Toninato, who appeared in 37 games with the Avalanche in 2017-18, played in just two NHL games last season. The 25-year-old had 14 goals and 15 assists (29 points) in 57 AHL games and has a chance to crack the Florida roster as their fouth-line centre in 2020.
The Golden Knights have run into some cap issues and Miller is the second player to fall victim to that this week. Miller isn’t the best in his own-end but provides a lot in the offensive-zone and possesses a massive point-shot that is a weapon on the power-play. Miller had three goals and 26 assists (29 points) in 65 games last season, but had a 10-goal, 41-point campaign in 2017-18. Miller has three years left on his deal and joins a blueline that already has offensive-minded defensemen in Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Ristolainen and Brandon Montour.
Kosmachuk is a pending unrestricted free agent, who had 12 goals and 11 assists (23 points) in 54 AHL games with the Colorado Eagles last season. The 25-year-old was a third-round pick in 2012 but has played just eight NHL games since.
Burakovsky was picked No.23 overall back in 2013 but has yet to top 40 points in five NHL seasons. In his defence, Burakovsky has never played more than 13:50 TOI/gm, so the Avalanche will see what he can do for them in a larger role. The 24-year-old has tremendous speed, a great shot but had just 12 goals and 13 assists (25 points) in 76 games a season ago.
Roy was selected in the fourth-round (No.96 overall) in the 2015 NHL draft. Since then, Roy has appeared in just seven career NHL games but is coming off of a 17-goal, 19-assist (36 points) season with Charlotte (AHL). Roy will likely start in Chicago (AHL) given the depth of the Golden Knights lineup.
Haula missed 67 games last season after suffering a lower-body injury that required him to be stretchered off of the ice in November. In his two seasons with Vegas, Haula had 62 points (31G / 31A) in 91 total games. Haula has one-year left at $2.75M AAV and the condition on the fifth-round pick is dependent on Haula re-signing in Carolina after next season.
Connauton appeared in 50 games with Arizona last season, posting just one goal and seven assists (eight points). The blueline is crowded right now in Colorado, so look for Connauton to serve as the No.6/7 defenseman for most of the 2020 campaign.
Soderberg, who has one-year left at $4.75M AAV, set a new career-high with 23 goals last season while adding 26 assists (49 points) in 82 games with Colorado. Heading to Arizona means that he will likely remain in a second-line centre role behind Derek Stepan and shutdown centre Brad Richardson.
Saarela was originally a third-round pick of the Rangers but has spent the last two full seasons with Charlotte (AHL). This season, Saarela was second among Checkers with 54 points (30G / 24A) in 69 games. Saarela has a good chance to crack the Blackhawks roster out of training camp.
In his first and only season with the Hurricanes, de Haan registered one goal with 13 assists (14 points) in 74 gmaes. It was the worst statistical season of de Haan’s 378-game career. The 28-year-old has three year’s left with $4.55M cap-hit and represents the second offseason addition to the Blackhawks blueline—they acquired Olli Maatta from the Penguins just over a week ago.
Forsig had three goals and six assists (nine points) in 43 games with Chicago last season. He has appeared in at least 38 games in each of his first three NHL seasons, tallying a total of 27 points (8G / 19A) in 122 career games. Forsling is still a pending RFA but will likely get a contract to be the Hurricanes No.5/6 defenseman in 2020.
Forsberg spent the entire 2019 season with Rockford (AHL), going 15-17-1 with a 2.64 GAA and .919 SV% in 32 games. Forsberg has gone 11-24-4 with a 3.21 GAA and .901 SV% in 45 career NHL games with Columbus and Chicago. He will likely report to Charlotte (AHL) to start the 2020 season.
Hartman is a pending RFA, who split last year between the Predators and Flyers. Overall, he had 12 goals and 14 assists (26 points) in 83 games. Hartman should be an offensive upgrade in the Stars’ bottom-6.
Pitlick has one-year left on his three-year contract that carries a $1.0M cap-hit. During his second season with the Stars, Pitlick scored eight goals with four assists (12 points) in 47 games. He will replace Hartman in the Flyers’ bottom-6.
Perron had 18 goals and 29 assists (47 points) in 63 games with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) this year. Perron is a former seventh-round pick who was dealt to San Jose as a part of the Erik Karlsson trade. Perron will likely start 2020 with Utica (AHL).
Pyatt started last season with the Senators, where he had two assists in 37 games. He was eventually dealt to the Canucks where he played the rest of the season out with Utica (AHL), picking up 19 points (6G / 13A) in 36 games. The 32-year-old will likely report to the AHL to start 2020.
The Lightning needed to clear some cap-space with Brayden Point and others set to become RFA’s on July 1st, so they move Miller and his $5.25M cap-hit. After scoring 10 goals in his first 19 games following his trade to Tampa Bay, Miller recorded just 13 goals with 34 assists (47 points) in 75 games in his first full season with the Lightning. He was stuck in a bottom-6 role with Tampa but should be in the top-6 with the Canucks.
Mazanec started the 2019 season with the Rangers before being traded for a seventh-round pick in mid-February. Overall, he was 10-17-3 with a .896 SV% between Hartford and Utica (AHL). The 27-year-old netminder has spent some time in the NHL, going 8-13-4 with a 2.97 GAA and .895 SV% in 31 games (all with Nashville). Mazanec replaces Connor Ingram, who was traded to Nashville on June 16th.
Davies was a seventh-round pick of the Devils in 2016 and is coming off of his Junior year at Northeastern University, where he had 36 points (8G / 28A) in 37 games.
Santini, who is a former second-round pick (2013), is a big (6-foot-2, 205 lbs) defensive-defenseman. The 24-year-old has just 21 points (5G / 16A) in 114 career NHL games but should be more than capable of eating up 15 minutes per night on the Predators third pairing.
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.