League moving, shaking a day before deal cutoff
Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Oilers make upgrades
With one sleep left before the NHL trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs joined the party Thursday by bulking up on defense, while two Western Conference Stanley Cup contenders made more moves to improve in crucial areas.
And one of the top teams in the East looks to be on the verge of making a big splash.
Colorado acquired a pair of versatile forwards from Central Division rivals, Brandon Duhaime from Minnesota and Yakov Trenin from Nashville, Edmonton got defenseman Troy Stecher from Arizona and Toronto received Joel Edmundson from Washington.
The Avalanche sent a 2026 third-round pick to the Wild for Duhaime and a 2025 third and defense prospect Jeremy Hanzel to the Predators for Trenin and the rights to unsigned draft pick Graham Sward. The Oilers sent a 2027 fourthround pick to the Coyotes for Stecher, and the Leafs got Edmundson from the Capitals for a a thirdrounder this year and a 2025 fifth.
Carolina raised some antennas by putting goaltender Antti Raanta, defenseman Tony DeAngelo and forward Brendan Lemieux on waivers, moves that would clear significant salary cap space. Then the Hurricanes held out Michael Bunting from their game Thursday night for trade- related reasons, sparking that buzz that ultimately became their deal for Jake Guentzel — the top player available — from the Penguins.
Toronto’s trade for Edmundson started the action Thursday, adding some much needed toughness on the blue line. He’s a left shot, which the Leafs have plenty of, but his playoff experience alone makes Edmundson a potentially important acquisition for a team dreaming of an extended run this spring.
The Capitals are retaining a quarter of Edmundson’s salary after Montreal already has half from a trade last offseason and getting a third-rounder that originally belonged to the New York Islanders. Salary retention makes the him quite the bargain for the Leafs at a cap hit of $875,000, just above the league minimum.
Edmundson, 30, helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019 and is a pending free agent. He has skated over 16 minutes a game this season with Washington.
But it’s not just the top championship contenders getting in on the action. The Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21 acquired offensive-minded winger Anthony Duclair from San Jose on Thursday night. They sent a third-round pick this year and minor league defenseman Jack Thompson to the Sharks for a 2025 seventh-round selection and Duclair, who has seven goals in his past eight games.
The Predators, in the wild-card race in the West, acquired winger Anthony Beauvillier from Chicago for a 2024 fifth-round pick and claimed forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings.
Among the other players expected to be moved before the deadline are New Jersey winger Tyler Toffoli, Washington center Nic Dowd and a couple of more Arizona pending free agents: defenseman Matthew Dumba and ex-Penguins forward Jason Zucker.
Like the Hurricanes with Bunting, the Coyotes scratched Dumba and Zucker and the Devils Toffoli because of trade-related reasons.
Seattle’s Jordan Eberle, who’s also on an expiring contract, could also be the next to go after the Kraken sent Alexander Wennberg to the New York Rangers on Wednesday.