Winners
Florida Panthers - The team that is pulling out all of the stops to defend their Stanley Cup title.
Getting one of the best players in Brad Marchand for a simple second-round pick was the definitive steal of the day.
Adding Marchand on top of other trade acquisitions such as defenceman Seth Jones, centre Nico Sturm, and goalies Vitek Vanecek and Kaapo Kahkonen to replace Spencer Knight - Florida had a brilliant deadline.
Dallas Stars - Does this need explaining?
The Stars landed the top guy on the market in Mikko Rantanen on top of great players in Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci.
That's a downright brilliant deadline that even led to major extensions for Rantanen and home-grown young stud Wyatt Johnston.
Dallas are easily deadline winners that now look like even more serious Stanley Cup Finals contenders.
New York Islanders - They may have made only one move, but the one they did was gigantic.
Trading away Brock Nelson is tough, but it was needed. That being said, looking at what they got in return it's no surprise the Islanders pulled the trigger.
Calum Ritchie is one of the most promising prospects in hockey and could become a star for the Islanders.
Putting that on top of a 2026 or 2027 first-round pick selection and a 2028 third-round pick was genius work by general manager Lou Lamoriello.
Colorado Avalanche - Time to move on with the Rantanen nonsense and get serious about contending for the Stanley Cup...and that's exactly what they did.
Brock Nelson was one of the best pickups at the deadline, especially with Gabriel Landeskog out.
Adding a veteran presence like Nelson who can practically do it all is just what the Avs needed to compete out of the Western Conference.
While skilled, they definitely got older in obtaining Erik Johnson, Charlie Coyle, and Jimmy Vesey. But they also acquired young pieces in Hank Kempf, Ryan Lindgren, and William Dufour.
Go chase that ring, Nelson.
Seattle Kraken - They didn't get any players, but for a brand new team to stock up on draft picks made out for a nice deadline.
Coming away from it with two first-round picks and a second-round pick for a team that has zero chance of making the playoffs is always a great move for a GM looking to load up on great, young talent.
Losers
Boston Bruins - The team was trending in the right direction to (sort of) be winners - until the Brad Marchand trade.
And on top of that, giving up Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle, Justin Brazeau, and Trent Frederic just guts the team.
They came away with a first-round pick from Toronto, two second-round picks (one that could turn into a first), and a fourth-round pick along with some possibly young studs in the coming years with Fraser Minten and Max Wanner.
Minten put up 22 goals and 36 assists last season in the WHL and 31-36 the year so he could possibly be something great.
But in a seller's market, only getting a second-rounder that has the possibility of being a first for Marchand is insane.
Carolina Hurricanes - I feel this one is self-explanatory.
Going all in on a trade for Rantanen only to have him choose to go to sign with another team is gut-wrenching.
Yes, Logan Stankoven was a great pickup, especially his style of play that matches the Canes, and they got some picks, but the damage is done.
Vancouver Canucks - They're not losers because they did something questionable, it's the fact they didn't do much of anything at all.
The Canucks didn't move Brock Boeser or Elias Pettersson nor did they trade for anyone in the heat of a Wild Card race in which they're just two points out from jumping over the Calgary Flames.
All they did was trade away Carson Soucy.
For heaven's sake, even the Los Angeles Kings did something in getting Andrei Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers.
The questionable
Washington Capitals - Trading for Anthony Beauvillier is just what the Capitals needed and that's depth for their third/fourth lines.
That being said, when you look at what the Panthers, Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning did to make the Eastern Conference a little stronger, it was surprising in a way.
The Capitals were passive during the deadline when they won the Stanley Cup in 2018 in getting depth pieces with Michael Kempny and Jakub Jerabek, so maybe Beauvillier is all they need.
Keeping a group together with the best chemistry the Capitals may have ever seen is vital to a Stanley Cup run.
Time will tell but for now, they came up short compared to their Eastern Conference counterparts looking to make a Stanley Cup run.
Edmonton Oilers - They definitely made some solid moves in acquiring Jake Walman and Trent Frederic, but is that enough?
Compared to what the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche did, their moves almost seem like nothing more than a question mark for a team looking to head back to the Stanley Cup, especially when they're struggling to keep up with the Vegas Golden Knights in their own division.
Their saving grace is that they're in the Pacific Division and only have to worry about the Knights.
But come playoff time are those moves really going to be the ones that finally help Connor McDavid hoist the Stanley Cup?