Hodgson has been dealt to Los Angeles as part of a three-team blockbuster trade involving Columbus and five players and three draft picks. The 27-year-old played one NHL game in 2022-23, but had three goals, eight assists, 83 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 44 games with Lehigh Valley (AHL) during the regular season.
Grans has been traded to Philadelphia as part of a three-team blockbuster trade involving Columbus and five players and three draft picks. The 21-year-old was Los Angeles 2020 second round pick (35th overall) and had two goals, seven assists, 22 PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 59 games played with Ontario (AHL) in 2022-23.
Walker was traded to Philadelphia as part of a three-team blockbuster trade involving Columbus and five players and three draft picks. The 28-year-old had three goals, 10 assists, 94 SOG, 36 PIMs and a -3 plus/minus through 70 games in 2022-23. He has 232 career games played throughout five NHL seasons.
Petersen has been traded to Philadelphia in a three-team, five player, three draft-pick trade that also involved the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 28-year-old had a horrendous 2022-23 season, being assigned to the AHL in December after posting a 5-3-2 record, .868 SV% and 3.75 GAA. He has 101career NHL games played under his belt across five professional seasons.
Provorov was dealt to Columbus as part of a three-team blockbuster trade involving Los Angeles and five players and three draft picks. The 26-year-old defensemen had six goals, 21 assists, 115 SOG, 24 PIMs and a -17 plus/minus through 82 games played with Philadelphia in 2022-23. He has 532 career NHL games played, racking up a career high of 41 points (17G/24A) in 2017-18.
Grubbe had 18 goals, 49 assists, 71 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus through 64 games with the Red Deer Rebels (WHL) this season and has had his rights traded from the New York Rangers to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2023 fifth-round pick. The 20-year-old has yet to sign an NHL contract but is expected to after spending three years as Red Deer's captain.
Rubins has two goals, four assists, 25 PIMs and a -4 plus/minus through 42 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL) but has been traded to Calgary for future considerations Friday. The 25-year-old Latvian has previously played in three NHL games, failing to pick up a point and collecting four PIMs.
Hawryluk has three goals, eight points, 27 PIMs and a -2 plus/minus through 19 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL) and has been traded to New Jersey for future considerations Friday. The 27-year-old has played in 98 career NHL games, picking up 12 goals and 27 points during that span.
Kampfer had four goals, 22 points, 26 PIMs and a -16 plus/minus through 44 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) and has been traded to the Arizona Coyotes for future considerations. The 34-year-old veteran defenseman has played in 231 career NHL games, picking up 15 goals and 39 points.
Kalynuk had four goals, 13 assists, 46 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 46 games with the Abbotsford Canucks (AHL) and has been traded to the New York Rangers for future considerations.
Rydahl has seven goals, eight assists, 32 PIMs and a +3 plus/minus through 40 games with Hartford (AHL) and has been traded to Colorado for Anton Blidh. The 28-year-old has yet to play in an NHL game throughout his career.
Blidh had no points, four PIMs and nine SOG through 14 games with the Colorado Avalanche and has been traded to the New York Rangers for Gustav Rydahl. The 27-year-old has 12 points (4G/8A) through 84 career NHL games.
Sustr returns to Anaheim after finishing the 2021-22 season with the Ducks. He's spent the entirety of this season with Iowa (AHL), registering two goals and ten assists in 39 games this season.
After signing a one-year contract with the Ducks in the off-season, Klingberg moves on from a disastrous 50-game stint in Anaheim. He scored eight goals and added 16 assists in those 50 games while posting a plus/minus of -28. The 30-year-old will look to regain the form he showed across his eight seasons in Dallas, where he registered 374 points across 552 games.
Ritchie had six goals, two assists, 23 PIMs and 46 SOG and has been traded alongside Connor Mackey to Arizona for Troy Stecher and Nick Ritchie. The 29-year-old has 375 NHL games of experience over nine NHL seasons.
Mackey had two goals, three points, nine PIMs and a -6 plus/minus through 10 games with the Calgary Flames and has been traded alongside Brett Ritchie for Troy Stecher and Nick Ritchie. The 26-year-old has 29 career NHL games across 19 games played.
Ritchie has nine goals, 12 assists, 87 SOG, 43 PIMs and a -15 plus/minus through 58 games played with the Arizona Coyotes and has been traded alongside Troy Stecher for Connor Mackey and Brett Ritchie. The 27-year-old now joins his fourth NHL team across 465 career NHL games.
Stecher has seven assists, 62 SOG, 29 PIMs and a -3 plus/minus through 61 games played with Arizona and has been dealt alongside Nick Ritchie to Calgary for Connor Mackey and Brett Richie. The 28-year-old defenseman has 96 points (15G/81A) through 420 career NHL games.
A second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Asplund moves to Nashville after spending the first four years of his career in the Sabres organization. Limited to a bottom-six role, Asplund has just two goals and six assists in 27 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.
