Despres, 23, was a first round pick (30th overall) in 2009. He has recorded 17 points (2G / 15A) and was leading the Penguins in hits (184) and third in blocked shots (85) in 59 games this season. He will likely slot in on the Ducks third pair.
Lovejoy, 31, does everything pretty well, but does nothing great. He returns to the team that he started his career with. He had four goals and 21 assists (25 points) in 98 games with the Penguins from 2008-13. This season he has 11 points (1G / 10A) in 40 games with the Ducks. He should fill Despres spot on the Penguins third pair.
Stewart will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, so the Sabres unloaded him to the Wild for a 2nd round draft choice. Stewart has 11 goals and 14 assists (25 points) in 61 games. The Wild are hoping that leaving an ugly scene in Buffalo and coming to a potential playoff team will spark some more offence from the 6-foot-2, 228 lbs. winger.
Jokinen had one assist in six games with the Maple Leafs, but the plan all along was to flip Jokinen for an asset. The Leafs picked up a a conditional 6th, that can be as high as a fourth based on the Blues playoff performance and Jokinen’s impact on that run; as well as 31-year-old Lindstrom. Jokinen could have a tough time cracking a deep Blues lineup.
Falk has spent the majority of the season in the AHL, tallying seven points (1G / 6A) in 39 games with Iowa this season. He will actually report to the Blue Jackets with Kevin Connauton out for “a while.” Falk has no points and a minus-6 rating in 13 games at the NHL level this season.
Leopold, 34, who is from Minnesota, rarely played in Columbus. Overall he has one goal and two assists in 25 games with the Blue Jackets and Blues this season. As one of the best stories of the trade deadline, Leopold’s young daughter wrote a letter to the Wild to bring her dad home. Who knows if this had any weight, but Leopold is now a member of the Wild.
Jeffrey has 17 goals and 24 assists (41 points) in 49 games with Utica this season. This is an AHL trade so Jeffrey is expected to report to Bridgeport (AHL).
Conacher has scored five goals and 17 assists (22 points) in 28 games with Bridgeport (AHL) this season. This is a minor-league deal and Conacher is expected to report to Utica (AHL).
Johnson, 28, has gone 8-8-1 with a 3.08 GAA and .889 SV% as the Islanders backup, but now he heads to the Sabres with one-year left on his contract. He could be in line for a bunch of starts with Anders Lindback as his only competition, but Johnson is not a serviceable fantasy asset.
Neuvirth went 3-3-2 with a 2.19 GAA and .942 SV% since becoming the Sabres starer after the Sabres traded Jhonas Enroth to Dallas. With the Sabres tanking for Connor McDavid, it seems like Neuvirth was performing too well, so they have sent him to the Islanders to become New York’s backup. Neuvirth will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Hamilton has registered 30 points (9G / 21A) in 52 games with Worcester this season. He is expected to report to Lake Erie, after being swapped for Stollery.
Stollery, 27, has five goals and nine assists (14 points) in 46 games with Lake Erie (AHL) this season. He will likely report to Worcester (AHL) after being swapped for Hamilton.
The Blues acquired Zbynek Michalek earlier in the day, who is a shot blocking defensive defenseman, but he is recovering from a concussion right now so the Blues add Bortuzzo as insurance. Bortuzzo is an in-your-face physical defenseman who plays a relatively simple game.
Cole, 26, will be a restricted free agent in the offseason. He has the size to be a good defensive defenseman but has shown a little bit of offensive acumen as well. He had nine points (4G / 5A), a plus-16 rating, 42 hits and 63 blocked shots in 54 games this season.
Injuries have limited Kennedy to just 25 games this season. He is a bottom-6 forward who brings some feistiness to the Islanders lineup. He was a key member of the Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup run, so he will break some playoff experience to the Islanders.
Zidlicky, 38, is a veteran right handed defenseman that the Red Wings have been searching for. He should slot in on the Red Wings second pair and will definitely see big minutes on the power-play. He has a great one-timer and should help the Red Wings PP that already ranks first in the NHL.
Desjardins, 27, switches places with Ben Smith and should slot right in on the Blackhawks fourth line. He has just eight points (5G / 3A) in 56 games, so moving to Chicago is not going to bump up his fantasy value.
Smith, 25, has one more year on his deal with a $1.5M cap-hit. Smith is a physical two-way forward, who is a few years younger than Andrew Desjardins who went the other way. Smith had five goals and four assists in 61 games with Chicago.
Michalek has missed the last six games with a concussion, but he was expected to return to the ice later today, before he was dealt to St. Louis. Michalek is a great shot blocking defenseman and replaces the hole Roman Polak left when he went to Toronto. Michalek has eight points (2G / 6A) in 53 games this season.
Flynn, 26, is a hard working forward who can play centre or wing. He was played huge minutes with Buffalo, but will play a bottom-6 role in Montreal. He has five goals and 12 assists (17 points) in 54 games. Flynn is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the 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.