NHL Trade Deadline day live blog 

Welcome to the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. The cutoff for any trade was 3 p.m. ET today, with several, including big-name players, having been completed in the previous few weeks. But there was still plenty of activity, with some teams hoping to gear up for a long run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs while others built for the future. NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen provided all the news, rumors and analysis up to and past the deadline.

5 p.m. ET 

The Deadline has come and gone and not surprisingly, the Vegas Golden Knights pulled off the biggest trade of the day, landing Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks.

It wrapped up a day of 23 trades. It wasn't a crazy day, but it did see the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers gear up for what could be another Eastern Conference Final showdown. 

And saw an arms race in the West. 

The final six weeks of the season should be wild. 

Thanks for following along.

4:40 p.m. ET

Jack Roslovic to the New York Rangers is now official.

The Rangers got Roslovic, a right wing, from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Roslovic could fill the Rangers' need for a right-shot right wing on their top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. At the very least, he fills the need for a speedy right wing in their top nine forward group.

He has been hot lately too with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 12 games since Feb. 13. Roslovic missed 21 straight games with an injury from Nov. 14-Dec. 27.

The Rangers previously acquired center Alex Wennberg from the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.

They had three holes to fill; right wing, center, defenseman. They filled them all without giving up a first-round pick or any of their prospects.

4:15 p.m. ET

The Devils are doing another goalie move, acquiring Kaapo Kahkonen from the San Jose Sharks for Vitek Vanecek, according to ESPN and NHL Network's Kevin Weekes.

The Devils already acquired Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens earlier Friday.

Kahkonen is in the last year of a two-year contract and can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. Vanecek has one year left on his contract that carries a $3.4 million salary cap charge.

It's not clear if the Devils plan to re-sign Kahkonen or just ride him out for the rest of this season. But clearly Vanecek's cap hit of $3.4 million is big for the Devils for next season.

The Devils will have Allen on their cap at $1.925 million next season because Montreal is retaining 50 percent of his $3.85 million AAV. That leaves plenty of room for New Jersey to be active in trying to sign or acquire another veteran goalie in the offseason.

Kahkonen could be that goalie. If the Devils don't re-sign him right away, the last quarter of this season will essentially be a tryout to see how he fits with Allen and if there's a future as those two being New Jersey's tandem at least next season.

This also gives the Devils a chance to put Nico Daws and Akira Schmid in Utica of the American Hockey League, allowing the two young goalies a chance to develop without the pressures of being in the NHL.

Should the Devils have done this sooner? Ideally, yes. It might have kept them in the playoff race. But it's not clear if these moves were available to them sooner than Friday, so they made them happen now with the short-term and long-term in mind.

3:55 p.m. ET

Matt Dumba to the Tampa Bay Lightning is now official.

The Lightning have acquired Dumba, a defenseman, and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft from the Arizona Coyotes for Tampa Bay's fifth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Dumba has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 58 games this season. He plays a hard, physical game. He has appeared in 49 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

The Lightning are fighting to keep a playoff spot. They are in position as the second wild-card in the Eastern Conference, but only two points up on the streaking New York Islanders, who have won five games in a row and have two games in hand on the Lightning.

Scroll down to 2:45 to read more.

3:44 p.m. ET

A housekeeping item:

Jake Allen to the Devils is official. The Montreal Canadiens are getting a conditional third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft from New Jersey for the goalie. The Canadiens are also retaining 50 percent of Allen's $3.85 million AAV, which carries through next season.

The third-round pick going to Montreal turns into a second-round pick if Allen plays at least 40 regular season games in the 2024-25 season and his team qualifies for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Scroll to the 1:50 p.m. entry for analysis on Allen to the Devils and why it matters.

3:20 p.m. ET

Here's what we know about the Tomas Hertl trade to the Vegas Golden Knights, per reports, including from TSN's Darren Dreger and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

To the Vegas Golden Knights: Hertl

It's unclear what is going back to San Jose.

San Jose is also reportedly retaining 17 percent of Hertl's cap hit.

Hertl is injured now but expected back for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

More to come.

3:02 p.m. ET

Tomas Hertl to the Vegas Golden Knights for multiple first round picks. That's the report. And that's the shocker right at the deadline.

More to come on this one. Stay tuned.

2:57 p.m. ET

Jack Roslovic is reportedly being traded to the New York Rangers from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a fourth-round pick.

The Rangers have been in the market for a right wing that could potentially play on their top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. In Roslovic, they might have that, or at the very least they have a right wing who can play in their top-nine forward group.

Roslovic, 27, is in the last year of his contract with a $4 million AAV. He's a rental for the Rangers.

Roslovic has 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 40 games with the Blue Jackets this season. He had 44 points (11 goals, 33 assists) in 77 games last season and set NHL highs in goals (22) and points (45) in 81 games in the 2021-22 season.

There were reports earlier that the Rangers were in on Max Pacioretty from the Washington Capitals, but that is not happening.

They were reportedly among the final teams in on Jake Guentzel before the Pittsburgh Penguins traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

The Rangers have Kaapo Kakko on the top line with Zibanejad and Kreider now. It's possible Roslovic replaces Kakko there and Kakko drops to the third line, where Jimmy Vesey was with new addition Alex Wennberg and Will Cuylle.

If that's the case, Vesey would drop to the fourth line and replace Adam Edstrom as the left wing there.

This may not be a big splash for the Rangers, but Roslovic fills the need for a right-shot, right wing who can produce some offense.

2:45 p.m. ET

Matt Dumba to the Tampa Bay Lightning? That is the report that's out there now, the Arizona Coyotes sending the veteran defenseman to the Lightning, who have a big need on the back end with the season-ending leg injury to Mikhail Sergachev.

The Lightning picked up forward Anthony Duclair on Thursday to add to their middle-six forward group. They are in need of a defenseman too and Dumba, who is on a one-year contract, fills it.

Dumba has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 58 games this season. He plays a hard, physical game. He has appeared in 49 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

The Lightning are fighting to keep a playoff spot. They are in position as the second wild-card in the Eastern Conference, but only two points up on the streaking New York Islanders, who have won five games in a row and have two games in hand on the Lightning.

2:35 p.m. ET

The trade in the below entry, Andrew Peeke to the Boston Bruins and Jakub Zboril to the Columbus Blue Jackets, is now official. Included in the trade is Boston sending a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft to the Blue Jackets.

Zboril is being assigned to Cleveland of the American Hockey League.

There are 25 minutes remaining to the deadline. Buckle up.

2:20 p.m. ET

The Boston Bruins are reportedly getting bigger on defense with the addition of Andrew Peeke from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Peeke, signed through the 2025-26 season with a $2.75 million AAV, is 6-foot-3, 214 pounds. He has eight points in 23 games this season.

Boston is sending forward Jakub Zboril to Columbus. Zboril was the No. 13 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. He has spent the entire season in the American Hockey League with the Providence Bruins.

This is one of those trades that doesn't look like much now, but given a chance, Peeke's size and physicality could benefit the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And he's signed for two more seasons so the Bruins have a big blue-liner on their right side for a while.

Zboril gets a fresh start with the Blue Jackets.

2:10 p.m. ET

The entry below on Erik Johnson to the Philadelphia Flyers is now official.

The Buffalo Sabres are getting the Flyers' fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. There is no salary retention in the trade so the Flyers are on the hook for Johnson's $3.25 million AAV through the rest of this season.

For more information, read below.

1:55 p.m. ET

There are reports that the Philadelphia Flyers are acquiring defenseman Erik Johnson from the Buffalo Sabres for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. 

Johnson is signed through the end of this season with a $3.25 million AAV. 

This would be a move strictly for this season for the Flyers to help their depleted defense, which this week has seen Sean Walker get traded to the Colorado Avalanche and Nick Seeler go on injured reserve. Jamie Drysdale and Rasmus Ristolainen are also on injured reserve.

The Flyers are in a playoff position and don't want to just punt on that completely, so bringing in a veteran defenseman like Johnson will bolster the back end until Seeler, Drysdale and Ristolainen are able to return, if they are.

1:50 p.m. ET

Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils? It appears that it is happening, according to multiple media reports. 

Allen, a goalie with the Montreal Canadiens, is signed through next season with a $3.85 million AAV. The Canadiens are reportedly retaining 50 percent of that so he's a $1.925 million goalie for the Devils, most notably for next season. 

That means the Devils can still pursue another veteran goalie in the offseason. Maybe they still go after Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. Markstrom is signed for two more seasons with a $6 million AAV.

Imagine the Devils turning the goaltending they had this season into a tandem of Markstrom and Allen next season for less than $8 million. It's not out of the realm of possibility.

For now, the Devils have been in the market for a veteran goalie since the summer. Allen fills that need being able to potentially help the Devils now but more importantly next season.

The Devils have Nico Daws and Akira Schmid, and no insulation for them with Vitek Vanecek injured and, when playing, not performing well. 

Adding a Allen insulates Daws and Schmid and makes Vanecek expendable. And then it also leaves open the possibility that they could do more with the goaltending in the offseason.

1:35 p.m. ET

A quick update here from the 11:45 a.m. blog; Pat Maroon to the Boston Bruins is official.

The Minnesota Wild have traded the forward to the Bruins for prospect Luke Toporowski and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Toporowski will report to Iowa of the American Hockey League. The sixth-round pick will transfer to the Wild if Maroon plays in at least one Stanley Cup Playoff game with the Bruins this season.

Maroon has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 49 games this season.

Maroon is in the second year of a two-year, $2 million contract. The Wild acquired him on July 2 from the Tampa Bay Lightning, who retained 20 percent of his contract. Maroon's cap hit going to Boston is $800,000.

Maroon is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, winning it with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, and the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Boston has been quiet up until now. Getting Maroon gives a team with size even more size and depth. He also provides more Stanley Cup Playoff experience and should have no problem fitting into the Bruins' culture.

1:15 p.m. ET

The San Jose Sharks might eventually have something bigger brewing as a seller, but they just added to their team, acquiring forward Klim Kostin from the Detroit Red Wings for defenseman Radim Simek and a 7th round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Kostin is signed through next season with a $2 million salary cap charge. He has not produced for the Red Wings with four points (three goals, one assist) in 33 games. He has 36 points (19 goals, 17 assists) in 136 NHL games.

The Red Wings are sending Simek to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.

1 p.m. ET

Tyler Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets is official.

The New Jersey Devils are getting a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft in exchange for Toffoli. They will also retain 50 percent of Toffoli's $4.25 million cap charge.

Toffoli should go into Winnipeg and immediately play right wing on the top line with Kyle Connor on the left wing and Mark Scheifele in the middle. That allows the Jets to move Vladislav Namestnikov down to the second line or third line.

Getting Toffoli not only gives the Jets depth, he provides the scoring on the right side that they so desperate need. He has 26 goals in 61 games this season. Kyle Connor is the Jets' leading goal scorer with 26 goals in 45 games.

Winnipeg had previously acquired Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 3. He's playing second line center and has eight goals in 13 games with the Jets.

12:30 p.m. ET

Jason Zucker is reportedly going from the Arizona Coyotes to the Nashville Predators, another indication that the Predators are trying to get more skill and scoring in their lineup.

The Predators also acquired Anthony Beauvillier from the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday while trading Yakov Trenin to the Colorado Avalanche and picking up Jaret Anderson-Dolan off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings.

Zucker has 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 51 games with the Coyotes. But he can score more. He scored 27 goals in 78 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

The Predators are putting a premium on offense, speed and skill. That's what they get in Zucker, and in Beauvillier and Anderson-Dolan too.

Trenin is more of a big, plodding forward, so he became expendable by the way they're trying to build their roster for the stretch run.

Nashville is currently in the first wild-card position in the Western Conference with a eight-point cushion.

12:25 p.m. ET

The New York Rangers got their defensive depth by acquiring Chad Ruhwedel from the Pittsburgh Penguins for their fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Ruhwedel is a right-handed shooter who is 5-foot-11 and 191 pounds. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in 47 games this season. He is in the last year of a two-year, $1.6 million contract ($800,000 AAV).

He can play the left side and the Rangers could utilize him there if they wanted a different look from Erik Gustafsson, who has played in 61 games this season.

It's possible Ruhwedel makes his Rangers debut against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Jacob Trouba, also a right-handed shooter, has missed practice the past two days with a lower-body injury and he is considered day to day.

But now the Rangers have eight defensemen, with Zac Jones going from No. 7 to No. 8. How they use Ruhwedel when everyone is healthy will be interesting.

The Rangers should still be in the market for a top-six right wing, so stay tuned on them.

12:05 p.m. ET

As mentioned in the 10:55 a.m. ET entry, Jordan Eberle is staying with the Seattle Kraken so take him off the trade boards.

Eberle signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract with the Kraken ($4.75 million AAV) on Thursday.

Eberle has 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 58 games this season. He is an original member of the Kraken having been selected in their expansion draft.

12 p.m. ET

Kyle Okposo is heading to South Florida.

The Buffalo Sabres traded their captain to the Florida Panthers for Calle Sjalin and a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft that becomes a fifth-round pick if Florida wins the Stanley Cup.

The Panthers previously added forward Vladimir Tarasenko in a trade from the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.

Okposo has 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 61 games.

This is a simple, smart, cheap, effective addition for the Panthers, who get deeper with Okposo. That's the goal, depth. They need it. Injuries caught up to them in their playoff run last season and they couldn't overcome them against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.

Okposo will fit in and play whatever role he's given. He has played in 1,045 regular season games in his career but just 24 in the playoffs and zero since 2016. He has to be pumped about the chance to get into the dance with the Panthers, who look like the favorite in the East.

11:45 a.m. ET

Pat Maroon is being traded from the Minnesota Wild to the Boston Bruins for a conditional late-round pick, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo.

Maroon has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 49 games this season.

He is in the second season of a two-year, $2 million contract. The Wild acquired him July 2 from the Tampa Bay Lightning, who retained 20 percent of his contract. Maroon's cap hit going to Boston is $800,000.

Maroon is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, winning it with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, and the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Boston has been quiet up until now. Getting Maroon gives a team with size even more size and depth. He also provides more Stanley Cup Playoff experience and should have no problem fitting into the Bruins' culture.

Maroon understands winning. Boston is about winning.

11:40 a.m. ET

Evgeny Kuznetsov to the Carolina Hurricanes is official.

The Hurricanes have acquired Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Kuznetsov from the Washington Capitals in the past 12 or so hours.

Carolina sent a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Capitals for Kuznetsov. The Capitals will retain 50 percent of Kuznetsov's cap hit, which is $7.8 million and carries through next season.

As mentioned previously, this has a chance to be a massive addition for the Hurricanes if Kuznetsov can play their system and comes back strong with motivation.

Kuznetsov is practicing with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, on loan there by the Washington Capitals after he was waived Saturday and cleared Sunday.

He hasn't played since Jan. 27 and entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Feb. 5.

Also, multiple reports have Tyler Toffoli going from the New Jersey Devils to the Winnipeg Jets for draft picks.

Toffoli has 44 points (26 goals, 18 assists) in 61 games this season with the Devils. The Jets' leading scorer is Kyle Connor, who has 26 goals.

Winnipeg previously added center Sean Monahan on Feb. 3. Monahan has eight goals in 13 games with the Jets since they acquired him from the Montreal Canadiens.

11:25 a.m. ET

Minor trade to report:

The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired goalie Malcolm Subban from the St. Louis Blues for future considerations. Subban is being assigned to Cleveland of the American Hockey League.

All this means right now is the Blue Jackets got another goalie for Cleveland and they have another goalie in their system.

The top goalie they have, Elvis Merzlikins, remains a potential trade option. Merzlikins previously had gone public with his desire to be traded, saying Jan. 15 that he requested to be traded.

At the time, Jarmo Kekalainen was the Columbus general manager. He has since been relieved of those duties and John Davidson, the president of hockey operations, is the acting GM until they hire a replacement for Kekalainen.

Most likely it'll be up to the next GM to decide what comes next with Merzlikins, so it's unlikely this addition of Subban has any impact on what happens with Merzlikins. But there's always a chance that adding a goalie means one could be subtracted.

10:55 a.m. ET

Jordan Eberle loves being a part of the history of the Seattle Kraken. He appreciates that he's helping build a culture in the NHL's newest market. His family loves living the Pacific Northwest. And maybe now he'll get to stay there too.

The Kraken and Eberle are engaged in contract extension talks, according to Sportsnet's Jeff Marek, who reported it to be a two-year contract.

There was word earlier this week that they were talking about an extension, but it didn't remove Eberle's name from trade boards and rumors.

The right wing is in the last season of a five-year contract he signed with the New York Islanders in 2019. He's an original member of the Kraken, having been selected in the expansion draft.

Eberle has 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 58 games this season. He is two games away from playing in his 1,000th NHL game.

If Eberle signs, it's one top-nine right wing that comes off the board.

10:40 a.m. ET

Here's the perfect example of the Carolina Hurricanes deciding to push their chips to the middle of the table this year.

This from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman:

"Washington and Carolina have been discussing an Evgeny Kuznetsov deal. Not sure how it will all work, but it's been moving along."

Pierre Lebrun from TSN and The Athletic shortly after reported that Kuznetsov to Carolina is done. He said the Capitals are getting a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and will retain 50 percent of Kuznetsov's $7.8 million salary cap charge, which carries through next season.

So the Hurricanes appear to be getting a potential top-six center with huge offensive upside and a lot of playoff experience for a third-round pick and a $3.9 million AAV. 

This could be massive for the Hurricanes.

Kuznetsov is practicing with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, on loan there by the Washington Capitals after he was waived Saturday and cleared Sunday. 

He hasn't played since Jan. 27 and entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Feb. 5. 

Selected in the first round (No. 26) of the 2010 NHL Draft, Kuznetsov has 568 points (171 goals, 397 assists) in 723 regular-season games for the Capitals, including four seasons of at least 20 goals. He has 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists) in 87 Stanley Cup Playoff games, and led the postseason with 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) to help Washington win the Stanley Cup in 2018.

Stay tuned on this one.

10:15 a.m. ET

Sportsnet's Hockey Central Trade Deadline show went on air at 10 a.m. ET and insider Elliotte Friedman named seven teams that they're paying attention to with the deadline now fewer than five hours away.

The Vegas Golden Knights, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets.

We already touched on the Golden Knights and Rangers in entries below.

The Hurricanes got Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, but Sportsnet's Jeff Marek said on the show that they're not done yet.

The Bruins should be in the market for a center.

The Maple Leafs might be looking for a depth forward with some added bite to his game. Losing twice this week to the Bruins by 4-1 scores should show them what they're missing. They already have gotten defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson.

The Kraken are sellers and have forwards Jordan Eberle, Tomas Tatar and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and defenseman Justin Schultz available as rentals.

The Jets could be in the market for another forward who can score. Friedman mentioned New Jersey Devils forward Tyler Toffoli, who, as you can read below, is expected to be traded before the deadline.

10 a.m. ET

The New Jersey Devils could be a buyer and a seller Friday.

Tyler Toffoli could be on his way out of New Jersey before the deadline. The Devils scratched Toffoli from their game against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday for trade-related purposes. He's a pending UFA, a top-six right wing, Stanley Cup champion. The Devils should be sifting through multiple offers for Toffoli.

There's also a chance they could trade defensemen Colin Miller and Brendan Smith. Each would be rental additions.

But the Devils have their future in mind and if the price is right for a No. 1 goalie who has term remaining on his contract they will do it, not necessarily to save this season but to get a head start on next season.

Jacob Markstrom is the obvious candidate. The Calgary Flames goalie has been linked to the Devils for months. He is signed for two more seasons with a $6 million AAV. It's not out of the question that the Devils trade Toffoli and use part of the return to get Markstrom.

Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens is another option. He's signed through next season with a $3.85 million AAV. The other goalie that has come up in reports is John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks. He has three more seasons left on his contract.

The Devils don't have to do it now. They could wait until the offseason. But there is value in getting a goalie in for the last quarter of this season so he gets acclimated to the team, the organization, the market and everything else.

If the price is reasonable, why play catchup in the summer when you can get all that work done in the next six weeks?

9:30 a.m. ET

Here's a question while we wait for news to start trickling in with the deadline five and a half hours away: Will the Vegas Golden Knights come off the top rope again?

The Golden Knights came out of nowhere to get Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, and in doing so they put a condition on a first-round pick that was genius.

Vegas agreed to send it's first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to Calgary with the stipulation that it would be their first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft going to the Flames if the Golden Knights did not still have the 2025 pick by March 10.

Translation: The Golden Knights' 2025 first-round pick is still in play. If they trade it, the Flames, of course, would then receive Vegas' 2026 first-round pick.

By the way, the Golden Knights also still have their first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Vegas has already gotten Hanifin and forward Anthony Mantha this week, but Jake Guentzel was reportedly a target before the Pittsburgh Penguins traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

The Golden Knights have cap space with Mark Stone and his $9.5 million AAV shelved on long-term injured reserve and if they were in on Guentzel, they have identified another forward as a need.

They're also on a four-game losing streak, 2-8-1 in their past 11 games, and have dropped to the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

With cap space, the ability to trade a first-round pick at their disposal, and a slumping team, it's only appropriate to expect something from the Golden Knights before the deadline. They are one of the most aggressive buyers maybe in NHL history.

9 a.m. ET

The New York Rangers are a team to watch before the clock strikes 3 p.m. ET.

The Rangers were reportedly in the running to get Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that didn't happen. Guentzel, who would have filled New York's need for a top-six wing, was instead traded to the Carolina Hurricanes late Thursday.

Now the Rangers pivot, and to be honest, it may not be a bad thing for several reasons:

1. In fairness, the Rangers need a right wing to play on their first line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider who can also fill a role on their second power play unit. Guentzel is more of a left wing and a first power-play player. That's never bad to have and that's why the Rangers were after him, but they would have had to have either Kreider or Guentzel playing on his off wing and they might have felt the need to re-configured their first power play unit too.

2. The Hurricanes traded a meaningful player off their roster in Michael Bunting along with three prospects and two conditional draft picks, including a first-round pick (it's a first in 2024 only if the Hurricanes reach the Stanley Cup Final, if not it's a second-round pick in 2024) to get Guentzel. The Rangers' preference is to not have to part with a meaningful player off their roster and word is they do not want to give up any of their top prospects, i.e. Brennan Othmann and Gabriel Perreault.

3. Guentzel was the best forward on the market, but he's not the only one. The Rangers are likely pivoting to see what the acquisition cost would be for Frank Vatrano from the Anaheim Ducks, Pavel Buchnevich from the St. Louis Blues and Jordan Eberle from the Seattle Kraken. All three are right wings and the first two, Vatrano and Buchnevich, have played previously with the Rangers, specifically Zibanejad and Kreider. They're also both signed through next season so the Rangers fill a hole now and would get certainty in that role for next season too. Eberle has played in New York too, for the Islanders, so he understands the market and the Eastern Conference.

4. If they can swing it, the Rangers could also some defensive depth, preferably a left-handed shooter who can challenge Erik Gustafsson for playing time on the third pair with Braden Schneider.

So, yes, the Rangers are a team to watch.

Midnight ET

Alright, who's left?

It feels like we ask this question when we wake up on trade deadline day each year. It used to be that this day was reserved for everything, but more and more teams are trying to get their business done in advance of deadline day so they don't feel the squeeze, the pressure of the clock burning toward 3 p.m. ET.

So, yes, Noah Hanifin is officially off the board, now with the Vegas Golden Knights, and Jake Guentzel is off the board, now with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Hanifin made his debut with Vegas on Thursday, one day after he was traded to the defending Stanley Cup champions by the Calgary Flames.

Guentzel was traded to the Hurricanes from the Pittsburgh Penguins after Pittsburgh's 6-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

They were the two big prizes in this trade deadline class. They are no longer available.

They're not alone.

The Colorado Avalanche made a splash with four additions; forwards Yakov Trenin, Brandon Duhaime and Casey Mittelstadt, and defenseman Sean Walker. The Edmonton Oilers have already acquired forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick, and defenseman Troy Stecher.

Vladimir Tarasenko is with the Florida Panthers. Alex Wennberg has gone to the New York Rangers. Anthony Duclair was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Anthony Mantha is in Vegas with Hanifin.

Last week, the Toronto Maple Leafs got Ilya Lyubushkin and on Thursday they got Joel Edmundson, a pair of defensemen to beef up their back end. The Dallas Stars did the same last week by acquiring Chris Tanev.

But the cupboard for your deadline day blogs and shows and podcasts and live streams and everything else is not bare.

Forward Jason Zucker and defenseman Matt Dumba were held out of the Arizona Coyotes lineup on Thursday for trade-related reasons. They will be traded at some point before the deadline hits.

The New Jersey Devils kept forward Tyler Toffoli out of the lineup Thursday for trade-related reasons. Could a reunion between Toffoli and the Los Angeles Kings be in the offing?

The San Jose Sharks did the same with forward Alexander Barabanov, keeping him out of the lineup against the New York Islanders on Thursday for trade-related reasons.

There are a slew of players who have term remaining on their contracts that could be moved.

There's a chance the Flames trade goalie Jacob Markstrom, maybe to the Devils. Even though the Devils look like sellers now with Toffoli likely on the move, acquiring Markstrom before the deadline would be a move with their future in mind. He's signed for two more seasons.

The Rangers could try to get a right wing like Frank Vatrano from the Anaheim Ducks. Vatrano is signed through next season. Or maybe they go back to an old well and try to get Pavel Buchnevich from the St. Louis Blues. Buchnevich, who was traded to the Blues by the Rangers before last season, is signed through next season.

Jakob Chychrun could be moved. The Ottawa Senators defenseman is signed through next season. Same with Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd, Penguins forward Reilly Smith, and Montreal Canadiens defenseman David Savard and goalie Jake Allen.

Would the Boston Bruins deplete their goaltending depth by trading Linus Ullmark to get a center? He too is signed through next season.

You see, there are players available, plenty of them, and Friday should be active right up to the deadline. Keep hitting refresh to get all the news and analysis right here on this live blog. We'll be here all day, or at least through 3 p.m. ET.