That’s when the trade of Washington Capitals franchise defenseman John Carlson to the Anaheim Ducks was announced, and the Buffalo Sabres acquired defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn.
But that left the question of whether there would be any news left.
For a while, it looked that way as the day started slowly, and it looked like the St. Louis Blues’ trade of captain Brayden Schenn to the New York Islanders might be the best deal.
But just like last year, the bombshell dropped after the 3 p.m. ET deadline as the NHL worked through the queue of last-minute deals.
The Colorado Avalanche were trading for Calgary Flames forward Nazem Kadri, bringing back a key contributor to their 2022 Stanley Cup title run.
Last year, the big news was the Florida Panthers’ acquisition of Brad Marchand and he helped the Panthers repeat as NHL champions. Kadri, who plays a similar gritty style, will try to help the Avalanche get back on top.
There were 20 trades involving 33 players on deadline day. USA TODAY Sports provided news and analysis on the moves (previous trades can be found here):
Scott Laughton trade details
The trade: The Los Angeles Kings acquire forward Scott Laughton from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2026 conditional third round pick.
Analysis: Laughton, like McMann, is a pending unrestricted free agent and the Maple Leafs got what they could. But they gave up a 2027 first-round pick and a prospect to land Laughton a year ago. The pick the Leafs received in this year’s deal could become a second-rounder if the Kings make the playoffs.
Bobby McMann trade details
The trade: The Seattle Kraken acquire forward Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2027 conditional second-round selection and a 2026 fourth-round selection.
Analysis: The Kraken rank last among playoff-positioned teams in goals per game. McMann scored 20 goals last season and his 19 goals this season would place him second on the Kraken. The 2027 second-round pick will be the latter of the ones that Seattle previously acquired from Winnipeg or Columbus.
Nazem Kadri trade details
The trade: The Colorado Avalanche acquire forward Nazem Kadri and a 2027 fourth-round draft pickfrom the Calgary Flames for forward Victor Olofsson, the rights to unsigned draft pick Max Curran, a conditional 2028 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2027 second-round draft pick.
Analysis: The Avalanche have been looking for a Nazem Kadri-type player since he left in free agency. Now, they have Kadri again. He played a key role in the 2022 Stanley Cup run. Colorado has tremendous center depth with Nathan MacKinnon, 2025 acquisition Brock Nelson and 2026 acquisitions Kadri and Nicolas Roy, The Flames will retain 20% of Kadri’s $7 million cap hit.
Sabres acquire Tanner Pearson from Jets
The trade: The Buffalo Sabres acquire forward Tanner Pearson from the Winnipeg Jets for a 2026 seventh-round pick.
Analysis: A depth move for the Sabres. But he won a Stanley Cup with the Kings, and playoff experience will be important to a team that seems poised to end a 14-year postseason drought.
Nazem Kadri returning to Avalanche, per reports
Finally a big trade. Return not reported. Kadri won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022.
Capitals acquire Timothy Liljegren from Sharks
The trade: The Washington Capitals have acquired defenseman Timothy Liljegren from the San Jose Sharks for a fourth-round pick.
Analysis: The Capitals needed a defenseman after trading John Carlson. He’s not Carlson, but he’s a depth addition. The Capitals also acquired forward David Kampf from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2026 sixth-rounder.
More trades trickling in
Per Elliotte Friedman, Scott Laughton is heading from Toronto to Los Angeles. The Boston Bruins announce they acquired forward Lukas Reichel from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2026 sixth-round draft pick
Justin Faulk trade details
The trade: The Red Wings acquire Justin Faulk from the St. Louis Blues for a first-round pick and third-round pick, defenseman Justin Holl and unsigned draft pick Dmitri Buchelnikov, a forward.
Analysis: Faulk, a right-shot defenseman, is expected to slot in the second pairing, according to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. He has another year left on his contract.
Panthers hang on to free agents
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and forward A.J. Greer are staying. The Panthers will work to re-sign them, according to Pierre LeBrun.
Brayden Schenn trade details
The trade: The New York Islanders acquire forward Brayden Schenn from the St. Louis Blues for Jonathan Drouin, goalie Marcus Gidlof and 2026 first- and third-round picks.
Analysis: The Islanders get a top six forward in Schenn and Drouin gets a fresh start. Gidlof, 20, plays in Sweden. The first-rounder was the one that the Islanders got from Colorado in last year’s Brock Nelson deal. The Islanders also signed Jean-Gabriel Pageau to a three-year extension.
Players who are sticking around
Vincent Trocheck is staying with the Rangers and Rasmus Ristolainen is staying with the Flyers. Both had good Olympics and have term left on their deals.
More trades reported
According to Elliotte Friedman, Ryan Strome is going from Anaheim to Calgary, Justin Faulk is going from St. Louis to Detroit and Bobby McMann is going from Toronto to Seattle. Also the Rangers announce they acquire forward Aidan Thompson from the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Derrick Poulio
Kings sign Mathieu Joseph
Joseph and the Blues agreed to a contract termination to make him a free agent. He played for new Kings coach D.J. Smith on the Senators.
It’s 3 p.m. ET
But remember, trades are still good if they’re in the pipeline at Central Registry. Brad Marchand was announced after the deadline last season.
Islanders acquire Brayden Schenn from Blues, per report
The trade: The New York Islanders acquire forward Brayden Schenn from the St. Louis Blues for a prospect and first- and third-round picks, per TSN’s Darren Dreger
Analysis: The Islanders need more offense and Schenn has had eight 20-goal seasons. He wins 54% of his faceoffs and has been Blues captain since 2023.
Penguins acquire Elmer Soderblom from Red Wings
The trade: The Pittsburgh Penguins acquire forward Elmer Soderblom from the Detroit Red Wings for a 2026 third-round pick.
Analysis: The fourth-liner is 6-8, 252 and ranked second with 9.22 hits per 60 minutes in Detroit.
Brayden Schenn deal in works
Multiple reports says the Islanders are working on a deal to acquire Blues captain Brayden Schenn. And TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Schenn has agreed to the trade.
Waiver pickups
Hurricanes acquire Nicolas Deslauriers
The trade: The Carolina Hurricanes acquire forward Nicolas Deslauriers from the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2027 conditional seventh-round pick.
Analysis: Deslauriers is a tough character who drops the gloves and protects his teammates.
Predators practice
Erik Haula and Jonathan Marchessault aren’t at the Predators practice, but it’s for maintenance days, according to The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network.
90 minutes to deadline
Been relatively quiet so far. But there’s time.
Wild trade Vinnie Hinestroza to Panthers
The Wild get future considerations. With all the additions that the Wild have made this week, they needed to move someone out. Hinestroza played nine games for the Panthers earlier in his career.
Kraken give extension to Jordan Eberle
The Kraken captain will average $5.5 million in the two-year extension, Sportsnet reports.
Sharks give extension to Alex Nedeljkovic
Nedeljkovic will average $3 million in the two-year extension.
Lightning acquire Corey Perry from Kings
The trade: The Tampa Bay Lightning acquire forward Corey Perry from the Los Angeles Kings for a 2028 second-round pick.
Analysis: Perry played for the Lightning from 2021-23, going to the Stanley Cup Final there in 2022. In fact, he has been to the Final six times, winning in 2007. The Kings will retain 50% of Perry’s salary.
Wild acquire Nick Foligno from Blachawks
The trade: The Minnesota Wild acquire forward Nick Foligno from the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations.
Analysis: Foligno, the Blackhawks captain, will join his brother Marcus in Minnesota. The two of them are physical players, as is Michael McCarron, who was acquired earlier this week. Does the Foligno trade open the door for Connor Bedard to be named captain in Chicago?
Capitals players react to John Carlson trade
The late-night trade of the franchise defenseman to Anaheim was a shocker. Capitals forward Tom Wilson was in near tears while discussing Carlson, who had been with the team for 17 years, per the Hockey News. According to Monumental Sports, captain and pending free agent Alex Ovechkin was asked how the trade would affect his future: “I don’t know. I’m still here so we’ll see. We’ll see what’s going to happen. It’s a hard one.”
The team put out a social media post on Friday thanking Carlson.
Wild acquire Bobby Brink from Flyers
The trade: The Minnesota Wild acquire forward Bobby Brink from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman David Jiricek.
Analysis: Both are pending restricted free agents, with Brink having arbitration rights. Brink, who is 5-8, has good offensive upside. Jiricek is 6-4 and will report to the American Hockey League. He’s on his third NHL team at age 22.
Will Vincent Trocheck be traded?
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Rangers ‘have indicated they are prepared to keep Vincent Trocheck if they don’t get what they feel they need. Told teams, they are not trading him just for the sake of making a trade.’ Trocheck is signed through 2029. He was held out of the Rangers’ last game.
Sabres acquire Sam Carrick from Rangers
The trade: The Buffalo Sabres acquire forward Sam Carrick from the New York Rangers for 2026 third- and sixth-round picks.
Analysis: Carrick has won 53.9% of his faceoffs this season, and the Sabres are last in the league at only 45%. He also has playoff experience with the 2024 Edmonton Oilers, playing 10 games in their run to the Stanley Cup Final, including four in the conference final. He also had 86 hits while averaging 10:25 a game. He’s under contract for another year.
When is the NHL trade deadline?
The NHL trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, March 6. Trades usually are announced after that hour, too, because of a backup in the NHL approving the deals submitted beforehand.
Players who could be moved today
The following players were held out of the lineup on Thursday night for roster management purposes: New York Rangers forwards Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann, plus Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer.
Late-night trades
Several trades were announced after midnight ET.
The Anaheim Ducks acquired defenseman John Carlson from the Washington Capitals, the Buffalo Sabres acquired defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets and the Columbus Blue Jackets acquired forward Conor Garland from the Vancouver Canucks. Trade details can be found here.