NHL Trade Deadline Report Card  – Metropolitan Division

The National Hockey League trade market was rather brisk and eventful leading up to the trade deadline on March 3, in spite of a lower-than-normal number of deals on deadline day. A number of contenders performed contortions to stay under the $82.5 million salary, including the involvement of third teams to retain salary, while other teams on the bubble such as Nashville and Washington chose to sell off players at the eleventh hour for draft picks and future assets.

With the deadline now past, we can look at the 32 clubs and evaluate whether they addressed their issues to make or advance deeper in the playoffs, or got enough for the players they were shopping as sellers.

Here is a look at the teams in the Metro:

Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes GM Don Waddell reportedly kicked tires on big-name deadline additions like Patrick Kane and Timo Meier, but in the end, went for more low-key moves like bolstering their blueline by adding Shayne Gostisbehere and acquiring former fourth overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi from Edmonton. The Canes in retrospect may regret not being more bold at the deadline as their offense has been weakened after losing winger Andrei Svechnikov to a season-ending knee injury.

Grade – B-

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Jackets are in the thick of the race for Connor Bedard, and GM Jarmo Kekalainen accomplished a lot before March 3^rd, sending injured forward Jakub Voracek’s $8.25 million cap hit to Arizona, swapping injured forward Gustav Nyquist to Minnesota for a mid-round pick, acquiring a 2023 first-round pick and an additional third-rounder from the L.A. Kings for rentals in Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov, and serving as a clearing house for 50% of Jonathan Quick’s contract in the deal that moved the veteran netminder to Vegas.

Grade – A-

New Jersey Devils

The Devils made the biggest and potentially the most impactful move of the deadline, acquiring Meier from San Jose in a massive nine-player deal that did not include any of the organization’s top prospects. The trade could pay off in the short term in their quest to advance in the Metro and in the future if GM Tom Fitzgerald can get Meier signed to a long-term extension this summer. New Jersey also added an effective depth forward in Curtis Lazar, but it will be a difficult task for the Devils to get past both the Rangers and Hurricanes.

Grade – A

New York Islanders

Isles GM Lou Lamoriello made one of the first big moves of deadline season by acquiring center Bo Horvat from Vancouver and almost immediately signing the former Canucks captain to an eight-year deal, but the price that New York paid exceeded what the Devils gave up for Meier and what Toronto gave up for Ryan O’Reilly. New York also added big winger Pierre Engvall from the Leafs, but their playoff hopes may rely on when they get back Mathew Barzal from the injured list and if Ilya Sorokin can steal victories down the stretch.

Grade – B

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New York Rangers

After getting to the Eastern Conference Final last season, GM Chris Drury went all-in to get the Rangers over the hump, giving up a 2023 first-rounder in a deal with St. Louis to bring in winger Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Niko Mikkola, re-acquiring Tyler Motte from Ottawa, but the move to add Kane from Chicago seemed like a bit of overkill. The highly skilled New York lineup now does not seem to fit the style of head coach Gerard Gallant, but they may be talented enough to get further than they did last season.

Grade – A-  

Philadelphia Flyers

The lack of movement by the Flyers, including the failure to deal rental winger James van Riemsdyk, appears to have been a significant factor in the firing of GM Chuck Fletcher. Philadelphia made minor moves, swapping forward Zack MacEwen to L.A. for Brendan Lemieux and trading Patrick Brown to Ottawa for a sixth-rounder, but not big names like Kevin Hayes, Travis Sanheim, or Ivan Provorov.

Grade – D

Pittsburgh Penguins

Based on their lack of cap space and the unwillingness of GM Ron Hextall to expend significant draft capital, the Penguins were able to make moves that improved their depth and chances in the playoffs, bolstering up the middle by acquiring Mikael Granlund from Nashville and Nick Bonino from San Jose, and adding some experience on the back end in Dmitry Kulikov.

Grade – B  

Washington Capitals

The Capitals were in the unusual spot of being both a buyer and a seller, using deadline leverage to get defensemen Nick Jensen and Trevor van Riemsdyk to sign extensions, dealing the expiring contracts of Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to Boston, Marcus Johansson to Minnesota and Lars Eller to Colorado for draft picks, but at the same time swapping a first-round pick and rental Erik Gustafsson to Toronto for young defenseman Rasmus Sandin.

Grade – B+