5 NHL Contenders That Failed to Answer Their Biggest Trade Deadline Questions

The price to play the game at the NHL's trade deadline was significant. There were more buyers than sellers and even fewer players who could move the needle for a contending roster.

That was especially the case after the San Jose Sharks re-signed Tomas Hertl, the Nashville Predators made it clear that Filip Forsberg wasn't going anywhere and Jakob Chychrun was injured a week before the deadline.

Win-now assets dried up quickly, making organizations that got their guys early—such as the Calgary Flames' addition of Tyler Toffoli on Valentine's Day—look all the wiser.

There are always winners and losers on deadline day, but that doesn't make the actions of a handful of contenders less baffling. With clear holes on their roster and obvious questions to answer, so many general managers simply fell short.

The reasons for that are numerous, but here we will examine a handful of wannabe Stanley Cup contenders that got left in the dust on Monday.

As always, feel free to sound off in the comments to let us know why you think your favorite team actually did the right thing at the deadline or whether you feel like your squad overpaid and will regret doing so sooner rather than later.

Edmonton Oilers

AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images/Getty Images

Imagine having Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on your roster and standing pat with shaky goaltending at the trade deadline. That's exactly what the Edmonton Oilers did, and general manager Ken Holland's inaction was nothing short of shocking.

Sure, they added depth pieces in forward Derick Brassard and defenseman Brett Kulak, but the moves neglected Edmonton's biggest weakness. Goaltending has been an issue worth fixing since Holland's offseason decision to stand pat with the duo of Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen.

Running it back with the pair has seemed ill-fated since the summer, and things haven't gotten much better as the season has progressed. The argument can be made (and has been made) that Edmonton would be wise to not overpay for someone like Marc-Andre Fleury.

That's all well and good, but this is a problem that management created for itself months, if not years, ago and then refused to do anything about it as time rolled on. That the Oilers made it all the way to the deadline without trying to shore up the crease is squarely on the shoulders of Holland. He's had two years to rectify this issue and has failed to do so.

Of course, the rental market for a high-end netminder was steep. That's why the organization should have never let it get to that point in the first place. Now we're left to wonder whether the 40-year-old Smith or underwhelming Mikko Koskinen can find another gear for the playoffs.

If not, it'll be another wasted year of having McDavid and Draisaitl.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Kevin Sousa/Getty Images

At least the Toronto Maple Leafs added a player who won't be called a "solid depth add" by anyone with a Twitter account. In Mark Giordano, general manager Kyle Dubas added a defenseman who will help one of the leakiest blue lines in the league.

Since Jan. 1, Toronto has given up an average of 3.53 goals per game, which ranks eighth-worst in that period. There isn't a single playoff team between the Leafs and the worst spot in the league, meaning that it could be argued that this is the weakest defensive group among playoff-bound squads.

For context, the Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres have given up fewer goals per game in 2022.

Giordano will help, but Toronto still could have used an insurance policy of sorts in goal. To be fair, Harri Sateri was a decent shot in the dark, but the goalie failed to clear waivers, with the Coyotes snagging him off the wire before he could make it to Toronto.

That leaves the Maple Leafs in limbo as they await Jack Campbell's return. He's been on the shelf for two weeks with a rib injury, and Dubas did what he could to express confidence in his No. 1 goalie during media availability following the trade deadline.

"It's not always been a straight path for Jack Campbell," Dubas said, according to Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star. "The one thing about him is he's always found a way to bounce back."

The Maple Leafs are banking on the netminder's ability to do so because there isn't anyone to spell him if he slips further down the stretch and into the playoffs.

St. Louis Blues

John McCreary/Getty Images

The Western Conference is pretty wide-open, with the Colorado Avalanche being the only truly elite squad in the group. That gives every team a puncher's chance to make the Stanley Cup Final, as all it would take to clear a path is a tough 10-day stretch for the favorites in Colorado.

We've gone from baffling in Edmonton's case to at least somewhat understandable with St. Louis Blues. General manager Doug Armstrong mostly stood pat at the deadline. He acquired Nick Leddy from the Detroit Red Wings for a pair of underutilized roster players (Jake Walman and Oskar Sundqvist) and a 2023 second-round selection.

That helps a bit, but the veteran won't have an impact like Giordano will in Toronto or Hampus Lindholm with the Boston Bruins.

The Blues needed a clear-cut top-four defenseman and help on the fourth line, and they failed to address either of those holes. St. Louis is a borderline Stanley Cup contender, with a deep forward group and a high-end defensive pairing in Torey Krug and Justin Faulk. Nothing of much consequence was brought into the fold, though.

They also don't have a question mark in goal, either. Armstrong could have improved his club's chances at a championship but decided not to at the deadline. After an outstanding offseason, swiping Pavel Buchnevich from the New York Rangers, inking Brandon Saad to a five-year pact and re-upping Jordan Kyrou, this stings less for the Blues.

Still, this is a championship contender that didn't improve its odds at the deadline. With the Minnesota Wild, Avalanche and Calgary Flames adding significant pieces, St. Louis' path to the Stanley Cup Final looks steeper than it did 10 days ago.

Carolina Hurricanes

Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images

The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the NHL in terms of points percentage. That's been the case all season long, as they are one of the most well-balanced squads in the league. The argument could even be made that they are the best team in the Eastern Conference.

At least that was the case before the Panthers went all-in, the Bruins acquired Lindholm and several other teams in the East upgraded. As mentioned, even the Maple Leafs bolstered their blue line.

While the Hurricanes didn't have any glaring holes, they didn't upgrade to the same degree that their contemporaries did. They are sort of in the same spot as the Blues, albeit much higher in the standings. There's no denying that this team is good, but do they have the pieces needed to be great?

If the answer to that question was no before the deadline—and it might have been—then it's still the case now. Max Domi could revitalize his career in Carolina, much like Tony DeAngelo did this year, but would that be enough to contend with a team like the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final?

It's not Carolina's fault that Claude Giroux insisted on going to Florida, while Hertl and Forsberg weren't available. There were quality players to be had, though, which leaves one with the feeling that the Hurricanes got left behind at the trade deadline.

Washington Capitals

Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

There was a time when Alex Ovechkin's star power alone gave the Washington Capitals a chance to at least win a round or two in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Those days are long gone, though. Two superpowers have emerged in Florida, the Pittsburgh Penguins could still surprise some people and the Hurricanes are a great team.

Washington fails to check many of the boxes needed to contend for a Stanley Cup, and they weren't going to be able to fix all those issues at the trade deadline. Attempting to do so would have been a fool's errand. Still, like the Oilers and Maple Leafs, they decided to roll the dice at the most important position: goalie.

Johan Larsson is a sneaky add for folks who lean on stats, and reacquiring Marcus Johansson from the Seattle Kraken gave Washington the middle-six help it needed. With the Eastern Conference's top squads adding everything they could, though, the Capitals seem like a team that will be on the outside looking in.

Maybe Vitek Vanecek finds some kind of lights-out playoff form, which is always possible. Even if he breaks even, though, this just seems like a team that needed to do more to make any noise. With Ovechkin now 36, Washington won't get many more shots at a Stanley Cup parade before needing to rebuild.

All salary-cap information appears courtesy CapFriendly. All advanced stats appear courtesy of MoneyPuck.com unless otherwise stated and are accurate through games played on March 21. All team-based counting stats appear courtesy of NHL.com.