Evan’s Daily: Leafs Are Done, NHL Trade Deadline Doesn’t Pay Off For Most Teams

A lot of teams really went all-in at the NHL trade deadline this year, especially in the Eastern Conference, but it didn’t pay off, as most of those teams have exited the playoffs already. The trade deadline is risky business, and when it doesn’t work, it stings.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made it past the first round for the first time in 20 years, but that’s as far as they would go. On Friday, they were eliminated by the Florida Panthers on their own home-ice.

All that and more in this Saturday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

Well, sometimes you can have everything planned out and then something happens that changes everything. I had a day planned of content Friday, but the rainstorms in Colorado led to my basement being flooded, so I had to deal with that. Today, we’ll get back on schedule with another Season in Review and a look back at Joe Sakic’s best trades as GM. Something to look for soon is a collaboration with our Montreal Hockey Now folks on what went wrong for Jonathan Drouin and if he is even worth the Avalanche taking a chance on.

For now, catch up on our season in review here.

Josh Manson

Logan O’Connor

Alex Newhook

Alexandar Georgiev

NHL Playoffs

It’s officially over for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and big changes have to be coming, right? Most of their star players disappeared in the second round, as they fell to the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime. The Panthers will now face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The other big Canadian team in the playoffs is now on the brink of elimination, as the Vegas Golden Knights took care of business on home-ice, and can now take the series in Edmonton in Game Six.

Last year, the Colorado Avalanche went all-in at the NHL trade deadline and it worked out, as they went on to win the Cup. This year, a lot of teams made huge trades, especially in the Eastern Conference, and now they’re all hitting the golf courses in their respective areas. At least New Jersey traded for someone they can retain. The Islanders managed to sign Bo Horvat to an extension, but I’m not so sure that deal will age well. The Panthers made their big move before the year, getting Matthew Tkachuk, and that’s certainly paying off.

Remember the Eastern Conference arms race before the trade deadline.

All the teams that made big deals (the deadline winners?) have been eliminated:

Maple Leafs
Bruins
Rangers
Devils
Tampa Bay
Islanders

— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 13, 2023

The Avalanche didn’t make any big moves at the trade deadline, so at least they held on to the few nice assets they have.

Around the NHL

BHN: David Pastrnak had a massive year, and now he will be one of the two runner-ups to Connor McDavid for the Hart Trophy…

PHN: Should the Pittsburgh Penguins hire Kyle Dubas if he gets canned?

If you are enjoying the content at CHN, please consider subscribing. If you use code “evan10”, you can get a year subscription and ad-free experience for just $19.99! Students can subscribe for just $14.99.