Vanek was playing in Detroit on a one-year contract, $2.6-million and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
He boosted his value with Detroit to the tune of 15 goals and 23 assists in 48 games, and will now bring that production to a Panthers squad looking to climb back into a playoff spot.
McIlrath was drafted 10th overall by the New York Rangers in 2010. In 43 career games, the 24-year-old defenseman has recorded three goals and two assists.
Montreal's trajectory during Desharnais' time with the club was a bit up and down, but the Canadiens lead the Atlantic Division with a good shot at advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, hence the disappointment of leaving with unfinished business on his plate.
But Desharnais is looking ahead for now, with a view to helping the Oilers clinch a playoff spot and make good on a promising future in Edmonton.
"There were highs and lows, but I'm only taking away the positives. This will help me grow. I'm leaving with my head held high." -Desharnais pic.twitter.com/kMOdbWdIDB
The 22-year-old is in his first season with the club after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks - along with Bryan Bickell - for a pair of draft picks.
Teravainen has recorded 11 goals and 18 assists in 58 games for the Hurricanes, and is set to become a restricted free agent at season's end.
Brendan Smith came at the cost of a second-round pick in 2018 and a 2017 third-round pick after he recorded two goals and three assists in 33 games for the Detroit Red Wings this season.
Not much of an impact player, but a useful defenseman for a playoff team.
3. Oilers trade Brandon Davidson to Canadiens for David Desharnais
Not only did the Canadiens add a nice piece on defense in Brandon Davidson, they also freed up some space for another move or two prior to the deadline.
Despite retaining 20% on Desharnais' contract, #Habs gained cap space & now find themselves with $1.16M, the equivalent of a $5.22M cap hit.
The Oilers, meanwhile, are hoping Desharnais can fill the third-line center spot despite the fact his numbers have been declining.
Desharnais for Davidson is a really interesting trade. Davidson is probably the better player, but Oilers have a lot of bodies back there. pic.twitter.com/0tdadljyi1
An Oilers trade with playoff significance. It's a brave new world.
2. Stars trade Johnny Oduya to Blackhawks
The Blackhawks brought a familiar face home in Johnny Oduya. The defenseman, who was traded to Dallas in 2015 as part of the Patrick Sharp deal, was re-acquired from the Stars in exchange for a pick and a prospect.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion brings needed depth and experience to a blue line that looks pretty nice heading into the playoffs.
The Sharks added a capable winger in Jannik Hansen to a roster with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations.
What sets this deal apart, however, is the condition placed on the fourth-round draft pick sent to the Canucks along with Nikolay Goldobin.
If San Jose does indeed win the Cup this year, that pick becomes a first-rounder, meaning Canucks fans will certainly be rooting for the Sharks come playoff time.
Every Tuesday, theScore's hockey editors will examine the fortunes of the north's seven NHL franchises. Welcome to "O Canada."
Calgary Flames
Trade: Acquired defenseman Michael Stone from the Arizona Coyotes for a 2017 third-round pick and a 2018 conditional fifth-round pick. Arizona also retained 50 percent of Stone's salary.
Grade: B-
Stone has jumped onto the Flames second defense pairing alongside T.J. Brodie with solid results to date. In four games, he's recorded two assists, and seven shots, albeit with a five-on-five Corsi rating of 42.8. He's also helping in the plus/minus department, for those who still care about the stat.
For what it's worth, TJ Brodie was minus-27 up until three days ago when he was paired with newly acquired Michael Stone. He's now minus-23.
Calgary also further shored up the blue line with the signing of Matt Bartkowski.
Edmonton Oilers
Trade: Nothing, yet
Grade: Incomplete.
General manager Peter Chiarelli hasn't made a trade since sending Nail Yakupov to St. Louis prior to the start of the regular season, preceded by the infamous Taylor Hall-Adam Larsson deal.
Barring a complete collapse, however, the Oilers appear to be a lock for a playoff spot, and could secure home ice in the first round with a second-place finish in the Pacific.
A clear need exists at the backup goalie position, as Cam Talbot continues to carry a heavy workload and could use some rest down the stretch.
GM Marc Bergevin followed up the hiring of Claude Julien as head coach by adding some depth on the blue line, which is fine, except it doesn't address the team's biggest need.
That would be down the middle, where Martin Hanzal appeared to be a perfect fit. Instead, the center was sent to Minnesota by the Coyotes, leaving Montreal with the prospect of heading into the playoffs with Phillip Danault, Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Plekanec, and David Desharnais rounding out the depth chart. No one foresaw Danault centering the first line, while Plekanec and Desharnais have been playing well below expectations.
Still time to get something done, though.
Ottawa Senators
Trade: Acquired Alex Burrows from the Vancouver Canucks for prospect Jonathan Dahlen.
Grade: D
Not only did Ottawa trade a promising draft pick for a player who will turn 36 by season's end, they're also reportedly set to sign Burrows to a two-year contract extension before he even dons the team's jersey.
The Senators appear headed for the playoffs and see Burrows as an effective depth forward who can mix things up, kill penalties, and score the odd goal. That's certainly how he used to be defined, but at this stage in his career, the return on investment hardly seems worth it, especially when Dahlen compares favorably to a player currently tearing up the NHL.
Trade: Acquired forward Brian Boyle from the Lightning for forward Byron Froese and a 2017 second-round pick.
Grade: B+
One year removed from finishing dead last in the NHL, the renaissance is on in Toronto, and the Maple Leafs are buyers with a view to their second playoff appearance since the lost season of 2004-05.
Boyle brings a wealth of playoff experience after making two trips to the Stanley Cup Final in recent years, and gives Toronto solid depth down the middle behind Auston Matthews, Nazem Kadri, and Tyler Bozak.
The trade value will rise even further if Boyle - who seems excited about the opportunity - can re-sign with the team in the offseason.
Boyle calls going to Leafs an "unbelievable opportunity ... they have some guys who are just phenomenal, phenomenal players"
The best way to grade this trade is to check in on the social media reaction. Praise was heaped on GM Jim Benning while shade was thrown at Ottawa immediately after the deal was announced, and the hits just kept coming.
If you get beat in a deal by Jim Benning, you gotta retire. Sorry but that's the rule.
This may come as a shock, but GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has yet to tinker with a roster set to once again fall short of the postseason. In fact, the biggest move made recently was to recall exiled goaltender Ondrej Pavelec from the AHL, to zero positive effect.
The Jets are only five points out of a playoff spot, but should be looking to sell, as they did last year with Andrew Ladd. Soon-to-be unrestricted free agents Drew Stafford and Paul Postma are the obvious candidates to be moved, with Pavelec also a possibility in the unlikely chance there's any takers.
Boyle, 32, made two consecutive appearances in the finals as a member of the New York Rangers (2014) and Lightning (2015). Boyle has recorded 13 goals and nine assists in 54 games this season.
Froese was drafted 119th overall by Chicago in 2009. He's appeared in 58 games at the NHL level, with two goals and three assists to his name. In 195 AHL games, he has recorded 49 goals and 52 assists.
The deal marks a startling turnaround from the beginning of the season, where the Maple Leafs entered as last year's last-place team while the Lightning came to within one win of the Stanley Cup Final.
Since 2011, nobody has more playoff experience (100 GP) than Brian Boyle
The games are played on the ice, however, and Toronto is currently in a playoff spot and looking to add the kind of veteran savvy needed in the postseason.
In total, Boyle has appeared in 100 playoff games, scoring 15 goals.
The Montreal Canadiens are officially under new leadership behind the bench, and Claude Julien is tipping his hand a bit in terms of his approach to his new club.
Montreal lost Julien's debut at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, a game wherein young star center Alex Galchenyuk began playing on the first line and was later dropped to the third unit. But still, Julien didn't shy away from deploying Galchenyuk in key situations, even after glaring mistakes were made.
Case in point: Galchenyuk attempted a drop pass that was intercepted and resulted in a goal against. Shortly thereafter, however, he was centering a power-play unit and creating scoring chances.
The leash, then, may be a bit looser than under the previous regime.
"I think you can expect that from me, but at the same time I'm not going to be generous here," Julien conceded after the game, per Arpon Basu of NHL.com. "I think people have to earn their way into those kind of situations. But mistakes are a part of the game sometimes, and you look at what kind of mistake it is. But you also have to, with younger players and certain players, you got to have some patience."
Galchenyuk did record an assist on Montreal's lone goal, and there's no doubt in Julien's mind the 23-year-old is key to the Canadiens success. The coach's goal, then, is to foster Galchenyuk's game - along with that of defenseman Nathan Beaulieu - rather than stifle it.
"This is the new NHL where, with the salary cap and everything else, you have young players in your lineup and part of it is if you want them to be better, you have to live with some of those mistakes. But you also have to show confidence that you know that player is capable of doing better, and in those cases they did."
Galchenyuk finished the game with one assist and one shot in 15:23 of ice time.
From a zoomed-out, non-emotional perspective, it actually made all kinds of sense to the Bruins captain.
"First off, he's a very good coach," Chara said Thursday, according to Mike Zeisberger of Postmedia. "He's bilingual, which is important for that market. He's coached in Montreal before, so he knows the pressures involved. And he helped us win a Stanley Cup and go to another final, so he has a strong resume.
"It makes sense. (Canadiens general manager) Marc Bergevin and Claude worked together with Team Canada at the World Cup last September and, from what I read, they seemed to see things the same way."
Chara added he knew Julien would not be out of work for long, with some openings around the league and the addition of a 31st team.
The Bruins and Canadiens aren't scheduled to play again this season, barring a playoff series matchup. For now, Chara is intent on making sure his team gets to the postseason, where the fondest of memories were formed with his old coach.
"Claude and I went through a lot together. He joined the organization a year after I did and we had some success. You never forget the people you win a Stanley Cup with.
"But it's a business. That's all part of it."
As such, there'll likely be no love lost next time Boston plays Montreal.
"You feel guilt. We know we have a great team and we know that Michel is a great coach, so we feel like if we had performed better as of late, then he'd still be here," Pacioretty said Tuesday on TSN's 'That's Hockey.' "So you definitely feel guilt, especially as a player but even more so as the captain."
Be that as it may, Pacioretty knows the only direction in which to move is forward, with this move serving as a wake up call for the players.
"It's time for everyone to look in the mirror and say, 'you know, I've got to do more, I've got to play better.' Whether it's confidence or trying to be the difference maker every night, we've got to find it.
"There's not a lot of room for error now, with giving up as many points as we did as of late, so whatever it's going to take, we need everyone to bear down and help us pull together some wins."
The Canadiens posted a record of 1-5-1 over the last seven games of Therrien's tenure, including a 4-0 loss to Boston, who fired Julien on Feb. 7.
Currently in the midst of their bye week, Montreal will return to the ice on Saturday against Winnipeg, and will attempt to right the ship under the direction of their new bench boss.
