The trade deadline is now less than a week away. Not surprisingly, several of the key stories from the past seven days are on the trade front with a handful of teams looking to get a jump on bringing in some help.
Wild Bring Back Nyquist: For the second time in just over two years, the Wild acquired winger Gustav Nyquist before the deadline. In 2023, they gave up a fifth-round pick to get him but this time, the cost was higher as they had to part with a 2026 second-round selection to get him from Nashville. As part of the move, the Predators are retaining half of the $3.185MM cap charge. The 35-year-old had a career year last season, tallying 75 points in 81 games but hasn’t been able to produce anywhere near the same level this year with 21 points in 57 contests before the swap. However, Nyquist had some success with the Wild in 2023 and he should be able to help give them some extra scoring depth for their playoff push.
Done For The Year: After missing almost all of last season after undergoing knee surgery, Canadiens center Kirby Dach will miss roughly the final two months of this year after once again having knee surgery on the same knee. The former third-overall pick had a quiet year, tallying 10 goals and 12 assists in 57 games and will now have lots of rehab on his knee for the second straight year. Meanwhile, the Red Wings will be without a key veteran for the rest of the year after Andrew Copp underwent surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. He had 10 goals and 13 helpers in 56 games this season while also seeing regular time shorthanded. Detroit, did, however, free up some cap space to replace him when they dealt Ville Husso to Anaheim for future considerations, opening up lots of flexibility for GM Steve Yzerman heading into Friday’s deadline.
Panthers Make A Splash: The Panthers decided to go big with their pre-deadline move, acquiring defenseman Seth Jones and a 2026 fourth-round pick from Chicago in exchange for goaltender Spencer Knight and a 2026 first-round pick (that could become a 2027 first). The Blackhawks are retaining $2.5MM of Jones’ $9.5MM AAV (through 2029-30) as part of the move. Jones recently indicated an openness to be moved to a contender and he gets his wish. He’s been in the number one role for Chicago for quite some time but will go to a club where he won’t be counted on quite as much which might work out well for both sides. Meanwhile, Chicago will get a look at Knight who was once viewed as one of the top young goalies in the league to see if he can be part of their long-term plans while adding another first-round pick and some future cap flexibility as their long rebuild continues.
Suspension Reduced: It’s not often that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will step in and reduce a suspension but he did so in Wild forward Ryan Hartman’s case. After initially receiving a ten-game ban, Bettman opted to lower that to eight games. In his ruling, he noted that despite a fairly lengthy recent history of supplemental discipline, an increase of seven games from his most recent suspension “is excessive in this case and that the quantum of increase should be reduced.” As a result of the reduction, Hartman will be eligible to return to the lineup on Tuesday and with the Wild dealing with some other injury woes on their active roster (suspended players count against the 23-player roster), it also may have made it easier to pull the trigger on the Nyquist deal now over waiting a few more days.
Avs Add A Blueliner: The Avalanche added some depth on the back end, acquiring blueliner Ryan Lindgren, winger Jimmy Vesey, and unsigned prospect Hank Kempf from the Rangers in exchange for winger Juuso Parssinen, blueliner Calvin de Haan, and 2025 second- and fourth-round picks. New York is retaining half of Lindgren’s $4.5MM cap charge in the move. While Lindgren is in the middle of a down season, he has a track record of being a quality defensive defender which should give Colorado a boost at the fourth or fifth slot on their blueline. Vesey also is a more experienced option for an Avalanche fourth line that has undergone plenty of turnover this season. As for New York, they add two more draft picks to the fold and a look at Parssinen, a 24-year-old who had 25 points in Nashville in 45 games just two seasons ago, to see if he can be part of their longer-term plans.
Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.
Just because Jones was in the #1 role for the Hawks doesn’t mean he’s a #1 D Man. He wasn’t even the #1 D man on the Hawks, Vlasic is with Rinzel and Arty soon to come hopefully. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Hawks first game was a 6-3 win against a fairly hot team. Let the kids play. They can’t be any worse. After a slow start in Rockford Arty has raised his +- to just a measly -4 on a losing team. No idea what gives with Korchinski who is like -25 or something. Rinzel could be a plug and play replacement for Murphy if his groin is as bad as Josh says it is. He’s playing so IDK?