The NHL trade deadline can be an exciting time for NHL fans as their team looks to better themselves via trading for a player to increase their chances of making it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals or maybe they’re looking to offload some deadwood for next season.
Although there are at least ten players that come to mind, we have managed to narrow it down to our top five NHL trades of all time at the deadline. Some of these trades had an instant impact while others were such a big trade at the time that it’s still hard to believe that it actually happened.
And don’t forget to check out our top NHL betting sites if you’re planning on betting on the NHL this year.
Marian Hossa to Pittsburgh Penguins (2008)
The Pittsburgh Penguins pulled off a monster trade in 2008 when they acquired the services of Marian Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers (who later ended up becoming the Winnipeg Jets). Hossa had put up 56 points in 60 games for the Thrashers that season.
Hossa only played 13 shifts for the Penguins in his debut game before he suffered an injury that left him out for a few weeks.
When Hossa came back he was slow to start with his scoring, although it seemed he had gelled well into the team, he had only had ten points in twelve games, but fortunately, he stepped up during the playoffs that season.
Hossa scored 26 playoff points in 20 games, although it was unfortunate the Penguins were runners-up that season, it was thanks to Hossa and his two game-winning goals and 26 total points that they made the finals.
Martin St. Louis to New York Rangers (2014)
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost one of their top players and team captains in 2014 when Martin St. Louis opted out of the Lightning when he was left out of the Canadian Olympics team by the then-general manager of the Lightning, Steve Yzerman.
Having played 13 seasons with Tampa Bay at this stage, St. Louis was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of that season, which also helped as the Lightning opted for gaining some assets instead of losing out on anything for St. Louis.
At the time this was a big trade, but Martin didn’t do much, he stepped up in the playoffs scoring 15 points in 25 playoff games but prior to that, he had only scored one goal in 19. He then retired at the end of the season, ironically losing out in the playoffs during the Eastern Conference finals to the Lightning.
Jaromir Jagr to Florida Panthers (2015)
This guy is an animal, in a good sense. Jaromir Jagr is 52 years of age and still playing hockey in the professional league in Europe, competing for his hometown Czech team Rytiri Kladno. Last season, he put up a respectable number of points scoring 14 times in 26 games. Hs last great season came in 2019 for Kladno when he scored 29 points in 38 games.
Way back in 2015, when Jagr was still in his early 40s, he was traded in the NHL, and it wasn’t anything to be sniffed at considering his age; Jagr had scored 29 points 57 games for the New Jersey Devils up to the point of his trade.
Jagr ended up putting up 18 points in 20 games for the Panthers that season, the next season he put up 66 points in 79 games and during his final season recorded 46 in 82 games. Literally a living legend. He has scored the second-most amount of points in NHL history.
On this day in 2014, Jaromir Jagr scored his 700th career goal, becoming the seventh player in NHL history to reach the milestone #Hockey365 #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/64sSxr15Gk
— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) March 1, 2024
Jeff Carter to Los Angeles Kings (2012)
Jeff Carter was on the back-to-back when it came to big trades in the NHL, not only the season before he was traded to Los Angeles did he get traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Now he was sent packing from East to West in a trade to the Kings. Carter was traded for a defenceman Jack Johnson and a first-round pick.
Carter found a good home in this trade, playing for the Kings from 2012 up until 2021. During this period, he scored the game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup that season (scoring 13 points in 20 games). Carter also helped the Kings to another Stanley Cup in 2014, scoring 25 points in 26 games.
The Kings have only ever won two Stanley Cups, and Carter was a part of both of them. That’s a big trade in hindsight, and throughout his Kings career scored 383 points.
Mark Stone to Vegas Golden Knights (2019)
The most recent high-profile trade that turned out a success was the arrival of Mark Stone in Los Vegas. Stone had spent seven solid seasons with the Ottawa Senators but was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
The Senators decided to cash in and they traded Stone and forward Tobias Lindberg to the Los Vegas Golden Knights. The Knights knew Stone was what they needed and signed him up to an 8-year deal, so far Stone has paid them back with 264 points in 286 games (including playoffs), and one Stanley Cup.
