NHL Trade Deadline Roundup: Palmieri staying put, may re-sign

4 days ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

We are the future. | Photo by Steven Ryan/NHLI via Getty Images


Rantanen, Marchand among the big names moving, but the Isles only moved what they couldn’t re-sign. The NHL Trade Deadline saw some major moves and some major stand pats, with the Islanders in a little of both categories.
Lou Lamoriello traded Brock Nelson for a healthy haul after efforts to sign him fell short through Thursday, but he’s keeping his other UFA 20-goal scorer, winger Kyle Palmieri, in the fold.
Multiple reporters had the Isles GM closing in on a short (2 to 3 years) contract extension with Palmieri rather than trading him, which Arthur Staple reported would be in the range of a second-round pick and another asset. There was reported interest in J-G Pageau as well, but the Isles weren’t really open for business except when forced.
What we’re to make of this? Lou would’ve stayed the course if Brock had only signed, and even with that departure he wasn’t about to make larger retooling/rebuilding moves. Essentially, he’s going to stay the course, which means making whatever incremental improvements he can in the hopes of incremental-ing his team back into contention.
It’s an approach.


Hearing sides are working on either a two- or three-year extension with an AAV under Palmieri's current $5 million https://t.co/wNjgjRK3d5— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) March 7, 2025




Update: Lou also made one essentially AHL swap, sending Dennis Cholowski — whom Patrick Roy all but abandoned using, hence the influx of waiver claims during the injury crunch — to New Jersey for 23-year-old forward Adam Beckman.
Big Moves
Around the league:

Carolina tried to salvage something for its failed Mikko Rantanen experiment, with the winger headed to Dallas on the condition of signing a massive eight-year extension for around $12 million annually. He’ll now be in the enviable position of battling for Western supremacy against his former team, Nelson’s new (and temporary?) home. The Hurricanes get two firsts and Logan Stankoven.
The Stars also extended offer-sheet-enticing RFA Wyatt Johnston for five years, $8.4 AAV.
Late in the deadline period, the Bruins sent Brad Marchand to the Panthers; the longtime productive pest had wanted to stay in Boston; now he joins a team that has helped end the Bruins’ attempts at continued relevance.
Speaking of frequent foes, the Bruins also sent defenseman Brandan Carlo to the Maple Leafs.
The Senators and Sabres completed a swap of underperforming but highly paid young players, with Dylan Cozens and Josh Norris being the primary players in a multi-asset swap.
Not a big move, but a costly one: Somehow the Sharks got a (top 12-protected) first-round pick out of the Oilers for defenseman Jake Wallman. Wallman’s having a bounce-back season and has one year left on his deal, but man...that’s a “missing piece” price.
There were lots of rumors about the Leafs needing to “go for it” and add someone big, even if that big was an aging (33), big-contracted (3 more years at $6.5M) guy like Brayden Schenn in St. Louis. That never sounded remotely sane nor realistic. They eventually found a younger and cheaper addition in Scott Laughton from the Flyers. Philadelphia retains 50% of the salary and gets a protected first and a prospect, Nikita Grebenkin.

Small Moves

With Casey Mittelstadt out of favor and upgraded by Brock Nelson, the Avalanche shipped him as part of a package to get Charlie Coyle from Boston.
Old friend Anthony Beauvillier is moving on again; Pittsburgh flipped the UFA to the Capitals for a second-round pick.
Andrei Kuzmenko is on the move again, cementing his “that guy” status as the Flyers flip him after only seven games to the Kings. He was a Canuck before he was a Flame before he was a Flyer. History will one day confuse him with six-team Andrei Kovalenko and it won’t be wrong.
Luke Schenn, recently acquired by the Penguins for “character” and such in their Michael Bunting dump, has now been traded to the Jets for a 2nd and a 4th.
The Red Wings retrieve Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith from Chicago for Joe Veleno.

Stand Pats

The younger Schenn is Blues captain and has a full no-trade clause since last summer, so it always seemed like a “only if blown away” proposition, but who would blow them away with an offer for him? Even after losing top defenseman Colton Parayko for the rest of the regular season, the Blues decided to double-down on their current hot streak and sell no one. Most of their assets are tied up in contracts, and UFAs Radek Faksa and Ryan Suter are likely the type that would fetch little and are worth more to their outside playoff push.
The Canadiens held on to all three pending UFAs, David Savard, Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak.
Those are the only two teams that made no trades leading up to the deadline. Columbus came close, but they acquired Luke Kunin from San Jose for a fourth. Interesting position for the Blue Jackets: They are playoff contenders, and the way they have rallied this year in the wake of Johnny Gaudreau’s tragedy probably makes going for a playoff push the right call, culturally and emotionally. Good luck to them.

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