Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Is it hyperbolic to say that this shot Stephen Curry hit last night was the most impressive of his career?
In today’s SI:AM:
🏀 Life as transfer portal target
🤦♂️ Another portal mess
📺 Reali speaks on the end of ATH
Plenty of fascinating moves
The NHL trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET Friday, and teams are already wheeling and dealing enough to make your head spin. After a slow start to deadline week, numerous trades were made Thursday and into the early hours of Friday. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest ones.
Colorado Avalanche acquire New York Islanders veteran Brock Nelson
The Avs sent defenseman Oliver Kylington, 20-year-old forward prospect Calum Ritchie, a first-round pick and a conditional third-round pick to New York in exchange for Nelson and 23-year-old AHL forward William Dufour. (The Isles turned around and immediately flipped Kylington to the Anaheim Ducks for future considerations.)
The trade ends Nelson’s 12-year stint with the Islanders, who drafted him in the first round of the 2010 draft out of Warroad High School in Minnesota. Nelson is a pending free agent and had been one of the top centers available on the market after failing to come to terms with the Isles on a contract extension. He has 20 goals and 23 assists in 61 games this season for a mediocre Islanders team.
The Avalanche currently hold the first of the two wild-card spots in the Western Conference, with a comfortable lead over the Calgary Flames. Nathan MacKinnon centers the team’s top line and leads the league in both assists and points, but the Avs could stand to improve their depth at center, which includes players like Casey Mittelstadt and Ross Colton.
Edmonton Oilers bolster their defense
The Oilers sent a conditional first-round pick and AHL forward Carl Berglund to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Jake Walman.
The Oilers have long struggled to construct a defense on par with its elite offense led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Sometimes that’s been because of the goaltending, sometimes it’s been because of the blueliners. This is the sixth straight year that Edmonton has added a defenseman at the trade deadline, having previously acquired Troy Stecher in 2024, Mattias Ekholm in ’23, Brett Kulak in ’22, Dmitry Kulikov in ’21 and Mike Green in ’20.
The Sharks are the worst team in the NHL this season and did well to maximize Walman’s value. San Jose had acquired him along with a second-round pick from the Detroit Red Wings this summer in exchange for “future considerations.” The two teams have yet to agree what those future considerations will be, but it will surely pale in comparison to the first-rounder the Sharks flipped him for.
A pair of New York Rangers deals
The Rangers have had an interesting deadline, deciding to simultaneously add and subtract as they battle for a spot in the postseason. They made two deals on Thursday, sending forward Reilly Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for AHL forward Brendan Brisson and a third-round pick. New York then turned around and sent that same third-rounder to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Carson Soucy.
The Rangers have now made a total of six trades involving NHL players since the start of the season, including a January blockbuster with Vancouver that brought forward J.T. Miller back to New York.
Florida Panthers add some depth
This is a relatively minor trade, but it involves the defending Stanley Cup champions, so it’s probably worth mentioning. Florida added veteran forward Nico Sturm in a trade with the Sharks, sending a fourth-round pick to San Jose in exchange for Sturm and a seventh-rounder.
Sturm, 29, is a low-cost addition for the Panthers. He’s in the final year of a contract that carries a $2 million cap hit. He’s never been much of a goal-scoring threat (just 46 in 316 career games), but he’s a good penalty-killing center and has been excellent on faceoffs this season. He’s won 62.7% of his draws, the best in the league.
Other moves that could come Friday
The biggest name expected to be on the move before Friday afternoon’s deadline is Carolina Hurricanes forward Mikko Rantanen, who was just acquired by the Canes in a January blockbuster with the Avalanche. But talks between Rantanen and Carolina on a potential contract extension have gone nowhere, and so the Canes are said to be shopping him.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported late Thursday night that the Canes “have the framework” of a deal to send Rantanen to the Dallas Stars.
Other notable names rumored to be on the block as the deadline looms include Boston Bruins mainstay Brad Marchand, longtime Philadelphia Flyers center Scott Laughton and St. Louis Blues veteran Brayden Schenn.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | NHL Trade Market Heats Up Ahead of Friday’s Deadline.
