3 unprecedented players moved before the NHL trade deadline who will reward their new team

The NHL trade deadline may be arriving today, but there are quite a few moves made over the past week that should excite fan bases of teams that will contend now that the playoff races are really starting to pick up. 

There have been some blockbuster moves, two of which occurred on Wednesday when the Vegas Golden Knights brought Noah Hanifin to town. Earlier that day, we saw another memorable trade when the Edmonton Oilers made a splash to bring in Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick. 

The trades for Hanifin and Henrique will more than excite Golden Knights and Oilers fans, and they know what they are getting from their new players. However, you can’t say the same with other moves that may have raised a few eyebrows or at least trades that didn’t carry the blockbuster label. 

A few enticing under-the-radar trades occurred before the NHL trade deadline

The flurry of moves started on Tuesday, and they continued through Thursday night on ‘Trade Deadline Eve,’ and they involved moves that will see newcomers join the middle and even lower lines or bottom-pairings. But just because those players won’t receive a ton of ice time at any point during their respective stints in a new city, the last thing we need is to underestimate their value. 

So between Tuesday and Thursday, which three trades could some fans have questioned, or may not have gotten too excited over that they should find incredible value in? None of the names listed in the following slides have been all-stars this season, and you won’t consider any of them to be great players. 

But they will help their new teams win games, and they could even parlay what have been good seasons into memorable ones. Let’s talk about three unprecedented trades that will pay dividends come the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.