore, 2022 first-round pick, 2023 second-round pick, 2024 second-round pick

Boston Bruins

With Atlantic Division rivals Florida and Tampa Bay making major moves that further entrench themselves as contenders, and Toronto likely to add as well, the Bruins are clearly trying to keep pace with the addition of Hampus Lindholm.

The bread-and-butter of Lindholm's game is as a shutdown defenseman. He's one of the best in the NHL when it comes to defending the rush. Puck-carriers have an extremely difficult time carrying through his side of the ice, resulting in a lot of dump-ins. However, with Lindholm's speed, reach and anticipation, he wins a lot of races behind the net and has the poise to get the puck out of the zone. Simply put, it's incredibly difficult to get possession of the puck in the offensive zone when Lindholm is on the ice.

Lindholm has some offense to his game—five goals and 17 assists in 61 games this season—but at this stage of his career he's more someone who is going to get the puck into the offensive zone rather than someone who's going to get the puck into the net. He's proficient at starting rushes and can both carry the puck and find streaking forwards for easy zone entries.

The Bruins are not an A1 contender, but it's understandable why they feel a need to make a massive move. Patrice Bergeron (36), Brad Marchand (33) and Taylor Hall (30) are only going to be able to play at a high level for so long and, with a thin prospect pool, it will be difficult to avoid turbulence in the future. They might as well go for glory now.

What's difficult to figure out is why they chose Lindholm. He's a top defenseman who of course makes them better, but the Bruins' group of top-six defensemen might be the best in the league already. Particularly on the left side, Matt Grzelcyk and Mike Reilly have been superb. Where the Bruins needed help was at forward, specifically center, with Charlie Coyle currently overextended in a second-line role. This was a massive price for any team to pay for Lindholm, and although there's reason to believe the trade will be quickly followed up with a contract extension, it seems strange that the Bruins would use up what little prospect/draft pick capital they had left to reinforce what was already the strongest part of the roster.

Anaheim Ducks

Re-signing Lindholm was arguably the path of least resistance for new Ducks GM Pat Verbeek to take. Even if he had sold off all other pending unrestricted free agents, it would have been easy to re-sign a 28-year-old first-pairing defenseman who had played nine seasons in Anaheim and proclaim him a key part of the Ducks' plans to generate exit velocity out of their rebuild and become a competitor in the near future.

Instead, he made a decision that is unlikely to be popular in the locker room and perhaps not even among the fanbase, but which is also most likely for the best. Aging curves are not typically friendly to big defensemen who play a ton of minutes, and Lindholm was already showing cracks in his game that weren't there when he was in his early 20s. Anaheim looks like a team that could peak in a few seasons, by which time Lindholm would be on the wrong side of 30.

Now, the Ducks are flush with draft capital. A first-round pick and two-second-round picks is a sensational package for a rental of even Lindholm's abilities. Compare it to the 2019 deadline deal for pending UFA Justin Faulk, who garnered Carolina only 2018 first-round pick Dominik Bokk and depth defenseman Joel Edmundson. It's difficult to imagine any scenario in which Lindholm could provide more value to Anaheim than those picks will down the road. Bet on Verbeek flipping some of these assets at the deadline or over the summer for a younger player who better fits Anaheim's timeline for building a winner; perhaps Arizona's Jakob Chychrun.

Urho Vaakanainen, 23, was a first-round pick of the Bruins in 2017. He hadn't developed as hoped in Boston and yo-yoed between the NHL and AHL the last four seasons, collecting 31 NHL games in which he registered six assists. His offensive game plateaued long ago and he's struggled immensely on the defensive side of the puck. There's a plausible path where Vaakanainen finds himself in new scenery. He'll be given room to play his game without the pressure of a win-now environment. If so, he has a chance to become a No. 6 NHL defenseman. John Moore, 31, has 544 NHL regular-season games on his resume but hasn't played up to the league's standard for a few seasons now. Anaheim likely took him and his $2.75M cap hit through 2023 as a favor to Boston to get the deal done.

Wild Bulk Up with Addition of Nic Deslauriers

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Trade: Anaheim Ducks Trade Nic Deslauriers to Minnesota Wild for 2023 third-round pick

Minnesota Wild

In some ways, this is a go-for-it season in Minnesota. The Wild are not going to set the entire prospect pool on fire as Tampa Bay has, but the Wild are a good team who will be forced into a period of austerity the next few seasons when the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts do critical damage to their salary cap.

So it makes sense that the Wild added a depth forward in preparation for a long playoff run. Nic Deslauriers plays an incredibly heavy game and sits fourth among all NHL forwards in hits this season, with 210 in 61 games. Deslauriers isn't going to be much of an offensive presence in any regard. He won't win many races to pucks, but he will put pressure on defensemen behind the net. He can score the occasional go as a fourth-liner does, posting five goals this season. But most of Deslauriers' value is as a defensive winger. He takes away space in the neutral zone and is willing to work hard and block shots.

Deslauriers isn't having a great season and the price seems slightly steep. A fourth- or fifth-round pick feels like a more appropriate trade return for a rental of this type. But the Wild definitely needed to add depth, and Deslauriers is a clear defensive upgrade over some of the players the Wild had been using on the fourth-line wings this season.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks are within shouting distance of the playoff race in the West, but newly hired GM Pat Verbeek has clearly decided to commit to a long-term vision and has sold off major pending free agents Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson. It follows, then, that the Ducks would move Deslauriers. The depth winger had been a serviceable player in Anaheim for years but, a free agent in July and now 31 years old, he was never going to be a part of the Ducks' rebuild.

In return, the Ducks add a third-round pick. That's great value for a fourth-line rental, and it enhances a Ducks draft-pick stockpile from which many expect the team to attempt to trade for a young, NHL-ready player over the summer.

Lightning Strike with Move for Brandon Hagel

Trade: Chicago Blackhawks trade Brandon Hagel, 2022 fourth-round pick and 2024 fourth-round pick to Tampa Bay Lightning for 2023 first-round pick, 2024 first-round pick, Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh

Tampa Bay Lightning

Assessing Brandon Hagel demands a heavy amount of nuance. His 21 goals and 16 assists in 55 games this season offer a false sense of how good he is. Hagel has gotten an extremely opportunistic role in Chicago with a lot of offensive zone starts and the bulk of his ice time with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Add in an unsustainable 22.3 shooting percentage, and there's a lot of reason to believe Hagel's production is inflated.

This does not mean he isn't a quality player. Even when Hagel comes down to earth, he's a solid middle-six winger. Hagel is a capable goal scorer. He may not create his own chances, but he attacks the slot, both finding rebounds and deflections around the crease as well as shooting on a pass reception from higher positions. Hagel is also a tenacious forechecker, and although he doesn't have the strength to intimidate defenders, he gets up the ice fast enough to take away their space upon puck retrievals, creating turnovers. He uses his speed and a willingness to fly into the defensive zone to create rush chances for his team, and he's a good east-west passer of the puck.

Hagel is just 23 years old and is signed to a laughably cheap $1.5M cap hit through 2024. As such, the Tampa Bay Lightning are trying to recapture the success of similar moves in the past for Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman, paying a premium price in return for an underpaid third-liner who can be instrumental in multiple Cup runs. The price of acquisition is massive, and for most teams it would be indefensible. For the Lightning, who are all-in on winning the next few seasons, it's a justified gamble.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks have been a stale product for a few seasons, and the ill-advised summer trade for Seth Jones further committed the organization to trying to win with a group that doesn't have it in them. New general manager Kyle Davidson, to his credit, seems to understand Chicago needs a makeover in the form of a rebuild that won't pay off immediately.

Trading Hagel is as clear of a message as any in that regard. We've broken down Hagel's numbers, but as it pertains to the Blackhawks, this was the right time to pull the trigger on a trade. Nothing mandated a move, and Hagel could have been a solid building block. But with three years remaining on that $1.5M annual cap hit and offensive production that he was unlikely to sustain, Hagel was at peak trade value.

The return is seismic. Chicago upgrades two fourth-round picks to first-rounders in 2023 (a loaded draft class) and 2024, with those picks protected in the unlikely event that either becomes a top-10 selection. Davidson can either make major additions to the prospect pool with those picks or repurpose them in trades for young NHL players who offer more upside than Hagel. Tampa Bay did what it needed to do for the sake of its agenda, but Davidson took advantage of favorable circumstances to get draft-pick value for Hagel that would be unfathomable in other circumstances.

Boris Katchouk, 23, and Taylor Raddysh, 24, are both late-blooming depth forwards who did an admirable job filling in in Tampa Bay this season. Katchouk, a second-round pick in 2016, has two goals and four assists in 38 games this season but has been somewhat unlucky. He is qualified to generate some offense moving the puck on the cycle. Raddysh has five goals and seven assists in 53 games but has less offensive upside. The 6'3" right wing is a decent passer of the puck in the offensive zone but is otherwise limited in directly generating offense.

Both have strong defensive discipline and work ethics. They both impose themselves physically and are heavy on the forecheck. They may not produce much on the scoresheet, but they'll keep the puck in the opposing end of the ice. Neither will make a serious difference in Chicago's rebuild, but they'll give the Blackhawks a couple of cheap depth options for the next handful of seasons as the roster gets turned over. In a few seasons, they could either be solid fourth-liners for a team on the upswing or get traded again after building value in more prominent roles.

Panthers Add Defenseman Robert Hagg for Depth

Jeffrey T. Barnes/Associated Press

Trade: Buffalo Sabres trade Robert Hagg to Florida Panthers for 2022 sixth-round pick

Florida Panthers

It's always important to have depth in the playoffs, and with Aaron Ekblad likely out for the remainder of the regular season, the Panthers in particular needed to add support on the back end.

Robert Hagg, 27, is the textbook definition of depth. The Swede isn't exactly proficient in any area of the game, but he's capable of filling in for 15 minutes per night without completely sabotaging his team. He's not someone the Panthers should be eager to play on a nightly basis in the playoffs, but if a defenseman does get injured, there are worse defensemen to rotate in from the press box.

Buffalo Sabres

Hagg, acquired from the Flyers last summer in the Rasmus Ristolainen trade, was a decent stopgap for the team as it embarks on a rebuild. He becomes a free agent in the summer, and the Sabres get a late-round pick for a depth piece they'll have little trouble replacing in free agency.

Flames Add Versatile Calle Jarnkrok from Seattle

Trade: Seattle Kraken trade Calle Jarnkrok (contract 50 percent retained) to Calgary Flames for 2022 second-round pick, 2023 third-round pick and 2024 seventh-round pick.

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames made a massive move in February for winger Tyler Toffoli, who had 14 points in his first 15 games for the team. As we noted at the time, however, there was still room for the Flames to add another forward for depth.

It's hard to imagine a better representation of forward depth than Calle Jarnkrok. The Swede is capable of playing all three forward positions and over his career has proved he can adapt to different circumstances and take on whatever identity his line team needs.

Jarnkrok can play a top-six role and will do the necessary grunt work to assist more skilled players. He can play a bottom-six role and grind with the best of them. He adds his share of secondary offense—he had 12 goals and 14 assists this season in Seattle—and is one of the best defensive forwards in the league. He will be a natural fit in Calgary's throttling system.

The Flames were fairly top-heavy at forward, relying on their few star offensive players. By adding Toffoli and Jarnkrok, the Flames are a legitimate four-line team. With a fairly easy path out of the Pacific Division, Calgary now has to be considered a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Seattle Kraken

The Seattle Kraken got what they expected when they selected Jarnkrok from the Nashville Predators in the expansion draft: a middle-six forward who gives strong defensive outputs and gets the occasional mention on the scoresheet.

Whatever went wrong for the Kraken this season, Jarnkrok doesn't have anything to do with it. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old is an unrestricted free agent in July, and GM Ron Francis has to hit the reset button to a degree. Trading Jarnkrok was the right decision here, and for his efforts, he gets a solid haul. The second- and third-round picks will allow him to build the prospect pool, a necessary endeavor, while the seventh-round pick in return for eating $1 million of Jarnkrok's $2 million cap hit is a good show of ambition by team ownership.

That's not to say that Calgary should have any regrets, but there have been better players traded for less than what Seattle was able to wangle for Jarnkrok. It's perhaps an anticlimactic end to the forward's tenure in Seattle, but the return from Calgary will leave Seattle feeling as if they got more than enough value from this expansion draft choice.

Panthers Spend Big for Defenseman Ben Chiarot

Trade: Montreal Canadians trade Ben Chiarot (contract 50 percent retained) to Florida Panthers for Ty Smilanic, 2023 first-round pick and 2022 fourth-round pick

Florida Panthers

Trading Frank Vatrano to open up cap space and gain a draft pick was prudent by the Florida Panthers. And using some of that space and the same pick as part of a major move for a much-needed left-handed defenseman made all the sense in the world.

But trading that massive package for Ben Chiarot is hard to come to terms with. The blueliner, who turns 31 in May, meets the criteria on the typical checklist of an old-school hockey scout. He's 6'3", 234 pounds and plays a physical game. He logged a lot of minutes with the Montreal Canadiens and has playoff experience, making it to the Stanley Cup Final with the surprising Habs in 2021.

Once one moves away from platitudes and toward more nuanced analysis, however, the profile becomes far less favorable. Let's start with the good. Chiarot is indeed a physical player, and the playoff savvy will be a welcome addition to a fairly inexperienced defensive group. He's also a decent goal scorer as far as defensemen go. He has seven goals in 54 games this season and scored nine in 69 games two seasons before.

Chiarot is probably a better player than he's shown this season on a lifeless Habs team but also previously had his stock artificially boosted by having the fortune of playing with a superstar in Shea Weber. Chiarot is an offensive drain. He is horrendous with the puck on his stick and can't move it out of the defensive zone adequately. He's a solid defender in his own end but also gives up a ton of zone entries and takes way too many penalties.

As a third-pairing defenseman, Chiarot is fine, and the price of a mid-round draft pick would have justified his acquisition. Moving a first-round pick plus two more assets for that caliber of player is preposterous. It's possible that Chiarot elevates his play in Florida, which has tremendous defensive structure, but the Panthers are a true contender who were primed to make a big swing for a game-changer. This feels like a wasted opportunity.

Montreal Canadiens

When it comes to the Canadiens, there's no point in debating how good Chiarot is. The 30-year-old becomes a free agent in July, and he had no future with an organization that's ready to begin a massive rebuilding project.

The tearing down is the easy part, and within that parameter, moving veteran defensemen on expiring contracts is effortless. Still, credit has to go to hockey ops vice president Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes. There are alternative defensemen available, and there's always a danger of overplaying one's hand. It was unclear whether they would be able to land a first-round pick for Chiarot, but they pulled it off. On top of that, they got a fourth-round pick and a prospect.

Ty Smilanic, drafted in the third round of the 2020 NHL draft, is a versatile forward in his sophomore season at Quinnipiac, where he has posted 13 goals and nine assists in 38 games. He's a tenacious forechecker who uses his speed to get behind the defense and then works hard below the goal line. His shot is decent, and he has a nose for the net, scoring his fair share around the low slot. His passing skills are lacking, and a dearth of standout qualities beyond his compete level leaves questions about whether he'll top out as a minor leaguer.

Smilanic certainly has upside as a future bottom-six NHL forward, though. There's just not enough there yet that Montreal can assume as much.

The Habs will have much more difficult situations to navigate in the coming weeks and, really, months and years, but they took advantage of a favorable situation here and got a massive haul for a player they needed to move. It's as good of a start to the rebuild as anyone could have hoped for.

Wild and Avs Swap Centers Sturm and Jost

Trade: Minnesota Wild trade Nico Sturm to Colorado Avalanche for Tyson Jost

Colorado Avalanche

Tyson Jost had long been rumored as expendable in Colorado. Although he had some good moments, Jost largely struggled to find consistency with the Avalanche. His career high in goals came as a rookie in 2017-18, when he potted 12 in 65 games.

Through a combination of Colorado's high-end forward talent, as well as an inability to find an identity, head coach Jared Bednar struggled to find a role for the 2016 10th overall pick. This season has been his worst yet, seeing him put up just 14 points in 59 games for a team that scores in bunches.

By trading him, Colorado gives both sides a mutually beneficial change. In the process, the Avalanche receive Nico Sturm. The German center has had a somewhat down year in Minnesota but knows exactly what his role is. He's a fourth-line shutdown center who wins faceoffs, plays the penalty kill and grabs the occasional goal in front of the net.

Sturm, a pending free agent, has a frugal $725,000 cap hit, which is significantly less than Jost's $2 million cap hit through 2023. With this move, not only does GM Joe Sakic acquire a player who fits his team's needs better, but he also opens up the cap space he very much needs to stack the team further at the deadline and into next season. That's savvy business.

Minnesota Wild

Perhaps Sturm hasn't been quite as good as he was last season, but it's difficult to see why he fell out of favor in Minnesota. The German followed up his breakout 2020-21 campaign with nine goals and eight assists in 53 games despite playing limited minutes, although his defensive impact hasn't been nearly as robust. Still, he's a valuable player, particularly at that $725,000 cap hit.

Certainly, he's proved more dependable than Jost, whose game is all over the place and who has yet to even establish a position of choice. As mentioned, though, Jost is a former top prospect who has shown flashes at the NHL level. Having just turned 24, there is definitely a plausible outcome that sees a change of scenery and increased minutes ignite Jost.

If he finds his game and turns into a 40-point third-liner with decent defensive impacts, then GM Bill Guerin will look like a genius for having added that caliber of player at the cost of a $2 million cap hit and a fourth-liner on an expiring contract. But considering Minnesota's already tight cap situation following the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts, it's a huge gamble.

Rangers Pick Up Forward Depth in Frank Vatrano

Trade: Florida Panthers trade Frank Vatrano to New York Rangers for 2022 fourth-round pick

Florida Panthers

Decent counting stats (10 goals in 49 games) hide the fact that Frank Vatrano has had something of a tough time in Florida this season. He hasn't necessarily done anything wrong, but Florida is so deep at forward that he found himself low on the depth chart. A pure shooter who is at his best when he's getting touches in the offensive zone, Vatrano was a poor fit for a checking role on Florida's fourth line.

According to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli, the Panthers sought a second-round pick before settling for what will be a late fourth. In a vacuum, the Panthers lose this trade on value, but GM Bill Zito has bigger fish to fry. Moving Vatrano's $2.5 million cap hit and acquiring a draft pick was a no-brainer in the context of Florida's need to open up space to make a big deadline splash as they prepare for a Cup run. What they then chose to do with the pick and cap space is a different discussion.

New York Rangers

We don't need to rehash all the ways the New York Rangers sabotaged their own right wing depth. It's old news, and their fans are tired of hearing about it. But with Kaapo Kakko injured, the Rangers desperately needed to add life to a right wing that features a replacement-level Julien Gauthier, a struggling Ryan Reaves, and journeyman grinder Dryden Hunt inexplicably on the second line with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome.

A poor driver of possession, Vatrano is largely an empty-calorie goal scorer. To his credit, he does that pretty well, scoring at a pace of 22 goals per 82 games over the past four seasons. And while Vatrano is not going to play meaningful shutdown minutes, he shouldn't cause any headaches on the defensive side of the puck, either. If head coach Gerard Gallant decides to put him with Panarin and Strome, Vatrano will feast on their offerings. But there's also merit to giving third-line center Filip Chytil a capable offensive linemate for the first time in months.

Vatrano isn't a perfect fit for the Rangers. He's a left-handed shot who usually plays on his strong side, and the Rangers' biggest need is a possession-driver, which Vatrano is not. However, the wing situation in Manhattan was dire, and Vatrano is a clear upgrade no matter his limitations. It should also be a welcome move for Vatrano, as he will get increased minutes in a scoring role that suits him.

Florida, trying to open up cap space, was antsy, and few playoff teams had both the need and the financial wiggle room for Vatrano. This is likely why the Rangers had to pay relatively little to acquire him. Vatrano is a significant upgrade to the team's middle-six wing depth. And most importantly, they were able to acquire him without moving any of the serious draft pick or prospect capital GM Chris Drury will likely be shopping around in order to make an even bigger addition. This is an easy win for the Rangers.

Avs Acquire Defenseman Josh Manson from the Ducks

Trade: Anaheim Ducks trade Josh Manson (50 percent of contract retained) to Colorado Avalanche for 2023 second-round pick, Drew Helleson

Colorado Avalanche

As great as the Avs are, they are surprisingly lacking in depth. When it comes to defense, Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Samuel Girard comprise probably the best trio of defensemen any NHL team possesses, but after them it gets bleak. Both the summer trade of Ryan Graves and Bowen Byram's long-term injury have taken huge tolls on the team's defense.

Manson isn't quite as good as he was five years ago but directly addresses that need. The 6'3", 218-pound righty was a top-four defenseman in Anaheim for years. He had a brutal 2020-21 season but has, to some degree, turned things around. Manson is a tremendous defensive presence who swallows up the neutral zone and can play a physical game in his own end. He's a decent puck transporter but, at this stage of his career, no longer provides a meaningful offensive presence. That's totally fine for the Avs, who have blue-line offense more than covered already.

The 30-year-old should seamlessly fit in as a No. 4/5 shutdown defenseman who improves Colorado's penalty kill. The cost of a second-round pick and a C-plus prospect is well worth it for a team that's all-in for a Stanley Cup this season.

Anaheim Ducks

Although the Ducks have a chance of making the playoffs, the strength of the organization is in a youthful core led by Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, Jamie Drysdale and 2022 third overall pick Mason McTavish. The objective for new GM Pat Verbeek is to maximize the team's outlook for when those youngsters are in their primes, and the 30-year-old Manson does not fit that timeline.

Drew Helleson, 20, was drafted 47th overall by Colorado in 2019. The right-handed defenseman had a second straight quality season with Boston College, with four goals and 21 assists in 32 games, and even made the cut for the U.S. Olympic roster. Helleson, 6'2" and 190 pounds, plays a physical game above the crease and in the corners. He's a decent skater for his size, although he needs to work on his angling and footwork when defending the rush, as he gets beat wide too often by speedy wingers. He's OK at making outlets from the defensive zone and likes to activate low in the offensive zone but struggles to penetrate the middle ice, where most offense is created.

Helleson has a decent chance of turning into a third-pairing shutdown minute-eater who plays the penalty kill. The tradeoff for low upside is that Helleson, recently signed to an entry-level contract, isn't far off from contributing at the NHL level.

Combined with the second-round pick, it's tidy business for a team that is on the upswing of a rebuild.