Grading NHL Trade Deadline Performances: Metropolitan Division
The NHL Trade Deadline is officially behind us, and rosters are set as teams jockey for position in the race for the postseason.
In the Metropolitan Division, there seemed to be a clear divide in terms of playoff teams and non-playoff teams ahead of the deadline, and that divide has grown since Monday’s flurry of activity.
The top four teams in the division, the Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Washington Capitals, have controlled those positions for much of the season, while the rest of the Metro has been attempting to claw its way back into contention.
All four of the top teams made an effort to improve their rosters ahead of the playoffs, but which teams emerged as winners, and who did enough to enhance its postseason outlook?
How did each Metropolitan Division team do at the trade deadline?
The Rangers made as many trades as the rest of the division combined, or at least that’s the way it felt. Other top teams like the Hurricanes and Penguins opted for concise and impactful trade deadline strategies.
Meanwhile, the Capitals added to their forward depth with a pair of moves in a bid to get escape their current wild card position and reinsert themselves into the division’s top three.
In the bottom half of the division, there were two strategies. The first one, implemented by the Philadelphia and Columbus Blue Jackets, was to move a high-profile player without going as far as becoming a complete seller.
The other, which was executed by the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils, was to largely sit back and watch the madness that is the NHL Trade Deadline unfold without really taking part in the festivities.
Though these teams approached the trade deadline with different mindsets and goals, any team can emerge as a winner at the end of the NHL’s most hectic handful of hours. So, with that said, how did each Metropolitan Division squad fare this March?
Here are trade deadline grades for each team in the Metro.
Carolina Hurricanes: A
The Carolina Hurricanes made only one trade at this year’s deadline, and it was to acquire forward Max Domi from the Blue Jackets.
Domi, a former first-round pick, brings tremendous upside to Raleigh. His best season came in 2018-2019 as a member of the Montreal Canadiens when he set career-highs in goals (28), assists (44), and points (72).
This deal provides the Canes with another scoring threat that does not come at the expense of any key members of the team. It also paired well with the club extending forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi on Monday.
Carolina did not dominate the trade deadline in the way that the Florida Panthers did in the Atlantic Division, but its lone trade was one of high quality that keeps the Hurricanes near the top of the list of contenders in the Eastern Conference.
Columbus Blue Jackets: C+
Like the Hurricanes, the Blue Jackets participated in one trade and then called it a day. No players were brought into the Ohio capital, while Domi was the only player to leave.
What I like about this strategy is that Columbus didn’t buy into some far-reaching idea that it could compete for a postseason berth. In 2019, the Jackets were in a similar position to that one they find themselves in this season, as the team’s ceiling was a playoff appearance, and there was no realistic opportunity to win a title.
In that instance, the Blue Jackets threw caution to the wind and went all-in. Seeing that they did not repeat the same mistake this season is great. With that said, the franchise didn’t do much in terms of improvements for next season.
I’m not convinced that this club is as good as it’s played this season, which makes me feel like there should have been more selling in Columbus. Time will tell whether or not this was a missed opportunity to acquire draft capital.
New Jersey Devils: C-
The Devils made a pair of minor moves, but they did nothing of substance at the trade deadline.
Most of New Jersey’s pending free agents are young players that the team will hope to bring back. That, combined with the fact that teams were not interested in defenseman P.K. Subban, meant that the Devils didn’t have many players to trade.
Still, this team has underachieved yet again in the 2021-2022 campaign, and the path forward seems unclear. Yes, this is still a young team, but the Devs spent some big money in free agency that has yet to pay dividends, and now the draft capital is nothing special for a club that figures to need picks in order to continue rebuilding.
New York Islanders: C+
The New York Islanders made zero trades at the deadline, which is both good and bad.
It has not been an easy year for the Isles, but they did not panic by selling valuable players. I think that’s an incredibly smart decision, as this team is capable of coming back strong next season and reclaiming the postseason position that it has owned in the last few seasons.
On the other hand, this team has struggled for years to score, and that has continued this year as New York is 24th in the NHL in goals per game (2.7). If the focus was staying strong for next season, then I would’ve liked to have seen a forward that can score be brought into the mix.
There were also some veteran players that the Islanders could have moved, some of which they extended instead, but the most important thing here is that New York recognized its ability to be back in the playoff hunt next season and didn’t adopt a seller’s mentality.
New York Rangers: A
The Rangers were by far the busiest team in the Metro in the last week.
After acquiring Frank Vatrano from the Panthers in the week leading up to the trade deadline, New York pulled the trigger on deals that brought defenseman Justin Braun and forwards Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte to the Big Apple.
The Rangers have been a team all year that has been reliant upon a handful of players, but these trades help the team fill out other portions of the roster, which is critically important come playoff time.
Each move made by New York was hit, and perhaps no team in the Metro elevated its position more this March than the Rangers.
Philadelphia Flyers: D
The Flyers parted ways with long-time captain Claude Giroux at the deadline, shipping him to the Florida Panthers for what feels like very little in return.
Philly had its hands tied by Giroux’s ability to hand-pick his destination, but the Flyers gave up more assets than they got back, and if forward Owen Tippett doesn’t work out in Philadelphia, this trade will feel like a bust.
The Flyers find themselves in a tricky spot now, as this trade deadline marks the beginning of a rebuild, yet the roadmap to success seems like it could be long in Philly. The team has only six picks in this year’s draft, and the top nine players on the roster in terms of salary will be around for at least one more season.
Between getting next to nothing back for Giroux and having an incredibly bleak short-term future, I don’t like the way this deadline went for the Flyers. They get a D instead of an F simply because they at least acknowledged the fact that it’s time to start tearing things down.
Pittsburgh Penguins: A-
The Penguins didn’t do a lot at the trade deadline, but they made one good move and one great move.
Pittsburgh’s first move was to acquire defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from the Winnipeg Jets for a conditional seventh-round pick. It’s nothing crazy for the Pens, but it adds a left-handed defenseman for further down the road as a depth option.
The big move was the acquisition of forward Rickard Rakell. The 28-year-old comes over from the Anaheim Ducks and brings a style of play that suits the Penguins. Pittsburgh surrendered a pair of roster players in Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon to get Rakell, but those departures are worth it to bring in a player of this caliber.
This deal enables the Penguins to fill a hole at the top of the lineup without losing a key piece of the existing roster. It was a simple yet effective deadline for the Pens.
Washington Capitals: C-
Washington was able to add a couple of forwards to the roster, but that wasn’t the top priority for the Caps.
What the Capitals needed more than anything was an established goaltender. Unfortunately, Washington will have to proceed with the combination of Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov. Vanecek has played well recently, but the Caps now have to rely on that to be maintained for 2-3 months.
I don’t dislike the roster in D.C., but my concerns all season have been that when Alex Ovechkin is not at his absolute best, the support around him is good but not great. I look at the Penguins, a team that is in a very similar position to the Caps in terms of their championship windows, and it seems like one had a significantly stronger trade deadline than the other.
The Capitals will once again be in the postseason, but I don’t believe that the team did enough to earn its first playoff series victory since 2018 in Las Vegas.
With the trade deadline in the books, the race for the postseason is on. Did your team do enough to contend for Lord Stanley’s Cup?