The biggest winners and losers of the 2017 NHL trade deadline

We ended the 2017 NHL trade deadline one trade below last year’s meager number of 19. It was another slow year during the final day itself, only ticking up during the final hour, and a little while after the last bell. Basically, it went as slow as everyone thought it would, even in a year facing an expansion draft.

Even so, the deadline as a whole had some pretty big moves and some surprising teams making — or not making — deals. We narrowed the last few months down to a handful of teams that stood out, for good or for bad reasons. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Yes, you read that right. That Jim Benning, the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks. The same general manager who has botched many a trade over the last few seasons, and has left the Canucks with a very slim talent pool in his wake.

Vancouver made just two trades this deadline, and its victory comes in recognizing its position as a seller at the deadline. Benning flipped 35-year-old Alex Burrows and 30-year-old Jannik Hansen for two really good prospects under the age of 22 and a conditional fourth round pick.

The trades were smart moves, and they pinpointed two teams in desperate need of veteran assistance at the deadline in the Senators and the Sharks. It was the sort of deadline savvy that Benning hasn’t been known for. Seriously, look at this quote and tell me this is the same Jim Benning who signed 31-year-old Loui Eriksson to a six-year, $36 million deal just this past July.

That, my friends, is character development!

Ah, the wizard was at it again. Steve Yzerman, even when backed into a corner with a struggling team, was able to find some way around one of his biggest problems at the deadline: the upcoming expansion draft. Maybe the rogue is a more fitting class for Yzerman now that he’s once again stretched his general manager muscles and evaded trouble.

But, enough of the Dungeons and Dragons references. The Lightning were clear sellers this deadline, dealing young defenseman Nikita Nesterov last month and Ben Bishop to the Kings in a stunning move. It didn’t end there, when Tampa Bay had no qualms with jettisoning veteran Brian Boyle and Valtteri Filppula without breaking a sweat.

Yzerman’s biggest move, however, came in the Filppula trade that brought Mark Streit briefly into the fold before he packaged him to the Penguins for a fourth round pick in 2018. Suddenly, the Lightning’s cap space has room to breathe and they’ve avoided having to protect Filppula’s no-move clause in the expansion draft at the behest of one of their younger, more talented forwards. Pure magic.

Specifically the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, because of course.

It’s clear the Penguins have no desire to give up their Stanley Cup crown. They shored up their defense with moves to acquire a mix of veteran and young talent in Ron Hainsey, Mark Streit, and Frank Corrado. General manager Jim Rutherford kept Marc-Andre Fleury like he planned on doing and Pittsburgh improved without sacrificing anything major.

On the flip side, the Capitals landed the biggest trade deadline piece in Kevin Shattenkirk, who makes their power play somehow even more deadly. In doing so, they gave up less than some teams gave up for worse players, and basically made it clear that they believe this is their year. The Capitals owed it to themselves to swing for the fences and go all-in, and the playoffs are about to be way better for it.

Go back up and look at Benning’s quote. Now, come back down and look at this quote from Montreal’s general manager, Marc Bergevin.

That’s Bergevin on Steve Ott, one of the Canadiens’ deadline acquisitions that adds bulk, backbone, and not much else to Montreal’s roster. Bergevin basically hits the old school hockey trifecta with “grit,” “sandpaper,” and everyone’s favorite word: “intangibles.”

The deadline was actually a mixed bag for the Canadiens. They flipped a younger, still-developing defenseman in Greg Pateryn for Jordie Benn. They forced the Oilers’ hand and got the better of their two defensemen on the market in Brandon Davidson.

However, the Canadiens gave up a sixth round pick for Ott, who has six points on the year. They also added size in Dwight King and Andreas Martinsen, who between them have just 22 points this season. Where the Canadiens needed to add depth scoring, they only added fourth-line bruisers who won’t impact their Stanley Cup chances. Quite the disappointing haul.

The Rangers were Shattenkirk’s other suitor, and he was heavily rumored to New York for months thanks to the hometown connection. Instead, the Rangers were unable to woo Shattenkirk to their side and had to settle for Brendan Smith.

Our friends at Blueshirt Banter argued that it’s wise that the Rangers didn’t make a panic move for an unrestricted free agent, but it’s still quite the disappointment to come up almost empty-handed when the Capitals and Penguins got marginally better.

As for the Islanders, their radio silence at the trade deadline is mystifying. They apparently had bidders for Jaroslav Halak, former starter turned AHL goaltender, but those fell through because of salary. Other than that, Garth Snow made no move to assist the Islanders, who are ONE POINT out of a Wild Card spot. New York has been playing much better after the firing of Jack Capuano, but there’s clear weaknesses on the team that could have been filled at the deadline.

The only other team not to make a move at the deadline? The Sabres, who had a lot of attractive pieces to offer but didn’t make a peep by 3 p.m. on the East Coast.

Cody Franson and Dmitry Kulikov stayed put, though there were rumors the Bruins were interested in the latter but were deterred by his injury history. Their other two remaining unrestricted free agents in goaltender Anders Nilsson and forward Brian Gionta were unmoved. Even Evander Kane survived the deadline, though that might not be a bad thing in the long run.

Getting nothing for four players likely to exit the team come July is disappointing for sure. Add on their middling season that will keep them out of the playoffs for a sixth straight year, and you’ve got a whole lot of bupkis.