Early winners of NHL trade deadline
It's been over two weeks since the NHL'S March 8 trade deadline.
It will take time to determine which teams got the best returns, but four playoff contenders are already seeing early benefits.
The Carolina Hurricanes acquired forwards Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov to bring more offence to their roster.
Entering this week, they've won eight of their last 10 games with Guentzel netting 12 points and Kuznetsov five.
They're challenging the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers.
Riding a nine-game win streak, the Colorado Avalanche is jockeying with the Dallas Stars for first place in the Central Division. They made six trades before the deadline, with the most consequential being the additions of centre Casey Mittelstadt and defenceman Sean Walker.
Mittelstadt has five points in seven games centering the Avalanche's second line while Walker brings a measure of shutdown grit and puck-moving skill to their blue-line.
Speaking of the Stars, they boosted their depth on the right side of their defence corps by adding Chris Tanev to their second pairing. It's not a coincidence that they've won seven of their nine games since the rugged 34-year-old blue-liner joined their lineup on March 5.
The cap-strapped Tampa Bay Lightning brought in winger Anthony Duclair and defenceman Matt Dumba in what was considered to be bargain-bin depth moves. Since they joined the lineup, however, the Lightning has won six of seven contests. Duclair has five goals and nine points while Dumba's logged big minutes in a shutdown role.
UNLIKELY 50-GOAL SCORER
Zach Hyman was a proven 20-goal scorer with the Toronto Maple Leafs when he signed a seven-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers in 2021.
He scored 27 goals in his first season in Edmonton and reached 36 in 2022-23 skating with Connor Mcdavid on the
Oilers' first line.
No one expected Hyman to become a 50-goal scorer. Nevertheless, the 31-yearold right-winger enters the week having reached one of hockey's most honoured scoring milestones during a 5-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on March 24.
Hyman doesn't score with the flair or powerful shot of such notables as former teammate Auston Matthews or Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin.
His energetic style and work ethic got him to the NHL and served him well up to this point.
It's easy to dismiss Hyman's career year as being the beneficiary of Mcdavid's playmaking.
However, not every player can keep up with the Edmonton superstar's otherworldly speed and skills.
The Oilers tried several right-wingers alongside Mcdavid over the years, but none had the chemistry that he has with Hyman.
PWHL NOTES
Interest in the PWHL keeps rising as the league recently set two more women's hockey attendance records.
On March 16, a neutralsite game between Boston and Ottawa at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena set a U.S. attendance record of 13,736, prompting speculation of a possible expansion team in the Motor City.
Meanwhile, tickets at the Bell Centre (home of the NHL'S Montreal Canadiens) for an April 20 match between Toronto and Montreal sold out within hours, setting a new women's league record of 21,105.
Speaking of Toronto, they remain atop the standings with 36 points in the sixteam league after winning 11 straight games.
Minnesota has moved into second with 35 points as Montreal slipped to third place (31 points) and Ottawa in fourth with 27. The top four teams will qualify for the PWHL playoffs, which begin May 6.
Ottawa was the busiest team during the PWHL'S March 18 trade deadline. They shipped defender Amanda Boulier to Montreal for forward Tereza Vanisova, then traded forwards Lexie Adzija and Caitrin Lonergan to Boston for forward Shiann Darkangelo.