The NHL trade deadline is one of the most exciting days of the year for teams buying or selling. For the two NHL teams in Florida, Friday’s deadline was rather tame compared to last year.
Tampa Bay and Florida were in the same place last year, especially the Panthers. They made four trades in the week leading up to the deadline, including trading for Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. This year, the Bolts and Cats were at different places — with Tampa at the top of the Atlantic and Florida as a bottom-feeder.
This year, Florida and Tampa made three trades combined. Around the league, however, a few big names were moved at the deadline.
A few speculated about the Panthers trading Sergei Bobrovsky, A.J. Greer and Evan Rodrigues at the trade deadline. All three have expiring deals, and Greer was a healthy scratch in Thursday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, Bill Zito stood firm at the deadline and planned on resigning both Bobrovsky and Greer.
“Sergei is a part of our franchise, part of our core,” Zito said Friday after the deadline. “We want to try to keep him.”
Statistically having the worst season of his career, Bobrovsky is 23-19-1 with a 3.08 goals against average and a .876 save percentage.
The Cats also made two separate trades, both with the Minnesota Wild. Third-line defenseman Jeff Petry was moved Thursday for a conditional seventh-round pick. That pick would become a fifth-round pick if Minnesota reaches the Western Conference Finals and Petry appears in 50% of the games. The 38-year-old had eight points with the Panthers. All eight of those points were on assists.
One day later, the Panthers called Minnesota again. This time, it was to bring back a former Panther, Vinnie Hinostroza. Some people speculated that the Cats would move Greer with this acquisition, but they held him. Hinostroza played nine games with Florida in the 2020 season, but did not record a point. He has 10 points this season with Minnesota and should provide a spark for them on their fourth line.
Speaking of sparks, the Lightning decided that nothing needed to be fixed with their lineup. However, they did add a key piece to their team in the form of a reunion. Corey Perry is coming back for the Bolts. They sent their 2028 second-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for the 40-year old right winger.
Perry had 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points in 50 games with L.A. In this decade, he’s gone to the Stanley Cup Final five times but is 0-5 in those series. He’s looking for his second Stanley Cup in his career. The 2011 Hart Trophy winner won one with Anaheim in the 2007 season. Perry is looking for his second this season and to break his curse.
Around the NHL
Not many big trades occurred at the deadline. However, some people were swapped at the deadline. The biggest came an hour after the deadline with Flames forward Nazem Kadri returning to the Colorado Avalanche. Calgary got a haul for Kadri — forward Victor Olofsson, prospect Max Curran, a conditional 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick.
Kadri has been a good piece for the Flames these past four seasons. He went there in free agency after winning the 2022 Stanley Cup with the Avs. He signed a seven-by-seven contract with the Flames. Since then, he’s scored 239 points with the club. He looks to ignite an Avalanche team looking for another deep playoff run.
One shock this season has been the New York Islanders. They currently sit at third in the Metro, firmly in line for a playoff spot. The Isles looked for something to bolster their young lineup and got it in the form of St. Louis Blues’ captain Brayden Schenn.
The Blues got a haul for their captain. In the trade, the Islanders gave them Jonathan Drouin, goalie prospect Marcus Gidlof and a first and a third-round pick this season. With their moves earlier in the season to acquire Carson Soucy, Ondrej Palat and Matt Luff, it is helping to form a core around their first overall selection from this past draft, Matthew Schaefer.
The biggest trade of the deadline was the night before, however. At 1 a.m, the Washington Capitals shipped out longtime defenseman John Carlson to the Anaheim Ducks. The Caps received a first-round pick this year and a third-round pick next year.
Carlson spent 17 seasons with the Capitals. In those years, he became a face of the franchise, leading them, along with franchise icons like Alex Ovechkin, to their first Stanley Cup in franchise. Ovechkin went on record and said that this was one of the worst days he’s ever had.
“It’s obviously a sad day,” he said in Friday’s practice. “Probably the toughest day in my career.”
Carlson played over 1,100 games with Washington. He scored 166 goals and had over 600 assists in his time in DC. He now looks to provide a veteran presence to a young Anaheim team.
