Elite Prospects Trade Grades for the 2024-25 trade deadline
Trade Season seems to start earlier every year in the NHL. With the Four Nations tournament looming, it makes sense that GMs are trying to get out in front of this kind of thing, locking in their rosters for at least a week or two before most of the league goes on break.
Nonetheless, as February begins, a number of notable trades have already taken place and it seems that this is officially going to be a trend. These transactions aren't gonna grade themselves, y'know?
Without further ado:
Dallas Stars acquire Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks for a 2025 first-round pick and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick
Dallas grade: C
San Jose grade: A
Finally, a trade that is contemporaneous with the publication of the beautiful Trade Grades.
This is another classic case of a team rehabbing a couple distressed assets and turning them into something of pretty notable value. Not that I expect the Stars' first-rounder to be lower than, like, 20th or so, but Dallas just burned a big chunk of the cap space they got when Tyler Seguin's regular season ended, taking on $8.25 million to bring in two guys who haven't been particularly good this season, albeit in tough circumstances on a very bad team. The Stars' defense is such that even Ceci and his 37.5-percent xGF share might be an upgrade on their bottom six, but Granlund has at least been extremely productive (because the Sharks didn't have anyone better to put on their power play).
Because there are so few teams that are clearly willing to sell at this point, it turns out you gotta give up a first and a later-round pick to get two guys who might not move the needle that much for you, without salary retention. Tough stuff for the Stars, but they wanted an upgrade and, they would say, got one.
As for the Sharks, they got out from under two not-so-good contracts without retaining (because they couldn't) and still wrangled a first? Very nice for them, especially because it feels like they still have more to give up. Because there are so few sellers out there right now, the sooner they seek out additional trades, the more likely they might be to get another first.
Vancouver Canucks acquire Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Danton Heiden, Vincent Desharnais, Melvin Fernstrom, and a conditional 2025 first-round pick
Vancouver grade: B+
Pittsburgh grade: B
You can read my take on this one here, but I'll expand on it here because it was obviously a somewhat secondary trade in comparison with the Canucks getting rid of JT Miller.
I mostly didn't cover it from the Penguins' perspective, because it feels like we're in wait-and-see mode with whatever Kyle Dubas is planning. He gets a first rounder for taking on two salary-dump contracts, which adds to their obligations for next season but also, I kinda think they're gonna try secretly tanking, so this helps them do that. So does the pick.
For the Canucks, you can kinda call it Miller and two defenders who don't feel like NHL players for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, Pettersson, and O'Connor. Which ultimately adds up to a nice roster upgrade for a team that, frankly, needs it. Still, some might be underwhelmed by the return for Miller, but you can't say he didn't play his way out of town.
New York Rangers acquire JT Miller, Erik Brannstrom, and Jackson Dorrington from the Vancouver Canucks for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a conditional 2025 first-round pick
New York grade: C+
Vancouver grade: B-
You can read my take on this one here. To quickly summarize: I don't know that the Rangers are going to get as much value as they think they will unless they put him on the top power-play unit, and even then, I don't think they're gonna run the offense through him; the real problem for them is the term on the Miller contract. They didn't give a ton to give up a player of Miller's quality, so that's good. I also don't think it hurts them to give up on Chytil, but there's room for the Canucks to wring more value out of him.
Calgary Flames acquire Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost from the Philadelphia Flyers for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2028 seventh-round pick
Calgary grade: B+
Philadelphia grade: B
You can read my take on this one here. To quickly summarize: The Flames gave up relatively little from their big-picture plans to get younger and arguably better, while the Flyers moved on from two guys who didn't really seem to have the coach's favor, and added a pick in the upcoming draft. Not bad.
Carolina Hurricanes acquire Mikko Rantanen (50 percent retained), Taylor Hall, and Nils Juntorp in a three-way trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks for Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick; Chicago acquires a 2025 third-round pick
Carolina grade: A
Colorado grade: B+
Chicago grade: B-
You can read my take on this one here. To quickly summarize: Everyone did well to one extent or another, but the Hurricanes got a star, Colorado got a little more cap flexibility (even as they gave up an elite player), and Chicago got more than they would have in a normal Taylor Hall trade without retaining on him.
