For many NHL teams, Septembers rosters will be pretty well set through the season, barring a major injury the teams that roll into the new season in high gear, rarely make major changes through the year, with only a trade deadline acquisition to perhaps shore up a weak spot or bring in depth for the playoff battle ahead.
Others however, quickly learn that the planning of July and August and September's training camps haven't really solved a lot of their problems and that the only way to get back on track is to bring new faces and ship out those that aren't fitting into where the team hopes to be going by the time the Spring rolls around.
It's at those points that the General Managers of each of the NHL's member clubs start to earn their pay, making decisions on which players need a fresh start, or which perhaps have seen their best days slip by, or when it's time to just shake things up and snap a team out of its lethargy.
Below we will track the deals of 2014-15, providing some background for the names that suddenly find that movers and change of address notifications are part of the NHL experience.
It all of course leads up to the Spring time madness known as the Trade Deadline, a day where hockey fans perhaps suddenly come down with a bad cold or some other suitable malady that will require at least a day at home, perhaps even in front of the television.
The preamble to the Spring trading deadline starts with the first puck drop of game one, the listings of the relocated can be found below:
Trading Period
commenced October 7th,
2015.
Trade Deadline Monday, February 29, 2016.
Trades updated as to February 29, 2016
February 29 -- Arizona -- Pittsburgh -- A three for one deal sees
Dustin Jeffrey, Dan O'Donoghue and James Melindy off to Pittsburgh, with the Coyotes receiving
Matia Marantuoni in return
February 29 -- Minnesota -- Calgary -- Goaltender
Niklas Backstrom is Alberta bound along with a
6th round draft pick in the 2016 draft, with Minnesota receiving
David Jones in return
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Anaheim -- Edmonton -- The Ducks keep busy sending
Patrick Maroon to the Edmonton Oilers receive Defenceman
Martin Gernat and a
4th round pick in 2016 as part of the deal
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Anaheim -- Chicago -- The Ducks give up
Tim Jackman and a
7th round pick in the 2017 draft to Chicago in exchange for
Corey Tropp.
February 29 -- Arizona -- Nashville --
Corey Potter heads for Nashville after the Coyote and Predators finish off a deal, the Coyotes received
future considerations for their side of the arrangement.
February 29 -- Minnesota -- Los Angeles -- The Kings hold a family reunion with
Brett Sutter shifting over from the Minnesota Wild with defenceman
Scott Sabourin heading to the Wild, Sutter is the son of Kings head coach Daryl Sutter.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- New York Islanders -- Colorado -- The Islanders pick up
Marc Andre-Cliche from the Avalanche in exchange for
Taylor Beck
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Boston / Carolina -- The Bruins picked up defenceman John Michael-Liles from the Hurricanes, with Anthony Camara heading for Carolina, along with a third round pick in the 2016 Draft and a 5th Round pick in the 2017 Draft.
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Ottawa / New York Islanders -- The Senators pick up a third round pick in the 2016 draft after they send Shane Prince and a 7th Round pick in the 2016 draft to the New York Islanders.
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Minnesota / Ottawa -- The Wild and Senators make an exchange, with Conor Allen heading to Minnesota and Michael Keranen making his way to Ottawa.
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Montreal / New Jersey Devils -- Devante Smith-Pelly packs his suitcase once again, this time on his way to New Jersey in exchange the Habs picked up Stefan Matteau.
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Boston / New Jersey Devils -- The Bruins add to their depth at forward taking Lee Stempniak from New Jersey with a second round pick in the 2017 draft and a 4th round pick in the 2016 draft going to the Devils.
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Anaheim / Buffalo -- Jamie McGinn is on his way to Southern California, as the Ducks swing a deal with the Sabres, surrendering a conditional 3rd Round pick in the draft.
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Florida / Anaheim -- The Ducks acquire
Brandon Pirri from the Florida Panthers, sending
a 6th Round draft pick to the Panthers.
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Dallas / Calgary -- The Stars shore up the blue line with a trade that brings
Kris Russell in from Calgary, Calgary receives
Jyrki Jokipakka, Junior player
Brett Pollock and a
conditional 2nd round pick.
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Colorado / New Jersey -- The Avalanche add some more parts to their playoff plan picking up
Eric Gelinas from the New Jersey Devils, with
a third round pick heading to the Devils
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Chicago / Carolina -- A minor league swap finds the Hawks acquiring goaltender Drew Macintyre from the Hurricanes system in exchange for defenceman Denis Robertson.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Arizona / Colorado -- The Colorado Avalanche pick up some speed for the forward lines with
Mikkel Boedeker heading to the Avs in exchange for
Alex Tanguay, as well as prospects
Connor Bleackley and
Kyle Wood.
(NHL Trade Alert)
February 29 -- Arizona / Pittsburgh -- Sergei Plotnikov is Arizona bound as the Coyotes make a deal with the Penguins, receiving
Matthias Plachta in return, as well as a conditional 7th round pick for 2017's NHL Draft.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 28 -- Washington / Toronto -- More departures from the Air Canada Centre as the Leafs move
Daniel Winnik, sending the forward to the Washington Capitals, who will
also receive a fifth round pick in the 2016 draft as part of the deal, heading to Toronto is forward
Brooks Laich, defenceman
Connor Carrick and a
second round pick in the 2016 Draft.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 28 -- Carolina / Los Angeles -- The Los Angeles Kings added some more depth on their forward lines on Sunday, picking up
Kris Versteeg from Carolina, sending AHLer
Valentin Zykov and a
conditional fifty round pick to the Hurricanes in exchange.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 28 -- New York Rangers / Washington -- The Rangers kept the lines open on Sunday and early into the evening had a second deal on the day done and complete, sending
Ryan Borque to the Washington Capitals in exchange for
Chris Brown.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 28 -- Carolina / New York Rangers -- It's a Staal family reunion in the Big Apple on Sunday as the Rangers acquire
Eric Staal from the Carolina Hurricanes, sending forward
Aleksi Saarela and
second round picks in the 2016 and 2017 NHL drafts to Carolina.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 27 -- Buffalo / Ottawa -- AHL rosters for two clubs got a makeover on Saturday as the Buffalo Sabres acquired
Alex Guptill, Eric O'Dell, Cole Schneider and Michal Sdao from the Ottawa Senators, with
Jason Akeson, Phil Varone and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc joining the Ottawa system,
the Senators also picked up a conditional 7th round pick in the 2016 draft.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 27 -- Florida / Edmonton -- Two of the more active traders on Saturday were back on the phones with Dale Tallon picking up Forward
Teddy Purcell for the Panthers,
sending the teams 3rd round pick in the 2016 draft to the Oilers.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 27 -- Pittsburgh / Edmonton -- The Edmonton Oilers continued collecting draft picks for the upcoming NHL draft, sending
Justin Schultz to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday,
receiving the Penguins third round pick in this years draft.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 27 -- Detroit / Florida -- Florida General Mangaer Dale Tallon continued to work the phones Saturday, adding defenceman
Jakub Kindl to the Panthers roster, sending
a sxith round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft to the Red Wings as the Florida end of the deal.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 27 -- Florida / Calgary -- The Florida Panthers are going all in for the 2016 playoff race, securing another piece for the playoff run roster on Saturday, the Panthers acquired
Jiri Hudler from the Flames, with Calgary receiving
a second round pick for the 2016 draft and a fourth round pick in the 2018 draft.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 27 -- Toronto / San Jose -- Lou Lamiorello and Doug Wilson kept each others numbers handy, working another deal on Saturday which finds goaltender
James Reimer heading to California along with forward
Jeremy Morin. In return, the Leafs receive goaltender Alex Stalock, forward Ben Smith and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2018 NHL draft as part of the deal.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 27 -- St. Louis / Edmonton -- A swap from the crease started off a busy Saturday of trading activity in the NHL as the Blues added to their goaltending roster picking up
Anders Nilsson from the Edmonton Oilers, sending
Niklas Lindstrom north along with
a fifth round pick in the 2016 NHL draft.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 26 -- Montreal / Chicago -- Stan Bowman has clearly developed an itchy finger for his celphone, making yet another deal, the second of the day for Friday sending
Philip Danault and a
second round draft pick in the 2018 draft to the Montreal Canadiens. In return the Hawks claimed
Tomas Fleischmann and
Dale Weiss from the Habs. Key to the deal for Montreal was the opportunity to get Danault, with Habs GM Marc Bergevin familiar with his work from his time in Chicago.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 26 -- Los Angeles / Chicago -- The Blackhawks continued to make news with the trade deadline day fast approaching, swinging another deal that brings
Christian Ehrhoff to the Windy City, with
Rob Scuderi to make the move to LA, both players have been toiling in the AHL since January, the trade perhaps a chance to rejuvenate their seasons.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 25 -- Winnipeg / Chicago -- A major move by the Winnipeg Jets who seemingly reading some tea leaves decided that it was best to move Captain
Andrew Ladd before he became an unrestricted free agent, sending him back to the Blackhawks a team that is clearly loading up for another Cup run. Joining Ladd at the Winnipeg airport for a flight to Chicago are
Matt Fraser and Jay Harrison, with the Jets receiving prospect
Marko Dano,
a first round pick in the 2016 Draft and a conditional pick in the 2018 NHL Draft which will hinge on how the Blackhawks do in the 2016 playoffs.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 24 -- Vancouver / Edmonton -- The Vancouver Canucks will be looking to do a little wooing in the off season, having picked up the
rights to Philip Larsen in a mid week trade with the Edmonton Oilers, Larsen is currently playing in the Kontinental Hockey League, in exchange for his rights,
the Oilers receive a fifth round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 23 -- Washington / Buffalo -- The Capitals shore up their defensive unit as they make their push for the playoffs, bringing in
Mike Weber from the Buffalo Sabres, with Buffalo claiming a
third round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft as part of the deal.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 22 -- Calgary / Vancouver -- Two of the lower tiered squads in the NHL's Western Conference swapped potential on Monday, with the Flames sending Markus Granlund to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Hunter Shinkaruk
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 22 -- Toronto / San Jose -- The Leafs continued to remake their lineup with GM Lou Lamoriello continuing to build on the plan for the future, while dispatching the roster of today. Monday's dealing saw
Roman Polak and
Nick Spaling head west, as the Leafs picked up more draft picks for the future a
second round selection in 2017 and 2018 drafts. In a bit of an eye brow raising move, the Leafs also acquired forward
Raffi Torres, though it appeared doubtful that he would be joining the Leafs, with the team noting that Torres who was suspended for much of the 2015-16 season will remain with the Sharks farm club as a condition of the trade
(
NHL Alert)
February 21 -- Toronto / Colorado -- The Maple Leafs continue to shed some contract and assemble picks for the 2016 draft with a deal with the Colorado Avalanche, sending
Shawn Matthias to the Rocky Mountain state in return for
Colin Smith and a
fourth round pick in this years draft.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
February 9 -- Ottawa / Toronto -- A major swap of players between two of the NHL's top rivals, as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators swung a nine player deal, with a draft pick tossed into the mix as well. Heading to the Nation's capital will be
Dion Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert and
Cody Donaghey, the latter four it is expected will be dispatched to Binghampton. Making the drive southwest to Toronto will be
Milan Michalek, Jared Cowen, Colin Greening and prospect Tobias Lindberg. Toronto also receives a
second round draft pick in the 2017 draft.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
January 21 --
Anaheim / Chicago -- The Blackhawks added some depth to the forward lines acquiring
Jiri Sekac from the Anaheim Ducks, sending forward
Ryan Garbut to California in exchange.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
January 16 --
Anaheim / Pittsburgh -- The Ducks picked up two players from the Penguins with Forward
David Perron and Defenceman
Adam Glendenning joining Anaheim, while Forward
Carl Hegelin heads off to Pittsburgh.
(
NHL Trade Alert)
January 15 -- Montreal / Arizona -- The Montreal Canadiens have picked up a bit of toughness in what eventually became a three team deal on Friday, with Habs picking up John Scott and defence man Victory Bartley from the Arizona Coyotes, while Jarred Tinordi and minor leaguer Stefan Fournier head for the Southwest. Arizona followed that deal with one with Nashville , the details on that deal can be found below
( NHL Trade Alert )
January 15 -- Arizona / Nashville -- Victor Barley was a much travelled man on Friday, first in a deal that saw him shifted to the Arizona Coyotes, then off to Montreal to join the Canadiens organization, Barley came through the process with Arizona making the deals and holding onto defenceman Stefan Elliot
( NHL Alert )
January 14 -- Ottawa / Nashville -- The Senators and Predators traded defencmen on Thursday, with Patrick Mullen heading to Music City in exchange for Connor Allen
( NHL Trade Alert )
January 8 -- Vancouver / New York Rangers -- The Canucks and Rangers exchanged forwards on Friday with
Emerson Etom heading to Vancouver in exchange for
Nicklas Jensen and
a 2017 sixth round pick. It's a reunion trade for Etem who played for Canucks head coach Willie Desjardian during his junior days in Medicine Hat.
( NHL Trade Alert )
January 7 -- Montreal / Anaheim -- The arrival of Ben Scrivens a few few weeks back has pushed a few dominoes down the Canadiens flow chart, with
Dustin Tokarski trading in a St. John's Newfoundland winter for some time in the shadow of Disneyland. Tokarski was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, with forward
Max Friberg heading east to join St. John's.
(
NHL Trade Alert )
January 6 -- Nashville / Columbus -- The Nashville Predators added some offence, but at the cost of a high profile defensive player, as the Preds picked up
Ryan Johansen on Wednesday evening, with
Seth Jones heading north to Ohio. It was a trade that sent twitter into the kind of frenzy usually seen on Trade deadline day, with fans and hockey observers making the comparisons as to who in the end may end up with the best of the high profile deal. And while its a trade that benefits both teams, a quick scan of the standings would seem to indicate that the Predators, for the short term, would seem to be poised to benefit the most from Wednesday's player swap.
(
NHL Trade Alert )
January 6 --
Los Angeles / Philadelphia -- A mini blockbuster trade day for the NHL started Wednesday with the Los Angeles Kings acquiring
Vincent Lecavelier and defenceman
Luke Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers, receiving
Jordan Weal and a
third round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft in exchange.
(
NHL Trade Alert )
January 3 --
Toronto / Chicago -- The two original six squads swapped a couple of minor league players on Sunday with the Hawks sending
Jeremy Morin to the Maple Leafs organization, while Toronto moved
Richard Panik, who is now destined for Rockford, the trade a new start for both players in their new locations
(
NHL Trade Alert)
December 28 --
Montreal / Edmonton -- Montreal solved two issues of note with a late 2015 trade, as they sent forward
Zack Kassian to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for goaltender
Ben Scrivens, an acquisition that will provide some insurance for the Habs as they await the return of Carey Price. As for Kassian, he never suited up in a regular season game for the Montreal Canadiens following an off ice auto accident and for many his days in rouge, blanc and bleu were numbered from that day on. Reinstated as part of the NHL/NHLPA substance abuse program he was put on waivers by Montreal and then traded to Edmonton. He will report to Bakersfield where it will be up to him to make the most of what could be his return to the NHL
(
NHL Trade Alert )
December 15 --
Montreal / Arizona -- The Habs and Coyotes exchange two players with
Lucas Lessio bound for Montreal, while
Christian Thomas heads to Phoenix
(
NHL Trade Alert )
December 14 --
Pittsburgh / Chicago -- The Penguins and Hawks exchange a pair of defensemen with the Penguins acquiring
Trevor Daley from the Hawks in exchange for
Rob Scuderi, as part of the deal the Pens will be responsible for 33 per cent of Scuderi's salary.
(
NHL Trade Alert )
November 12 -- Calgary / Tampa Bay -- The Calgary Flames acquired Goaltender
Kevin Poulin in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The debut trade of the 2015-16 regular season will send
future considerations to the Lightning, while Poulin will report to the Flames farm club in Bakersfield, California
(
NHL Trade Alert)
Transactions Counter: 53 Trades to date
Anaheim Ducks -- 7
Arizona Coyotes -- 7
Boston Bruins -- 2
Buffalo Sabres -- 3
Calgary Flames -- 5
Carolina Hurricanes -- 4
Colorado Avalanche -- 3
Columbus Blue Jackets-- 1
Chicago Blackhawks -- 8
Dallas Stars -- 1
Detroit Red Wings -- 1
Edmonton Oilers -- 6
Florida Panthers --
4
Los Angeles Kings -- 4
Minnesota Wild -- 3
Montreal Canadiens-- 7
Nashville Predators -- 4
New Jersey Devils -- 3
New York Islanders-- 2
New York Rangers --
3
Ottawa Senators -- 5
Philadelphia Flyers -- 1
Pittsburgh Penguins -- 5
San Jose Sharks-- 2
St. Louis Blues -- 1
Tampa Bay Lightning -- 1
Toronto Maple Leafs -- 5
Vancouver Canucks -- 3
Washington Capitals-- 4
Winnipeg Jets --
1
The link to these Trading Post dispatches can be found in our right hand column in the GM's Office section.
NHL Trade Tracker
can be viewed here
