When Bill Zito acquired Matthew Tkachuk and Ken Holland traded for Mattias Ekholm, they put into place solid foundations for the two teams that will compete for the Stanley Cup, says Ken Campbell.
If you're looking for key reasons why the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers are competing for the Stanley Cup, you'll find part of the answer in blockbuster, swing-for-the-fences deals that each of the GMs made.
At the trade deadline in 2023, Holland got defenseman Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators for Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer and a first- and fourth-round pick. A couple of months later, Bill Zito acquired Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar and Cole Schwindt.
And those trades are right up there with Joe Thornton to San Jose, Filip Forsberg to Nashville, Seth Jones to Columbus, Taylor Hall to New Jersey and Justin Williams to Los Angeles as the best of the NHL's salary cap era.
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