Forward Brandon Hagel is now a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is still with the Chicago Blackhawks, but it appears things could've turned out very differently.
The swap didn't advance to the point where Fleury was asked to waive his no-trade clause as Toronto balked due to the amount of futures involved, Dreger adds.
Toronto traded its 2021 first-round pick prior to last year's trade deadline as part of a package for veteran forward Nick Foligno.
The Maple Leafs find themselves in the midst of a goalie crisis. Jack Campbell has struggled mightily since putting up Vezina-worthy stats earlier in the campaign, while Mrazek has been squirrely at best; the 30-year-old has logged a .884 save percentage and a 3.48 goals-against average across 17 appearances.
Erik Kallgren, Toronto's new face in the crease, has put up more inspiring numbers since he came onto the scene earlier this month, albeit in a very small sample size; he's registered a .930 save percentage across four outings.
The Blackhawks got a big-time haul for Hagel on Friday, receiving the Lightning's first-round pick in 2023 and 2024 as well as forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh.
Fleury, meanwhile, is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $7-million cap hit. His deal includes a 10-team no-trade list. The 37-year-old has authored a .909 save percentage with the Blackhawks this season.
The Maple Leafs drafted Knies in the second round last year. He has 10 goals and 17 assists in 29 games with the Minnesota Golden Gophers this season. The 19-year-old forward represented the United States at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Knyzhov hasn't suited up for a game this season after undergoing surgery on a lower-body ailment in October. He was initially expected to miss 8-to-10 weeks.
The 24-year-old experienced setbacks after the procedure, including infections.
"The poor guy, he was on an IV for a couple months, trying to just clear the infection out of his system," Boughner said, according to San Jose Hockey Now's Sheng Peng.
Knyzhov also had to contend with groin issues and a sports hernia.
There is no timeline for Knyzhov to begin skating again, but the team believes he's now on an upward trajectory and has put the worst of the experience behind him, per team beat reporter Curtis Pashelka.
Knyzhov enjoyed a strong rookie season with the Sharks last year, logging 10 points in 59 games while averaging 16:44 minutes of ice time. He showed promise as a top-four defenseman and played alongside Erik Karlsson.
Philadelphia will reportedly receive forward Owen Tippett, a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2023 third-round pick in exchange for Giroux's services, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. The Panthers will also receive prospects Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov, as well as a 2024 fifth-round pick.
The Flyers are reportedly retaining 50% of his salary, according to TSN's Chris Johnston.
The deal's details remain unfinalized.
Florida's package was competitive but "not as aggressive as Boston or Colorado," Kaplan adds.
Giroux was one of the market's top names available heading into Monday's trade deadline. His contract, which carries an $8.275 million cap hit, contains a full no-movement clause, meaning he had control over his next move.
The 34-year-old was reportedly was only willing to accept a trade to the Panthers, according to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.
Giroux logged 18 goals and 24 assists in 57 contests this season on a struggling Philadelphia squad. Giroux skated in his 1,000th game as a Flyer on Thursday night, but the team held him out of Friday's contest versus the Ottawa Senators as trade rumors continued to heat up.
Bunnaman, a 2016 fourth-round pick, played in 15 games with Philadelphia this campaign. The 23-year-old forward has three points in 54 career NHL contests.
The Flyers drafted Rubtsov in the first round in 2016, and the forward suited up for just four games during the 2019-20 campaign.
Tippett was the odd-man-out in Florida's deep forward corps. The 2017 10th overall pick registered six goals and eight assists in 42 games this season.
Philly's 2006 22nd overall pick leaves as the franchise's second-leading scorer with 900 points, sitting behind only Bobby Clarke, who still holds the top spot with 1,210. Giroux, the longest-tenured captain in Flyers history, was initially given the "C" in 2013.
The veteran center made the Stanley Cup Finals once with Philly in 2009-10, but his side ultimately lost to the Chicago Blackhawks. Giroux last suited up for a playoff game in 2020 when the Flyers fell to the New York Islanders in a spirited second-round series.
The seven-time All-Star will add his top-line pedigree to an already strong Panthers squad destined for the postseason. Florida sits atop the Atlantic Division with a 42-14-6 record.
Niederreiter struck Jonsson-Fjallby in the face with his stick while the Capitals rookie was sitting on the bench during the Capitals' shootout win over the Hurricanes on Friday night. The officials handed Niederreiter a minor penalty.
The league cited Niederreiter's lack of significant disciplinary history in its decision, adding that the suspension is not more severe because of the lack of force Niederreiter exerted.
Niederreiter, who's in his 10th full NHL season, has been fined once. This is the 29-year-old's first suspension.
Carey Price was back at practice with his teammates for the first time in 2021-22 after spending months recovering from offseason knee surgery. There's still no timeline for the goaltender's return to the lineup, which has been the case since he restarted the process in January.
Price had been occasionally skating on his own and did so for two consecutive days earlier in March. He spent one month in the NHL's player assistance program at the start of the season before beginning to work his way back from the knee procedure.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Drouin will play against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The forward missed 22 games after sustaining an upper-body ailment in January. Drouin, who'll turn 27 on March 28, has 20 points over 32 games in 2021-22.
There's no shortage of star power in the rumor mill leading up to this NHL trade deadline, but there are also plenty of less-heralded players that could be more affordable than their big-ticket counterparts.
Montreal Canadiens forward Artturi Lehkonen would have been included in this list, but now that the club has traded away Ben Chiarot, Lehkonen is reportedly garnering "high interest" as the club decides whether to move him. Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg qualifies as relatively unheralded, too, but the team reportedly prefers to keep him through the deadline.
Here's a handful of under-the-radar players who contenders should target as we draw closer to Monday's 3 p.m. ET deadline:
Pavel Zacha
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Zacha was once considered a foundational piece of the New Jersey Devils' future, but with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer all proving more than capable of playing center, Zacha has become expendable. The Czechia-born pivot hasn't played since sustaining an injury earlier this week, but there haven't been any indications that it'll keep him out for an extended period of time.
The Devils drafted Zacha sixth overall in 2015, and he hasn't developed at the rate they undoubtedly hoped he would. However, Zacha is still relatively young, turning 25 on April 6. He's also posted favorable underlying numbers this season while playing for a subpar team, boasting expected goals for and scoring chances for percentages over 50%. Zacha's mostly been on the wing rather than at his preferred position down the middle, too.
Zacha likely wouldn't require a hefty return and wouldn't be a financial burden, either. His contract carries a measly $2.25-million cap hit. As a pending restricted free agent who's arbitration-eligible, he's due for a raise, but it likely won't be astronomical considering his pedestrian production. Zacha could make strides on the ice with a change of scenery and the right opportunity to carve out a larger role playing center - where he's more comfortable.
Mackenzie Blackwood
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While much of the focus has been on Marc-Andre Fleury, Braden Holtby, and Alexandar Georgiev, there are several other netminders that teams with postseason aspirations could consider. Another member of the Devils, Blackwood, is one of them.
Much like Zacha, Blackwood was once thought to be part of New Jersey's core, but times have changed. Nico Daws has suddenly snatched the team's starting job as Blackwood continues to work his way back from a heel injury that's bothered him since October. Blackwood's timetable is unclear, but he should be back before the end of the regular season. He's also signed through 2022-23.
Injury aside, Blackwood has more going for him than some of the other bargain-bin options in the crease. The 25-year-old is much younger than the likes of Jaroslav Halak (37 in May), Thomas Greiss (36), and Martin Jones (32), and he's two years younger than Joonas Korpisalo.
Blackwood posted save percentages of .918 and .915 in his first two NHL seasons, respectively, before declining over the last two campaigns. But goalies take longer to develop than skaters, and Blackwood still has his prime years ahead of him, not to mention a digestible $2.8-million cap hit when he comes off injured reserve.
Filip Zadina
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It would seem a tad premature for the Detroit Red Wings to give up on a 22-year-old who they drafted sixth overall in 2018, but that appears to be a possibility ahead of the deadline. Zadina hasn't produced consistently in his second full season at the NHL level, and if he truly isn't a part of the Red Wings' long-term plans, Zacha's countryman would be a worthwhile target.
Zadina has something else in common with Zacha in that he's also a pending RFA due for a raise from his current cap hit of around $900,000. But his bump in pay likely won't be too cap-constraining, either, despite his upside.
That potential is exactly why other teams should be looking at landing Zadina if the Red Wings are open to trading him. He scored twice during a six-game showcase on Detroit's top line in February and has frequently logged second-line minutes, proving he can contribute when given a solid opportunity. He may not be capable of sticking on another club's top forward unit right now, but he's worth pursuing given his age and affordability.
Dominik Kubalik
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Kubalik has flown under the radar the past two seasons because he hasn't kept up the torrid goal-scoring pace of his NHL arrival in 2019-20. The Chicago Blackhawks forward isn't going to match the 30 markers he netted that campaign this time around, but he's still a serviceable player.
Kubalik, who was named a Calder Trophy finalist after his standout season, collected 17 goals and 21 assists while playing all 56 games in the last campaign. That works out to 25 markers and 31 helpers over an 82-game span, which would've been comparable to his rookie numbers. His goal and point rates are down in 2021-22, but he's still on a 15-goal pace for a lackluster Blackhawks club.
The 26-year-old is still about three-and-a-half years away from when most players start to decline. Kubalik is a pending RFA with a $3.7-million cap hit. That may be a bit high considering his modest contributions this season, and he's arbitration-eligible as well, but Kubalik has proven in the past that he can produce. He could come close to replicating that rookie output on a better squad.
Brenden Dillon
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Dillon has been one of the NHL's most underrated defensemen for quite a while. He's also no stranger to the trade deadline, having been dealt six days beforehand in 2020. The Winnipeg Jets are underachieving this season, and their playoff chances are dwindling by the day.
If the club is looking to retool, it may want to consider cutting Dillon's $3.9-million cap hit through 2023-24. It's not a particularly hefty amount, but, coupled with the term, it's not the most ideal contract for a team that'll certainly look to make offseason changes.
Dillion is the oldest player on this list, but at 31, he should be able to provide true stability on the back end for at least another season and certainly can bolster a contender's blue line for this year's stretch run. Moreover, he could probably be had for a more buyer-friendly price than a similar rearguard in Chiarot, or certainly the biggest fish on the defenseman market, like Jakob Chychrun and Hampus Lindholm.
The Carolina Hurricanes aren't going to part with a significant asset to acquire a player they might lose in the offseason.
The club has told other teams it will not trade its 2023 first-round pick for a rental player - in other words, a pending unrestricted free agent - before the March 21 trade deadline, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Carolina sent its 2022 first-round and third-round selections to the Montreal Canadiens after Montreal chose not to match the Hurricanes' offer sheet for forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi in September.
The Hurricanes secured a separate 2022 third-rounder from the Chicago Blackhawks in July for a third-round pick in the 2021 draft, which took place later than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carolina currently has selections in each round of the 2023 and 2024 drafts.
The Hurricanes entered Saturday atop the Metropolitan Division and rank third in the NHL in points percentage.
