The trade deadline in the NHL was at 3:00 P.M Eastern time yesterday. Teams who are in the playoff hunt tried to acquire talent to make a deep run. The teams who weren’t in the playoff picture shed salary for next year. There were a few trades that will help teams right now.
The Boston Bruins, who are in the last Wild Card spot in the East, made a deal for a scorer. They acquired forward Brett Connolly from the Lighting for two draft picks, a second-round pick this year and a second-round draft pick next year. This is an excellent deal for the Bruins. Connolly has scored 12 goals this year. That should assist their offense. It’s surprising that Boston had to only give up two, second-round picks. This should help the Bruins make the playoffs.
The Detroit Red Wings also made a trade to improve their playoff hopes. They sent a defenseman, Mattias Backman, forward Mattias Janmark, and a 2015 second-round pick to Dallas. Dallas sent forward Erik Cole and a 2015 conditional third-round pick to the Red Wings. Detroit adds another goal scorer to a talented team that is going to be in the playoffs. Cole has 18 points and 15 assists this year. He is a guy who is not only going to score goals but set up his teammates as they look for a deep playoff run.
The Colorado Avalanche were a team that experts thought would trade defensemen Jan Hejda or forward Ryan O’Reilly. Neither player was traded at the deadline. The Avalanche made a small trade with the San Jose Sharks. The Avalanche received forward Freddie Hamilton in exchange for defensemen Karl Stollery. Hamilton has only played 12 NHL games. This trade was in anticipation that he can be a big time defensemen. Karl Stollery has appeared in seven NHL games. This is a swap for players who hope to be future NHL stars.
The trading at the deadline was active even though big name players weren’t traded. Each trade that was made will improve the teams either this year or next year. It was a busy day for the NHL.
What player should have been dealt but wasn’t? What was the best trade of the NHL trade deadline?
Looks that way. When you make a trade these things can happen.