Minnesota completed a minor move on Friday as Adam Beckman has been moved to New Jersey for Graeme Clarke. Clarke is a 23-year-old right-winger who was New Jersey's 2019 third-round pick (80th overall) and made his NHL debut in 2023-24, failing to pick up a point in three games played.
New Jersey made another offseason move on Friday as they traded forward Adam Beckman for defenseman Graeme Clarke with the Minnesota Wild. The 23-year-old has appeared in 23 games sparsely across three seasons with Minnesota and had no goals, three assists, 14 PIMs and 26 shots on goal.
Los Angeles solved their goaltending issues on Wednesday as they acquired Darcy Kuemper in a one-for-one deal for Pierre-Luc Dubois. The 34-year-old Kuemper won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022 and quickly signed a five-year, $26.25 million contract in the offseason. He will start 2024-25 in the third year of that contract after posting a 13-14-3 record, 3.31 GAA and .890 SV% in 33 games played in 2023-24 with the Capitals.
Washington got itself a new centre on Wednesday as it made a one-for-one trade with Los Angeles to acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois for goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Dubois is in the second year of an eight-year, $68 million contract that he signed in June of 2023. The 25-year-old had the worst full season of his eight-year career in 2023-24, with 16 goals and 40 points in 82 games played.
Dallas had simply run out of room for forward Ty Dellandrea and has traded the 23-year-old centre to San Jose for a 2024 fourth-round pick. Dellandrea was Dallas' 2018 first-round pick (13th overall) and appeared in 42 games for the Stars in 2023-24, picking up two goals, nine points, 23 PIMs and a -10 plus/minus. In four NHL seasons, he has 14 goals and 42 points in 151 games played.
Calgary and New Jersey made the first big trade of the offseason on Wednesday as they traded Jacob Markstrom (31.25% salary retained) for Kevin Bahl and a 2025 1st-round pick. The 23-year-old towering defender in Bahl appeared in all 82 games for New Jersey in 2023-24, picking up a goal, 10 assists, 82 PIMs and 63 SOG.
New Jersey made the first big splash of the offseason on Wednesday as they traded 23-year-old Kevin Bahl and their 2025 1st-round pick for goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. Calgary will retain 31.25% of Markstrom's salary as an add-on in the deal, and a nice cherry on top for New Jersey. In 48 games played in 2023-24 with the Flames, Markstrom was 23-23-2 with a 2.78 GAA AND a .905 SV%.
After two seasons in Nashville, Ryan McDonagh will return to Tampa Bay where he spent five seasons after he was acquired on Tuesday alongside a 2024 4th round pick (EDM) from Nashville for a 2025 2nd round pick and a 2024 7th round pick. The 34-year-old veteran defensemen has appeared in 928 career games played across 14 NHL seasons and has 76 goals and 389 points during that span.
Rees has appeared in 37 games between Charlotte (AHL) and Springfield (AHL) this season and collected only four assists and 18 PIMs in both stints and has been acquired by Ottawa for a 2024 sixth-round pick on Friday. The 23-year-old left-winger was originally Carolina's 2019 2nd-round pick (44th overall) and will now provide organizational depth for the Senators as the AHL trade deadline closed on Friday.
Bongiovanni is an undrafted 24-year-old from Mississippi who has spent the past three seasons with the Manitoba Moose (AHL). In 34 games this season, Bongiovanni has 15 points (8G / 7A) with Manitoba.
Legare was the third-round pick (74th overall) of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old has yet to play an NHL game and has collected nine points (6G / 3A) in 39 games with the Laval Rocket (AHL) this season.
Durandeau was the sixth-round pick of the New York Islanders in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and has played four career NHL games, all in the 2022-23 season. This season, the 25-year-old Durandeau has played exclusively in the AHL, collecting 18 points in (4G / 14A) in 28 games split between the Utica Comets and the Bridgeport Islanders.
The most surprising deal on Friday was announced minutes before the trade deadline, sending Hertl from the San Jose Sharks to the Golden Knights. Hertl has six years remaining on a $8.1375 million AAV, which the Sharks will retain 17 percent of for the remainder of the contract. Hertl is currently sidelined with a lower-body injury after undergoing a procedure in his left knee at the beginning of February but is expected to return before the end of the season. The talented Czech forward has 34 points (15G / 19A) while averaging 20:54 time-on-ice through 48 games this season.
Vanecek has been on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, but will likely serve in a timeshare with Mackenzie Blackwood between the pipes for the Sharks upon his return. The 28-year-old Vanecek struggled this season with the New Jersey Devils, posting a career-worst 3.18 GAA and .890 SV% in 32 games (17-9-3).
Kahkonen joins a Devils club that already acquired Jake Allen via trade earlier on Friday, likely indicating that they will be riding a new tandem between the pipes for the remainder of the season. The 27-year-old Kahkonen was serviceable on a defensively poor Sharks team this season, posting a 3.81 GAA and .895 SV% through 31 games (6-20-3).
Okhotyuk will help fill out a Flames' defensive core that is less robust than it was a few weeks ago after dealing away Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin in trades before the deadline. The 23-year-old Okhotyuk registered eight points (1G / 7A), 126 hits, and 72 blocks while averaging 16:27 time-on-ice through 43 games with the San Jose Sharks.
The Jets were adding offensive pieces ahead of the trade deadline by adding Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli but added defensive depth as well with the acquisition of Colin Miller. Miller is an impending unrestricted free agent with a $1.85 million AAV. He has seven points (3G / 4A), 72 hits, and 31 blocks in 40 games this season.
NHL trades are decided between two or more team general managers. The front office’s job is building a winning team. Building a winning team means discussing trades with other general managers across the league.
During the NHL regular season, players can be traded up until the trade deadline. The deadline is the official cutoff point for when teams can no longer make moves between each other. Players can also be traded throughout the offseason.
Teams trade players in hockey for a variety of reasons, but generally, it is done to find success, whether that is in the short term or long term. Teams may trade their top players in search of draft picks if they are undergoing a rebuild, whereas contending teams may look to acquire talent to boost their playoff chances.
Trades are a common occurrence throughout the NHL and happen often. Some years feature less trades than others, it all depends on each teams needs and the availability of attractive talent.
