The Week Ahead: Rantanen to Dallas

It was a busy trade deadline Friday as there were 26 trades made, the biggest being Mikko Rantanen heading to Dallas for Logan Stankoven and four draft picks including two first-rounders. There were another seven deals consummated on Thursday, highlighted by Brock Nelson going to Colorado for highly-regarded prospect Calum Ritchie and a first-round pick.

All statistics are through Saturday night, unless otherwise noted.

WEEK OF MARCH 10-16

4 Games – Anaheim, Colorado, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Utah, Vancouver, Vegas

3 Games – Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Washington, Winnipeg

2 Games – Calgary, Dallas

Edmonton, Florida and Vegas play all four games on the road.

Boston, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Seattle and Vancouver play three games at home.

Chicago, Nashville, the New York Rangers, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Washington play three games on the road.

ANAHEIM

Games this week: vs. Washington, @ Utah, vs. Nashville, @ St. Louis

Tired: @ Utah (Wednesday)

Rested: @ St. Louis (Sunday)

Notes: The Ducks play four games this week including three in four nights...Lukas Dostal will definitely play at least twice with John Gibson (if healthy) playing the remainder of the games. Otherwise, Ville Husso will get at least one start...Gibson was not dealt at the deadline as many had rumored that it would happen...The Ducks traded Brian Dumoulin to New Jersey for prospect Herman Traff and a second-round pick in 2025...They also added Oliver Kylington on Friday.

BOSTON

Games this week: vs. Florida, vs. Ottawa, vs. Tampa Bay

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Bruins were definitely sellers this past week as they have resigned themselves to not making the playoffs in 2024-25 for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign...They dealt Brad Marchand to Florida for a conditional second-round pick in 2027 that could become a first the following year...They swapped Brandon Carlo to Toronto for a 2026 first and prospect Fraser Minten...The Bruins sent Charlie Coyle to Colorado, getting Casey Mittelstadt, Will Zellers and a conditional 2025 second-round pick...Boston sent Trent Frederic and Max Jones to Edmonton on Tuesday, receiving a second-round pick in 2025 and a fourth-rounder in 2026...Boston also received Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko from Minnesota for Justin Brazeau.  

BUFFALO

Games this week: vs. Edmonton, @ Detroit, vs. Vegas

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Sabres are last in the Eastern Conference but still managed to alter their roster in a positive way, trading Dylan Cozens and Dennis Gilbert to Ottawa for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker...They also kept Jason Zucker, who was rumored to be on the trade block, and signed him to a two-year contract extension worth $9.5 million...Erik Brannstrom was also added to the roster from the Rangers for Nicolas Aube-Kubel.

CALGARY

Games this week: vs. Vancouver, vs. Colorado

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Vancouver (Wednesday)

Notes: The Flames didn't do anything Friday but made their big trade with the Flyers in late January, picking up Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee...The Flames look to be set in goal with Dustin Wolf. Wolf is 22-12-4 with three shutouts, a 2.52 GAA and a .915 save percentage. Wolf has been a top-10 goaltender this season...I was a bit surprised that Rasmus Andersson wasn't traded as the rumor mill was rife with talk about his being moved elsewhere.

CAROLINA

Games this week: vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Detroit, @ Philadelphia

Tired: @ Philadelphia (Saturday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Hurricanes did a U-turn this week, dealing Mikko Rantanen to Dallas for Logan Stankoven, a first- and third-round pick in 2026, as well as in 2027...It's a huge change in philosophy as they sent their top scorer in Martin Necas, as well as Jack Drury and a second- and fourth-round pick to Colorado for Rantanen...I would have taken my chances with Rantanen and gone into the playoffs with him. I'm surprised they didn't take the two first-round picks and deal them elsewhere Friday for some extra help.

CHICAGO  

Games this week: @ Colorado, @ San Jose, @ Vancouver

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Blackhawks added Shea Weber's contract to their salary cap as they need to hit the cap floor, dealing a 2026 sixth-round pick with Victor Soderstrom and Aku Raty coming with Weber from Utah...Weber last played in the 2020-21 season and will never play again due to his ankle problems...Spencer Knight has looked great since his trade from Florida, going 2-0-0 while allowing only four goals on 81 shots...The Blackhawks also acquired Joe Veleno from Detroit for Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith.

COLORADO

Games this week: vs. Chicago, @ Minnesota, @ Calgary, vs. Dallas

Tired: @ Minnesota (Tuesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Avalanche picked up Charlie Coyle from Boston, giving up Casey Mittelstadt, Will Zellers and a conditional second-round pick in 2025...In a bigger move, the Avs dealt for Brock Nelson from the Islanders but had to give up highly-regarded prospect Calum Ritchie, as well as a conditional first-round pick and a conditional 2028 third-round selection. The two moves really strengthen the team down the middle on the second and third lines, as Nathan MacKinnon is one of the top-two centers in the NHL.

COLUMBUS

Games this week: @ New Jersey, vs. Vegas, vs. New York Rangers

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Blue Jackets picked up a serviceable center in Luke Kunin, giving up only a fourth-round pick in the summer...They also got Yegor Chinakhov back from an upper-body injury after he missed 39 games...Mathieu Olivier inked a six-year contract. Olivier has been a fantasy stud this season as he has 118 PIM, 232 hits, 66 blocked shots. He also contributes offensively with 12 goals and 21 points in 62 outings.

DALLAS

Games this week: @ Winnipeg, @ Colorado  

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Stars made the biggest splash Friday, acquiring Mikko Rantanen from Carolina and then signing him to an eight-year/$96 million contract...The price to get Rantanen from the Hurricanes was also high as Dallas gave up Logan Stankoven, a first- and third-round pick in 2026 as well as a first and a third in 2027...Roope Hintz has been on an absolute tear of late with three goals and 13 assists in his last six games, heading into action Saturday. He will line up with Rantanen and Jason Robertson on the top line.

DETROIT

Games this week: @ Ottawa, vs. Buffalo, @ Carolina, vs. Vegas  

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Vegas (Sunday)

Notes: The Red Wings play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon should share the net though that may change as they traded for former Red Wing Petr Mrazek as well as Craig Smith with Joe Veleno heading to Chicago...Moritz Seider is an all-round defenseman. The 23-year-old has six goals, 31 assists, 126 shots on goal, 172 hits and 141 blocked shots, along with 19 points on the power play.

EDMONTON

Games this week: @ Buffalo, @ New Jersey, @ New York Islanders, @ New York Rangers

Tired: @ New York Islanders (Friday)

Rested: @ New York Rangers (Sunday)

Notes: The Oilers are on the road for all four games. They play three games in four nights, so look for Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard to share the net...Edmonton picked up Jake Walman from the Sharks, giving up Carl Berglund and a conditional first-round pick in 2026...Connor McDavid seems to be quiet of late but he has one goal and seven assists in his last six games heading into action Saturday...Viktor Arvidsson has been a huge disappointment this season as he has only seven goals and 12 assists in 47 contests.

FLORIDA

Games this week: @ Boston, @ Toronto, @ Montreal, @ New York Islanders

Tired: @ New York Islanders (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Panthers play four games this week including three games in four nights...Look for Sergei Bobrovsky to play three games with the newly-acquired Vitek Vanecek playing once...The Panthers shocked the hockey world by dealing for Brad Marchand, giving them a huge boost come playoff time...Matthew Tkachuk is out until at least the start of the playoffs with a groin injury suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

LOS ANGELES

Games this week: vs. New York Islanders, vs. Washington, vs. Nashville

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Nashville (Saturday)

Notes: The Kings play all three games at home this week...The Kings did little at the trade deadline, dealing for Andrei Kuzmenko from Philadelphia and giving up a third-round pick in 2027...Kuzmenko had 39 goals in his rookie 2022-23 campaign, but has only 26 goals over 116 games in his last two years...Brandt Clarke was recalled Saturday after he was sent down Friday to make him eligible for the AHL playoffs.

MINNESOTA

Games this week: vs. Colorado, vs. New York Rangers, vs. St. Louis  

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Colorado (Tuesday)

Notes: The Wild dealt for Justin Brazeau from Boston on Friday, trading Jakub Lauko and Marat Khusnutdinov...The Wild are currently in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, leading Calgary and St. Louis by eight points, so they should make the playoffs...Kirill Kaprizov (lower body surgery) is hoping to return shortly and his presence will help in the playoffs. Kaprizov is a top-five player in the NHL and had 23 goals and 52 points in 37 games before his injury.

MONTREAL

Games this week: @ Vancouver, @ Seattle, vs. Florida

Tired: @ Seattle (Wednesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Canadiens were quiet on Friday and did not make a move. They sit two points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and were not sellers for the first time in a while...Cole Caufield hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career...Nick Suzuki had four goals and nine assists in five games before being held off the scoresheet Thursday in Edmonton. He has 19 goals and 65 points in 63 games this season.

NASHVILLE

Games this week: @ San Jose, @ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles

Tired: @ Los Angeles (Saturday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Predators dealt Luke Schenn and Thomas Novak to Pittsburgh and received Michael Bunting and a fourth-round pick in 2026 in return...There were lots of teams interested in Ryan O'Reilly, but the Predators resisted all offers...Zachary L'Heureux (upper body) is expected to return to action this week after missing 10 games...Steven Stamkos has six points in his last three games after going 13 games (with a minus-15 rating) with nary a point.

NEW JERSEY

Games this week: vs. Columbus, vs. Edmonton, @ Pittsburgh

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Devils have lost Jack Hughes for the remainder of the season and playoffs after he underwent shoulder surgery. He was injured Sunday in Vegas...Dougie Hamilton is out long-term with a lower-body injury...That gives Luke Hughes a huge boost in fantasy value as he will quarterback the first power play...The Devils made a few minor deals Friday, picking up Dennis Cholowski, Daniel Sprong and Cody Glass...Johnny Kovacevic signed a five-year contract extension Friday.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Games this week: @ Los Angeles, vs. Edmonton, vs. Florida

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Edmonton (Friday), vs. Florida (Sunday)

Notes: The Islanders were sellers at the deadline, giving up Brock Nelson and receiving Calum Ritchie and a conditional first-round pick in 2028 in return...The Islanders activated Matt Martin (lower body) and Mike Reilly (chest) from injured reserve and long-term injured reserve respectively...New York managed to hang on to Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was rumored to be on the trade block.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Games this week: @ Winnipeg, @ Minnesota, @ Columbus, vs. Edmonton

Tired: vs. Edmonton (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Rangers play four game this week, including three games in four nights...Igor Shesterkin should get three starts with Jonathan Quick going between the pipes once...The Rangers dealt for Nicolas Aube-Kubel from the Buffalo with Erik Brannstrom going the other way...The Rangers traded Reilly Smith to the Golden Knights and got 2020 first-round pick Brendan Brisson and a third-round pick in return.

OTTAWA 

Games this week: vs. Detroit, @ Philadelphia, @ Boston, @ Toronto

Tired: @ Philadelphia (Tuesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Senators play four games this week including three in four nights...Linus Ullmark should get at least two starts and likely three with Anton Forsberg playing once...The Senators were busy at the deadline, trading Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker and getting Dylan Cozens and Dennis Gilbert in return from Buffalo. They then picked up Fabian Zetterlund from San Jose, giving up Noah Gregor and Zack Ostapchuk as well as a second-round pick in 2025.

PHILADELPHIA

Games this week: vs. Ottawa, vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Carolina

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Ottawa (Tuesday), vs. Carolina (Saturday)

Notes: The Flyers were busy Friday, dealing Scott Laughton to the Maple Leafs for a first-round pick and prospect Nikita Grebenkin...Philadelphia also dealt Andrei Kuzmenko, who they picked up from Calgary in the Morgan Frost/Joel Farabee trade, to the Kings for a third-round pick in 2027...Jamie Drysdale had four goals and 28 assists as a 19-year-old with Anaheim in 2021-22, but he has not come close to that mark ever since. Drysdale has only three goals and 14 points in 52 contests this season, including seven points with the man advantage.

PITTSBURGH

Games this week: vs. Vegas, vs. St. Louis, vs. New Jersey

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Penguins were very busy this past week...They picked up Luke Schenn and Thomas Novak from Nashville for Michael Bunting and a fourth-round pick in 2020 and then swapped Schenn to Winnipeg for a second- and fourth-round pick...Pittsburgh traded Anthony Beauvillier to Washington for a 2025 second-round selection...Sidney Crosby had his four-game point streak end Friday...The Penguins recalled goaltender Tristan Jarry this week.

SAN JOSE

Games this week: vs. Nashville, vs. Chicago, vs. Washington

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Sharks were sellers once again at the deadline...They sent Jake Walman to Edmonton for a conditional first-round pick in 2026, as well as Carl Berglund...Nico Sturm was dealt to Florida for a fourth-round selection and Vitek Vanecek is also on his way to Florida with Patrick Giles on his way to San Jose...The Sharks have plenty of young talent starting with Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund and Yaroslav Askarov and they are going to be tough to play in a couple of seasons.

SEATTLE

Games this week: vs. Montreal, vs. Utah, vs. Winnipeg

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Montreal (Wednesday)

Notes: The Kraken gave up Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to Tampa Bay this weekly, receiving a pair of first-round picks and a second-round pick in 2025...They then traded Brandon Tanev to Winnipeg for a second-rounder...Seattle recalled Philipp Grubauer this week after he spent five weeks in the minors...Vince Dunn has a goal and five points in his last five games.

ST. LOUIS

Games this week: @ Pittsburgh, @ Minnesota, vs. Anaheim

Tired: vs. Anaheim (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Blues play three games in four nights...Jordan Binnington should play twice with Joel Hofer playing once...The Blues refused to trade Brayden Schenn at the deadline and he responded Friday with a pair of goals...The Blues suffered a bad blow this week as Colton Parayko is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

TAMPA BAY

Games this week: @ Carolina, @ Philadelphia, @ Boston  

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Lightning went all-in earlier in the week, trading for former Bolt Yanni Gourde, as well as Oliver Bjorkstrand, giving up Michael Eyssimont and a pair of first-round picks...Gourde had an assist in his first game with the Lightning on Thursday...Jake Guentzel has five goals and an assist in his last three games...Victor Hedman suffered an undisclosed injury Thursday and missed Saturday's game after participating in the pregame skate.

TORONTO

Games this week: @ Utah, vs. Florida, vs. Ottawa

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Maple Leafs were busy Friday, acquiring Scott Laughton from the Flyers with Nikita Grebenkin and a 2027 first-round pick coming back...They gave up Fraser Minten and their first-round pick in 2026 to Boston for Brandon Carlo and then dealt Conor Timmins and Connor Dewar to Pittsburgh for a 2025 fifth-round pick to clear out some salary to get under the cap...Laughton will give the Maple Leafs a much-needed third-line center, while Carlo is a top-four defenseman who will be very important come playoff time.

UTAH

Games this week: vs. Toronto, vs. Anaheim, @ Seattle, @ Vancouver

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Anaheim (Wednesday), @ Vancouver (Sunday)

Notes: Utah made a big move in signing goaltender Karel Vejmelka to a five-year, $23.75 million contract extension...He is 5-1-1 with a 2.03 GAA and a .922 save percentage since Feb. 9...Utah reversed course of previous seasons when they were in Arizona and did not give up at the trade deadline, but didn't add anyone...Barrett Hayton has four goals and seven points in seven games since the NHL returned from its break Feb. 22.

VANCOUVER

Games this week: vs. Montreal, @ Calgary, vs. Chicago, vs. Utah

Tired: @ Calgary (Wednesday), vs. Utah (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Canucks play a pair of back-to-back games so look for Kevin Lankinen and Arturs Silovs/Nikita Tolopilo to share the net...Vancouver did nothing at the trade deadline, making their big move at the end of January when they dealt J.T. Miller to the Rangers with Filip Chytil and Victor Mancini coming back to the Canucks...Elias Pettersson was not dealt and celebrated by scoring his first goal in 16 games Friday in a 3-1 win over Minnesota.

VEGAS

Games this week: @ Pittsburgh, @ Columbus, @ Buffalo, @ Detroit

Tired: @ Detroit (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Golden Knights play all four games on the road, including three games in four nights...Adin Hill will likely play three times with Ilya Samsonov playing once...The Golden Knights welcomed Reilly Smith back into the fold after almost two seasons away, giving up Brendan Brisson, their first-round pick, 29th overall, in 2020...Tomas Hertl has four goals and eight points in his last seven appearances.

WASHINGTON

Games this week: @ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles, @ San Jose

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Capitals are in sunny California for all three games this week...The Capitals tweaked their lineup at the trade deadline, acquiring Anthony Beauvillier from Pittsburgh for a second-round pick...What a season Aliaksei Protas is having. The 24-year-old had two goals and an assist Friday, giving him 25 goals and 29 assists in 63 games. What is amazing is that he has only one assist on the power play while averaging a measly nine seconds of time with the man advantage.

WINNIPEG

Games this week: vs. New York Rangers, vs. Dallas, @ Seattle

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Jets picked up a couple of pieces Friday, getting Brandon Tanev, a tough fourth-line player from Seattle for a second-round pick in 2026 and also adding the tough Luke Schenn from Pittsburgh for a second- and fourth-round pick...Nikolaj Ehlers, who is slated to be a UFA at the end of the season, did not get traded and had a goal and two assists Friday in a 6-1 win over the Devils.