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Grading each NHL team’s performance at the 2020 trade deadline

By Dave Stevenson

OTTAWA, ON - NOVEMBER 27: Ottawa Senators Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (44) before a face-off during third period National Hockey League action between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators on November 27, 2019, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - NOVEMBER 27: Ottawa Senators Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (44) before a face-off during third period National Hockey League action between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators on November 27, 2019, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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B+

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins did a great job getting Ondrej Kase while dumping off David Backes. And they only gave up a first-round pick and an average prospect. I’m a fan of the Danton Heinen for Nick Ritchie trade as well. That makes the Bruins a lot bigger and stronger.

However, they watched the Tampa Bay Lightning get a lot better. And so did a lot of other Eastern Conference teams. That keeps the Bruins out of the “A” range for me.

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings got two nice trades done on deadline day. First, they sent Mike Green to the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2020 and forward Kyle Brodziak. Next, the Red Wings made friends with the Oilers again by trading them Andreas Athanasiou plus forward Ryan Kuffner for Sam Gagner and two second-round picks.

New York Islanders

Lou Lamoriello finally made a big move to help his team, as he traded a first-round pick, second-round pick, and conditional third to get Pageau. He proceeded to sign him to an extension (six years, $5 million per year). The latter’s a bit pricey for my liking, so they get docked some points.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a “win now” team. This justifies the high prices they had to pay for Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow. I think they should have addressed their defense, but if their guys get healthy, they’ll be fine there.

B

St. Louis Blues

Marco Scandella is better than he’s given credit for. The St. Louis Blues overpaid for him, but I completely understand why. Jay Bouwmeester’s cardiac episode forced them to look for a stay-at-home defenseman and Scandella was a perfect fit. The Blues are a darn good team, so there weren’t many roster moves they could have made to improve their team.

Montreal Canadiens

Good news: Habs fans wanted the Canadiens to sell and they did. They got a second-round pick and a fourth-rounder for Scandella. The Canadiens also added a third-round pick for Ilya Kovalchuk, a late-round pick for Nate Thompson, and a fourth-round pick for Nick Cousins.

Bad news: The Canadiens are no closer to winning the Stanley Cup now or in the future than they were at the start of the season. Also, this might help save Marc Bergevin’s job, which isn’t a good thing. I would have liked to see them trade someone like Jeff Petry or Tomas Tatar.

New York Rangers

The New York Rangers got Chris Kreider to sign a fairly reasonable extension, though the term is a bit long for me. They made up for it by trading Brady Skjei for a first-round pick. The Rangers get docked points for continuing the farce of having three goaltenders (it never works) and for not finding a taker for Jesper Fast.

B-

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche made two decent depth additions. First, they added Vladislav Namestnikov from the Senators. I like his versatility and the pace to his game. Namestnikov is the kind of guy the Avalanche value. Next, they traded for Michael Hutchinson to give them some goaltending depth with Philipp Grubauer out with an injury. The Avalanche should have done more.

Edmonton Oilers

This was quietly a nice deadline for the Edmonton Oilers. They added Mike Green for dirt cheap. He’s not the offensive dynamo he once was, but he’s still a useful defenseman. Adding Tyler Ennis for a 2021 fifth-rounder is nice too.

I’m a fan of Andreas Athanasiou, but I think the Oilers gave up a bit too much for him (two second-round picks plus Sam Gagner). That said, it wouldn’t shock me if Athanasiou is a really good fit with Connor McDavid. Few players can keep up with him and Athanasiou is one of them.

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