3 winners and 2 losers at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline
These three teams were the winners at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline
Vegas Golden Knights
Of course, the Vegas Golden Knights have to be listed on a winners list when it comes to the trade deadline. They put themselves in this good position almost every year as they do whatever means necessary to try and win.
This year, they added a stud forward and a stud defenseman. First, the forward is Tomas Hertl who they got in a blockbuster with the San Jose Sharks. They sent a first-round pick and a high-end prospect back to the Sharks for Hertl.
The other trade they made was to get Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames. He is a very good defenseman who will join Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore to form one of the best defenses in the league.
The defending Stanley Cup champions are on their way to trying for a repeat with these additions.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the top teams in the Metropolitan Division once again but it seemed like they were missing a top-flight scorer.
They went out and got one of the big-time trade targets in Jake Guentzel of the Pittsburgh Penguins. They have never added a high-end rental before but Guentzel is their guy. He has shown over the years that he can score goals in bunches in both the regular season and playoffs.
They also took a chance on Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov. He has been a high-end playmaker in his NHL career but needs a change of scenery. If he goes there and thrives, they will look so smart.
Both Kuznetsov and Guentzel have won the Stanley Cup in their NHL careers as well. They also went through each other to reach the top of the mountain which is NHL poetry at it's finest. Adding skill and experience like that is amazing for them.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche didn't light the world on fire on the actual deadline day but they dominated trade deadline week. They started by adding Sean Walker from the Philadelphia Flyers who is going to go there and play some solid defense.
They also got rid of Ryan Johansen's bad contract in the process. That freed up some money for them so they could make another big move.
They did just that when they traded Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt. They have another good center now to go with Nathan MacKinnon and Ross Colton. Adding depth down the middle is something they've needed to do since losing Nazem Kadri.
Colorado already had a Stanley Cup contending team in 2023-24 and they just made it much better. This was a great deadline for them.