How each contending NHL team’s GM behaved at previous Trade Deadlines

With less than two months until the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, we’re delivering at least one deadline-focused story every day at Daily Faceoff.

Today, we examine the past deadline trading history of every GM currently in a buyer posture or at least in the playoff hunt to see what it might mean for this season.

2024 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 54 days

Think of the NHL Trade Deadline as a poker table. Understanding the game doesn’t solely apply to the hand each player may have, right? It’s just as important to read your opponents.

Predicting what happens each year at the deadline isn’t as simple as observing which contending teams have the best assets to offer the seller teams. The personalities of the people in charge matter, too. Sometimes, a GM on a stacked contender prefers to stand pat or make minor tweaks. Other GMs go all-in with swashbuckling trades even when their teams are middling. A select few GMs have an ability to pull off blockbuster deals even when it appears they don’t have the cap space to do so.

If past behavior predicts future behavior: can the current NHL GMs’ recent Trade Deadline history tell us what to expect from them in the next few weeks? Let’s explore it, updating the breakdown we built last year.

But first, a few rules for the exercise:

(a) In the spirit of this analysis, we’re only examining GMs of teams positioned as buyers. We want to know which contender is likely to make The Big Move. Almost any GM on a team missing the playoffs will be active in selling off assets. It’s what they do when they’re in buyer mode that tells us who they really are. Some GMs on teams still in the hunt were excluded if they were expected to remain conservative on account of being early in their rebuilds – such as the Calgary Flames’ Craig Conroy and Philadelphia Flyers’ Danny Briere. Even Kent Hughes of the surging Montreal Canadiens is likely choosing between selling and standing pat rather than preparing to buy.

(b) Each GM analyzed must have experienced a least one Trade Deadline in the big chair, meaning the Carolina Hurricanes’ Eric Tulsky and Washington Capitals’ Chris Patrick don’t qualify this year.

(c) The profiles are based on trades made in the salary-cap era (2005-06 onward) and within two months of the deadline.

Tier 1: THE COWBOYS

These GMs fearlessly go all-in and will sacrifice futures gladly in the name of chasing championships.

PATRIK ALLVIN

(Vancouver Canucks, 2022-present)
Notable acquisitions: Elias Lindholm, Filip Hronek

Allvin works alongside the ultimate trade cowboy in Jim Rutherford, so it’s no surprise to see Allvin become the league’s most prolific trader since he took over as Canucks GM. He made the biggest 2023-24 splash by securing the top center on the market in Lindholm – during the All-Star break. Allvin is such a wildman that traded a first-round pick to land Hronek 30 days after acquiring it in the Bo Horvat deal in 2023.

JULIEN BRISEBOIS

(Tampa Bay Lightning, 2018-present)
Notable acquisitions: Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Brandon Hagel, Nick Paul, David Savard, Tanner Jeannot, Anthony Duclair

The BriseBois playbook is to publicly express concern over having no cap space, then pull off a stunning feat of financial gymnastics to land a key piece of a championship puzzle. Since Tampa’s development system was peerless for a decade and a half, turning mid-tier prospects into impactful NHLers, BriseBois gave zero f—s about draft picks. He surrendered five for Jeannot alone two years ago. The Bolts don’t even pick in the first round again until 2026. The strategy was worth it (see: Cups), but it has caught up to them, as we’ve seen them sink to second-tier contender status the past few seasons.

KYLE DUBAS

(Pittsburgh Penguins, 2023-present)
(Toronto Maple Leafs, 2018-2023)
Notable acquisitions: Ryan O’Reilly, Jake Muzzin, Jake McCabe, Luke Schenn, Mark Giordano, Nick Foligno, Erik Gustafsson, Ilya Lyubushkin, Jack Campbell, Noel Acciari, Kyle Clifford

We can debate plenty whether Dubas should buy at the 2025 Trade Deadline, but what choice does he have if his creaky veteran group is remotely close to a Wildcard position? You re-signed Sidney Crosby this past summer and not so he can relive the Jake Guentzel selloff. If Dubas does decide he’s a buyer: he has historically been quite an aggressive one, chucking first-round picks around like darts at a pub, with quite a hit-miss history. Dubas’ best trade success has come when he procured players with term left, most notably Muzzin and McCabe.

CHRIS MACFARLAND

(Colorado Avalanche, 2022-present)
Notable acquisitions: Casey Mittelstadt, Sean Walker, Lars Eller, Jack Johnson

MacFarland obviously had a big influence on the moves Joe Sakic made along the way to building the 2021-22 Stanley Cup champions, but MacFarland didn’t technically inherit the captain’s chair until July 2022. In his first deadline year, he was more thrift shopper than big spender, but he graduated to the cowboy division with his work last year. Not only did he pay a first-round pick to rent blueliner Walker, but he pulled off an old-school Hockey Trade by dealing Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres for Mittelstadt. Given MacFarland stepped up to plug his goaltending hole already this season by signing and extending Mackenzie Blackwood, we know MacFarland is serious. He understands his team is in its win-now years.

KELLY MCCRIMMON

(Vegas Golden Knights, 2019-present)
Notable acquisitions: Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin, Ivan Barbashev, Robin Lehner, Alec Martinez, Mattias Janmark, Nick Cousins, Anthony Mantha

The Golden Knights are all-in, every year, at all costs. The acquisitions above don’t include Mark Stone, who was acquired at the deadline while McCrimmon was assistant GM, not to mention Jack Eichel, whom McCrimmon acquired in November 2021. The Golden Knights are so hellbent on winning in the present that they won’t merely punt picks, like Tampa; Vegas actively punts its best prospects, almost every season. They did it again last year in their trades for Hanifin and Hertl. Vegas owned 10 first-round picks across its first eight drafts and traded eight of them, before or after picking the player – nine of 11 if you count the already-traded 2025 first-rounder.

DON SWEENEY

(Boston Bruins, 2015-present)
Notable acquisitions: Rick Nash, Hampus Lindholm, Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov, Charlie Coyle, Marcus Johansson, Garnet Hathaway, Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, Drew Stafford, Lee Stempniak, John-Michael Liles, Andrew Peeke, Patrick Maroon

Sweeney’s soft-spoken public persona connotes a more conservative personality, but his resume says otherwise. His Bruins are almost always in the Cup hunt, and he has repeatedly moved heaven and earth to bring in veteran help. With his Bruins more of a fringe contender this time, will he behave more conservatively or take a swing to give his core another shot at glory?

BILL ZITO

(Florida Panthers, 2020-present)
Notable acquisitions: Claude Giroux, Brandon Montour, Sam Bennett, Vladimir Tarasenko, Ben Chiarot, Kyle Okposo

The Panthers were pin-drop quiet at the 2023 deadline, but that was partially because they blew through so many assets with their aggressive upgrades in 2021 and 2022. They got back into the game last year, adding Tarasenko and Okposo, and ended up winning their first Stanley Cup. By now, Zito is firmly established as a GM who will do anything to win.

Tier 2: PICK THEIR SPOTS

They’re usually active, but the ambitiousness of their trades varies year to year.

DOUG ARMSTRONG

(St. Louis Blues, 2010-present)
(Dallas Stars, 2002-2007)

Notable acquisitions: Ryan Miller, Jay Bouwmeester, Kevin Shattenkirk, Nick Leddy, Chris Stewart, Mattias Norstrom, Ladislav Nagy, Janne Niinimaa, Willie Mitchell, Zbynek Michalek, Marco Scandella

Armstrong’s list of deadline acquisitions is long but also the product of being a GM for two decades. There are plenty of years in which he played it safe. He’s shown a willingness to take massive swings when it makes sense, succeeding at times (Bouwmeester) and failing at times (Miller), but he lays low when it’s prudent to. Even at the 2018-19 deadline, when Armstrong had a team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup, he acquired no player who drew into the playoff lineup. What does this resume tell us? While Armstrong’s Blues are in the playoff fight this year, it doesn’t seem a window where ‘Army’ goes all-in. Not close, really. The Blues’ key moves of 2024-25 happened in the summer when they offer sheeted Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.

TOM FITZGERALD

(New Jersey Devils, 2020-present)
Notable acquisitions: Timo Meier, Jake Allen

Two years ago, his first with a playoff-bound team, Fitzgerald scored a blockbuster deal for Timo Meier. Last year with his team sliding in the race and selling off Tyler Toffoli, he made a move with the following season in mind when he added goaltender Jake Allen, who had an extra year on his deal. So far in his tenure, Fitzgerald feels like a malleable GM who adapts to his situation, meaning he should skew back toward the cowboy mentality this time with his Devils near the top of the Metro Division.

DON WADDELL

(Columbus Blue Jackets, 2024-present)
(Carolina Hurricanes, 2018-2024)
(Atlanta Thrashers, 1999-2010)

Notable acquisitions: Jake Guentzel, Keith Tkachuk, Vincent Trocheck, Alexei Zhitnik, Brady Skjei, Max Domi, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nino Niederreiter, Pascal Dupuis, Sami Vatanen, Jani Hakanpaa, Eric Belanger

Once in a blue moon, Waddell goes on a wild deadline spending spree. He landed Tkachuk, Zhitnik, Dupuis and Belanger within days of each other when his Atlanta Thrashers were in the hunt in 2007. In 2020, Waddell secured Trocheck, Skjei and Vatanen on the same day. Last year, he tried to put the Canes over the top with Jake Guentzel, who excelled post-trade. Waddell has been quiet more years than not, but what will he do at his new post with the Blue Jackets? They’re a rebuilding franchise but also seemingly ahead of schedule, squarely in the Wildcard hunt, and it would be a such an inspirational lift if this team made the playoffs after enduring the unspeakable tragedy of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s deaths.

STEVE YZERMAN

(Detroit Red Wings, 2019-present)
(Tampa Bay Lightning, 2010-2018)

Notable acquisitions: Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Ben Bishop, Braydon Coburn, Dwayne Roloson, Eric Brewer

I’m not counting the Jakub Vrana and Jake Walman deals here even though they were made on deadline day, as they weren’t made with a buyer’s posture. When Yzerman has a powerhouse team, he’s willing to pay up and land some high-impact players. He doesn’t do it every year, however, and we haven’t really seen him in true deadline buyer mode yet since he took over the Red Wings, who haven’t made the playoffs in nine years. After coming so close to ending the drought last season, perhaps he’s willing to push harder at the deadline this time – assuming his club is within striking distance of a playoff spot by then.

Tier 3: WILD CARDS

They’ve displayed cowboy potential but haven’t been buyers at the deadline often enough yet to develop patterns.

BILL ARMSTRONG

(Utah Hockey Club / Arizona Coyotes, 2020-present)

It will be fascinating to see what Armstrong does if his team remains in playoff contention this winter. A disciple of Doug Armstrong in St. Louis for many years, Bill was fairly conservative in his first several seasons in Utah/Arizona’s GM chair…until summer 2024. That’s when he flipped a switch and made a few win-now trades, strengthening his blueline with Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino. Does that mean Armstrong will be open to a splashy move in hopes of delivering Utah fans playoff hockey in Year 1 of the relocation?

STEVE STAIOS

(Ottawa Senators, 2023-present)

The Sens haven’t played a postseason game since 2017, but Staios gave up a first-round pick for Linus Ullmark last summer, don’t forget. This team has reached fed-up status and desperately wants to avoid seven NHL seasons of Brady Tkachuk without a playoff game. Could we see Ottawa in buyer mode for the first time under Staios? They will have to stay afloat in the dog days of winter for it to make sense, but it feels like the switch in posture will happen this season.

Tier 4: MODERATE SPENDERS

More often than not, they’ll land intermediate-level pieces to help their squads, but they don’t have a history of big-game hunting at the deadline.

ROB BLAKE

(Los Angeles Kings, 2017-present)
Notable acquisitions: Joonas Korpisalo, Vladislav Gavrikov, Troy Stecher

Blake was very conservative in his first several seasons as Kings GM, accruing assets for his rebuild. Since the Kings shifted to contender mode, he’s made plenty of big off-season trades (Kevin Fiala, Pierre-Luc Dubois, trading Dubois away) and signings (Phillip Danault, Viktor Arvidsson). But he’s only really been assertive as a deadline spender once: in 2023 when he added Korpisalo and Gavrikov. So far, that’s the outlier for Blake.

STAN BOWMAN

(Edmonton Oilers, 2024-present)
(Chicago Blackhawks, 2009-2021)
Notable acquisitions: Nick Leddy, Kimmo Timonen, Johnny Oduya, Andrew Ladd, Antoine Vermette, Michal Handzus, Christian Ehrhoff, Michael Frolik, Kim Johnsson, Andrew Desjardins, Dale Weise, Tomas Fleischmann

Bowman is an extremely active Trade Deadline GM when he has a good team. But if you peruse the list of names he secured for his dynastic Blackhawks, you see a lot of support pieces, role players and folk heroes, right? So Bowman isn’t a big-game hunter. Historically, using the deadline to add complementary pieces is the best strategy, so we can expect him to do so for the Oilers this year, fortifying their depth rather than bringing in a star.

KEVIN CHEVELDAYOFF

(Winnipeg Jets, 2011-present)

Notable acquisitions: Paul Stastny, Tyler Toffoli, Kevin Hayes, Nino Niederreiter, Sean Monahan, Dylan DeMelo, Cody Eakin, Joel Armia, Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers
As you can see, ‘Chevy’ has been busy at many a Trade Deadline. He kicked in a first-round pick to chase glory when he landed Stastny in 2018, Hayes in 2019 and Monahan in 2024. But Cheveldayoff’s Jets never seem to land the guy, instead opting for middle-six forwards and middle-pair blueliners.

BILL GUERIN

(Minnesota Wild, 2019-present)
Notable acquisitions: Marc-Andre Fleury, Jacob Middleton, John Klingberg, Gustav Nyquist, Marcus Johansson

For most of Guerin’s tenure as GM, he has sought out depth pieces at the deadline, the exception being his move for Fleury a couple years back. With the Wild so vastly improved this season, though, might we see him try to load up? After laying low for so many years weathering the Zach Parise /Ryan Suter buyout penalty storm, it feels like the Wild have a chance to be interesting – if they can avoid getting consumed by their numerous injuries.

JIM NILL

(Dallas Stars, 2013-present)
Notable acquisitions: Mats Zuccarello, Chris Tanev, Evgenii Dadonov, Max Domi, Vladislav Namestnikov, Jamie Oleksiak, Kris Russell

Nill is the third-longest tenured GM in the league and has maintained a fairly consistent profile: he adds complementary pieces, not game breakers, partially because his teams tend to be so deep. Chris Tanev was one of his higher-profile adds. If Tyler Seguin goes on LTIR, Dallas is positioned to try something more ambitious than usual.

BRAD TRELIVING

(Toronto Maple Leafs, 2023-present)
(Calgary Flames, 2014-2023)
Notable acquisitions: Tyler Toffoli, Joel Edmundson, Calle Jarnkrok, Erik Gustafsson, Derek Forbort, Connor Dewar, Curtis Lazar, Michael Stone

Everyone loves tying the Leafs to every big name available at the deadline, and previous GM Dubas was consistently active in headline-maker trades. But Treliving has never been a big deadline mover and shaker, preferring depth additions. That said: with Mitch Marner a pending UFA and 2024-25 having a make-or-break feel, Treliving could up his trade aggression a few ticks.

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