6 Trades That Should Have Happened at 2024 NHL Trade Deadline

6 Trades That Should Have Happened at 2024 NHL Trade Deadline0 of 6

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Even though the 2024 NHL trade deadline proved to be deeply fascinating as well as exciting (much thanks to the Vegas Golden Knights for their help), it’s OK if you felt like something was missing.

Maybe your favorite team (Vancouver? Los Angeles?) didn’t get anything of substance done to improve their shot at the Stanley Cup. Maybe there was a player you thought for sure would wind up elsewhere who stayed put. Maybe some teams did too much.

Whatever the case may be, chances are we were having similar thoughts and are left wondering what happens next for those teams and players. Maybe it’ll be nothing, or maybe we’ll see something happen at the NHL draft in Las Vegas.

Regardless, we’re going to kick around some of the deals that didn’t materialize and ask a lot of questions that mostly start with, “Why?” Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve is a theme that often makes the rounds this time of year, and we’re going deep to make sure we ask it all.

Jacob Markström to New Jersey1 of 6

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It seemed like fate that Calgary was going to trade Jacob Markström and that New Jersey was the most likely destination.

Elliotte Friedman mentioned ahead of the deadline that New Jersey made him its biggest target and that if they didn’t work something out now, then they’d reconvene in the offseason. That was before the Devils added Jake Allen and Kaapo Kähkönen at the deadline and sent Vitek Vanecek to the Sharks.

The Devils were desperate for changes in goal and sought to get an upgrade one way or another. Whatever was going on with negotiations with Calgary clearly wasn’t working for New Jersey, and the Devils turned their attention elsewhere.

Instead, the Flames still have Markström, which is awkward because he made it known he wasn’t happy with how the team handled everything. With two more years left on his contract at a $6 million cap hit, Markstrom is pricey but for a short time.

Now the Flames will have to sort through the rest of the season with Markström being unhappy and potentially eager to land somewhere else in the future, especially if the rest of this season doesn’t go well.

Frank Vatrano to the New York Rangers2 of 6

Frank Vatrano when he played for the Rangers in 2022Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images

Indeed, the Anaheim Ducks didn’t have to move their top goal scorer, Frank Vatrano. He’s got another year left on his deal, and he’s basically at a bargain price for a guy with 30 goals and counting.

But the New York Rangers, one of Vatrano’s former teams, were on the hunt for forward help—ideally a player who could contribute goals. A reunion between Vatrano and the Blueshirts made a lot of sense, and the Rangers have the assets to make a deal happen.

Of course, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek likely drives a hard bargain, and his asking price may have been too high for Rangers GM Chris Drury. After all, the Rangers were operating from a relatively comfortable position in that they didn’t have to upset the makeup of their roster to add anyone. If adding Vatrano meant giving up Kaapo Kakko or another young forward from the current roster, it’s understandable why that deal didn’t happen.

Then again, if Vatrano pops off again next season and he’s still with Anaheim by next year’s trade deadline, Verbeek could really be in the driver’s seat to get a great offer.

Vancouver Adding Any Forward3 of 6

Phil Kessel with VegasBruce Bennett/Getty Images

When you look at the teams in the Western Conference and how all of the top contenders made big moves to add by the deadline, it makes Vancouver’s silence stand out in a big way.

The Canucks didn’t make any additions, while Edmonton, Colorado, Dallas and Winnipeg all made various significant moves. Vancouver was in plenty of rumors. It was reportedly in the mix on a three-way deal with Boston and Pittsburgh that involved Jake Guentzel going to Vancouver. That would’ve been juicy and given the Canucks the exact kind of player that would’ve helped out immensely.

Pittsburgh’s Reilly Smith could’ve been a smart addition to the roster as well, but the Penguins had their hands full dealing Guentzel to Carolina instead.

The Canucks were even the team most interested in signing free agent Phil Kessel and even had him working out at their AHL team facility in Abbotsford…only to not sign him at all. They had Connor Garland, who asked for a trade before this season, there dangling for a potential deal all year long, and that hasn’t materialized, either.

What gives, man? The Canucks are extremely good, so seeing them not make a trade doesn’t hurt quite so much, but it creates a moment in time for everyone to look back on if they fall short in the playoffs, particularly if it’s against a Western foe that did make a splash.

Islanders Adding a Scorer4 of 6

Reilly SmithDerek Leung/Getty Images

This season was the fourth straight trade deadline in which the New York Islanders did not make a significant trade. That’s not because GM Lou Lamoriello fears making deals—far from it. But this is another season in which the Isles have found their legs late in the year, have some momentum going, and are opting to run with the guys they’ve got.

The Islanders have been a bit goal-starved, and adding some kind of offensive help up front would’ve ideally given them a boost in their efforts to make the playoffs. Although the Islanders weren’t out there looking for a big fish like Jake Guentzel, they could’ve snagged a playoff-tested and proven scorer like Reilly Smith instead.

The Islanders are in that funky spot where they can’t be giving away first-round picks, and they don’t have the prospect base that helps land key players either, but with the position the Penguins are in and how they’re crashing hard to earth, picking off a player like Smith, who has struggled in Pittsburgh, might not have taken much.

If the Isles fall short of the postseason, there will be plenty of “what if” questions to ask later on.

Anaheim Trading Trevor Zegras 5 of 6

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One of the more curious names that’s consistently come up in trade rumors is young Anaheim Ducks star Trevor Zegras.

For whatever reason—maybe it’s the addition of Leo Carlsson, maybe it’s the emergence of Mason McTavish, maybe it’s something else entirely—Zegras’ name comes up enough that it makes us wonder when, not if, he’ll be traded.

As a young and highly skilled center, there would ideally be no shortage of teams interested in him. There are enough teams lacking center depth or overall skill on their roster (or both) where Zegras would provide an immediate upgrade.

Whether it’s a team like Montréal that could use more help behind Nick Suzuki or Columbus, which could use more help for Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger up the middle, there would be an army of suitors for Zegras.

Then again, the price to acquire Zegras would (and should) be sky-high, and those kinds of deals aren’t generally made at the trade deadline—at least ones not involving Vegas anyway. The Ducks are still very much in the middle of a rebuild, and dealing young players isn’t usually the norm for teams this early along…unless they’re looking for a different kind of young player.

Boston Trading Linus Ullmark6 of 6

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Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark was very nearly traded at the deadline, reportedly to Los Angeles. But Ullmark used his 16-team no-trade clause to block the deal.

The situation proved to be a profoundly emotional one for both Ullmark and his Bruins teammates. He’s beloved in Boston, and considering the Bruins are Stanley Cup contenders, changing the makeup of the locker room like that so suddenly could’ve hurt the team in the middle of the season.

There is no shortage of teams that could use goaltending help, and landing a goalie who won the Vezina Trophy a year ago would mean the Bruins could command any kind of price for him.

Such a move likely would’ve been done to help free up Ullmark’s cap hit of $5 million to make another addition to the lineup, leaving Jeremy Swayman as the No. 1 the rest of the way. But dealing Ullmark could’ve set the team’s culture back in a big way, and if the Bruins win the Cup this summer, we’ll look back on the trade Ullmark vetoed as the one that may have saved the season.

Still, this summer could see Ullmark land somewhere new regardless of how the season ends. The hockey business is a tough one.