Brisson was a first-round pick, 29th overall, of the Golden Knights in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old forward played nine games with the Golden Knights this season but has spent most of the 2024-25 campaign in the AHL, tallying 19 points (5G / 14A) in 45 games with the Henderson Silver Knights.
Smith was held out of the Rangers lineup for their previous few games as they anticipated trading the impending UFA, a move that came to fruition on Thursday, sending him to his former club, the Golden Knights. The 33-year-old Smith averaged 15:36 time-on-ice and scored 29 points (10G / 19A) in 58 games with the Rangers this season.
The acquisition of Sturm will add some depth to the Panthers' bottom-six forward group. The 29-year-old Sturm averaged 10:08 time-on-ice and scored 13 points (7G / 6A) in 47 games with the Sharks this season.
Traff was a third-round pick, 91st overall, of the Devils in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old forward has yet to play and NHL game. He scored seven points (3G / 4A) in 25 games with HV7a Jonkoping (SweHL) this season.
Dumoulin will add some defensive depth and Stanley Cup pedigree to the Devils blueline. The 33-year-old defenseman averaged 19:48 time-on-ice and scored 16 points (2G / 14A) through 61 games with the Ducks this season.
Assuming he isn't flipped elsewhere ahead of Friday's Trade Deadline, the Penguins will become the ninth team Schenn has suited up for across his remarkable 17-year-career. The Predators signed Schenn to a three-year contract with an AAV of $2.75-million ahead of the 2023-24 season. The 35-year-old defenceman leaves Nashville after registering two goals, ten assists, 152 blocked shots and 430 hits across 124 games.
The Penguins will be hoping the 27-year-old Novak will be able to regain the form he flashed in the 2022-23 season, when he scored 17 goals and added 26 assists in just 51 regular season games. Novak leaves Nashville after amassing 117 points with the franchise across 201 career games.
Bunting is currently injured after undergoing an appendectomy last week. The 29-year-old Bunting's tenure as a Penguin comes to an end after just 79 games with the franchise, where he tallied 20 goals and 28 assists.
Desharnais leaves the Penguins after playing just ten games for the franchise. He was acquired from the Canucks just last month in the trade that sent Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver. The 28-year-old Desharnais has zero goals and three assists in 44 games this season.
Eyssimont has established himself as a reliable role player of the past few seasons and will likely continue to fill that role with Seattle. The 28-year-old was averaging 10:41 time-on-ice and scored 10 points (5G / 5A) in 57 games with Tampa Bay this season.
Gourde has struggled with consistency while battling injuries this season but could see a boost in production returning to his former club, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 33-year-old Gourde scored 17 points (6G / 11A) in 36 games with Seattle this season.
Bjorkstrand brings significant offensive depth to a Tampa Bay Lightning team in the running for first place in the Atlantic Division. The 29-year-old Bjorkstrand tallied 37 points (16G / 21A) and 124 shots while averaging 15:28 time-on-ice through 61 games with Seattle this season.
The Sharks opted not to play Vanecek on Tuesday in anticipation of a trade, which was realized on Wednesday morning, sending him to Florida in exchange for Patrick Giles. Vanecek posted an unimpressive 3.88 GAA and .882 SV% in 18 games with the Sharks this season (3-10-3). Though he will be predominantly backing up Sergei Bobrovsky, Vanecek should see an improvement in his statistics on a much stronger Florida team.
Giles is an undrafted 25-year-old forward out of Boston College. He made his NHL debut this season, playing nine games with the Panthers and scoring zero points. He scored seven points (5G / 2A) in 39 games with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) this season.
LaChance was a sixth-round pick, 186th overall, of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old forward has spent the previous two seasons playing Collegiate hockey with Boston University, scoring 52 points (23G / 29A) in 72 games.
Wanner was a seventh-round pick, 212th overall, of the Oilers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old defenseman scored two points (1G / 1A) in 22 games with the Bakersfield Condors (AHL) this season.
Hauser was a fifth-round pick, 141st overall, of the New Jersey Devils in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old Czech forward has four points (1G / 3A) in 16 games with Vitkovice HC (Czech) this season.
The Oilers acquired Trent Frederic and Max Jones in a three-way trade with the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. Jones has spent most of the 2024-25 season in the AHL but is no stranger to the NHL. The 27-year-old forward has 62 points (31G / 31A) in 265 career games.
The Oilers acquired Trent Frederic and Max Jones in a three-way trade with the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. The 27-year-old Frederic will add some grit to the Oilers lineup. He had 15 points (8G / 7A), 44 penalty minutes, and 155 hits in 57 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.
