The Dallas Stars, either content with their squad as is or unable to find the right deal, effectively sat out deadline day completing just one AHL deal with Calgary. Of course, the team did address their top priority, right-side defenseman, 10 days earlier by acquiring Chris Tanev from the Flames and an argument can be made that the Stars on paper are as good as anyone in the West.
Meanwhile, several of their Western Conference rivals spent the last few days adding significant pieces to boost their chances of playoff success. Let’s review the trades made by fellow Western Conference contenders and see just how much more challenging the road ahead will be for Dallas.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets were one of the first teams to act, adding resurgent center Sean Monahan from Montreal on February 2nd. The veteran pivot has meshed well with his new mates, tallying eight goals and 10 points through his first 14 games. Winnipeg then added Monahan’s Ottawa 67’s teammate, Tyler Toffoli, in a trade with New Jersey Friday in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 second.
Toffoli led New Jersey in goals at the time of the deal with 26 and adds another needed shooter on the wing for the Jets. It’s been suggested he could line up on Monahan’s right, with Nikolaj Ehlers on the other side.
The Jets would later consummate a second trade with the Devils, sending a 2026 fourth-round choice to New Jersey for right defenseman Colin Miller. Miller will add depth to the team’s blue line, something every contender looks for at the deadline. The nine-year veteran recorded eight points with four goals in 41 contests with the Devils.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers didn’t make any deals on deadline day, having completed their business in the days leading up to Friday. Edmonton added centers Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick, with 50% salary retention, along with a seventh-round pick in 2024 and goaltender Ty Taylor, for a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick, which converts to a fourth if Edmonton wins the Cup. Tampa bought a conditional fourth by retaining 25% of Henrique’s salary. That pick will transfer in 2024 if Edmonton falls short of winning it all and converts to a 2026 selection if the Oilers do skate away with the Cup in June.
Henrique will add needed secondary scoring and versatility, as the longtime former Devil and Duck can play on the wing as well as up the middle. The 15-year NHL veteran had 18 goals and 42 points in 60 games with Anaheim. Carrick is a solid fourth-line pivot who is effective in the faceoff circle and kills penalties.
Edmonton also dealt a 2027 fourth-round pick to Arizona for rental defenseman Troy Stecher and a 2024 seventh. Stecher adds depth and puck moving ability to the right side of the Oilers defense. He had five points for the Coyotes in 47 appearances.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche were among the most active teams ahead of the deadline, executing five trades involving nine players and five draft choices. Colorado, in the market for a second-line center with summer trade acquisition Ryan Johansen failing to fill the bill, landed Casey Mittlestadt from Buffalo in a rare deadline “genuine hockey deal,’ which saw skilled blue liner Bowen Byram joining the Sabres.
Mittlestadt, the eighth overall selection in 2017, broke out in 2022 – 2023, recording 59 points and has followed up this season scoring 14 goals and 47 points in 62 games in Buffalo. At 25, he is squarely in his prime and will be a RFA after the season, meaning he has a chance to be the long-term solution for Colorado.
Byram, 22, has struggled with injuries so far in his young career, particularly concussions. He is a terrific skater and puck-mover with a flair for creating offense. He showed those skills off in his Buffalo debut, scoring a goal and adding an assist in a 4 – 2 loss to Nashville. If Byram can stay healthy, he would add another dynamic young defender to the Buffalo blue line, joining Owen Power (21), Rasmus Dahlin, and Mattias Samuelsson (both of whom will soon turn 24).
Around The Full Press Hockey
The Avalanche added some size and grit, valued traits come playoff time, to their bottom-six acquiring Yakov Trenin from Nashville and Brandon Duhaime from the Wild. Trenin has some scoring pop, netting a total of 39 goals since the start of the 2021-22 season. Duhaime, is a speedy checking forward who plays hard and is an effective forechecker. These acquisitions will make the Avalanche “harder to play against” in the playoffs.
The first significant deal made by Colorado this week, which served as a necessary precursor to their later trade of Byram, saw the Avalanche acquire Sean Walker from Philadelphia, along with a 2026 fifth-round pick in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick and Ryan Johansen. The Flyers immediately placed Johansen on waivers and was assigned to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley. The first is top-ten protected, though it’s unlikely Colorado would crater enough next year for that protection to kick in.
Walker was commonly recognized as the next best option among rental right defenseman after Tanev and made it easier to move Byram to fill their need for a second-line pivot. He had 22 points in 63 games with Philadelphia while seeing a career-high 19:36 average ice time. He debuted Friday, spending much of his even-strength time with Jack Johnson on what would be considered the third pair. He also saw just under five minutes at 5v5 with Samuel Girard, as head coach Jared Bednar figures out how best to deploy his defense.
Vegas Golden Knights
I have to hand it to Vegas. President of Hockey Ops George McPhee and GM Kelly McCrimmon, with owner Bill Foley’s encouragement, aren’t afraid to take massive swings. Ever since their surprising debut season, this is a club that spends money, so much so that they’ve had to basically give players away just to clear cap space (Max Pacioretty, for example) and isn’t afraid to pull the trigger on massive trades. This deadline was no different.
First, Vegas added rental forward Anthony Mantha from Washington for two draft picks. Mantha, a big and skilled forward, recently hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in five seasons. He’ll provide some scoring depth for the postseason push as he looks to finish the campaign on a high note to position himself for a big payday this coming summer.
Next the Golden Knights acquired the top rental defenseman on the market, Noah Hanifin, from Calgary. The cost may not have been quite as steep as expected, a 2026 first, a 2024 second assuming Vegas wins a playoff round otherwise a 2024 third-round choice will transfer to Calgary, and D/RW Daniil Miromanov. Vegas also kicked a fifth to Philadelphia for 25% retention while the Flames picked up 50%.
Not finished, Vegas pulled off the biggest stunner of the deadline, picking up star F Tomas Hertl from San Jose. In return, San Jose gets the Golden Knights’ 2025 first-round draft pick and Swedish C David Edstrom, whom the Knights selected in the first round, 32nd overall last year. The Sharks will also send their third-round choices in both 2025 and 2027 to Vegas while retaining 17% of Hertl’s contract over the remaining six-plus seasons.
Hertl is in the second of an eight-year extension he signed prior to the start of the 2022-23 season with an AAV of just more than $8.1M. The 30-year-old center has missed the last six weeks due to a knee injury, and has 15 goals and 19 assists in 48 games played. He is expected back at some point this year, and will form one of the best one-two punches at center in the league with Jack Eichel.
I refuse to say Vegas is all-in, because I’ve thought that before only to see McPhee and McCrimmon continue to wheel-and-deal, adding big names to fortify their chances of winning. With their deadline additions, and the hoped-for return of Mark Stone for the postseason, Vegas is well-positioned to win a second consecutive Stanley Cup. And if they should fall short, don’t be surprised to see Vegas continue to make splashy moves, because that’s just what they do.
What It All Means
The Stars trail Winnipeg in the Central Division based on points-percentage and are just two points ahead of Colorado. Both clubs upgraded their squads at the deadline setting up a dogfight down the stretch. Winning the division would ensure Dallas of avoiding a first-round matchup with either Winnipeg or Colorado, though a date with Vegas is possible as the Knights currently hold a wild card spot and would stand to face one of the West’s division winners.
Any way you look at it, the road through the West to the Stanley Cup Final just got a lot harder.