2022 NHL Trade Deadline
Trade deadline has come and gone. We saw teams burn the ship to get to their guy and we saw the lowly teams see crazy overpays come in their favor for players they wouldn’t be signing. It was quite exciting to see how this year was to shake out. I outlined by top 5 players who will make the biggest impacts to their new team. Granted, I did not home in on trade deadline day trades only. If you were traded in 2022, you are fair game.
#5 Andrew Copp – New York Rangers
The Rangers needed to enhance its depth in the middle-six. There are guys out there that are Swiss army knife player, the kind of player I was, and the kind of player that is my favorite type. Looking at you Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Andrew Copp has proven in Winnipeg that he can drive a line when asked. But he could be moved to the 2nd line wing as well. Having a player that can play down the middle to shore up the pivotal 3rd line center or play up in the lineup to add some extra firepower is very important down the stretch and into the playoffs. Andrew Copp will certainly make a difference. The Rangers didn’t pay out the nose, as this is most certainly a rental situation, but they spent Morgan Baroon, two 2nd Round Picks in 2022, and a 5th round pick in the 2023 draft. The 2nd rounders are conditional: one of which upgrading to a 1st if the Rangers win 2 playoff rounds and Copp plays 50% of the games. Half of this condition will most certainly occur, barring any injuries. That’s the thing that gives me some pause, as Copp has had issues with the injury bug. But when healthy, he most definitely makes this team a deeper, better, more well-rounded team.
#4 Hampus Lindholm – Boston Bruins
Hampus Lindholm was dealt on the Saturday before the deadline. As I mentioned to my Ducks friends, Verbeek was very assuring that any player who he couldn’t sign to an extension would be on their way out. One of those players was longtime rearguard, Hampus Lindholm. Boston received AHL player Kodie Carran and Lindholm from Anaheim, in exchange for John Moore, Urho Vaakanainen, Boston’s 2022 1st round pick, a 2023 2nd round pick, and a 2024 2nd round pick. I found this deal particularly impactful for the Boston Bruins as I believe this team is, as always, focused on competing every single season and needed to ensure their defensive depth. Boston’s defense has been solid, but not great. They have Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk, but Derek Forbort hasn’t been the shutdown guy they have needed. The Boston Bruins found a shut down, big-bodied defenseman who is not the most physical, meaning he can play many minutes. A D who can eat minutes come at a premium in this league. He can move the puck well, which is essential, and has an act for blocking shots. The Bruins managed to shore up their top 4 D with Lindholm on the left side and are set to compete for the push. The Boston Bruins are so in on Lindholm that they immediately signed an 8-year extension upon arrival, so he will be impactful for years to come.
#3 Claude Giroux – Florida Panthers
The Panthers have burned down the ship to go all in. They looked at their current team and thought, “this is it boys.” They were very active at the deadline, including adding Ben Chairot for quite an overpayment. I don’t really mind their aggressiveness as I think this market deserves a good team. Claude Giroux was the hottest player on the market and the Panthers were the eventual winners, albeit Giroux only wanted to go to Florida so it wasn’t that hard to make a deal, costing only Owen Tippet, 2023 3rd Rounder, and a 2024 1st Rounder. The deal was a bit reasonable all things considered. I like this trade because the already incredibly high-octane offensive team just got that much deeper in the scoring department. He is a veteran player that hasn’t donned any other jersey than a Flier sweater. But he chose the Panthers. He has accrued 900 points over his famed 1,000 game career, he has been elite in his younger years, and as recently as 2018 finished 4th in the Hart Trophy Voting. He is not his young self, so I don’t expect him to carry a line or a team through a tough game. The Panthers don’t need that though, they need an experienced, smart, and passionate complementary player. He may very well be the best complementary player on one of the best teams in the league. He has the ability to drive offense but sounds like he will be starting with Aleksander Barkov or Jonathan Huberdeau. Hubby’s line hasn’t had a consistent right wing all year, and he may have just found one. Better yet though, he can play center if needed down the stretch to win some face-offs in key areas and help the middle-six find some success. Good for Giroux, he gets his chance again to hoist the cup.
#2 Marc-Andre Fleury – Minnesota Wild
Flower was moved, yet again. He had all the say in the world and it seemed like he wanted a summer with his family. But Billy Guerin, the great Billy G, called up his former teammate and asked for help. Billy G made a trade happen, that sent away a 2022 2nd Round Condition Pick (becomes a 1st if Minny reaches the Conference Final and Fleury has at least 4 wins in the first 2 rounds) to Chicago. Chicago even retained half of the salary hit. Look, the Wild goaltending situation, as of late, has been questionable. They needed to find a way to shore that up. Cam Talbot has been quite solid, sporting a .910 SV% and 2.84 GAA. Kaapo Kahkonen has similar numbers but was expected to be Minnesota’s future. That all changed over the recent months. So much so, that Minnesota moved out their “future” for 37-year-old, 2021 Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury. I think this will be one of the most impactful moves at the deadline because of what Fleury brings both on the ice but more importantly on the bench and in the locker room. I didn’t know how Cam Talbot would react, but it appears that these two are focused on working together every step of the way. Fleury is, allegedly (but hard to argue as its mostly consensus), the best teammate you could ask for. His positivity, his passion for the game, and his absolute regard for his teammates is what separates this guy. Despite the shit that this guy has faced recently, he is still smiling, still competing, and will become a perfect complement to Cam Talbot who may need some rest here and there throughout all of this. I think the intangibles with this guy are what bring such an impact. Good luck Flower.
#1 Tyler Toffoli – Calgary Flames
This guy, and this damn team, just won’t leave me alone. I thought when Toffoli went to Montreal that I wouldn’t have to see his baby face again. But sure enough, on Valentine’s Day, Brad Treliving found a way to make a move with Montreal, sending Tyler Pitlick, Emil Heineman, a 2022 Conditional 1st Round Pick, a 2023 5th Rounder, and a 2024 4th Rounder. Tyler Toffoli is a shoot-first, ask questions later, top-6 player. He is one of the best players at simply creating opportunities for himself. We saw it in Los Angeles, and we saw it in Montreal, and again we see it back in the Pacific with Calgary. He has an above average shot, shoots-right (that is important), and can drive the play. In 18 games with Calgary, he has 8 goals and 7 assists. Tyler Toffoli has slotted in perfectly with Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm. This has improved the depth of the Calgary Flames, who are in my opinion, the most well-rounded team in the West. They can beat the Colorado Avalanche in a 7-game series by my account. They are statistical darlings both offensively and defensively and the addition of Tyler Toffoli has only improved that. To the point where Brad Treliving didn’t have to make crazy moves at the deadline because his crazy move was Toffoli. The chemistry is working, and its scary. Everyone better give me credit, to talk about my most hated team in this fashion was quite hard. I do this for all of you beautiful people.