Congratulations, everyone. We’ve made it to the end of what has been the longest trade deadline week of all time. Seriously, general managers weren’t waiting around to pull the trigger on some pretty newsworthy deals. Patrick Kane, Timo Meier, Jacob Chychrun, and Jonathan Quick (twice!) have already been moved. Who else might go before the 3:00 PM EST deadline? I guess we all have to stay tuned to find out.
I believe we’ll see more and more deals being consummated prior to the deadline day in the future. GMs are realizing that if a big move needs to be made it’s probably better to get it down sooner rather than later. Also, with the laundering of cap money that is becoming more prevalent, you don’t want to wait till the last minute and then have a deal voided because something went wrong. Better to hammer out the details early and leave some time to rework things if need be.
As for the Lightning, do we think they’re done? They’ve picked up Tanner Jeannot and Michael Essyimont, two players that, on paper, make them tougher to play against. They’ve shipped out Cal Foote and Vlad Namestnikov and a handful of draft picks leaving the cupboard a bit bare outside of some of their prospects.
One thing we know about Julien BriseBois, if there is a player that he wants, he will move heaven and earth (and every pick at his disposal) to make it happen. So there could be some action at the offices at Channelside throughout the day. If anything does happen we’ll let you know!
Some names that are still left on the pundits trade boards include James Van Riemsdyk and Kevin Hayes from the Flyers, Joel Edmundson from Montreal (who some have tied to the Lightning), Minnesota’s Matt Dumba, as well as Nick Schmaltz and John Klingberg.
Lightning / NHL News
Lightning lose in overtime to Penguins [Raw Charge]
The Bolts kept battling back, but there were still too many defensive breakdowns. One point closer to a playoff berth, but they still need to find their game.
Lightning recall Darren Raddysh [Raw Charge]
A strong season in Syracuse propelled him to the top of the list for defensive recalls. He drew in against the Pens and played 11:38, finishing with 2 shots on goal and 3 hits. We might see a little more of him with Erik Cernak (who left in the second period) and Zach Bogosian apparently nursing some injuries.
Desperate times for the Lightning? Maybe [Tampa Bay Times]
We’re really not used to seeing the Lightning get outplayed for such a long stretch of time. Can they find the “will and want” to match the desperation of the teams they are playing?
Oilers acquire Nick Bjugstad [Copper and Blue]
Edmonton picked up the veteran forward and Cam Dineen from Arizona for a third-round pick and Michael Kesselring. Are they finally realizing that keeping pucks out of the net is just as important as scoring?
Golden Knights acquire Jonathan Quick [Knights on Ice]
As it was expected, the Columbus Blue Jackets quickly flipped Jonathan Quick, sending him to Vegas for Michael Hutchinson and a 2025 seventh-round pick.
Max Domi traded to Dallas [Second City Hockey]
Chicago’s quest to ice a team filled with absolutely no one you’ve every heard of continues as they ship Max Domi and Dylan Wells to the Dallas Stars for Anton Khudobin and a 2025 second-round pick.
One of the best to ever lace up a pair of skates has officially retired. Brianna Decker will be in the hall of fame one day. Six-time world champion and Olympic Gold medalist.
Thank you all! pic.twitter.com/Z21BJORKGo
— Brianna Decker (@Bdecker14) March 2, 2023
Congratulations to the Ice Garden. They are the first SBNation/Vox Media site to transition to an independent site. They are the go to website for news about women’s hockey and are laying the groundwork for what you’ll see a lot of sites doing over the next month.
