The NHL Trade Deadline is behind us, so what you see is what you will get from these teams the rest of the way. No more changing plans, no more time to fix any issues. The stretch run is on and the playoff races are shaping up to be close and exciting.
Our regular check-ins on those races begin today, with some questions that presented themselves in the fallout of a rather quiet deadline.
Can the Oilers and Golden Knights hang on for a playoff spot, or will they be challenged from the outside? Should any Atlantic challenger have been more aggressive?
A look at that and more in today's Playoff Push.
Should Buffalo, Detroit or Montreal been bolder at the deadline?
The East is having a big turnover year, which has been especially notable in the Atlantic Division. Back-to-back champion Florida is out, and the Maple Leafs are about to have their nine-season playoff streak snapped. Meantime, Detroit is looking to get back in for the first time in nearly a decade, Buffalo leads the division and is on track to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Montreal, which broke through last year to make the post-season and take Step 1 out of a rebuild, trails close behind with games in hand.
All of these teams were connected through rumours to some of the biggest names of the deadline: Robert Thomas, Jordan Binnington and Elias Pettersson. Canadiens GM Kent Hughes admitted he was working on a "significant" deal that never materialized but could be revisited in the off-season.
The Red Wings were more active as a buyer than they've been in years under Steve Yzerman. Justin Faulk is certainly a notable upgrade to the back end and was one of the premier right-handed defencemen out there. Buffalo made a play for Colton Parayko, but pivoted to Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley when the Blue nixed the deal. Montreal was quiet on deadline day after adding Phillip Danault earlier this season.
But did they do enough?
The Eastern Conference appears to be wide open this season, with Tampa Bay as the favourite. And, sure, on paper, better days should be ahead for each of the Red Wings, Sabres and Canadiens, but you can never count on a steady trajectory. If Florida returns healthy and hungry next season, and if the Leafs can find their way back on track, next year's path through the first 82 games will get more complicated.
So, was this the year to push in more chips to get big and bold and take a run at a conference or Stanley Cup championship?
Can Carolina survive a playoff run after a quiet deadline?
After adding Jake Guentzel and Mikko Rantanen via trades in back-to-back seasons, but being unable to keep either of them, the Hurricanes were much quieter at this trade deadline. Nic Deslauriers was their only pickup.
And, maybe it'll work out. At five-on-five, the Hurricanes are first in the league in shots for percentage and second in expected goals percentage. They have a top-eight offence and defence.
Of course, regular-season success and strong underlying numbers have followed the Canes for years. They have three division titles in the past five years, on track for their fourth in six. And though they've won several playoff rounds under Rod Brind'Amour, they've tended to exit rather quietly. They have reached three conference finals with this coach, but have won just one game in that round.
“I know there’s a lot of disappointment, I’m going to be honest,” Brind’Amour said of his players after the deadline. “The players were hoping to see us make a splash. It’s tough.”
With an eight-point lead in the division, home ice advantage through the first two rounds seems likely. They have a slight lead over Buffalo for first in the conference, which would guarantee them home ice through the Eastern playoffs.
Will standing pat and moving forward with this team deliver a run to the Final? Centre was a perceived need for them and that's why they were rumoured to be around Vincent Trocheck, who is much stronger in the face-off dot and penalty kill than current No. 2 pivot Logan Stankoven. Will they be able to survive three rounds in the East with this lineup?
Do the Penguins have enough runway and enough of a gap to stay in?
We didn't expect Pittsburgh to be overly aggressive at this year's deadline as GM Kyle Dubas still walks a fine line between managing a team that has exceeded expectations and is in a playoff race, with the need to restock the cupboards and prepare for the next era. Dubas had done pretty well on the trade market before this deadline — acquiring Arturs Silovs last summer, flipping Tristan Jarry for what turned out to be a goalie upgrade, and acquiring Egor Chinakov in December, who has been fourth in team scoring since becoming a Penguin.
For now, their challenge lies in getting through a stretch of games without Sidney Crosby. An injury at the Olympics originally put his recovery timeline at a minimum of four weeks, but he's been skating with the Penguins recently and has joined them for this five-game road trip that takes them through Carolina twice, Utah, Vegas and Colorado.
The Penguins have also been without Evgeni Malkin for the past two games as he serves a five-game suspension, picking up three of a possible four points. If they could get both of them back on this road trip, it would give the team a huge boost.
Will it be enough?
Consider that the NY Islanders, one point behind Pittsburgh in the division, have a Vezina contender and made a move to bring in centre Brayden Schenn at the deadline. Columbus, four points back, was one of the hottest teams in the league before the Olympic break and is 3-1-3 since returning. They added Conor Garland on deadline day.
According to tankathon.com, the Penguins have the NHL's toughest remaining schedule with 19 games remaining, just ahead of the Blue Jackets. The Islanders are in the middle of the pack. Pittsburgh has been a great and surprising story this season, and how wonderful would it be to have Crosby back in the post-season for the first time in four years? They haven't won a series since 2018, but could certainly be in a place to do so in 2026, especially if they can hold on to a 2-3 seed in the Metropolitan Division and avoid drawing Carolina (or possibly Tampa Bay) in Round 1.
Will Nazem Kadri put Colorado over the top again?
The Avalanche saved the trade deadline from being a complete dud by swooping in for Nazem Kadri late in the day. After acquiring Nicolas Roy last Thursday for a first-round pick when a Kadri trade seemed to fizzle out, the Avalanche had addressed their need for a centre and were prepared to move on from there with Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson and Roy making a pretty strong trio of pivots.
But when a Kadri deal became possible again, the Avs were still in position to do it, throwing caution to the wind and giving up their 2028 first-rounder as well, leaving the team with no firsts, just one second and one third over the next three drafts.
Kadri may yet end up playing down the middle — possibly when Gabriel Landeskog returns from injury — but they've started him on the wing of the top unit alongside MacKinnon and Martin Necas. In his first game, Kadri recorded a primary assist on a MacKinnon goal and recorded five shots in a win over Minnesota.
When Kadri was last with the Avalanche in 2022, they won the Stanley Cup and he recorded 15 points in 16 games as the team's second-line centre. He left in free agency that summer only because of how the flat cap tied Colorado's hands, but the Avs had been searching for his replacement ever since. Nelson's terrific season has filled Colorado's 2C need, and Roy slotting in as the defensive third-liner gives the Avs flexibility on where to use Kadri.
Whether as a centre or top-line winger, Kadri is in place to be a real difference-maker for the Avalanche again, as they hold a seven-point lead in the overall NHL standings and are primed to enter the post-season as the Stanley Cup favourite.
Will the Ducks regret not upgrading team defence?
Anaheim is one of the most fun teams to watch this season, but "fun" doesn't usually translate to post-season success.
At the moment, the Ducks lead the Pacific Division, which has been the NHL's weakest to this point as Vegas and Edmonton have struggled to find any stability. Interestingly, Anaheim is in this position despite having a minus-10 goal differential. How often has a team won a regular-season division title with a negative goal differential? It hasn't happened in 14 years, via Sportsnet Stats:
According to Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, the Ducks rank 31st in high danger chances allowed per 60 minutes, and although they are fourth in expected goals for, they still have a higher expected goals against.
So, you might think this is a team that would seek to improve its defence at the trade deadline if it moved any meaningful pieces. However, the move they made was for John Carlson. A veteran defenceman who shores up the right side of the blue line with Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas, Carlson can still bring it but he's much more of an offensive player than one who will shut down opponents and change Anaheim's play in its own end.
This team's best days are still ahead, and just getting their young players some post-season experience will go a long way in the long term. Will leaning into their offensive strengths lift the Ducks, or will it leave them exposed when scoring gets harder to come by?
Should Vegas or Edmonton have done something about their goaltending?
Earlier this season, Vegas made a big trade splash by bringing in Rasmus Andersson, but were uncharacteristically quiet at the deadline. Edmonton also made a big move for a position of need back in December, acquiring Tristan Jarry from Pittsburgh, and spent deadline week bringing in a defensive, top-four blue-liner in Connor Murphy and shoring up its centre depth with Jason Dickinson.
But, at the moment, goaltending is a sore spot for both teams. Edmonton and Vegas are 31st and 32nd in five-on-five team save percentage. In all situations, they're 29th and 30th.
If the playoffs were today, the Oilers likely wouldn't even be starting the goalie they traded for during this season. Jarry has an .862 save percentage in 13 games with the team, 30 percentage points worse than off-season wild-card pickup Connor Ingram.
Meantime in Vegas, Adin Hill has missed a few months to injury this season and has an .849 save percentage since returning in January. He's been outplayed by Akira Schmid in that time.
Both teams were rumoured to be around Jordan Binnington (though he may not have been willing to waive to go to Edmonton), Sergei Bobrovsky, or any goalie being discussed around the deadline. However, the Oilers had already made one goalie trade this season and had other needs to address, while Vegas is betting on Hill to elevate come the post-season. Of the 19 goalies who have played at least 10 playoff games over the past three years, Hill's .917 save percentage ranks fifth. Schmid, by the way, is third.
Will Vegas' patience and belief pay off? Will Edmonton work it out with Jarry, or can Ingram improve on what Stuart Skinner was giving the team in back-to-back runs to the Final?
The winning windows for both teams are open, but other organizations are beginning to challenge from behind in their own division. It's impossible to win the Cup without solid goaltending, and you have to wonder if either Vegas or Edmonton might regret not further addressing their crease before the deadline.
