Grading the NHL Trade Deadline

With 48 hours left until the NHL Trade Deadline, clubs have begun to address their needs by giving up draft picks and prospects to upgrade their rosters, fill holes caused by injuries or to clear cap space to make other deals possible in advance of 3pm Monday. Here is a look at the deals made so far and how the two sides made out:

New York Islanders acquire winger Kyle Palmieri and center Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils for the Islanders 2021 1st round pick, a 2022 conditional 4th round pick, and minor-leaguers AJ Greer and Mason Jobst.

Islanders Grade – A
Devils Grade – C

Isles GM Lou Lamoriello uses the cap space freed up by the season-ending injury to Anders Lee to add an adequate replacement on the wing in Palmieri and a veteran center in Zajac that he knows from his days in Jersey. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald did get a first-round pick, but did not get back anything else of much consequence and had to retain 50% of both forward’s salaries.

Chicago Blackhawks acquire forwards Brett Connolly, Henrik Borgström, defenseman Riley Stillman, and a 2021 7th round pick from the Florida Panthers for forward Lucas Wallmark and Lucas Carlsson.

Hawks Grade – B+
Panthers Grade – B+

The Hawks have made it known that they will be a clearinghouse for cap space with over $25 million in salary on long-term injured reserve and did so in the deal with the Panthers, taking on Connolly’s $3.5 million cap hit (through 2022-23) to get a pair of youngsters in Stillman and Borgstrom (the Panthers 2016 top pick who chose to stay in Finland).

Florida GM Bill Zito cleared nearly $2.5 million in cap space before the deadline and $3.5 million the next two years that will help the Panthers before the deadline and going forward when they have to sign center Aleksander Barkov.

Columbus Blue Jackets acquire a 2022 conditional 7th round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Riley Nash.

Leafs Grade – A
Blue Jackets Grade – C+

A no-risk move for Toronto to add a veteran depth forward. Nash suffered a knee injury earlier this week and will be out until the playoffs, allowing Leafs GM Kyle Dubas to place him on LTIR and use the cap space to add another player before the deadline. Columbus gets a seventh-round pick that can turn into a sixth if Nash plays in 25% of Toronto’s playoff games.

Colorado Avalanche acquires defenseman Patrik Nemeth from the Detroit Red Wings for a 2022 4th round pick.

Avs Grade – B+
Wings Grade – B

The Avs are a serious Stanley Cup contender and have had a series of injuries on the blueline. Nemeth played two years in Colorado before signing in Detroit, has over 350 games of NHL experience, and cost them only a fourth-rounder (with Detroit retaining 50% of his $3 million salary). The Red Wings have a large number of expiring contracts and will replenish their coffers by accumulating draft picks.

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Florida Panthers acquire defenseman Brandon Montour from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2021 3rd round pick.

Panthers Grade – A-
Sabres Grade – B+

Florida uses the money saved in the Connolly deal to fill the hole on the right side of their blueline left by the season-ending injury to Aaron Ekblad. Montour did not play well for most of the season in Buffalo, so the return of a third-round pick without retaining salary is much better for Kevyn Adams than what they received for Eric Staal.

Colorado Avalanche acquires goalie Devan Dubnyk from the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a 2021 5th round pick.

Avs Grade – A
Sharks Grade – B-

After the disaster of losing both starter Philippe Grubauer and Pavel Francouz in the playoff bubble last summer, GM Joe Sakic had to get some insurance between the pipes to protect against history repeating itself and got an experienced netminder in Dubnyk.

The Sharks return of Pateryn (who has been traded twice this season) and a fifth-round pick is fairly pedestrian.