3 acquisitions at the NHL trade deadline that will exponentially reward their new teams
Now that the NHL trade deadline is out of the way let’s talk about a trio of players who won’t make an immediate impact on their new teams.
The NHL trade deadline for 2024 is history, and what a fun week it was, watching some blockbuster trades and even some moves that had gone relatively unnoticed. Arguably, the biggest move that occurred leading up to deadline day was the Noah Hanifin deal, but one that few have spoken about at the same level was the Tyler Toffoli trade.
It won’t be long until Toffoli skates into Winnipeg and shows everyone that he’s the missing piece for a Jets team that desperately needed one more scorer. Many have also spoken about the Casey Mittelstadt and Sean Walker trades, and rightfully so, given how well they played in their previous stops.
We can also discuss how the more obscure moves were good ones that, while they didn’t generate the same publicity as some of the trades mentioned above, will nonetheless help their respective organizations win hockey games.
Some NHL trade deadline acquisitions will be exponentially rewarding
The Hanifin, Walker, Mittelstadt, and Toffoli trades were all blockbuster-worthy, but will they “exponentially” reward their new teams? They could, but and some probably will, but not as much as the trio of moves listed below.
Each player involved in the following three trades has yet to see their new additions suit up for their respective teams as of Monday, March 11th. However, it doesn’t mean these incoming arrivals won’t go above and beyond to reward their new teams once they take the ice.
One trade in particular will have a lasting effect, thanks to the fact their contract runs until the end of the 2020s. The next trade mentioned is a likely rental. But they will still catapult their new team into the top five in scoring and help them maintain a top-five ranking in goals allowed.
The final acquisition listed won’t see the ice much, but their experience and leadership ability could be the final piece to their new team’s latest potential championship run.
Tomas Hertl was a sneaky good blockbuster at the NHL trade deadline
It will be a while before the Golden Knights get their return on Tomas Hertl, but if there was ever a steal at the 2024 NHL trade deadline, it involved the 30-year-old. Hertl has a cap hit of over $8 million, and he’s locked in until the 2029-30 season, so the Golden Knights landed a forward who will be in Vegas for the rest of the decade, and one who is entrenched in the prime of his career.
Signing Hertl long-term made little sense for the Sharks in hindsight, so trading him to a perennial contender is the best thing general manager Mike Grier could have done. Eventually, this season, the Golden Knights will see Hertl’s presence pay off, as he’s a complete forward who will play top-six minutes when healthy, win faceoffs, steal pucks, finish checks on opponents, and score.
Before he went down with a knee injury this season, Hertl was putting up sensational numbers despite playing for a San Jose Sharks team that has yet to get consistent in the offensive zone this season. In 48 games, however, Hertl still had 34 points and 15 goals. If you adjust that to an 82-game stretch, that’s 58 points on a terrible hockey team.
Jake Guentzel will be worth the short wait
The Carolina Hurricanes knew Jake Guentzel wouldn’t be ready to play immediately after they made one of the deadline’s biggest trades. Unlike Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was able to play right after they acquired him. But Carolina fans can expect Guentzel on the ice sooner rather than later, and when he does, expect a transformation over these next few months when the 29-year-old takes the ice.
Although he is a likely rental in Raleigh, unlike Hertl in Vegas, it doesn’t mean Guentzel won't make an impact for a team that is already trending in the right direction from a scoring standpoint. Just a few days ago, Carolina ranked closer to the middle of the league in scoring at 13th, but after a successful weekend that saw them put up 11 goals and 15 in their last three contests, just wait until they add the former Pittsburgh Penguin.
Carolina has been a great team defensively, so when Guentzel provides that final puzzle piece to the offense - plus better defense than you may think - you have to ask, “Who will beat Carolina?”
Or, at least beat them by multiple goals, because with Guentzel, the Hurricanes may be a better team than the Florida Panthers, the Boston Bruins, and the New York Rangers, at least on paper. Okay, so maybe it’s farfetched to list the Panthers, but not for the reason you may think.
Kyle Okposo adds leadership, physicality to the Panthers
The consensus here would be Vladimir Tarasenko, and he is one of a few players acquired at the trade deadline who has already made a monster impact in Florida. But we can’t forget about one of the other forwards Florida landed, and that is former Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo.
Okposo has been the clear-cut leader for what has been one of the youngest teams in hockey for a few years now. And although Buffalo never reached the playoffs during a rebuild that Okposo helped oversee, the team had exceeded expectations in each year, even during a “step back” in 2023-24, and you can’t help but credit Okposo and his leadership.
Now, insert Okposo onto a championship contender and watch him continue to be vocal on and off the ice. Sure, Florida has had its own leadership all season, and that leadership has once again transformed the Panthers into one of the best teams in hockey. But Okposo is one of those players with enough respect around the league to step right in and play a leadership role.
Okposo remains a physical player, and he will play the fourth line well in Sunrise. He can also still put up double-digit goals, and is just two seasons removed from a 21-goal season, even if defense is his primary game these days. And yep, Okposo will add yet another layer to what has been one of the league’s most outstanding defensive teams this year.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)