The 2024 NHL Trade Deadline has come and passed, and while the New York Islanders have stood pat, most of their competition did not.
The 2024 NHL Trade Deadline has come and passed, and while the New York Islanders have stood pat, most of their competition did not.
The Carolina Hurricanes made arguably the biggest trade of the week, obtaining star forward Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Michael Bunting, three prospects and two draft picks.
Guentzel, who has been out for nearly a month due to an upper-body injury, immediately becomes Carolina’s second-best scorer with 22 goals and 30 assists.
He was spotted with a normal practice jersey on yesterday, so the Hurricanes should see him slot alongside Sebastian Aho sooner rather than later.
That was not the only trade Carolina made. They also grabbed Evgeny Kuznetsov from the Washington Capitals for a future third-round pick, while Washington retained 50 percent of his salary.
At age 31, Kuznetsov is having his worst season statistically, with just six goals and 11 assists, so a change of scenery may help him get back to his scoring ways.
The Capitals, who are only three points behind the Islanders, stocked up on future draft picks by trading forward Anthony Mantha and defenseman Joel Edmundson.
Mantha, who has scored 20 goals with 14 assists, was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights for a second and a fourth-round pick, while Edmundson was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs for two mid-round picks.
The Philadelphia Flyers bolstered their defensive core by giving up a fourth-round pick for Erik Johnson of the Buffalo Sabres.
Johnson brings 17 years of NHL experience and won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche two seasons ago.
The Flyers are trying to hold off the Islanders for third place in the division.
The gap remains four points, but New York has two games in hand.
The Islanders are two points behind both wild card teams, the Detroit Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning, and outside an AHL move, Detroit was dormant while Tampa made two significant splashes.
The Lightning traded for the speedy Anthony Duclair and a seventh-round pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a prospect and a third-round pick. The 28-year-old winger put up 16 goals on a struggling Sharks team and can certainly help the Lightning offense.
Tampa Bay also addressed their defense by adding Matt Dumba from the Arizona Coyotes for a 2027 draft pick. Dumba may not provide the offensive numbers he used to, but he can play 20 minutes a night and somewhat fill the void left by Mikhail Sergachev’s injury.
The New Jersey Devils had an interesting deadline, to say the least. They swapped goaltender Vitek Vanecek with the Sharks for Kaapo Kahkonen while also trading for goalie Jake Allen of the Canadiens. .
Most importantly, they traded forward Tyler Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2024 third and a 2025 second-round pick
The Devils are four points behind the Islanders and six points out of a playoff spot, and getting there without a 30-goal scorer like Toffoli will be a tough task.
"The only thing that one can do in this position is do everything they can to make their team better that is it making your own team better," Lamoriello said. "You don't look at what other people are doing. And you don't make a trade for the sake of making a trade. That's not in the vocabulary."
Every team ahead of New York added (except for Detroit), but only time will tell if standing pat was the correct move.
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