ANAHEIM DUCKS
Players In: Spencer Abbott, Sam Carrick, Patrick Eaves, Jhonas Enroth, Ryan Faragher, Max Gortz
The Ducks had a series of mostly minor moves aside from acquiring Patrick Eaves. They faltered badly down the stretch and wound up in 10th place in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs.
Eaves himself however was a very good acquisition and he finished 4th on the team in points with 48 in 82 games and tied for second in goals with 26 goals. He played mostly as second-line left wing with Getzlaf as his center and Silfverberg as the other winger and was also a staple on the second power play unit. Not flashy or overly creative but hard-working, speedy and with a very underrated shot, the Ducks re-signed Eaves through 2018 for a bargain $1.1 million.
Enroth started 6 games as a third-string goalie for the Ducks (and lost all 6!). The others all played in San Diego - Gortz did end up leading the Gulls in scoring.
ARIZONA COYOTES
Players In: Alex Burmistrov, Grayson Downing, Mitchell Moroz, Teemu Pulkkinen, Branden Trock, Joe Whitney
Although the Hanzal trade was big (and expected) - perhaps more surprising was Arizona not finding a trade partner for Radim Vrbata and perhaps even long-time franchise-face Shane Doan. The Coyotes were terrible and finished 14th and last in the Western Conference (minus Vegas who isn't really playing yet). With the transactions they did make either very minor or for the future - not much to glean at the NHL level from the results.
Waiver-pickup Burmistrov was used as a regular 4th liner at both center and wing. Good instincts and some decent skills yet seriously devoid of scoring skills and soft as a pillow, Burmi's 14 points in 72 games were entirely forgettable.
Pulkkinen was often a health-scratch and appeared in only 28 games - not scoring a single goal, a remarkable feat for a prospect once noted for his scoring potential. Expect him to be back in Europe for the 17/18 season to try and rehab his once promising career. None of the other acquisitions appeared in any NHL games.
CALGARY FLAMES
Players In: Matt Bartkowski, Mike Kostka, Curtis Lazar, Michael Stone
Sensing an opening to compete in the West, the Flames made a few mid-level moves to bolster their squad but it would turn out to be not enough impact to make a difference as the Flames finished in 11th place in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs.
Michael Stone was expected to bolster the Flames second defensive pairing but quickly ended up on the third pairing, averaging only 16 minutes of ice per game and putting in a very mediocre stat line of 5 points and -9 in 54 games. With a $4 million salary expiring this summer, don't expect him back in Calgary nor with a big contract for next season.
Michael Bartkowski was equally as bad but he was free and cheap so the work he put in as a 7th defender (6 points, -10 in 45 games) was acceptable for the role. Kostka got 17 games late in the season as an injury-replacement call-up from Stockton and exhibited some good puck movement with 6 assists and a net zero +/-.
Lazar was more of a success up front and his age and potential gives Flames fans hope for more in the future. Playing mainly on the 3rd and 4th lines at center, Lazar chipped in 14 goals and 23 points in 56 games and also became a staple on the Flames' PK units. Not highly skilled but with a heady game - he looks like an ideal 3rd line anchor for the foreseeable future in Calgary.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Players In: Jeff Glass, Kenton Helgeson, Tomas Jurco, Michael Latta, Johnny Oduya
The Blackhawks big move was re-acquiring franchise favorite veteran Johnny Oduya. Winning the Central and finishing 2nd in the West combined with a cap-heavy roster meant minimal movement from Chicago on deadline day.
Oduya slid right back in a second pairing as well as PK role for Chicago to begin the season and was moved down to a third pairing role by late in the year as age began to deteriorate his skills. Nonetheless, his stat line was impressive and a big help to the Hawks: 28 points and a +18 in 82 games.
While Jurco was hardly stellar, he did manage to find regular playing time as the Hawks 4th line right winger where he injected some speed and offense to a lower line with 22 points in 79 games. It remains to be seen if Chicago plans on bringing back the soon-to-be restricted free agent.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
Players In: Sven Andrighetto, Mark Barberio, Joe Cannata, Felix Gerard, Matt Nieto, Brendan Ranford
The Avs were truly awful, finishing in 13th place in the Western Conference and although they managed to shed a couple of vets - for the most part, they were much quieter than expected on deadline day, with teams unwilling to meet the price for stars such as Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog. Indeed, their most impressive moves were actually just picking up a couple of useful players from the waiver wire.
Matt Nieto played on the third line most of the year as a right winger, occasionally subbing on higher lines. Speedy, hard-working and good defensively, Nieto chipped in 8 goals and 23 points in 75 games and has already been re-signed for the 2017/18 season.
Mark Barberio was the other useful waiver pickup, playing mostly on the third pairing but also earning a good amount of PP time. He chipped in 22 points in 67 games and managed not to be totally awful - which is a complement for this defense.
Having run out of chances in Montreal, skilled but physically soft and light-weight winger Sven Andrighetto made the most of a new chance on Colorado. He worked his way up to second wing left winger by the end of the season and was also a regular on the second PP unit. Ghetto chipped in 13 goals and 26 points in 76 games (along with a meager 2 PIMs!). A soon-to-be RFA, look for Colorado to bring him back next season as scoring depth.
DALLAS STARS
Players In: Justin Hache, Dillon Heatherington, Justin Peters
In what should have been a lost season with poor goaltending and injuries, culminating in the dealing of Patrick Eaves to Anaheim - the Stars remained surprisingly feisty, finishing just out of the playoffs in 9th in the West.
The only players brought in were all AHL-calibur although Heatherington has some legit NHL upside and appeared in 8 games in Dallas towards the end of the year in a third pairing role.
EDMONTON OILERS
Players In: David Desharnais, Justin Fontaine, Henrik Samuelsson
The McDavids are here to burn down your conference. Edmonton put it all together this season and torched the Pacific and Western Conference, finishing with the #1 seed for the playoffs and winning the President's Trophy for most regular season points in the entire NHL. It should be said however, this was almost all do to McDavid, internal development, shred summer pickups and signings, McDavid and McDavid - not any splashes at the deadline.
In fact their "big" deadline acquisition was more of a bust as creative but soft center David Desharnais found himself quickly relegated to a "depth" role - on the lower lines at times and scratched at times. He added only 9 points in 36 games and was unable to usurp the likes of Drake Caggiula from the line-up.
Fontaine and Samuelsson were brought in simply as depth for Bakersfield and appeared in zero NHL games between them.
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Players In: Ben Bishop, Jarome Iginla, Cameron Schilling
Some thought the Kings' deadline moves were a bit odd and it played out as such here. The bottom dropped out on this team as they finished 12th in the West despite two stars in net and the acquisition of a future Hall-of-Famer.
The pickup of Bishop itself was not all that hard to understand and with the injury-riddled Quick starting only 26 games, Bishop was solid in his 45 starts with a 2.39 GAA and 0.912 SV%. But his record was only 19-20-6 as he got limited support from his offense. With Quick signed to a big deal through 2023, don't look for the Kings to sink money into bringing Bishop back.
Iginla has been slowing down in a huge way and this season was a symbol of the Kings' once bright star waning in the twighlight. Despite starting the year on the second line and with first unit PP time, by the middle of the season, Iginla was a regular healthy scratch. With only 6 goals and 18 points in 46 games, it may be time for the legend to hang things up.
MINNESOTA WILD
Players In: Ryan Carter, Martin Hanzal, Mike Weber, Ryan White
The Wild made a big splash by adding to their already strong team with Martin Hanzal. Finishing in 3rd place in the West, Hanzal should prove to be an even greater asset in the playoffs. His 11 goals and 24 points in 76 games don't wow but anchoring a really deep forward unit's third line and first PK unit, his strength and physicality is an imposing addition.
Such was the Wild's depth that White, a proven and useful NHL grinder couldn't even find a way out of Iowa the entire season.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Players In: Vernon Fiddler, Brad Hunt, Cody McLeod, Andrew O'Brein, P.A. Parenteau
The Predators made a series of minor yet solid depth moves and it bolstered their lineup just enough to squeeze into the playoffs as the Western Conference's 8th seed.
Parenteau and Fiddler were both 4th line staples throughout the year, with Parenteau seeing some PP time and Fiddler being a PK unit regular. Parenteau finished the season with 6 goals and 20 points in 78 games while Fiddler wore an "A" on his jersey and contributed 9 goals and 14 points in 78 games.
McLeod saw spot duty as an extra forward when additional toughness was needed, appearing in 26 games with 2 points and 18 PIMs.
