The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.

After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster on Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day with a different team than which they started it. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.

Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:

WINNERS

Florida Panthers

We now live in a universe in which the Panthers can field a line of Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk at some point in the Stanley Cup Playoffs … and that says everything about how serious their front office is about winning a consecutive Stanley Cup.

But it also speaks to how Panthers general manager Bill Zito and his staff managed their salary cap situation. Look at the Seth Jones trade. They leveraged the promise of goaltender Spencer Knight by including him and getting $4.5 million off their cap. By having the Chicago Blackhawks retain $2.5 million of Jones’ contract, they were able to fit the right-handed shooting defenseman to strengthen their top four.

Moving Tkachuk to long-term injured reserve came with the reality that he would miss rest of the regular season, which created a need to get another top-six forward. But it was instrumental in the Panthers creating that deadline cap space, which used to secure Marchand in one of the most shocking moves of the week. Thanks to the dealing this week, the Panthers are now co-favorites to win the Stanley Cup. — Clark

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto had two glaring areas of need going into the deadline — and for once, the Leafs actually addressed them both in a significant way.

It’s almost like all those first-round playoff exits have taught Toronto something. Namely, at the toughest time of the season, the Leafs need to be, well, a little (or a lot) tougher to play against.

So GM Brad Treliving targeted what the Leafs didn’t have in-house: a rugged third-line center in Scott Laughton who will complement Auston Matthews and John Tavares down the middle, and a bruising stay-at-home defenseman in Brandon Carlo to give Toronto its best top-four rotation in some time.

Yes, the deals were expensive — the Leafs parted with three young skaters in Fraser Minten, Conor Timmins and Connor Dewar, plus two first-round picks, among other draft capital — but there was no way around it: Toronto has tried filling in the edges before; it’s failed to give them an advantage in the postseason.

The Leafs are heavier and more experienced now than they were on Friday morning. And the way Florida and Tampa Bay loaded up, there was no way the Leafs couldn’t follow suit and hope for a better result this postseason. Treliving has put his team the components to succeed. It’s on the Leafs now to run with their opportunity. — Shilton

Vegas’ reputation

hi

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 7, 2025

What other franchise in the NHL could cause utter chaos among fans and media by simply saying “hi” in lowercase letters minutes before the trade deadline? The Vegas Golden Knights have earned their reputation as the league’s “win by any means necessary” front office, just as they’ve become the NHL trade deadline’s leading shock merchants — please recall last season’s stunner for San Jose star Tomas Hertl.

The Knights are also known for not particularly caring about how they’re perceived, either, which is why they’re probably delighted by the fact that this message caused such a stir without leading to anything on Friday. Vegas’ only deadline move came on Thursday when they reunited with Golden Misfit Reilly Smith in a trade with the Rangers. — Wyshynski

Dallas Stars

Much can be said about how the Stars handled deadline day. But there are two statements that say it all. The first: There’s at least one GM of a team inside the American Airlines Center who not only keeps his franchise players but then adds another franchise player.

The second? Everything Stars GM Jim Nill and his front office staff achieved Friday speaks to the shift in their organizational philosophy. Draft capital was traditionally sacred in Dallas, because it’s how the Stars built their team. They entered Friday with a dozen homegrown players on their roster, a group that includes captain Jamie Benn, Miro Heiskanen, Wyatt Johnston, Jake Oettinger, Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson.

It’s one thing to build through the draft; it’s another to constantly select foundational players. That’s what made the Stars hesitant about moving on from draft capital. But when they decided to move on from their 2025 first-round picks in the deal to get Mikael Granlund in February? It signaled that the Stars were operating differently. Trading Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks and two third-round picks for Mikko Rantanen — and then signing him to an eight-year contract extension — proved the Stars were going all-in. — Clark

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay GM Julien BriseBois is no wallflower. By his own admission, the Lightning’s plan is to try and fail rather than fail to try. Once again, that guided BriseBois at the deadline as he added Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to make Tampa Bay all the more intimidating moving towards the playoffs.

Never mind the Lightning have used one first-round draft choice in five seasons, and no longer own a selection there in 2025, 2026 or 2027. If that’s the price of playoff contention well, so be it. Tampa Bay has thrived off of following its instincts when it comes to adding depth at the deadline (and the offseason) — and been proven right more often than not.

Gourde and Bjorkstrand aren’t Jake Guentzel-like change-makers, but that’s not what the Lightning needed (or what’s put them over the top in years past). This team knows how to win as a sum of its parts. Role players are the Lightning’s bread and butter come spring, and they’re primed and ready to roll the dice again. Did we mention they’re also on a hot streak, winning 10 of their last 11? Good thing the Bolts’ Atlantic Division rivals in Toronto and Florida also made deadline moves, because the Lightning aren’t holding back in their pursuit of another championship. — Shilton

Colorado Avalanche

When the Avalanche cut ties with Rantanen in January, not many would have guessed that Colorado would become one of the trade deadline’s most aggressive teams. But they probably also wouldn’t have guessed that Martin Necas, whom they acquired from Carolina, would have more than double the points (15) than Rantanen (six) in the aftermath of that trade.

Necas’ snug fit into their lineup is one reason why the Avalanche look like Stanley Cup contenders. So is Mackenzie Blackwood, acquired from the San Jose Sharks earlier this season, who has stabilizing their goaltending. That’s not even mentioning another MVP season from Nathan MacKinnon, a Norris Trophy-worthy campaign from Cale Makar and the rest of their talented roster.

So GM Chris MacFarland came to the trade deadline ready to make a great team even better. The Islanders’ Brock Nelson solves their riddle at No. 2 center, making Casey Mittelstadt expendable, so Colorado shipped him to Boston for Charlie Coyle. That was after the Avalanche acquired defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forward Jimmy Vesey from the Rangers.

Topping it off, the happy vibes of defenseman Erik Johnson‘s return to Colorado in a trade with the Flyers, the “old guy without a Cup” from their 2022 championship team that’s joining a roster built to win another. — Wyshynski

San Jose Sharks

Although most of the focus is understandably around the teams trying to win, there’s also competition that exists for those franchises seeking to build a better future. That’s the game the Sharks have been playing for the last few years, and the deadline saw the organization make substantial progress.

Part of the challenge facing Sharks GM Mike Grier and his front office staff was how they’d manage to gain draft captain despite having all three salary retention slots filled. They showed in early February they could find a workaround when they received a 2025 first-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick from the Stars in exchange for Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci.

They used the deadline to move on from Jake Walman, which led to them adding another first-round pick for 2026 while adding more draft capital in other deals. Bear in mind, they acquired Walman plus a second-round pick last offseason in exchange for future considerations (i.e. nothing) in a salary dump from the Red Wings.

The Sharks now have two first-round picks in 2025 followed by another two in 2026. In total, they have nine picks in this summer’s draft and six picks in the first four rounds of next year’s draft. — Clark

The double-flip trade trend

As shocking as the Carolina Hurricanes‘ acquisition of Mikko Rantanen was in January, their decision to trade him a second time at the deadline is even more stunning. Another front office might have dabbled in the sunk-cost fallacy of keeping Rantanen as a rental for a Stanley Cup run after it became clear that he wouldn’t sign an extension. Instead, GM Eric Tulsky flipped him to Dallas — one of the few teams Rantanen would agree to an extension with before the deadline — for forward Logan Stankoven and four draft picks, calling it the “best thing for the organization in the long term.”

Carolina’s hand was forced by Rantanen, but other teams got in on the flipping too.

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Luke Schenn from Nashville on Wednesday, touted his intangibles, and then traded him to Winnipeg. The Philadelphia Flyers got seven games out of winger Andrei Kuzmenko after acquiring him in January from Calgary and then moved him to the Kings. Colorado defenseman Oliver Kylington was a New York Islander for about a millisecond before they moved him to the Anaheim Ducks for future considerations after the Brock Nelson trade. — Wyshynski

LOSERS

Carolina Hurricanes

Be cautious, or be a cautionary tale. Crass as that might sound, this is the reality that every front office must consider whenever it does a deal in which the overall success hinges upon a pending UFA signing a contract with the team that just acquired them.

Years of caution is how the Hurricanes pieced together a roster that’s been good enough to make the playoffs every season. But that’s what also made their trade with the Avalanche to get Rantanen such a jarring one, because it was so unconventional. At the time, it appeared as if there could be a long-term solution for both sides. The Hurricanes could offer the sizable contract that Rantanen was seeking, while also making him the focal point of their franchise for years to come.

Yet each week that passed without Rantanen signing led to questions about whether his time in Carolina was going to be the NHL’s version of when future Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza was a member of the Florida Marlins before he was traded to the New York Mets. And that’s exactly what happened, with the Hurricanes trading Rantanen to the Stars where he immediately signed an extension.

Although the Hurricanes received promising young forward Logan Stankoven and four draft picks, they’re still left tying to fill the Rantanen-sized hole in their lineup. — Clark

Winnipeg Jets

There is reason to believe Winnipeg is resting on its laurels here. Yes, the Jets sit atop the NHL standings and they’ve been formidable across most of this season.

However, Winnipeg is also part of the uber-competitive Central Division. And those rivals — hello, Dallas and Mikko Rantanen! Nice to see you, Brock Nelson in Colorado! — did some damage at the deadline. The Jets? Not so much.

Winnipeg’s only additions were veterans Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev. Those are fine, respectable players. But will they really help to keep Winnipeg as not only the Central favorite but hold them as the Western Conference’s top contender?

It’s one thing for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to put his faith in a Jets’ team that has, by all accounts, soared above expectations this season. Not taking advantage at the deadline with a swing of their own on a larger trade acquisition might hurt Winnipeg’s chances down the road. At least, It feels like that could be the case. And what a disappointment it would be for the Jets to look back and wonder if they could have done more to stay ahead of the competition. — Shilton

The Boston Bruins as a Stanley Cup contender

Boston GM Don Sweeney was asked outright: Is this now a rebuild after his trade deadline sell off?

“We didn’t burn it down,” he said. “You have to have a little bit of a step back at times. Did we know this morning that we’d end up making all of these moves? No. But we were prepared if the things that we liked were presented.”

As Sweeney said, it’s not in the DNA of the franchise to tear it all down. He talked about finding “another wave” of players and that Boston isn’t far away from being a competitive team. In fairness, they have a decent foundation on which to build: David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman.

But this is the end of an era. Trading away Marchand, Carlo and Coyle follows the departure of Zdeno Chara and the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, which effectively ends a decade of Stanley Cup contention for this group. Whatever the Bruins become now, it won’t be the next chapter of that legacy. That book is closed. Time to write a new story. — Wyshynski

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks took an interesting approach to the deadline. And in the end, it doesn’t seem like Vancouver’s helped itself improve. If anything, the Canucks’ waters appear murkier than ever.

The J.T. Miller deal in January was inevitable, and did bring in a decent haul with Filip Chytil and a first-round pick that turned into Marcus Petterson and Drew O’Connor. Then it was the middling Carson Soucy move to New York.

From there, GM Patrik Allvin stalled out. He didn’t trade Brock Boeser. He didn’t trade Elias Pettersson. He didn’t acquire anyone else to make Vancouver — a team teetering on the edge of not making playoffs at all — better for the season’s final quarter.

That would be questionable enough even if Quinn Hughes — Vancouver’s Norris Trophy-winning captain — weren’t battling an injury. Adding insult to all that, Vancouver’s getting nowhere with Boeser on an extension. The sum total of the club’s activity — or lack thereof — just forces you to wonder where the Canucks are headed, or if they even know. — Shilton

Los Angeles Kings

Perhaps it’s premature to state the Kings were a loser at the deadline. They are, after all, occupying a playoff spot and have quite a bit of talent. But the question facing Los Reyes entering the deadline was whether they had enough consistent scoring in their attempt to get out of the first round for the first time since they won the Stanley Cup in 2014. It’s a passage of time that’s so old that the NHL’s last two expansion teams, the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken, have been to the second round more recently than the Kings.

The Kings do have 14 players who are in double figures from a points perspective, and seven with 12 or more goals. But they were also 24th in goals per game. That’s the second-lowest average of a team that entered deadline day in a playoff spot. It’s a concern that’s once again been discussed, with the Kings currently on a five-game losing streak that’s seen them average 1.6 goals in those defeats.

How they addressed that concern was to trade for winger Andrei Kuzmenko, who could slot next to captain Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe on their second line. But that means they are banking on Kuzmenko’s recent success of finding instant results whenever he joins a new team. He had 39 goals in his first season in Vancouver before scoring 14 goals and 25 points in 29 games when he was traded to the Calgary Flames. Kuzmenko had five points in seven games with the Flyers before he was sent to the Kings. Is that really all they could have done at the deadline? — Clark

Mikko Rantanen

Things worked out OK for Mikko Rantanen. He wasn’t happy in Raleigh; and instead of keeping him as a rental, the Hurricanes shopped him at the deadline. The Dallas Stars were a preferred location, and there’s no doubt Rantanen will enjoy contending for a championship annually with countrymen like Miro Heiskanen and Roope Hintz on the roster. He got paid, too: eight years and an average annual value of $12 million in state with no income tax.

However … Sportsnet reported that the Avalanche had offered Rantanen a contract with an average annual value of $11.75 million that his representation rejected. The assumption was that Leon Draisail’s $14 million AAV, also negotiated by Rantanen’s agent, had reset the market, and thus Rantanen could be much better as a free agent.

In the end, he signs for more real dollars in Texas, but just $250,000 more in annual in cap space than what the Avs offered. For that, he gave up upwards of eight more years playing with Nathan MacKinnon? — Wyshynski

Casey Mittelstadt

It was a year ago Thursday when the Avalanche traded Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres to get Casey Mittlestadt. Acquiring MIttlestadt came with the belief that he could become the long-term answer to the second-line problem that’d been plaguing the Avs ever since Nazem Kadri left in free agency after they won the Stanley Cup in 2022.

Mittlestadt had four goals and 10 points in 18 regular-season games, and nine points in 11 postseason games after the trade. That was enough for the Avs to offer Mittlestadt, who was a pending RFA, a three-year contract worth $5.75 million annually. His first full season in Denver has been … challenging. There was a point when he was dropped to the fourth line, in a campaign in which he averaged 0.54 points per game. While that figure is close to his career average, it was a contrast given he averaged 0.72 points per game in 2022-23 and 0.71 last season.

That inconsistency meant the Avs were forced to find another second-line center; thus the trade for Brock Nelson. That trade cost the Avs a first-round pick, and it cost them their top prospect in Calum Ritchie too. It also created questions about what would happen to Mittlestadt, with the eventual answer being he was moved to the Bruins with Charlie Coyle coming to Colorado.

It’s a trade that now has Mittlestadt on his third team in 366 days, going from a top Cup contender to a team staring at a rebuild (or at least a retool). — Clark