The most shocking NHL Trade Deadline deals of the salary cap era
With just more than a month until the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline on March 7, we’re delivering at least one deadline-focused story every day at Daily Faceoff.
Today, we look back on the most jaw-dropping surprise deals at the Trade Deadline in the salary cap era.
2025 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 34 days
The NHL Trade Deadline is drawing near, with fans speculating on which teams will make what moves to bolster their rosters.
But what about the trades that can’t possibly be foreseen leading up?
Over the years, the deadline has provided some shock and awe, whether it’s how much players get dealt for or the actual names getting moved that catch people completely by surprise.
Let’s take a look at the five most shocking deals made before the trade deadline and how they panned out…for better or worse. Oops, make that six. There’s no way we couldn’t include the humdinger that went down last week…
Disclaimer: The trades qualify if they occurred within two months of the deadline that season
2008: Hossa heads to Pittsburgh in the 11th hour
For several years, Marian Hossa was a talented scorer but always found himself on teams that didn’t have enough to go the distance. In two seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers, the Slovakian registered 192 points, but it was only enough to get the team to the playoffs once.
In 2007-08, the Pittsburgh Penguins, led by a young core of stars including first-year captain Sidney Crosby, were trying to build a team ready to make a deep playoff run. Then-GM Ray Shero was trying to find a talented winger to play with Crosby, and it took him all the way up to the deadline on Feb. 25, 2008 to acquire that player.
The Penguins were able to get Hossa, and a throw-in named Pascal Dupuis, from the Thrashers for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, 2007 first-round pick Angelo Esposito and another first in the 2008 draft.
Many thought Shero was overreaching with this deal, sending two former first-round picks and a future first for a rental like Hossa. Even with the exceptional young core, many wondered if the gamble was worth it.
It almost was. Hossa was a key player in the postseason as the Penguins came within two wins of the Stanley Cup. He went on to join the defending champion Detroit Red Wings…losing to the Penguins in a classic seven-game final the following season. Dupuis was a big part of that team, and became a fan favorite in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career.
Hossa eventually found his Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, with two more to follow.
As for the Thrashers? Yeah, they’re in Winnipeg now.
In today’s world, where GMs are trying to make big swings ahead of the deadline to avoid procrastination, the fact this deal took all the way up until the end of the window shows why deadline day can be one of the more exciting tentpoles on the NHL calendar.
2010: Dion Phaneuf to Toronto
I know Dion Phaneuf’s tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs wasn’t glamorous, but you have to remember what a big deal it was that he went there in the first place.
The hard-hitting defenseman was one of the top young blueliners in the NHL in the late 2000s. As a member of the Calgary Flames, he was a finalist for the Calder Trophy and only lost out on the Norris in 2008 to a guy named Nicklas Lidstrom. However, Phaneuf’s success never correlated to the Flames’.
Across the country, the Leafs were a team that was struggling to get back to its success earlier in the millennium and severely lacked star power after the departure of longtime captain Mats Sundin. Leafs GM Brian Burke knew that he wanted to shake up the team he inherited, and they needed a big-name guy – even though they were far out of the playoff hunt in the middle of the 2009-10 season.
So, on Jan. 31, 2010, the Leafs and Flames worked out a seven-player deal. Toronto received Phaneuf and Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie for Niklas Hagman, Ian White, Jamal Mayers and Matt Stajan.
Contrary to other trades on this list, it was a deal featuring a team that had no business buying any star players. However, Burke knew that Phaneuf could be a piece in turning things around in hockey’s mecca.
Things didn’t quite work out the way many hoped. Phaneuf was named captain the following season, and while Toronto gave it a good run, they only made it to the playoffs once…You know the year. You know the series. Burke was axed by the team in the lead-up to that 2013 season.
The big get for the Flames in the deal was Matt Stajan. The Mississauga native had some fruitful seasons in Calgary, helping the team make it to the playoffs three times in his eight-plus years with them.
2013: Conacher’s Calder run ends in Ottawa
Remember Cory Conacher? The little water bug winger that went undrafted before working his way through the minors to get to the NHL?
Well, he is part of the first trade on our list, and it derailed what was a meteoric rise.
Conacher was off to an incredible start at the beginning of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. The rookie was on a Tampa Bay Lightning team with the aspirations of making it back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Through 35 games, he had scored nine goals and 24 points, battling with Florida Panthers freshman Jonathan Huberdeau for the league lead in rookie scoring.
However, the Lightning were in need of a goaltender. Anders Lindback wasn’t working out, and the Ottawa Senators had a young behemoth named Ben Bishop. So, just hours before the deadline, Conacher and a draft pick went to Canada’s capital, with Bishop going to Tampa.
The shocking aspect of this deal was that Tampa was required to give up a rookie of the year candidate to get what they wanted. Then-general manager Steve Yzerman saw the steep price but still pulled the trigger to adjust the bigger need.
Conacher didn’t have the same scoring touch with the Sens, scoring just five points in the final 12 games of the regular season, before delivering three goals in the playoffs as the Sens made it as far as the second round. He ended up finishing third in rookie scoring and sixth the Calder Trophy vote, which ultimately went to Huberdeau.
That trade was the peak of Conacher’s career. He made stops with the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders before rejoining the Lightning organization in 2016 but spent a lot of the time in the minors.
As for Bishop, he flourished in the No. 1 role, helping make the Bolts a contender. His play helped the team make it to the Final in 2015, and he was considered one of the NHL’s biggest (literally and figuratively) netminders for several years.
2013: Erat for Forsberg…the rest is history
During his prime, Martin Erat was a solid scoring threat who could be counted on to notch 20 goals a season. Heading into that same 2013 season, the longtime Nashville Predator was coming off back-to-back 50-point seasons.
The Washington Capitals were fresh off their surprising run to the second round in the spring of 2012. However, heading toward the deadline, the Caps looked like they were, at best, a bubble team to make the postseason.
They were looking for a skilled player with a left-handed shot. It just happened to be a coincidence that Erat asked to be traded to a contender in March of that season. That opened the door for negotiations for Washington and Nashville. On April 3, Erat and Michael Latta were traded to the Capitals for a prospect named Filip Forsberg.
The deal was certainly won by the Predators. Giving up on a prospect before he even debuted in the NHL obviously wasn’t the right call. Forsberg quickly became one of the team’s best players, and has held the spot for most of the past decade, helping the team advance to the Stanley Cup Final. He’s the franchise’s all-time leading goal scorer already.
For Erat and the Caps, the selling off of the overlooked prospect helped them make it as far as Game 7…of the first round. The loss to the New York Rangers was another sour playoff exit for the team. Erat never got comfortable with the Capitals, and his game tanked from there. He was eventually dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes at next year’s deadline…a less surprising trade.
2024: Hertl heads to Sin City
The most recent trade on our list features the team that has gained the reputation of high-rollers, the Vegas Golden Knights.
Even after winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup the season prior, the team went into the 2024 trade deadline with the intention of adding talent, especially since they were fighting for a Wildcard spot. GM Kelly McCrimmon addressed the back end by acquiring Noah Hanifin from the Flames the day before the deadline.
Apparently, that wasn’t enough.
On deadline day, the Golden Knights made the last big splash of the trade season, sending a pick and David Edstrom to the San Jose Sharks for Tomas Hertl, along with two picks. Vegas took on the final six seasons of Hertl’s contract. Not to be outdone in the shock department, San Jose agreed to retain $1,387,500 of his $8,137,500 cap hit for those six years.
The move clearly caught everyone off guard because few believed the Golden Knights had the capacity nor the desire to make another big move right before the deadline. Not to mention the fact that Hertl wasn’t even able to play right away. The Czech center was recovering from a surgical procedure on his left knee.
The trade didn’t pay immediate dividends for the Golden Knights. After debuting with the team in April, Hertl didn’t have much time to get comfortable before the playoffs, which saw Vegas get bounced by the Dallas Stars in the first round.
However, things are looking good this season. Hertl has been one of the team’s top offensive threats as the Golden Knights are the No. 1 team in the Pacific Division.
2025: Necas, Hall and Rantanen move in a blockbuster
How about the most recent deal that caught just about everyone off guard?
The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche were teams that were certainly in the playoff conversation, while the Blackhawks were in the midst of another dreadful season.
Unbeknownst to the general public, the Avalanche were trying unsuccessfully to sign forward Mikko Rantanen to a contract extension, which paved the way for a potential trade. The Hurricanes have been in need of more offensive star power, despite being consistent contenders for the last few years.
The two teams brought the Hawks into the mix, with Carolina interested in veteran Taylor Hall, who had publicly stated that he wanted to stay in Chicago.
So, late on a Friday night last week, the Hurricanes received Hall, Rantanen and prospect Nils Juntorp, with Martin Necas, Jack Drury and two picks heading to Colorado. All Chicago received was a third-round pick and half Rantanen’s cap hit.
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