Rapid fire reactions to Saturday’s trade frenzy in the NHL

It was a crazy day in the NHL on Saturday with teams treating us to an absolute trade frenzy.

With the NHL putting a freeze on all trades and player signings ahead of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft on Wednesday, teams and General Managers were scrambling on Saturday to get their rosters in order before the 3:00 P.M. deadline.

More from Puck Prose

• Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
• This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
• 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
• 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings

As a result, we saw a bevy of activity throughout the league and, by the end of the day, we were left with a more exciting outcome than the actual NHL Trade Deadline itself.

From some big names being moved to an actual three-team trade, we got it all on Saturday and it perhaps perfectly illustrates just how crazy this offseason could be with the Seattle Kraken officially entering the league.

So, with so much going on, we thought it would be a good idea to provide some quick reactions to all of the big moves that went down. So, without further ado, let’s delve right in…

Reacting to the NHL’s crazy trade frenzy on Saturday

A swap of two goalies here with the Coyotes trading Adin Hill in order to be able to protect starter Darcy Kuemper, while the Sharks get a decent netminder in Hill that they can protect in the NHL Expansion Draft while leaving Martin Jones unprotected.

Hill was 9-9-1 with a 2.74 Goals Against Average and a .913 Save Percentage in 19 games for the Coyotes in 2020-21, and he has plenty of room for further development which is good news for the Sharks and their never-ending problems between the pipes.

This was a brilliant move by New York Islanders General Manager Lou Lamoriello who finally got Andrew Ladd’s albatross of a contract off the books.

Yes, he had to pay a high price with three Draft picks, including a Second Round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, but the return is pretty significant in that the Islanders now have around $14 million in cap space this offseason after clearing Ladd’s $5.5 million AAV.

Given that the Isles are a legit Stanley Cup contender, that extra cap space will now allow them to make a move or two that could push them over the top in their hunt for a Stanley Cup, while the rebuilding Coyotes get a veteran presence in Andrew Ladd who should be a good fit in a young locker room.

This was a home run of a trade who get the rights to pending UFA forward Barclay Goodrow, and the New York Rangers now have the exclusive rights to negotiate with the wing before he is eligible to hit the market on July 28.

New Blueshirts President and General Manager Chris Drury wants to make his team tougher to play against, and Goodrow would be a perfect fit in the bottom six for the Rangers, giving them the toughness and the grit they have been missing over the past couple of years.

Goodrow has just won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he recorded 20 points (6 G, 14 A) in 55 regular season games in 2020-21 in addition to chipping in with two goals and four assists in the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Rangers also shipped forward Brett Howden to the Vegas Golden Knights for a Fourth Round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and defenseman Nick DeSimone, although the pending free agent isn’t expected to sign in The Big Apple.

This is a prime example of General Managers trying to get their rosters in order ahead of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs exposing forward Alexander Kerfoot, they acquire a bottom-six presence in Jared McCann who counts $560,000 less against the salary cap than Kerfoot, while McCann had 32 points (14 G, 18 A) in 43 games for the Pens in 2020-21.

Basically, Leafs GM Kyle Dubas gives himself some forward assurance knowing that if he does loose Kerfoot then he has a reliable insurance policy in McCann, who is also younger.

We had to wait a while for this one to come though as the NHL dealt with a backlog of trades, and we will see if it is worth the wait for the Vancouver Canucks who get a versatile bottom-six forward in Jason Dickinson.

Dickinson is a defensive forward on the rise and he will get the opportunity to anchor the third-line for the Canucks, and he’s also a high-character guy that should fit well in the room while the Third Round pick in this year’s Draft proves just how big a piece Vancouver feels Dickinson can be for them.

This was a blockbuster and it made Saturday’s Trade Frenzy bigger than the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline.

The Philadelphia Flyers acquired the solid top-four defenseman they have longed craved in Ryan Ellis, who will provide a steady presence on the backend for his new team.

Ellis is an elite blueliner in the NHL but he was overshadowed by teammate Roman Josi in Smashville, so he should now get the platform to really showcase his shutdown abilities with the Flyers.

Philadelphia didn’t have to give up any Draft capital for Ellis, but they did send defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Nolan Patrick to the Nashville Predators, who then flipped Patrick to the Vegas Golden Knights for center Cody Glass.

The Preds are clearly rebuilding on the fly and they get a young defenseman in Myers and an intriguing prospect in Glass to add to their roster, while the Golden Knights will hope that they can help Patrick, who was the Second Overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, finally fulfil his potential.

So, those were all the trades that went down in the NHL on what was a manic Saturday and, while there were other transactions that took place, we just wanted to focus on the trades given that they were all pretty significant in terms of what is to come at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.