Blacker, 23, made his NHL debut on the weekend with the Ducks, but now heads over to Florida where he will likely end up with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL). He has five assists in 15 gams with Norfolk this season.
The Ducks continue to try and shore up their banged-up blue line. They acquired Eric Brewer from the Lightning but he played just two games before breaking a bone in his foot. So now they have brought in 24-year-old Colby Robak, who has three assists in 42 career NHL games and no points in seven games this season.
Brewer, 35, has four assists in 17 games with the Lightning this season. The Ducks are going to be without Francois Beauchemin for 4-6 weeks, to they are bring the veteran Brewer in to shore up the back-end.
Dillon, 24, is a big-boy at 6-foot-3, 225 lbs. and bring some size and physicality to the Sharks blueline. Demers is a better puck-moving defenseman, but Dillon is two years younger and the Sharks have a number of young offensive blueliners in their system. Dillon will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Demers, 26, has three assists and a minus-6 rating in 20 games with the Sharks. Demers addresses the Stars need for a right-handed D-man. He is just two of seven blueliners on the Stars' squad that is a righty. He is a better puck moving defenseman than Dillon, but obviously is not nearly as big.
Acton has three goals and two assists in 33 career NHL games. He had his highest offensive output of his pro career in 2013-14 when he scored 12 goals and 11 assists (23 points) in 47 games with Oklahoma City (AHL).
Lain, 25, is a monster at 6-foot-6, 210 lbs. You may remember him from the first shift line brawl vs. the Flames last season. He has one goal and 21 PIMs in nine career NHL games.
Allen has one assist in six games with the Ducks, but heads to Montreal who just added Sergei Gonchar to an already relatively deep blue line.
Bourque was sent down to Hamilton after clearing waivers earlier in November. He has recorded four points (2G / 2A) in four games with Hamilton. He heads Anaheim, where he will have a tough time cracking the lineup.
Leopold, 34, has appeared in seven games this season, averaging just 13:04 minutes per night. He saw pretty limited action in St. Louis, yet the Blues’ deep defense probably accounts for some of that drop-off. He averaged as many as 23:20 minutes per game during his peak usage with the Buffalo Sabres in 2010-11 and has 659 NHL regular season games on his resume.
Gonchar, 40, has an annual cap-hit of $5 million (per nhlnumbers.com) and has just one point this season. He has only appeared in the three most recent games for the Stars and shipping him out for the much cheaper Moen, suggests that this was a salary dump and that the Stars have something else up their sleeves.
Yogan, 22, was the Rangers fourth round pick (100th overall) in 2010. He has yet to make his NHL debut and split his time last season between the AHL and ECHL. He had five goals and five assists (10 points) in 40 games with Hartford (AHL) last season.
Kampfer, 26, never suited up for the Rangers organization after coming over this summer. He played 69 games and recorded 26 points (6G / 20A) for Minnesota's AHL affiliate in Iowa last season.
Crabb, 31, has played 179 career NHL games for the Thrashers, Maple Leafs, Capitals and most recently the Panthers. He gives the Rangers fourth line depth or a solid AHLer and the 2-for-1 trade frees up a roster spot, likely for rookie Anthony Duclair who had a tremendous preseason.
Boychuk, 30, had five goals and 18 assists (23 points) in 75 games with the Bruins last season. He has played 321 games in five seasons with the Bruins, but will head to Long Island where he should play a key top-4 role. He has a big slapper and should see some an increased power-play role with the Islanders. Boychuk will be an unrestricted free-agent at the end of next season, and gives the Bruins some cap flexibility.
Pokka, 20, was one of the Islanders' top D prospects. He was selected 34th overall in 2012 and is in his third full season with Karpat of the SM-liiga. He had six goals and 21 assists (27 points) in 54 games as a teenager last season.
Nilsson, 24, has posted a 4-1-2 record, 2.10 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in eight games with the KHL’s Ak Bars this season. Nilsson split the 2013-14 season between the New York Islanders and American Hockey League’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Nilsson posted an 8-7-2 record with a 3.11 GAA and .896 SV% in 19 regular-season games with the Islanders. He collected a 12-4-2 mark, 2.81 GAA, .901 SV% and two shutouts in 29 regular-season games with Bridgeport.
Brennan, 25, had a great season with the Toronto Marlies last season. He finished the year with 25 goals and 47 assists (72 points) in 76 AHL games. He signed with the Isles this offseason, but will now likely report to Rockford (AHL).
Simpson, 22, was the 58th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. He went 11-14-1 with a 3.64 GAA and .891 SV% with Rockford (AHL) last season. He will report to Bridgeport (AHL).
Leddy, 23, had seven goals with 24 assists (31 points) in 82 games with the Blackhawks last season. Leddy has never missed a regular season game in three NHL seasons and should be in the Isles' top-4 with a lot of power-play time.
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.