The Edmonton Oilers acquired centers Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick along with a seventh-round pick from the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, the teams announced.
Anaheim is receiving a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional fifth-rounder in 2025 that upgrades to a fourth if Edmonton wins the Stanley Cup. The Ducks are retaining 50% of Henrique’s and Carrick’s salaries.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are retaining an additional 25% of Henrique’s salary and received a 2025 fourth-round pick from the Oilers for brokering the deal. The Bolts also shipped Edmonton the rights to goaltender Ty Taylor.
Henrique and Carrick are both pending unrestricted free agents. After retention, Henrique will count for roughly $1.45 million on Edmonton’s books while Carrick will cost $425,000.
The Oilers had approximately $2.37 million in deadline cap space before the trade, per Cap Friendly.
Henrique has 42 points in 60 games this season, averaging 17 minutes per night and winning 52.9% of his faceoffs. His addition gives Edmonton more options down the middle, as Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins frequently bounce between center and wing.
Carrick has 11 points in 61 appearances in 2023-24 and will likely be used lower in Edmonton’s lineup down the stretch and into the playoffs. The 32-year-old is operating at 51% at the dot this season and is known for his physicality, posting 137 hits on the campaign.
The Vegas Golden Knights acquired defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames, the teams announced Wednesday.
Vegas sent a conditional 2025 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 third-round pick, and defenseman Daniil Miromanov to the Flames in the trade. Calgary retained 50% of Hanifin’s salary, while the Philadelphia Flyers retained an additional 25%.
Hanifin and the Golden Knights haven’t yet agreed on a contract extension, TSN’s Chris Johnston reported on “SportsCentre.”
Miromanov signed a two-year contract extension with a $1.25-million cap hit immediately after being traded to Calgary. He was set to become a Group 6 unrestricted free agent this summer.
If the Golden Knights still have their 2025 first-round pick on March 10 and it’s subsequently not in the top 10 following the draft lottery, Vegas must give it to Calgary. If the Golden Knights don’t have the pick, they’ll send their own 2026 first-rounder to the Flames.
The Flyers receive a 2024 fifth-round pick from the Golden Knights for the additional retention. Hanifin’s cap hit is just over $1.2 million for Vegas.
Hanifin was the No. 2 name available on theScore’s trade board. The pending unrestricted free agent has 11 goals and 35 points in 61 games this season.
A two-way defender, Hanifin has seen his usage increase each of the past four seasons. He’s playing 23:46 per contest this campaign, the highest mark of his nine-season career, though his underlying metrics have dipped amid his significant workload.
Noah Hanifin, acquired by VGK, is a mobile puck-moving defenceman who typically plays at a top-pairing level. He's very good at a whole lot of things (skating, passing), even if he's not quite elite at anything. Impacts are down this year but microstats are steady. #VegasBornpic.twitter.com/aXtFb3LmeQ
The 27-year-old was linked to the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning in recent days. Hanifin was reportedly eyeing teams with which he would sign long term.
The Golden Knights land Hanifin despite returning all six defensemen from their Stanley Cup-winning blue-line. Vegas has had notable injury woes, with Shea Theodore, Alec Martinez, and Zach Whitecloud each missing more than 15 games.
Martinez was placed on injured reserve earlier Wednesday with an undisclosed ailment.
Miromanov, 26, is a right-shot blue-liner who was injured to start the season and returned to action in January. He has zero points in four NHL games and six points in five AHL contests this season.
“We’ve been tracking Daniil the past couple of seasons and we are pleased to have been able to ensure he was a part of this trade,” Flames general manager Craig Conroy said. “At the AHL level, he has been dominant in creating offense as a defenseman and we anticipate that to translate to the NHL.”
Vegas acquired forward Anthony Mantha with 50% retained salary Tuesday from the Washington Capitals.
The notoriously massive Vegas Golden Knights just got bigger.
The Washington Capitals traded 6-foot-5 winger Anthony Mantha to the defending Stanley Cup champions for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-rounder, the teams announced.
Mantha is a pending unrestricted free agent carrying a $5.7-million cap hit, but the Capitals are retaining 50% of his salary.
The 29-year-old is in the midst of a resurgent campaign. Mantha has recorded 20 goals and 14 assists in 56 games this season while averaging just 14:09 per contest. His underlying numbers are off the charts, too.
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While Mantha has been a strong play-driver throughout his career, this is his first 20-goal season since he bagged a career-high 25 with the Detroit Red Wings in 2018-19. Injuries have plagued him in his nine NHL campaigns, as he’s logged 70 games in a season just once. However, he’s only missed four contests this campaign.
Despite his huge frame, Mantha isn’t overly physical and has registered just 31 hits this season.
While Mantha has the skill set to play up and down the lineup, he’s a logical fit to link up with William Karlsson on Vegas’ second line.
The Golden Knights’ search for help up front has been no secret since it was reported that captain Mark Stone will miss the remainder of the regular season and is questionable for the playoffs. Even after the Mantha deal, Vegas still has room to make further moves with Stone’s $9.5-million cap hit on LTIR.
The Capitals, meanwhile, are set to be sellers as they enter Tuesday’s slate with just a 6% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck. Mantha was the team’s biggest rental trade chip, but fellow pending UFAs Max Pacioretty, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Joel Edmundson should garner plenty of interest, too.
The Anaheim Ducks traded the rugged defenseman to the Maple Leafs for a 2025 third-round pick, the teams announced.
The Ducks will retain 50% of Lyubushkin’s $2.75-million cap hit, while the Carolina Hurricanes will retain an additional 25%, bringing it down to $687,500. The Canes will receive a 2024 sixth-round pick from the Leafs for doing so. Toronto receives the rights to forward Kirill Slepets from Carolina.
Lyubushkin, a pending unrestricted free agent, played 31 regular-season contests with the Maple Leafs after a midseason trade from the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22. He dressed in all seven of Toronto’s playoff games that campaign, too – often pairing with Morgan Rielly at five-on-five.
While he provides little-to-no offense, Lyubushkin posted strong defensive metrics during that 2021-22 campaign.
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However, his play has plummeted this season. He ranks second-last among NHL defensemen with minus-8.8 goals above replacement, and his minus-6.6 defensive goals above replacement is the fourth-worst at his position.
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The 29-year-old has produced just four assists in 55 games with the Ducks this season while averaging 17:09 per contest. He’s still providing plenty of grit, though, as he’s racked up 138 blocks and 112 hits.
Timothy Liljegren is the only right-handed shot among Toronto’s regular defensemen, but he’s missed the last two games with an injury. Mark Giordano also suffered a head injury on Thursday against the Coyotes, and there’s no timetable for his return. When fully healthy, the Leafs’ blue line could look as follows:
LD
RD
Morgan Rielly
Ilya Lyubushkin
T.J. Brodie
Jake McCabe
Simon Benoit
Timothy Liljegren
The retention on Lyubushkin’s contract gives the Leafs plenty of cap space to make further moves, but their trade assets are dwindling. Toronto still has its 2024 first-round pick but doesn’t have a second-rounder for the next three years. The team is notably without a pick until Round 5 in 2025.
Murray has two more seasons on his deal at a cap hit of $6.25 million, but Ottawa will retain 25% of the 28-year-old’s salary as part of the agreement. He will cost just under $4.69 million against the Leafs’ books per season.
Toronto will receive the Senators’ third-round selection in 2023 and a seventh-round pick in 2024.
Murray won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, becoming the first goaltender to accomplish the feat as a rookie in the process. He owns a sterling .921 save percentage and 2.18 goals against average in 51 career playoff appearances.
However, he was unable to live up to expectations after signing his current four-year, $25-million contract with the Senators in October 2020. Injuries marred his two-season tenure in Ottawa: Murray was only able to suit up for 47 games in Canada’s capital, where he authored a .899 save percentage and 3.23 GAA.
Murray saw a slight uptick in performance this past season after logging a career-worst 3.38 GAA in 2020-21. He sported a .906 save percentage and 3.05 GAA in 2021-22 while putting up one shutout in 20 showings.
A non-COVID-19 illness sidelined him to begin the campaign, kicking things off on the wrong foot. He then suited up for two games before sustaining a head injury. Murray eventually returned to action for another three contests before testing positive for COVID-19.
Then the team placed him on waivers and sent him to the AHL in November. At the time, Murray said he felt the Senators were making him the scapegoat for their early-season struggles.
“I do, yeah. I also think that’s part of what you sign up for as a goalie. I think that comes with the territory,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve been bad, but I haven’t been good enough to win.”
Murray returned to the crease in the NHL in January and improved markedly before being forced to miss the Senators’ remaining 29 games of the season. He rocked a 2.96 GAA and .912 save percentage during his final 14 appearances of the campaign.
The Penguins’ third-round selection in 2012 owns a career 2.77 GAA and a .911 save percentage in 246 NHL games.
Murray played junior hockey with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds under current Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe.
The Maple Leafs will reportedly be hunting for another cheaper goaltender, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. Pending unrestricted free-agent goaltender Jack Campbell was Toronto’s starter in 2021-22, and he’ll now almost certainly hit the open market on July 13.
Seattle is retaining 50% of Giordano’s $6.75-million cap hit. The Toronto native will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
The second-rounders are in 2022 and 2023, while the third-round pick is in 2024.
Giordano has recorded six goals and 17 assists in 55 games while averaging 21:29 of ice time per contest with the Kraken in 2021-22. The 38-year-old’s offensive game has declined with age, but he’s still posting elite defensive metrics this campaign.
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Giordano spent the first 15 years of his career with the Calgary Flames before the Kraken selected him in the expansion draft. He won the Norris Trophy in 2018-19 while playing alongside current Leafs blue-liner T.J. Brodie. If Toronto plans to reunite the pair, its blue line could look something like this at full health:
LD
RD
Morgan Rielly
Ilya Lyubushkin
Mark Giordano
T.J. Brodie
Jake Muzzin*
Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin
Timothy Liljegren
*Currently injured
Blackwell, meanwhile, has tallied eight goals and nine assists in 39 games in a bottom-six role for the Kraken. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound winger has played in 119 career NHL games between the Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, and Seattle, registering 49 points. He’s posted solid underlying numbers over the past three seasons.
In addition to Tippett, Philadelphia received a conditional 2024 first-round pick and a 2023 third-round pick in exchange for Giroux’s services. Prospects Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov and a 2024 fifth-round pick are also heading to Florida.
The Flyers will acquire the Panthers’ first-rounder in 2024 if the pick falls outside the top 10. Otherwise, they will receive the latter’s 2025 first-round selection.
Philadelphia will retain 50% of Giroux’s salary.
“Any day that you trade your captain is a tough day, and with how much Claude has meant to this organization and how he has represented himself for 15 years, makes it all that more difficult to say goodbye,” Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said.
“Claude is one of the best players to ever wear a Flyer uniform.”
Giroux was only willing to accept a trade to Florida, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. Earlier this month, reports emerged that the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues were also expressing interest in him.
The Panthers’ package was competitive but “not as aggressive” as other offers on the table, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports.
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 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 either led or tied the Flyers in points in eight of the last 11 seasons. He 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.
If the Buffalo Sabres commit to trading captain Jack Eichel, they want his contract fully off the books.
“One of the biggest hurdles right now to getting a Jack Eichel trade done is that the Sabres … do not want to retain any salary,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada’s “32 Thoughts.”
“Now, they are willing to talk about taking contracts back to facilitate a deal, but it’s still difficult with so many teams close to the cap and also Eichel still having four more years at $10 million a season left on his salary.”
A potential Eichel trade has been in limbo since the outset of this past offseason. The team and player remain at odds over the best way to fix Eichel’s ailing neck. Eichel wants an artificial disc replacement – which has never been done on an NHL player – while the Sabres prefer fusion surgery, which is more common but has a longer recovery time.
Eichel is currently on long-term injured reserve. Since being drafted second overall by Buffalo in 2015, the soon-to-be 25-year-old’s notched 355 points in 375 games.
The Sabres have begun their 2021-22 campaign with consecutive wins.
If Vatanen plays in five regular-season games this campaign, it will remain a 2020 fourth-round pick. If he plays in 12 regular-season contests or 70% of playoff games, it will become a 2020 third-rounder, according to Michael Smith of the Hurricanes’ official website.
Vatanen, 28, recorded five goals and 18 assists in 47 games with the Devils this season. He’s been out of action for the last 10 contests due to a lower-body injury.
Kuokkanen, 21, was selected in the second round by the Hurricanes in 2016. He’s appeared in 11 NHL games, going pointless. This season, he’s scored 12 goals and added 30 assists in 52 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
Claesson, 27, has played 150 career NHL games, recording six goals and 20 assists. He’s spent the entire season with the Checkers, mustering three goals and 16 assists.
Chicago is receiving a second-round pick in 2020, netminder Malcolm Subban, and defense prospect Slava Demin in return.
The Golden Knights will also receive prospect Martins Dzierkals from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2020 fifth-round pick. The Maple Leafs are retaining a portion of Lehner’s salary. Toronto will eat 44% of the 50% retained by Chicago, which amounts to $1.1 million in cap space and roughly $190K in salary owed, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.
Lehner is set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1 after signing a one-year, $5-million deal with the Blackhawks in the summer. The 28-year-old owns a .918 save percentage and a 3.01 goals-against average in 33 games this season.
With Marc-Andre Fleury already in the fold, the Golden Knights now possess one of the league’s top goaltending tandems. However, Fleury is having one of his worst statistical seasons in years, posting a .906 save percentage and a goals-saved above average of minus-4.55.
Subban, a former first-round pick, has struggled to the tune of an .890 save percentage and a 3.18 goals-against average in 20 games this season.
Demin, a fourth-round pick in 2018, has nine points in 30 games at the University of Denver in 2019-20.
Dzierkals, 22, was a third-round pick by the Leafs in 2015. The Latvian winger has 10 points in 31 games in the Finnish league this season.
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