2022 NHL Trade Deadline Live Grades for the Biggest Deals

The NHL's annual trade deadline is Monday at 3 p.m. ET. It's the first one in a full 82-game schedule since February 2019 after COVID-19 shortened the past two seasons.

With the salary cap flattened at $81.5 million for the second straight campaign, there's been limited activity. Only 18 trades took place since the start of the regular season on Oct. 12 through March 2.

Business, however, has picked up over the past week, with 18 trades between March 14 and March 20. Notable deals include the Philadelphia Flyers shipping Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins acquiring Hampus Lindholm from the Anaheim Ducks.

Despite those moves, there remain several quality players who could be on the move on deadline day. They include Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, Anaheim Ducks winger Rickard Rakell and Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun.

Here are our grades for the most noteworthy deals during the 2022 NHL trade deadline day.    

New York Rangers Land Andrew Copp from the Winnipeg Jets

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury made two moves on deadline day. The first was sending a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for winger Tyler Motte. The other saw him acquire center Andrew Copp and a sixth-rounder in 2023 from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for center Morgan Barron and three draft picks.

Copp, 27, is due to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after completing his one-year, $3.6 million contract. A hardworking two-way checking line forward who can play wing or center, he's got 13 goals and 35 points in 56 games this season. Copp averaged 19:48 of ice time per game, including 2:25 of power-play time and 2:28 per game on the penalty kill.

With the Rangers among the top teams in the Eastern Conference, Copp should prove to be an invaluable addition as they prepare for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. He should slot into their third line alongside center Filip Chytil and winger Barclay Goodrow. Copp does have a history of concussions, but that's a risk Drury felt was worth taking.

The Jets, meanwhile, appear to be looking ahead to next season by shipping out Copp for a prospect and draft picks. They're sitting four points outside the Western Conference playoff picture.

Barron, 23, saw 18 games of action with the Rangers over the past two seasons. He could have a better chance of becoming an NHL regular with the Jets if they shake things up after this season.

TSN indicates the two draft picks the Jets received came with conditions. One of them could turn into a first-rounder if the Rangers win two rounds in the 2022 playoffs and Copp plays in 50 percent of those games. The other second-rounder is the Jets' choice in 2022 or 2023.

Grades

Rangers: B+

Jets: A-

Anaheim Ducks Ship Rickard Rakell to the Pittsburgh Penguins

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The Anaheim Ducks shipping out pending unrestricted free agents Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson last week stoked speculation Rickard Rakell would be next. Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek pulled the trigger on deadline day, trading the 28-year-old right winger to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forwards Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon, prospect goalie Calle Clang and a 2022 second-rounder.

Rakell has 16 goals and 28 points in 51 games with the Ducks this season. The 6'1", 195-pounder is a former two-time 30-goal scorer who can skate on either wing, but right wing is his strong side. Cap Friendly shows him in the final season of a six-year, $22.8 million contract.

The Penguins were in the market for a scoring winger. Rakell could end up skating alongside center Evgeni Malkin on the second line. If those two play well together, it will provide the Penguins with an invaluable offensive boost down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Verbeek did the Penguins a favor by acquiring the combined $2.5 million cap hit of Aston-Reese and Simon to facilitate this deal. Both are established 27-year-old depth forwards in their mid-20s slated to become UFAs this summer. Time will tell if they have a future with the Ducks after this season.

The return for Rakell in terms of draft picks and prospects isn't as lucrative as those Verbeek received for Lindholm and Manson. Clang, 19, was a 2020 third-round pick by the Penguins. Per Elite Prospects, he's in his second season with Rogle BK in the Swedish Hockey League. This deal also gives the Ducks a second pick in the second round of this year's draft.

Grades

Penguins: B+

Ducks: B-

Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Max Domi from the Columbus Blue Jackets

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Jockeying for first place in the Eastern Conference with the Florida Panthers, the Carolina Hurricanes are among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season. They boosted their forward depth before the deadline by acquiring Max Domi from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for prospect defenseman Aidan Hreschuk.

The well-traveled Domi, 27, is joining his fourth NHL team since 2017-18. Cap Friendly shows him in the final season of a two-year deal with an annual average value of $5.3 million, and he's slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

This deal was part of a three-team trade with the Blue Jackets retaining 50 percent of Domi's salary-cap hit. The Florida Panthers helped broker the deal by taking on 25 percent of Domi's cap hit in return for prospect forward Egor Korshkov and a 2022 sixth-rounder. The Hurricanes received 25 percent of Domi's salary along with prospect defenseman Tyler Inamoto. 

A feisty playmaking forward, Domi can play left wing or center. With 32 points in 53 games, he's on pace to reach 40 points for the fifth time in his seven-season NHL career. Still, his production tends to be streaky. His best season was a 72-point performance with the Montreal Canadiens in 2018-19.

Perhaps Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour can help Domi improve his consistency. At the very least, he should be a decent rental addition to their checking lines with the ability to see second-line duty if required.

The Blue Jackets' rebuild continues as they navigate through another disappointing season. Hreschuk, 19, was a 2021 third-round pick by the Hurricanes who's in his first season with Boston College. Joey Padmanabhan of Elite Prospects described the 5'11", 187-pounder as a "high-caliber defender" who plays with a physical style.

Getting back a former third-rounder in this deal indicates how much Domi's stock has tumbled over the past two years. He was acquired by the Canadiens in 2018 for Alex Galchenyuk and shipped to the Blues Jackets two years later for Josh Anderson.

Grades

Hurricanes: B-

Panthers: C-

Blue Jackets: D

Chicago Blackhawks Send Marc-Andre Fleury to Minnesota

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights by the Chicago Blackhawks, Marc-Andre Fleury is on the move again. The 37-year-old goaltender was shipped to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2022 that could become a first-rounder if the Wild reach the Western Conference Final. Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported Chicago is retaining 50 percent of Fleury's $7 million cap hit.

Acquiring Fleury forced the Wild to shed a goaltender. The team dealt Kaapo Kahkonen to the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Jacob Middleton.

The defending Vezina Trophy winner, Fleury had a difficult start with his new club, winning just one of his first eight games. His performance improved after the struggling Blackhawks replaced Jeremy Colliton with Derek King as head coach. In his 37 games since, he has 18 wins, 14 losses and five overtime defeats with a .913 save percentage and four shutouts. 

Fleury could benefit from playing with a better team. With 76 points, the Wild are one point behind the St. Louis Blues for second place in the Central Division. They possess a blue-line corps featuring veterans such as Matt Dumba, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin and Alex Goligoski.

Wild general manager Bill Guerin was teammates with Fleury when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, so he knows what the veteran can do in the postseason. Fleury's championship pedigree combined with the experience of Cam Talbot could provide the Wild with a strong tandem for a deep playoff run.

Fleury's 10-team no-trade clause limited where Chicago could send him. General manager Kyle Davidson is in rebuild mode, and this return could replace the first-rounder former GM Stan Bowman traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in last year's Seth Jones deal. Still, it's a light return for a well-respected goaltender.

Grades

Wild: A-

Blackhawks: B-

Philadelphia Flyers Trade Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Claude Giroux's 15 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers ended Saturday. Two days after the 34-year-old forward played his 1,000th career NHL game, the Flyers shipped their captain to the Florida Panthers.

Heading to the Panthers with Giroux were prospect forwards Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft. Philadelphia received forward Owen Tippett, a conditional first-rounder in 2024 or 2025 and a third-round pick in 2023.

This move should pay immediate dividends for the Panthers, who are loading up for a Stanley Cup run after acquiring defenseman Ben Chiarot from the Montreal Canadiens. Giroux remains a productive two-way player who's strong in the faceoff circle and can play all three forward positions. He should slot in well as a rental player anywhere among the Panthers' top nine forward positions.

Bunnaman and Rubtsov have seen mostly minor league duty thus far. They'll provide depth to the Panthers' AHL affiliate in Charlotte but face long odds of earning a spot with Florida.

The return is a little light for a star of Giroux's stature, but his no-movement clause left Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher with little choice but to get the best return he could. Giroux will also be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Tippett, 23, is a 2017 first-round pick (10th overall) who had difficulty cracking the Panthers' deep forward lines. He'll have plenty of opportunities to establish himself as a top-six winger on the retooling Flyers.

Philadelphia will have to wait for that first-rounder from the Panthers. However, it could prove useful if the 2024 or 2025 drafts is more talent-rich than this year's or next year's draft.  

Grades

Panthers: A

Flyers: B

Boston Bruins Acquire Hampus Lindholm from the Anaheim Ducks

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

The Boston Bruins have lacked talented depth on the left side of their defense corps since Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug departed via free agency two years ago. They took a big step toward addressing that issue Saturday by acquiring Hampus Lindholm from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for young blueliners Urho Vaakanainen and John Moore, a first-round pick in 2022 and a second-rounder in 2023 and in 2024.

Lindholm, 28, was slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. On Sunday, however, the Bruins announced the defenseman inked an eight-year, $52 million extension. Given his age and the length of this contract, it could become a salary-cap headache if his skills decline. In the short-term, however, it should prove to be worthwhile.

The 6'4", 216-pounder is a solid all-around defenseman. He averaged 22 minutes and 32 seconds of ice time this season with the Ducks, especially at even strength and the penalty kill.

Lindholm will fill the left-side spot on either the first or second defensive pairings for the Bruins. His skills and experience should ease the workload of top blueliner Charlie McAvoy.

Having also traded defenseman Josh Manson earlier in the week, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek has shown his willingness to ship out pending UFAs if he can't get them under contract before the deadline. Those moves also indicate he's unafraid to commence a much-needed roster rebuild.

Verbeek got a pretty good haul from the Bruins. The three draft picks could prove crucial to the Ducks' rebuilding process.

Vaakanainen, 23, had some difficulty breaking in with Boston. He'll get more chances to establish himself as a top-four defenseman in Anaheim. Moore, 31, is in the fourth year of a five-year deal and spent much of this season with the Bruins' taxi squad and in the minors.   

Grades

Bruins: A

Ducks: A-

Toronto Maple Leafs Reel in Mark Giordano from the Seattle Kraken

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Selected by the Seattle Kraken last summer and named the franchise's first team captain, Mark Giordano didn't get to finish the 2021-22 season with the NHL's latest expansion club. The day before the deadline, he was shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Heading to Toronto with Giordano is forward Colin Blackwell. In return, the Kraken received a second-round pick in the 2022 draft, a 2023 second-rounder and a 2024 third-rounder. The Kraken agreed to retain 50 percent of Giordano's $6.8 million cap hit, according to Cap Friendly.

In Giordano, the Leafs are getting a skilled puck-moving defenseman with leadership abilities. Winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2018-19 with the Calgary Flames, the 38-year-old has reached or exceeded 40 points five times in his 16-season NHL career. He has a respectable 23 points in 55 games with the low-scoring Kraken.

Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas did well to acquire a skilled rental defenseman without parting with a first-rounder or a top prospect. Giordano should be a welcome addition on the left side of the Leafs' blue line, especially with Jake Muzzin still sidelined indefinitely by a head injury. He could be reunited with former Flames linemate T.J. Brodie on the first or second pairing.

On March 9, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported Kraken general manager Ron Francis was believed to be seeking a first-rounder for Giordano. A shrinking trade market likely left Francis with little choice but to accept the Leafs' offer. The addition of two second-rounders and a third to Seattle's already considerable stockpile of draft picks for 2022, 2023 and 2024 will enable Francis to build up his prospect pipeline. 

Grades

Leafs: A

Kraken: C+