The NHL’s trade deadline has come and gone. Everyone can take a breath.
Because the final quarter of the season is about to get crazy.
The Golden Knights had a relatively quiet deadline, as expected, with the re-addition of Reilly Smith on Thursday. Throw in signing Brandon Saad to a one-year deal on Jan. 31, and the Knights added two veteran wingers for relatively cheap.
Meanwhile, the other top teams in the Western Conference are loading up.
The Dallas Stars made the biggest splash at Friday’s deadline. The Colorado Avalanche bolstered their depth and added more scoring firepower.
“We’ve known for some time that the West has been strong all year that you were going to need to beat three really good teams to get out of the West,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “This year, the West is incredibly strong. You look across the league, as a hockey fan, there’s going to be some unbelievable playoff matchups.”
The Knights didn’t feel the need to make a splash for a top target. Health pending, they like the makeup of their group. They’ve won seven of their last eight and will try to win their fifth straight Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena.
The arms race in the West is going to be the most intriguing battle between now and the end of the season.
Here’s a recap on what the contenders did to gear up for the final stretch:
Dallas Stars
Acquired: RW Mikko Rantanen from Carolina, C Mikael Granlund and D Cody Ceci from San Jose
Dallas general manager Jim Nill isn’t the back-to-back GM of the Year for nothing.
The Stars have been on the cusp after making back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Final. Nill was expected to swing big this season.
Did he ever.
The Stars won the sweepstakes for Rantanen, the two-time 100-point scorer, in a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes for rookie forward Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks and two third-round picks.
Dallas then signed Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million extension.
The Stars’ trade deadline, really, began on Feb. 1 when they brought in Granlund and Ceci for a first and a third.
Dallas already has one of the deepest forward groups in the league. Now they add Rantanen to that, who vaults to the top line with leading goal scorer Jason Robertson and center Roope Hintz.
Oh, and Dallas wrapped up another piece of business by signing 21-year-old budding star Wyatt Johnston to a five-year extension.
Colorado Avalanche
Acquired: C Martin Necas and C Jack Drury from Carolina, C Brock Nelson from New York Islanders, C Charlie Coyle from Boston, D Erik Johnson from Philadelphia, RW Jimmy Vesey and D Ryan Lindgren from New York Rangers
The Avalanche are the ones to blame for this whole mess.
They’re the ones who traded Rantanen to Carolina in the first place to kick off this trade bonanza.
Colorado received Necas in the deal, who’s having a career season. Necas (70 points) has 15 points in 14 games with the Avalanche while skating with the league’s leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon.
The Avalanche bolstered its center depth, bringing in 33-year-old Nelson, who played all his 901 career games with the Islanders. It cost Colorado top prospect Cal Ritchie, but it adds a three-time 30-goal scorer to the mix.
Colorado also caught part of the Boston Bruins’ fire sale by adding 33-year-old Coyle for center Casey Mittelstadt.
They shored up their blue line with the addition of Lindgren and longtime Colorado defenseman Johnson, the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft who played 13 years with the Avalanche.
The West’s two most dangerous teams reside in the Central Division. That’s good news for the Knights and their playoff venture.
Winnipeg Jets
Acquired: RW Brandon Tanev from Seattle, D Luke Schenn from Pittsburgh, G Chris Driedger from Florida
We can’t forget about the top team in the NHL.
The Jets shouldn’t be labeled a surprise after a 110-point campaign last season, but there were questions after losing in five games to Colorado in the first round.
Under first-year coach Scott Arniel, the Jets have put all questions to bed. Left wing Kyle Connor is putting together an under-the-radar campaign for the Hart Trophy with 80 points. Center Mark Scheifele remains a constant with 72 points.
And then there’s Connor Hellebuyck, who’s likely going to win his third Vezina Trophy when it’s all done.
The Jets focused on depth, adding an elite penalty killer in Tanev for a second-round pick and bolstering their blue line with Schenn for two draft picks.
They’re not the flashiest moves, but the Jets didn’t need to mess with a roster that’s leading the way for the Presidents’ Trophy.
Los Angeles Kings
Acquired: LW Andrei Kuzmenko from Philadelphia
The only add from the Kings was a goal-scoring forward in Kuzmenko from Philadelphia for a third-round pick in 2027.
The Kings are fading fast in the Pacific Division race. They’re 11 points back of the Knights and have a two-point lead on the Vancouver Canucks for third place entering Saturday.
The Kings are a strong defensive team that doesn’t have many holes in their lineup, but it’s a surprise to see them add so little while chasing the Edmonton Oilers.
Edmonton Oilers
Acquired: D Jake Walman from San Jose, C Trent Frederic and LW Max Jones from Boston
Tthe Oilers weren’t in a spot to make a massive addition.
Walman gives them an able third-pairing defenseman with 32 points in 50 games. Jones goes on the fourth line, as will Frederic as soon as he’s able to return from an ankle injury.
The Oilers still go as far as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl take them, which was one win from the Stanley Cup last season.
Whether or not they have enough to get past the Knights is another discussion.
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Kings at Golden Knights
When: 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: T-Mobile Arena
TV: KMCC-34
Radio: KKGK (1340 AM, 98.9 FM)
