The dust has settled on the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, and lots of key players are on the move. Let’s recap the biggest moves of the deadline and what implications it will have for the rest of the season.

The Central Division Arms Race

The three teams atop the Central Division have separated themselves from the rest of the Western Conference for quite some time. The Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild all added to their already strong rosters in hopes for a deep playoff run. However, they are all on a collision course and at most only one of them will remain by the Conference Finals. This set up an arms race as none of them wants to be disadvantaged heading into the playoffs.

Colorado Avalanche

Starting with the Colorado Avalanche, whose deadline has been going since they acquired defenceman Brett Kulak from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2028 2nd round pick, and defenceman Samuel Girard. Kulak was a part of the Oilers defensive corps during their two runs to the Cup Final in 2024 and 2025. They then went out and got another D man, Nick Blankenburg from the Nashville Predators for a 2027 5th rounder. A clear early emphasis on adding depth to their defence.

They continued buying, this time on offence, using a 2027 1st and 2026 5th to get centreman Nic Roy from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Another player who has been involved in some deep playoff runs, as Roy was a member of the Vegas Golden Knights from 2019-2025.

However the biggest move the team made was bringing back Nazem Kadri, who was a key piece of the Avalanche squad that won the Stanley Cup in 2022. The 35 year old forward had 15 points in 16 games during the 2022 playoffs en route to a championship. His production has dropped off this season, but that could be a result of being on the Calgary Flames, who are last in the NHL in goals. Back with a team where he had so much success, you can expect Kadri to get rolling again and play a big role in the Avalanche’s playoff run. The price to pay was Victor Olofsson, Max Curran, a 2028 1st round pick, and a 2027 2nd round pick.

Having traded away six picks in total, including two firsts and two seconds, it is clear that the Avalanche don’t want to see another year of having Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar go to waste with an early exit in the playoffs. The Avs are all in and will be a tough out for any opponent in the postseason.

Dallas Stars

Dallas is no stranger to being buyers at the deadline, as they have been in contention for years and always seem to be aggressive around this time of year. Last year for instance, they brought in Mikael Granlund and the biggest name on the trade block, Mikko Rantanen.

While this year was a little more lowkey than years past, they still managed to add a forward and a defenceman to add depth. 

They sent a 2027 2nd round pick and a 2029 4th round pick to the Vancouver Canucks, for Texas native Tyler Myers, a mighty right handed D man who will instantly fit in wearing Victory Green, with over 1000 games played in the league. He is hungry for a deep playoff run, as other than one appearance in the Conference Finals with Winnipeg back in 2018, he has played on lots of teams whose seasons end after game 82.

With Tyler Seguin ruled out for the season, the Stars needed to inject some more scoring into their lineup. Their last move of the deadline was sending a 2026 3rd round pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Michael Bunting. The 30 year old has scored at a 20 goal pace throughout his eight year career.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild made their big move of the season back when they traded for Quinn Hughes, which has proven to be a massive success, as they are among the best teams in the league since the trade. But they weren’t done there and continued to add, mainly depth, at the deadline.

Former first round pick Michael McCarron took a while to get his feet settled in the NHL, spending time between the major league and the AHL for about a decade after hearing his name called. But he has grown into a solid bottom six forward with the Nashville Predators, and the Wild saw enough in him to trade a 2nd round pick in 2028 to go get him. They sent another former first round pick David Jiricek to Philadelphia, the Flyers are optimistic the 2022 6th overall pick can still pan out. In return they acquired Minnesota native Bobby Brink, who has scored at least 11 goals in each of his first three full seasons in the NHL.

They continued to add depth, at a very reasonable price, adding defenceman Jeff Petry for a conditional 7th round pick in this year’s draft, that can become a 5th if the Wild reach the Conference Finals and Petry plays 50% of the games. Even less expensive than that, future considerations went the way of the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Nick Foligno, whose brother Marcus plays for Minnesota, pairing the two. 

Buffalo Buyers and Toronto Sellers

It has been quite some time since the Buffalo Sabres went into the Trade Deadline as buyers, and this year they were swinging for the fences. Ultimately they came up short in negotiations with the St. Louis Blues as far as trading for forward Robert Thomas, but they did have a deal in place to acquire defenceman Colton Parayko, before he declined to waive his no trade clause to go to Buffalo.

Instead they had to pivot and brought in a pair of defencemen and forwards. On D, they struck a deal with the Winnipeg Jets to bring in Logan Stanley as well as Luke Schenn to add some size and toughness to their back end. They had to cough up prospect Isak Rosen, along with defenceman Jacob Bryson, and a pair of picks (2027 2nd and 2026 4th).

Sam Carrick cost them a 2026 3rd and 6th round pick, bringing in the depth centerman from the New York Rangers. Their final move of the deadline was also with the Jets, adding forward Tanner Pearson for a 2026 7th round pick. A solid scoring forward who won the Cup way back when he was a rookie with the Los Angeles Kings in 2014. 

It has been an exciting year in Buffalo, and they are looking primed to not only end their playoff drought, but do some damage in the postseason.

On the other hand, who would have thought the Toronto Maple Leafs would be one of the biggest sellers of the deadline before the season began? Although it may have been hard for them to face that reality, they did right by selling their pending free agents.

They got a really good return in the aforementioned Nic Roy trade, as any time you’re able to get a 1st round pick for a depth player it’s a win. It looked like that might be all they would do as no more trades had been announced by the 3pm deadline, however, two more moves trickled in after.

Bobby McMann was off to Seattle for a 2027 2nd round pick and 2026 4th. Surprisingly, Scott Laughton had the smallest return of the three forwards moved, as he was sent to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional 3rd round pick in this year’s draft, that can become a 2nd if the Kings make the playoffs.

Can The Oilers Make Another Run? 

The Oilers are the reigning Western Conference Champions, having made it to the Cup Final each of the last two seasons, ultimately falling to the Florida Panthers. The way things look, Florida isn’t making the playoffs, so the Oilers kryptonite is out of the picture. That being said, the Oilers still have an uphill battle facing them, as three straight Cup Finals is a tough task.

Earlier in the year, Edmonton made a trade to address the goaltending situation bringing in Tristan Jarry. Unfortunately, Jarry hasn’t been what the Oilers hoped for, posting a pretty horrific 3.96 GAA and .862 SV%. They’ve been running a tandem between him and Connor Ingram and neither has emerged as the team’s number one. Some thought they should go out again and make another trade to get a goalie, but the team seems confident in what they have.

What they did do, was a pair of trades with the Chicago Blackhawks. First, giving up a 2028 2nd round pick for right defenceman Connor Murphy, a fair price for a player that will really strengthen their blue line. Then a few days later, Edmonton traded for Jason Dickinson, a depth center who plays well in his own end, and can occasionally contribute offensively, as well as Edmontonian Colton Dach. Dickinson will play a key role on the penalty kill down the stretch and into the playoffs. Fans were happy with the acquisition, but a bit disappointed by how much they had to give up, as it cost them a 2027 1st round pick, and forward Andrew Mangiapane. The overlooked part of this trade is that the two forwards from Chicago are free agents following this season, and Mangiapane is slated to make $3.6M next year, so along with adding a key defensive center, the Oilers give themselves some flexibility down the road.

Looking For Draft ‘Capital’

The Washington Capitals are still in the playoff race, but on the outside looking in. Accepting they probably aren’t geared for much playoff success or to even make it there, they were surprise sellers at this year’s deadline. 

First, they traded center Nic Dowd, who had been with the team since 2019. Dowd goes to the Vegas Golden Knights for goalie prospect Jesper Vikman, as well as a 2nd round pick in 2029, and a 3rd in 2027. This sent out the message that Washington was willing to part ways with some veteran players for picks.

Then, a shocking trade came in after midnight on deadline day, as the franchise’s leader in points from a defenceman was traded. John Carlson has been in Washington since the 2009-10 season and had a legendary career in the United States’ capital. He joins the Anaheim Ducks, pushing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The Capitals gain even more picks in this trade, a 1st round pick in either 2026 or 2027 (Ducks have the choice if they miss the playoffs this season), and a 2027 3rd round pick.

The Blues Can’t Lose

Well, the Blues have actually lost quite a lot this season, sitting at 13th in the West. But they were winners of this year’s deadline, selling some veteran pieces and building towards the future. There was also some chatter of the team moving on from Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, but no trade came to fruition, and probably for the best as the two are proven top six forwards and on reasonable contracts, best they stick around.

Instead they chose to sell their older assets who likely won’t be around when the Blues are ready to compete for another championship.

As sad as it may be to say goodbye to your captain, the Blues have to be happy about what they got in exchange for Brayden Schenn. In exchange for the 34 year old forward, the New York Islanders traded forward Jonathan Drouin, goalie prospect Marcus Gidlof, along with a 2026 1st round pick and a 2026 3rd round pick. The Islanders believe they have the team to make a run, even if it isn’t this year, Schenn is under contract until 2028.

St. Louis added not one but two first rounders, in a similar return as the Schenn trade, they acquired another 2026 1st, a 2026 3rd, defenceman Justin Holl and prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov from the Detroit Red Wings, for Justin Faulk. Detroit is getting a solid two-way right shot defenceman, who’s having a solid year with 11 goals and 32 points in 61 games. He will bring experience, and scoring from the point to a fairly inexperienced Detroit blueline.

Other Noteworthy Trades

Corey Perry heads back to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2nd round pick in 2028. Tampa is in a position for another deep run in the playoffs, especially with the lack of playoff experience in the Eastern Conference. Perry is just about as experienced as they come.

The Mammoth believe in their current group, giving up a substantial package for defenceman Mackenzie Weegar, including three 2nd round picks in 2026 and Olli Maata. Weegar is a do it all defenceman and will be a welcome addition for a young Utah team looking to clinch the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

One of the league’s most underrated forwards joins one of the league’s most underrated forward groups. Conor Garland heads to Columbus in exchange for a 2028 2nd round pick and 2026 3rd round pick. The Blue Jackets are still outside the playoffs but have a good shot of making it with the way they’ve been playing under new coach Rick Bowness.

Ottawa made a few moves, trading away forward David Perron to Detroit for a 4th rounder in 2026. But his spot in the lineup will likely be filled partially by Warren Foegele, coming in from the Los Angeles Kings along with a 2026 3rd round pick in exchange for a 2nd and a 3rd in this year’s draft as well.

Lots of deals make for an interesting final stretch of regular season play, and most definitely bring excitement leading into the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.