Good morning, hockey fans. It’s Christmas in March as the 32 franchises in the NHL wheel and deal their way to Stanley Cup aspirations or build for the future. Some teams may even try to do both. We’re going to track the deals as they come down (verified deals only), but please bear with us as we are also doing this on the company dime (don’t tell the boss man). We summed up most of yesterday’s deals already so we’re starting fresh today.
Feel free to comment along with your takes on how the deals look.
Bruins keep making trades, acquire Henri Jokiharju [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
Boston sends a 2026 fourth-round pick to Buffalo for defenseman Henri Jokiharju. He’ll help fill some of the ice time vacated by Brandon Carlo’s trade to Toronto. They also swapped Daniil Misyul for Marc McLaughlin.
Mikko Rantanen finally traded to Dallas Stars [TSN]
He goes for Logan Stankoven and two first-round picks. He’s also reportedly agreed to an eight-year, $12 million per season extension. There are some more pieces to the deal, but these seem to be the main pieces.
Scott Laughton – you are a Maple Leaf! [Pension Plan Puppets]
Laughton, a fourth-round pick, and a sixth-round pick head to Toronto for Nikita Grebenkin and a 2026
first-round pick. Flyers are retaining 50% of Laughton’s salary.
Brandon Tanev traded to Winnipeg [Elliotte Friedman]
Tanev goes back to where he started as the Jets continue to grittify their team. The Kraken received a 2027 second-round pick. Tanev spent his first four seasons in Winnipeg.
Luke Schenn traded to Winnipeg [Pensburgh]
From Nashville to Pittsburgh to Winnipeg, sounds like Luke Schenn is on an American Airlines flight. A 2026 second and a 2027 fourth-round pick are on the way back to Pittsburgh as Kyle Dubas continues to stockpile picks for the Penguins eventual rebuild.
Andrei Kuzmenko traded to Los Angeles [Broad Street Hockey]
The 29-year-old’s time in Philly was short. Acquired by the Flyers at the end of January, Kuzmenko is on his way back west as the Kings pick him up for a 2027 third-round pick. Philly is reportedly retaining 50% of the cap hit for the pending UFA.
Dylan Cozens traded to Ottawa [Die By the Blade]
The Sabres have made their first deal of the day as Dylan Cousins and his $7.1 million cap hit (along with a draft pick) head to Ottawa for Josh Norris and Jacob-Bernard Docker. The Sens are also getting a 2026 second-round pick and Dennis Gilbert. Ottawa has confirmed the trade.
Pittsburgh trades Anthony Beauvillier to Washington [Japers Rink]
The Penguins get a second-round pick for the well-traveled forward. The Capitals trade within in the division to pick up a 27-year-old having a bounce-back season with 13 goals. It’s the third time he’s been traded since January of 2023.
Avalanche acquire Brock Nelson [Mile High Hockey]
This deal came through as we were shutting down the presses last night, but Colorado continued their aggressive approach to capturing another Stanley Cup by obtaining one of the top names on the market – Brock Nelson. The Islanders picked up a pretty nice haul as they acquired Oliver Kylington, Calum Ritchie (the 27th overall pick in 2023), a 2026 first-round pick, and a conditional 2028 third-round pick. The Avs also received William Dufour.
Edmonton Oilers acquire Jake Walman [Oilers Nation]
In a prime example of how a rebuilding team can build a trade asset the San Jose Sharks sent defenseman Jake Walman to Edmonton for a conditional first-round pick and Carl Berglund. San Jose GM Mike Grier had acquired Walman and a second-round pick from Detroit for future considerations last June. That’s a tidy bit of work by the Sharks.
