The 2024 NHL trade deadline has come and gone, so let us take a look at how all seven Canadian Teams faired:
Montreal Canadiens
In: Jacob Perreault, 1st-round pick, and two conditional 3rd-round picks
Out: Jan Mysak, Sean Monahan, and Jake Allen
The Canadians were fairly quiet this deadline. They traded Sean Monahan for a 1st-round pick back on February 2nd. That was some tidy work by Canadians GM, Kent Hughes. Then, hours before the deadline, they traded Jake Allen for a conditional 3rd-round pick in 2025. They are a rebuilding team who still have some veterans with term on their roster. 33 year old David Savard has 1 more year with a cap hit of $3.5 million. Expect the Canadians to move him by next year’s deadline.
Grade: C+
Ottawa Senators
In: 3rd-round pick, and a conditional 4th-round pick
Out: Vladimir Tarasenko
What a disappointing season in Ottawa. Many people predicted that they would contend for a playoff spot at the start of the season, but they currently sit 28th in the NHL standings. The only notable move they made was trading Vladimir Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers for a 3rd-round pick and a conditional 4th-round pick. That return was largely underwhelming. However, Tarasenko has a full no movement clause, so he basically picked where he wanted to play, leaving the Senators with limited options. Tarasenko was a pending unrestricted free agent so at least they got something for him, right?
Grade: D
Toronto Maple Leafs
In: Ilya Lyubushkin, Joel Edmundson, Kirill Slepets, Cade Webber, and Connor Dewar
Out: Dmitry Ovchinnikov, two 3rd-round picks, a 4th-round pick, a 5th-round pick, and a 6th-round pick
The Leafs had an uneventful trade deadline, picking up a couple of depth defensemen and a bottom 6 grinder. Dewar will likely slot in on the fourth line and kill penalties. The Leafs have the worst penalty-killing ranking among teams in a playoff spot, so adding Dewar should slightly help in that role. However, the Leafs gave up a 3rd and a 5th-round pick to acquire Joel Edmundson. That is a lot for a 7th defensemen who likely won’t play a lot in the playoffs. The Leafs are still a good team but have their work cut out for them if they want to keep up with the Bruins, Panthers, and Hurricanes, who made a huge splash, by acquiring Jake Guentzel from the Penguins.
Grade: C
Winnipeg Jets
In: Sean Monahan, Tyler Toffoli, and Colin Miller
Out: 1st-round pick, 2nd-round pick, 3rd-round pick, and a conditional 3rd-round pick
The Jets improved their forward group by acquiring Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli. Since Monahan became a Jet, he has 8 goals in 13 games. They also acquired a scoring winger to add that extra offensive punch. These two pieces only cost them four draft picks. That is some great work from General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. The Jets also have one of the best goaltenders in the NHL with Connor Hellebuyck. I would not want to play this team in the playoffs. The Jets had the best trade deadline among all Canadian NHL teams.
Grade: A
Edmonton Oilers
In: Corry Perry, Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick, Troy Stecher, and a 7th-round pick
Out: 1st-round pick, two 4th-round picks, and a conditional 5th-round pick
As per usual, the Edmonton Oilers had to do some salary cap gymnastics in order to make moves to improve their roster. The Oilers were able to add two bottom 6 forwards and a middle 6 forward without subtracting from their current group. That is a win in itself. They signed Corry Perry for league minimum, acquired Adam Henrique at 75 percent retained, and Sam Carrick at 50 percent retained. While those were good moves, this deadline has been largely underwhelming. Ken Holland failed to improve their top 6 right-wing and top 4 defense. For two straight playoffs, the pair of Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci has been outmatched by the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights respectively.
The Oilers have filled a few holes this deadline, but they were unable to fill the biggest ones. The Western Conference is elite. The Vancouver Canucks are an absolute wagon, the Dallas Stars landed Chris Tanev, and the Winnipeg Jets have an elite goalie paired with the newest acquisitions of Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli. The defending Stanley Cup champions acquired Noah Hanifin, Anthony Mantha, and Thomas Hertl, and the Colorado Avalanche are always a threat. The Oilers simply did not do enough to compete with those teams. This is most likely Ken Holland’s last trade deadline with the Edmonton Oilers, and maybe even his last as an NHL General Manager. Oiler fans expected him to go out with a bang and were left disappointed. If this is truly his last deadline, it was an underwhelming one.
Grade: B-
Calgary Flames
In: Andrei Kuzmenko, Daniil Miromanov, Artem Grushnikov, Joni Jurmo, Hunter Brzustewicz, Riley Damiani, two 1st-round picks, a 2nd-round pick, two conditional 3rd-round picks, and a conditional 4th-round pick
Out: Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and a 5th-round pick
The Flames were the busiest Canadian team, dealing their three best pending unrestricted free agents in Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, and Noah Hanifin. They received one current NHL player in Andrei Kuzmenko, five prospects, and five draft picks. Not a bad haul for pending UFA’s. However, many fans believe they could have received more from both Tanev and Hanifin. It has been heavily speculated that there was a 1st-round pick on the table for Tanev, but the Flames declined. Jacob Markstrom was not traded which makes people wonder, what does his future hold with the Calgary Flames? With that said, they still managed to turn these pending UFA’s into positive assets for the future.
Grade: B+
Vancouver Canucks
In: Elias Lindholm
Out: Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, 1st-round pick, and a conditional 4th-round pick
The Canucks were one of the quietest teams this trade deadline. They acquired Elias Lindholm on January 31st, but nothing else since. Lindholm has been fairly ineffective on the Canucks, only scoring 4 goals and 7 points in 16 games since the trade. They gave up a 1st-round pick for his services, and he has severely underperformed. The Canucks are an elite team in the Western Conference, so some fans might argue that they did not need to do much. However, Vegas, Dallas, Winnipeg, and Colorado all improved. It would have been nice if the Canucks were able to land Guentzel or Buchnevich for their top 6.
Grade: B-
With the NHL trade deadline in the rearview mirror, we now look at the final stretch, heading into the postseason. Which of the Canadian teams had the best NHL trade deadline? And which team is in the best position to make a deep playoff run?
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