The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline was fast and furious, and although a ton of blockbusters happened well ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. deadline, there were no shortage of moves on the final day general managers across the league could make moves. There were still a ton of big fish on trade boards league-wide on March 7, leading to a dizzying flurry of activity over the final hours.
Although only 21 trades actually went down on Friday — compared to 23 in 2024 — a ton of quality players had to pack their bags and get ready for a change of scenery ahead of the National Hockey League stretch run. Mikko Rantanen was the headliner, but Brock Nelson, Scott Laughton, Brandon Carlo, Jake Walman and Dylan Cozens were a few other notable players on the move. Even Brad Marchand, the heart and soul captain of the Boston Bruins, shockingly got the trade call — to a division rival, no less.
The top teams in the Eastern and Western Conference both got better, and we could be in for a dog fight when the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin at the end of April. And as multiple teams continue to battle for wildcard slots in both conferences, every single game is going to be crucial over the next month and a half.
Here are the biggest winners and losers of the NHL Trade Deadline in 2025.
Winner: Dallas Stars
Without a doubt, the Dallas Stars were the big winners of trade deadline szn in 2025. Jim Nill, who is widely considered a top-two GM in the National, didn’t dissuade anyone from that notion after turning this roster into an absolute behemoth ahead of the stretch run. The additions of Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci earlier in the season helped to shore up the depth both offensively and defensively, but Nill saved his Mona Lisa for Friday.
Although the Rantanen blockbuster from the Carolina Hurricanes broke on Thursday night, it took until Friday afternoon to get over the finish line. Not only did he get the Finnish superstar locked up to a long-term deal — Wyatt Johnson also got a five-year contract extension on Friday — it only cost Logan Stankoven and a couple of draft picks. The Stars aren’t going to need those over the next few years as they eye an elusive Stanley Cup with this core.
After back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Final in each of the last two seasons, Dallas is all-in in 2024-25. And just looking at the roster on paper, it’s an absolute powerhouse. Add Tyler Seguin and Miro Heiskanen back to the equation for Round 1, Game 1, and you have your Stanley Cup favorite. It’s hard to win in the NHL, but Nill and the front office have done everything they can to put the Stars in the best position to succeed as they look to break a championship drought that dates back to 1999.
Loser: Carolina Hurricanes
Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky said on Friday that the Rantanen debacle was a gamble, but why trade away Martin Necas and Jack Drury if you aren’t 100 percent confident you can sign him to a long-term deal? Now, as Carolina tries again to win a first Stanley Cup since 2006, they won’t have the services of any of those players.
Undoubtedly, the Canes got worse, and although they have some extra draft capital for the future, what does that matter for a team that is in its win-now window, now? This just seems like a move that former GM Don Waddell would not make, and Carolina is not in a great spot ahead of the stretch run.
Yes, this is still a contender, and yes, the Hurricanes still have the pieces to win the Stanley Cup. But Necas was in the midst of a breakout year, and he will be sorely missed come playoff time. It’s hard to argue that this club isn’t the big loser of NHL Trade Deadline season, and if they’re unable to get to at least the Eastern Conference Final, this entire situation will be a complete disaster in Raleigh.
Winner: Florida Panthers
After advancing to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in each of the last two campaigns — and winning the franchise’s inaugural championship last season — the Panthers are once again the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. GM Bill Zito, who has just done a terrific job with this roster, made a couple of savvy moves both before the deadline and on Friday.
Of course, the stunning move was acquiring Bruins captain Brad Marchand, who Florida knocked out of the postseason each of the last two years. Imagine a line of Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett in the playoffs?! That is just ridiculous. Zito also went out and added Seth Jones, who is desperate to win after playing on an awful Chicago Blackhawks team over the last few years.
On paper, the Cats are a wagon again, with star power at all three positions. Although the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs also both got better — more on that shortly — this is going to be as tough an out as any team come postseason time. You know Paul Maurice and his group would love to win the division and avoid one of the Bolts or Leafs in Round 1, but as they’ve proven, they can beat anyone.
Loser: Buffalo Sabres
It’s been an abysmal decade-and-a-half for the Sabres, and none of the moves that GM Kevyn Adams made on deadline day will give much hope for the future. As a 14th straight spring without a playoff appearance looms, they made a few moves that just don’t really move the needle at all.
Swapping Dylan Cozens — who was once considered a key piece of the core — for Josh Norris is a wash, at best, and at worst it’s selling low on a player who still has a high ceiling. The fact Buffalo also sent a second-rounder to the Ottawa Senators is just a head scratcher. Why not try to move on from one of Alex Tuch, Jason Zucker or Bowen Byram and try to recoup draft capital for the future? Why sign a veteran in Zucker to a two-year deal if you still aren’t close to being a playoff contender?
We just have no idea where this franchise is going, and currently owning the longest postseason drought in professional North American sports, it continues to be a nightmare to be a fan of this Western New York franchise.
Winner: Colorado Avalanche
Although the Stars are the team to beat in the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche are an absolute beast as well. Chris MacFarland and Joe Sakic did some phenomenal work on and ahead of the deadline to give the Avs the best possible chance if (and probably when) they meet an old friend in Rantanen and the Stars in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It’s hard to believe the front office was unable to sign the Finn, but Necas has been spectacular in Denver, and now proven goal scorer Brock Nelson has been added to the equation. Losing a true top prospect in Callum Ritchie was tough but necessary as this group looks for a second championship in four seasons.
The center depth of Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle (who Colorado swapped for Casey Mittelstadt on deadline day) and Jack Drury is formidable, and bringing in Ryan Lindgren from the New York Rangers was a great way to shore up a blue line that needed another piece or two after the steadily incredible pair of Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
We can’t forget that Mackenzie Blackwood was already brought to Colorado and he’s been excellent between the pipes. This roster checks every box, and a playoff series against Dallas would be an absolutely salivating prospect for hockey fans. After losing to the Stars each of the last two times they’ve met in the postseason, and considering Rantanen is now in Texas long-term, this could emerge into one of the league’s great rivalries over the next decade.
Loser: Vancouver Canucks
After a magical campaign in British Columbia in 2023-24, this season has been anything but for the Vancouver Canucks. A rift between Elias Pettersson and JT Miller led to the best forward on the roster being traded, and watching the American have success in the Big Apple has got to leave a bad taste in the mouth of Canucks fans.
Things will get even worse if Brock Boeser walks for nothing in free agency this summer. This is a player that really should have been traded, and GM Patrik Allvin will be scrutinized — and for good reason — if he can’t lock up the Minnesota native in the offseason. The team’s best player in Quinn Hughes is hurt, Pettersson continues to play some of the worst hockey of his career, and former Vezina Trophy finalist Thatcher Demko remains week-to-week.
But despite it all, Vancouver remains in the top wildcard spot in the Western Conference. If they can sneak in — or even leapfrog one of the Los Angeles Kings or Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division — they can still make some noise in the playoffs. But the Canucks are certainly worse off now than they were ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, and the next couple of weeks are going to be telling indeed.
Winner: Tampa Bay Lightning
There hasn’t been an Eastern Conference winner not from the State of Florida since the Bruins lost to the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final back in 2019. The Lightning and Panthers have just dominated in the playoffs, but that hasn’t been the case for Tampa over the last few years.
After advancing to back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals between 2020-22 — and winning two of them — the Bolts haven’t been past the first-round since. But Andrei Vasilevskiy is back to superstar form, Nikita Kucherov is still one of the best players in the league, and GM Julien BriseBois went all in again in 2024-25.
Bringing back two-time champion Yanni Gourde was a savvy move, and adding Oliver Bjorkstrand as well helps to form one of the league’s best top-six forward units going into the playoffs. Victor Hedman’s health is a huge question mark after the NHL Trade Deadline, but Darren Raddysh’s emergence has been one of the best stories for this team.
Whether or not the Lightning are as good as the Panthers on paper won’t matter once the playoffs start. They’d love to win the Atlantic Division and avoid Florida or Toronto, but in a seven-game series, they could beat either of those teams.
Loser: Detroit Red Wings
What could Steve Yzerman possibly be thinking? After losing Andrew Copp for the season — and having the opportunity to weaponize his cap hit of just over $5 million — he basically did nothing at the NHL Trade Deadline. The Red Wings are desperate to break a long postseason drought, but someone needs to tell Yzerman that.
Not only did Detroit get left in the dust by Florida, Tampa and Toronto, but even the Senators — who they are battling for a wildcard spot with — got better, adding Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund. And to make things even worse, the Wings have now lost five games in a row and completely fallen out of a playoff spot, despite racking off two stretches of seven consecutive wins this season.
The deadline was a total whiff for Detroit’s front office, and it’s not hyperbole to call it a complete disaster. The second longest playoff drought in the NHL is likely to stretch from eight to nine years, and fans of this franchise should be furious that the front office didn’t do anything to try to rectify that.
Winner: Toronto Maple Leafs
Whether you love or hate the Maple Leafs, it’s hard not to feel at least a little bad for them. Every year, they seem to be playing a powerhouse in the postseason, whether that’s the Bruins, the Lightning or the Panthers. This year, it won’t be Boston, but it very well could be a Tampa Bay or Florida roster that got significantly better ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.
But to GM Brad Treliving’s credit, he didn’t sit back and watch. The addition of Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers will be huge come playoff time, and although he overpaid for Brandon Carlo — how did Carlo recoup a first-rounder but Marchand didn’t? — the hard-nosed defenseman should fit well on Toronto’s blue line.
With Mitch Marner and John Tavares at the end of their respective contracts, this truly could be the Last Dance for the Leafs’ core. And it’s going to be damn difficult to get out of the first two rounds. But this is one of the league’s best teams at 38-21-3, and it just got even better thanks to some savvy work by the front office.
Final thoughts on 2025 NHL Trade Deadline
There may not have been the quantity at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, but the quality was certainly there. This was, without a doubt, one of the more entertaining trade deadline stretches, and not just because a player of Rantanen’s caliber was traded twice in a six-week stretch.
With just about 20 games to go for each team before the postseason, it’s going to be a frantic race to the finish. The Stanley Cup Playoffs promise to be absolutely electric in 2023, and stop me if you’ve heard this before, but it’s a great time to be a hockey fan. It’s time to buckle up for the fireworks over the next three months.
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