After Hurricanes’ deals, East rivals follow at trade deadline

Once the Carolina Hurricanes began stocking up in the hours before the NHL trade deadline, it didn’t take long for the league’s many other contenders to join in Friday.

The Hurricanes kicked off the final day of trading by acquiring center Evgeny Kuznetsov from the Washington Capitals. Washington acquired a 2025 third-round pick and is retaining half of his salary through next season — a cap hit of $7.8 million with $8 million due in 2024-25.

It was Carolina’s second considerable move in 12 hours, after the Hurricanes landed scoring winger Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh in a blockbuster deal.

What followed was a string of moves made mostly by Eastern Conference rivals in a bid to keep up.

Two days after acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko from Ottawa, the league-leading Florida Panthers added depth and leadership in landing Buffalo’s Kyle Okposo. Buffalo acquired minor league defenseman Calle Sjalin in a deal that provides the 35-year-old Sabres captain a chance to compete in the playoffs in what could be his final NHL season.

The Boston Bruins became the last of the top contenders in the East to add, getting three-time Cup champion Patrick Maroon from Minnesota for young forward Luke Toporowski and a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick.

The Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers added blue-line depth by acquiring Chad Ruhwedel from a Penguins team that is suddenly entering a rebuilding mode.

And Philadelphia shored up its defense by acquiring veteran Erik Johnson for a fourth-round draft pick in a deal with Buffalo.

In the West, the surging Jets acquired forward Tyler Toffoli in a trade with New Jersey to become Winnipeg’s latest addition after landing center Sean Monahan from Montreal during the All-Star break. The Devils acquired a 2024 thirdand a 2025 second-round pick while also retaining half of the pending free agent’s salary for the remainder of the season.

And the Nashville Predators, who hold one of the West’s two wild-card spots, attempted to shore up their playoff position by getting forward Jason Zucker from Arizona for a sixth-rounder this year.