The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and with it came many interesting moves. Central Division teams in particular loaded up on offensive firepower and shot-blocking defenders. While the Vancouver Canucks didn’t make nearly as many moves as their fans hoped they would, many of their Western Conference adversaries improved their rosters with multiple moves. Let’s take a look at some of the Western Conference teams that made the biggest moves since March 1.
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Colorado Avalanche
In:
F Charlie Coyle
F Brock Nelson
F Jimmy Vesey
F William Dufour
D Erik Johnson
D Ryan Lindgren
D Hank Kempf
2026 5th Round Pick
Out:
F Casey Mittelstadt
F Juuso Parssinen
F Calum Ritchie
F Givani Smith
F Will Zellers
D Calvin de Haan
D Oliver Kylington
2025 2nd Round Pick (Conditional — highest of Colorado’s picks)
2025 2nd Round Pick (Conditional — based on the pick involved in the trade with New York)
2025 4th Round Pick (Conditional — highest of Colorado’s picks)
2026 1st Round Pick (Conditional — dependent on another trade’s pick, turns into a 2027 1st if those conditions kick in)
2028 3rd Round Pick (Conditional — if Avalanche win 2025 Stanley Cup + Nelson plays at least 50% of their playoff games)
While they are still seven points ahead of Vancouver in the standings, with the moves they have made since March 1, they’re looking like the most improved team in the Western Conference. Despite losing one of their most prolific scorers in Mikko Rantanen over a month ago, Colorado has still maintained a record of 8–5–0 since the trade. Vesey will provide the Avalanche with more depth scoring — something the team has struggled with in seasons past. He isn’t expected to lift the team on his back at any given moment, but as a bottom-six player, he’ll be called upon to pitch in offensively every so often. With Lindgren, Colorado adds a strong defensive defenseman to their unit, providing more depth on the blueline for some of their more injury-prone players like Josh Manson. However, Lindgren is also no stranger to the IR, having been held out of the lineup due to injury four different times in the calendar year of 2024. Losing Ritchie is the biggest blow for Colorado this trade deadline — while Brock Nelson will boost the Avalanche’s offense big-time, he doesn’t have an extension in place and could easily walk for nothing. Signing Nelson in the offseason is still an option, of course, but as it stands, Colorado doesn’t have the cap space to keep him at the value he’ll likely ask for. Finally, they swapped last-season acquisition Mittelstadt for former Boston Bruins forward Coyle, who will provide stability as a third-line centre.
Vancouver and Colorado likely won’t cross paths in the standings, nor will they see each other in playoffs unless the Avalanche take the top-seed in the conference. However, where Colorado’s moves may come to impact the Canucks is during this final stretch of games. 13 of the Avalanche’s final 19 games are against Western Conference opponents, and they face the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, and L.A. Kings twice. As it stands, Vancouver’s battle for the final wild card spot is down to the Flames, Blues, and Utah Hockey Club — but L.A. isn’t very far ahead. If Colorado sweeps the six games that they play against the Flames, Blues, and Kings, they could help Vancouver make the push they need to make the playoffs.
Dallas Stars
In:
F Mikko Rantanen (8 year, $12M AAV extension signed)
Out:
F Logan Stankoven
2026 1st Round Pick (Conditional — top-10 protected)
2026 3rd Round Pick
2027 3rd Round Pick
2028 1st Round Pick (Conditional — top-10 protected)
The Dallas Stars may have only made one trade this deadline, but it was arguably the biggest in the entire league. In what may be one of the most shocking pieces of news since the start of 2025, Rantanen has moved on to his third team. The dynamic winger was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on January 25, 2025, but hadn’t played the same as he once did back in Colorado. With the Hurricanes unable to reach an agreement with him on a contract, Carolina flipped him to Dallas, a team that could use a powerful forward like Rantanen. The loss of Stankoven will hit the team in the future, as will the eventual cap troubles that may emerge from the extensions they signed Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston to yesterday, but Dallas is still a strong team that made the Conference Finals last season and could do the same in a few months.
Vancouver plays the Stars on Sunday night, marking their first look at this semi-new Dallas team. They could have a similar impact on the Canucks that Colorado could, in the sense that they might not meet in the playoffs but can help change the tide in the standings. Vancouver plays Dallas twice before the end of the season, while the Stars also take on Utah once. A couple of losses to the Stars could give the teams swimming around Vancouver a significant advantage in the standings.
Edmonton Oilers
In:
F Trent Frederic (50% retained by New Jersey)
F Max Jones
F Petr Hauser
D Jake Walman
Out:
F Carl Berglund
F Shane Lachance
D Max Wanner
2025 2nd Round Pick
2026 1st Round Pick (Conditional — top-12 protected unless Edmonton trades their 2027 1st Round Pick)
2026 4th Round Pick
The Oilers and Canucks are relatively distant in terms of points in the standings, but with these moves, Edmonton gets a boost in pretty much every area they were looking at improving. Frederic and Jones will likely take spots in the Oilers’ bottom-six, though the former is currently week-to-week with a lower body injury. This move is one that will most likely make the biggest impact for the Oilers in the playoffs. A tough, middle to bottom-six forward, Frederic’s strength lies in his physical presence and willingness to battle along the boards when asked to. The same can be said for Jones — while he hasn’t been a steady NHL regular, he can provide depth offense and checking that will make Edmonton that much harder to play against. Walman’s play has trended upwards since he entered the NHL in the 2019–20 season, and as a decent two-way defender, he has put up six goals and 26 assists in 50 games this season as a member of the San Jose Sharks.
Similar to Colorado and Dallas, Edmonton faces Western Conference opponents 16 times in 20 games before the postseason. While they don’t play Vancouver again, five of their matches are against teams currently within five points of the Canucks. Edmonton is currently in a midst of a slump, having lost five of the seven games they have played since the 4 Nations Face-Off ended. If this slump continues, not only could they allow teams like Calgary and Utah to climb in the standings, but they could also risk sliding down themselves.
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