Edmonton Oilers GM, Stan Bowman, Has His Visit With Santa - 24

Nurse has been extremely good this season, and now he'll be tasked with helping Bouchard whenever he struggles defensively. Ekholm and Emberson have already formed a pairing on the penalty kill, where the newcomer has carved out a vital and often thankless role on the team.

"I promised to deliver him a leadership role on the ice," Coffey said to Ryan Rishaug in an interview for the TSN journalist's Got Yer Back podcast. "But it came with a cost. You want the ice time? You've got to play good."

Fair enough. The trade would have been unprecedented. Kucherov was coming off a monster season: 41 goals and 128 points, the first 120-point season since Sidney Crosby in 2006-07. Kucherov obviously won the Hart and Art Ross Trophies, leading the Lightning to one of the greatest regular seasons of all time.