Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The NHL’s trade deadline is approximately five weeks away, but some teams are getting a head start on making big moves, with the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks, the Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks, and the Canucks and New York Rangers all pulling off major trades this week.
To be sure, there are lessons to be learned from the trades we’re seeing. Here are three big things we’ve learned from the recent deals:
1. Many teams don’t want to wait until deadline day and get into a crazy bidding war that could push up the asking price for players
Hockey fans and the media love trade deadline day, but many NHL GMs don’t like waiting until the deadline and being caught up in a mania that ratchets up the price for players they’re interested in. Instead, they get in on the action early and pay a price that’s better than if they’d waited a few more weeks to make their moves.
Canucks GM Jim Rutherford, for example, has almost always liked to strike ahead of the deadline, and with the Marcus Pettersson and J.T. Miller trades, Rutherford has made big moves early again. This isn’t to say teams like the Stars, Canucks, Flyers, Flames, Rangers, Penguins and Sharks still won’t make more deals, but by getting ahead of the pack, they’re getting players and draft picks at a more reasonable price.
Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has acquired forward Filip Chytil, defenceman Victor Mancini, and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft from the New York Rangers in exchange for forward J.T. Miller, defenceman… pic.twitter.com/dxAqqKkJEZ
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 1, 2025
To wit: Stars GM Jim Nill has always been sneaky-good by making his moves before deadline day. With Saturday’s trade with the Sharks, Nill landed an asset in Mikael Granlund who was coveted by many teams – and while he paid a high price for him, that price would’ve been higher had he waited until deadline day. That’s why Nill is the back-to-back GM of the year. Being proactive is better than being reactive, and that’s reflected in the pre-deadline maneuvers of many teams.
2. First-round picks are more valuable than ever
We’re seeing this same trend in the NBA, as NHL teams are now asking a lot for their first-round draft picks. The Stars just spent theirs on Granlund, the Canucks spent their first-rounder on Marcus…