Zucker, Coleman, Dillon trades debated by NHL.com

Three of the teams chasing the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Eastern Conference made a significant trade in the past two weeks.
The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired forward Blake Coleman from the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. The Washington Capitals acquired defenseman Brenden Dillon from the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday and the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Jason Zucker from the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 10.
Each of these trades will likely have an effect on the balance of power in the Eastern Conference playoff race, but which one will have the biggest impact? We asked five NHL.com writers for their thoughts.

Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

I'm going with the Penguins and Jason Zucker. Despite all the injuries and everything the Penguins have gone through this season, they were in the mix in the Eastern Conference even before they traded for Zucker, and now they are in first place in the Metropolitan Division. The forward fits in perfectly with what the Penguins need and what they've been lacking since the season-ending shoulder injury to Jake Guentzel on Dec 31. Zucker brings speed and goal-scoring ability, which he's already demonstrated in his short stint with the Penguins, having three goals and one assist in his first four games. It's not going to be easy for the Penguins, given the glut of talented teams to get through in the Eastern Conference, but I have a feeling that we might be in Pittsburgh come May -- and maybe even June.

Dan Rosen, senior writer

The Lightning are the hottest team in the NHL, having won 11 in a row, and they aren't satisfied. Their trade for Coleman is a reversal from how they approached the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline, when they stood pat and ended up getting swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets despite winning the Presidents' Trophy. Coleman has a chance to be the perfect addition, a forward who can play and produce on any line. He's skilled enough to have scored 21 goals with the Devils this season, but he also plays with energy and grit, traits that will go over well in Tampa Bay, especially with the skilled players there. He hits, blocks shots, plays hard in the defensive zone and down low in the offensive zone, and he's a dynamite penalty killer. This is the type of player that, in hindsight, the Lightning should have acquired before the deadline last season. They didn't know it then. Coleman is going to have a major impact on this Stanley Cup contender now.

Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

I disagree with Dan on the point that the Lightning should have acquired a player like Coleman before the deadline last season, because I don't think it would have changed Tampa Bay's outcome against Columbus. The only thing that might have altered Tampa Bay's fate was defenseman Victor Hedman being healthy. And he wasn't. Where I do agree with Dan is that Coleman is a perfect addition for Tampa Bay this season. The Lightning addressed a major issue when they signed forward Pat Maroon, who won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues last season. Now they complement him with Coleman, who is a unique mix of muscle and hustle. Adding Coleman to a top six that features Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli makes this team even more lethal. My pick to win the Stanley Cup in September remains my pick to win it now, and this certainly helps.

Pete Jensen, senior fantasy editor

There's no doubt that acquiring a forward before the trade deadline can put a team over the top. I love how the Zucker trade offsets the Guentzel injury and how Coleman adds a new weapon to the Lightning arsenal. But the Capitals are the best example of how underrated the addition of a defenseman can be heading into the heat of playoff hockey. During the 2017-18 regular season, the Capitals acquired Michal Kempny, and he ended up playing an integral role in their Stanley Cup run on the top pair with John Carlson. This time around, with their championship core intact, the Capitals have added a shutdown defenseman with 62 games of playoff experience in Dillon. Goal-scorers like Zucker and Tyler Toffoli (acquired by the Vancouver Canucks) dominate the headlines, but the Capitals are as dangerous as ever and just shored up their back-end issue at an opportune time.

Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Not to take anything away from Coleman and Dillon, but Zucker is the big one to me. When the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017, they had depth to help Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. They have been depleted by injuries this season, but they have one of the best records in the League. Zucker can be the kind of complementary piece that puts them over the top. Pittsburgh might not be done, either. I have to agree with general manager Jim Rutherford, who told Zeisberger that "the Penguins are just as capable of winning as any other team in the League right now."

Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Having watched the Capitals play defensively during the past two months, I'm going to go with the situation I know and pick Dillon for this debate. Since Dec. 23, the Capitals are 11-11-0 and are 29th in the NHL in allowing 3.45 goals per game, ahead of only the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs (3.58). Some of this can be blamed on erratic goaltending, but Braden Holtby was superb on Washington's recent three-game road trip, stopping 85 of 92 shots, but the Capitals went 1-2-0 partly because of their defensive breakdowns. The Vegas Golden Knights scored each of their three goals in a 3-2 win on Monday on plays around the net where the Capitals either lost coverage or failed to be hard on the puck. Those are tasks where Dillon (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) thrives. His physicality (he's second in the NHL among defensemen with 178 hits) also will be a perfect fit for the Capitals style.