NHL TRADE DEADLINE- A LOOK AT THE BIGGEST MOVES MADE ON MONDAY

NHL / Hockey

Written by Joel Lefevre

Another NHL trade deadline has come and gone with teams looking to add that extra piece for a playoff push, a run to the Stanley Cup, or simply building towards the future.

There were 33 trades made with 54 players moving to different clubs, but here’s a look at the top seven deals done before the deadline passed on Monday.

Source (Background Photo): Getty Images Sport

Andrew Copp to the New York Rangers

The Winnipeg Jets parted ways with their center, who was due to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The Jets get Morgan Barron and three draft picks in return, while the Blueshirts also received a sixth-round selection in the draft.

Copp is a solid two-way player who can also play on the wing and is capable of adding some secondary scoring with 35 points in 56 games in the Peg this season.

Rickard Rakell to the Pittsburgh Penguins

The Ducks looked like a seller before Monday, and that trend continued on deadline day as they shipped 28-year-old Rickard Rakell to the Pens for forwards Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon, plus goalie prospect Callie Clang along with a second-round choice in the upcoming entry draft.

Playing in the final year of his deal in Anaheim, Rakell has 16 goals and 28 points in 51 games so far this season, and Pittsburgh will hope that he can take some of the scoring pressure off the likes of Evgeni Malkin.

A team looking to make a run to the cup added another element that could make them tough to beat come playoff time.

Max Domi to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-way deal

The Canes are fighting tooth and nail for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with the Florida Panthers, and with Domi, they land a guy who has been a consistent contributor everywhere he’s gone.

Carolina also gets Tyler Inamoto in this deal, sending Egor Korshkov and a sixth-rounder in the 2022 draft to the Panthers, who will pay 25% of Domi’s cap hit with the Columbus Blue Jackets retaining 50% of his cap hit.

It will be Domi’s fourth team since the 2017-18 season as the hard-nosed forward is on pace to collect 40 points for the fifth time in seven seasons, currently with eight goals and 21 points in 2021-22.

For their part, Columbus will get Aiden Hreschuk.

Marc-Andre Fleury to Minnesota

A three-time Stanley Cup champion, who also led the Vegas Golden Knights to an improbable run to the finals in their inaugural season, Marc-Andre Fleury, is looking to recapture his playoff magic once again.

The 37-year-old netminder moves from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional second-round selection in this year’s draft, which could be a first-rounder if the Wild can make it to the Western Conference Final.

Fleury is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, who has had an up and down campaign in the windy city, posting a record of 18 wins, 14 losses and five overtime defeats this season, with a .913 save percentage and four shutouts.

Minnesota is neck and neck with the St. Louis Blues for second in the central division, and his experience and big game capability could be what this team needs to take the next step in the postseason.

Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers

Florida was unwilling to wait to see if Claude Giroux would still be available on Monday as they pulled the trigger to get the longtime Philadelphia Flyers captain to the sunshine state this past weekend.

Connor Bunnaman, German Rubtsov, and a fifth-round selection in the 2024 NHL draft are also coming to Florida, while returning to Philly, will be forward Owen Tippett, a conditional first-rounder in either 2024 or 2025, plus a third-round choice in 2023.

The Panthers are loading up in hopes of a deep playoff run, and Giroux brings experience and is vital in the faceoff circle, and is capable of playing all three forward positions.

Hampus Lindholm to the Boston Bruins

The Bruins have struggled to find a talented, depth defenceman on the left side since the departure of Zdeno Chara, and they hope the addition of Hampus Lindholm will fill a much-needed void on the blueline.

Lindholm moves from Anaheim to Beantown, while the Ducks get Urho Vaakanainen, John Moore, a first-round pick in this year’s draft, and a second-rounder in 2023 and 2024.

Boston has made quite the investment in the 28-year-old, inking him to an eight-year, $52 million contract extension as soon as he was dealt with the big bad Bruins.

He’s a solid all-around defenceman, averaging over 22 minutes of ice time with the Ducks this season.

He has proven to be a valuable penalty killer with the skills and experience needed to take some pressure off Charlie McAvoy.

Mark Giordano to the Maple Leafs

As we reported over the weekend, Mark Giordano is returning to his hometown.

The 38-year-old former Seattle Kraken captain is joining the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Colin Blackwell, with Seattle getting a second-round selection for the next two drafts and a third-rounder in 2024.

Seattle will also retain 50% of Giordano’s salary, which is a $6.8 million cap hit.

Given his age, it’s likely he’s nothing more than a rental player but seeing as the Leafs have not been healthy on the blueline this season with the head injury to Jake Muzzin, this move could be a smart one.

Giordano can still log big minutes and can bring a lot to the table at even strength and on the power play and penalty kill.

He thrived under the pressure of playing in a Canadian market in Calgary, so transitioning to Toronto with so many expectations should not be a learning curve for him.