NHL trade deadline: Breaking down Monday's deals

Live, quick-hit analysis of big-league trades completed Monday, March 21.

Blues pick up Leddy

St. Louis acquires: D Nick Leddy, D Luke Witkowski
Detroit acquires: F Oskar Sundqvist, D Jake Walman, 2nd-round pick (2023)

The Blues were reportedly pursuing trades involving top-of-market left-handed D-men Hampus Lindholm and Mark Giordano, so settling for Nick Leddy is suboptimal but better than nothing. Perhaps general manager Doug Armstrong has more up his sleeve ahead of the fast-approaching deadline? The Wings make out better in this particular trade, seeing as receiving only a second-round pick for pending unrestricted free agent Leddy would have qualified as a victory. Witkowski is an AHLer, so he brings little value to the equation, whereas Sundqvist and Walman should waltz right into Detroit's lineup. Nice work by Steve Yzerman, who's still rebuilding the Wings brick by brick.

Avalanche land Lehkonen

Colorado acquires: F Artturi Lehkonen
Montreal acquires: D Justin Barron, 2nd-round pick (2024)

Oh, there you are, Joe Sakic. Colorado's GM had been quiet since picking up Josh Manson and Nico Sturm early last week and losing out on Claude Giroux over the weekend to the Florida Panthers. With this swap, Sakic adds spunk to a superfast and skilled forward group. Sure, Lehkonen can produce (29 points in 58 games), but he's such a pain to play against, which was presumably what made him so appealing to the Avs. Don't be surprised if the 26-year-old Finn finds a spot on the Avs' penalty kill. As with the Kulak trade, new Canadiens GM Kent Hughes isn't selling off his assets for nothing. Heck, Barron is a top defenseman prospect who the Avalanche (and the rest of the league) held in high regard. And that 2024 second-round pick replaces the one sent to Arizona for Christian Dvorak.

Kulak Oilers

Edmonton acquires: D Brett Kulak
Montreal acquires: D William Lagesson, 2nd-round pick

I like this deal for the Canadiens, who bring in the younger player (Lagesson is 26, Kulak 28) in a defenseman-for-defenseman trade, along with a high draft pick. I get this trade for the Oilers, who are polishing up their defense and had to sweeten the pot for Montreal, hence the second-rounder. Yet Kulak alone isn't going to move the needle in Edmonton. Oilers general manager Ken Holland is surely working the phones to pick up a second blue-liner. Acquiring a goalie would be ideal, of course, but unlikely, as Holland has said.

Bruins add Brown

Boston acquires: D Josh Brown, 7th-round pick (2022)
Ottawa acquires: F Zach Senyshyn, 5th-round pick (2022)

The Bruins continue loading up, after acquiring Hampus Lindholm over the weekend. Earlier Monday, they extended Jake DeBrusk with an eye on trading him before the deadline. Now they've added Brown as depth on right defense. Brown's a rental D-man (theme of the day) with some size. He's a pending unrestricted free agent, so Bruins GM Don Sweeney takes on no real risk here. Next up, according to a report from ESPN: Sweeney might land a much bigger fish in Rickard Rakell, the high-end Anaheim Ducks winger. As for the Senators' side of this deal, Senyshyn is a first-rounder born in Ottawa who has yet to pop at the NHL level. They're banking on potential.

Rangers scoop up Braun

New York acquires: D Justin Braun
Philadelphia acquires: 3rd-round pick (2023)

New York finally wade into the transaction pool by acquiring a physical right-shot defenseman. Braun, a 35-year-old pending unrestricted free agent, is likely headed to the Rangers' third pairing alongside Patrik Nemeth or Braden Schneider. The cost of doing business is palatable, considering comparable defensemen Travis Hamonic and Jeremy Lauzon went for a third and a second, respectively. Most clubs would choose Braun over those two.

Caps bring back Johansson

Washington acquires: F Marcus Johansson
Seattle acquires: F Daniel Sprong, 4th-round pick (2022), 6th-round pick (2023)

Johansson, a Capital from 2010 to 2017, isn't the reliable top-six forward he used to be, but he's certainly an upgrade on Sprong - which is precisely why Washington pursued this deal. Sprong is off to his fourth NHL city, and while the 25-year-old has scoring chops, he hasn't quite found his way after stops in Pittsburgh, Nashville, and Washington. Maybe he takes off in Seattle. Props to the Kraken for not only commanding a pair of draft picks in this trade but also several others over the past few days. Seattle's pick haul has swelled to 12 selections in 2022, 13 in 2023, and nine in 2024. That's 34 (!) picks in the next three drafts. Bravo.

Wild trade for Middleton

Minnesota acquires: D Jacob Middleton
San Jose acquires: G Kaapo Kahkonen, 5th-round pick (2022)

This is a crafty move by Wild general manager Bill Guerin. He had to trade one of his NHL goalies in order to clear a spot for the incoming Marc-Andre Fleury and picked up a quality defensive defenseman in the process. Middleton, a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, provides a ton of value for his $725,000 cap hit. The 26-year-old will bring some jam to Minnesota's third pairing and, if all goes well, could be a candidate for a long-term extension. Kahkonen out and Middleton in, and it cost only a fifth-round pick? Oh yeah, Guerin's on a deadline-day roll. That said, I also like this deal for the Sharks. They've been looking for help between the pipes for years and Kahkonen is at least competent.

Wild land Fleury

Minnesota acquires: G Marc-Andre Fleury
Chicago acquires: 2nd-round pick (2022, conditional)

In the first big splash of deadline day, Fleury is reunited with his old teammate, Wild GM Guerin. There's no doubt personal connection helped facilitate this deal, with the veteran Fleury reportedly hesitant to join certain contenders. The Wild, who sit third in the Central Division, are a strong defensive club, but they needed better goaltending down the stretch and into the playoffs. And while Fleury hasn't been at his Hockey Hall of Fame-best this season (.908 save percentage), he certainly counts as an upgrade on Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen (who's been dealt to San Jose). Minnesota's Stanley Cup window doesn't close after this season, but things get dicey financially beginning in 2022-23, when the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts start accounting for almost $13 million in dead money. The condition on the pick: it's a first-rounder if the Wild reach the Western Conference Final and Fleury (a pending unrestricted free agent) is in net for four or more wins in the first two playoff rounds.

Coyotes net Smith, Little

Arizona acquires: F Nathan Smith, F Bryan Little
Winnipeg acquires: 4th-round pick (2022)

This is a "please take away our problems" kind of deal by the Jets. In Little, the Coyotes essentially acquire a $5.3 million cap hit, as the injured forward hasn't played since 2019-20. Meanwhile, in Smith, the Coyotes add an NCAA star who was stuck behind too many names on the Jets' center depth chart. Smith is a pending unrestricted free agent, so if Winnipeg hadn't pulled the trigger on a trade, it would have lost his rights this summer. Smith, a 23-year-old two-way forward for Minnesota State, is a Hobey Baker Award finalist. He played for Team USA at the Olympics.

Coyotes add McBain

Arizona acquires: F Jack McBain
Minnesota acquires: 2nd-round pick (2022, originally Vancouver's)

Consider this a typical transaction in the Bill Armstrong era in Arizona. Deep in a rebuild and about to start playing in a 5,000-seat arena, the Coyotes are in desperate need of young, cheap talent to fill their roster. McBain, a 2018 third-round pick by the Wild who never signed with Minnesota, fits the bill. The 6-foot-4, 211-pound center recorded 33 points in 24 games for Boston College this past season. He also played for Team Canada at the Olympics, pitching in two points in five games. You can assume McBain will sign with Arizona soon.

Bruins extend DeBrusk

His name in the rumor mill for months, Jake DeBrusk inked a two-year, $8-million deal to stay in Boston - for the time being, at least. A league source confirms DeBrusk's long-held trade request has not been rescinded and the Bruins are still trying to find a trade partner prior to Monday's 3 p.m. ET deadline. While DeBrusk's production has dropped off the past couple of seasons, he has the physical tools to be an effective power forward. A change of scenery could help and he could help deepen a contender's middle-six.

Senators re-up Forsberg

Another bottom-feeding team extends its starting goalie, as Anton Forsberg and the Senators agree on a three-year deal with a $2.75 million average annual value. After stops in Columbus, Chicago, and Carolina, the 29-year-old Forsberg has found a long-term hockey home in Ottawa. He has a .918 save percentage through 31 games, saving 8.84 goals above average and 7.86 goals above expected, per Evolving Hockey. Pretty damn good. Most crucially, this deal brings stability to Ottawa's crease at a reasonable price tag.

Coyotes re-sign Vejmelka

Goalie Karel Vejmelka gets rewarded with a three-year contract extension that carries an AAV of $2.725 million. The right-catching, 25-year-old Czechia netminder has impressed in his first NHL season, posting a .905 save percentage in 36 games behind a woeful Coyotes squad. Arizona announced the extension a day after trading Vejmelka's partner, Scott Wedgewood, to the Dallas Stars for a fourth-round pick.

Jets trade Beaulieu

Pittsburgh acquires: D Nathan Beaulieu
Winnipeg acquires: 7th-round pick (2022, conditional)

This is Penguins management adding injury insurance to its back end, nothing more. Beaulieu, a 29-year-old left-shot defenseman, averaged 10:46 of ice time in 24 games for the Jets this year. He contributed four assists and posted terrible underlying numbers. A pending unrestricted free agent, Beaulieu makes $1.25 million against the cap. He's now been traded three times over his career, having previously been sent from Montreal to Buffalo in 2017 and from Buffalo to Winnipeg in 2019.

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