While the Tampa Bay Lightning were busy extending their winning streak to eight games with a 3-1 win against the Washington Capitals, other teams were making their trade deadline moves. There was a flurry of activity that started in Colorado:
Avalanche acquire Lindgren and Vesey from Rangers [Mile High Hockey]
The nicest thing we can say about this is that it is definitely a hockey trade. Colorado presumably upgraded their defense by swapping old friend Calvin de Haan for Ryan Lindgren while improving their bottom-six with the slightly underrated Jimmy Vesey. The Rangers pick up de Haan for the rest of the year along with prospect Juuso Parssinen along with a second and fourth round pick in the next draft.
That deal was followed a little later by a slightly smaller one between Minnesota and Nashville
Wild make deadline deal for familiar face [Hockey Wilderness]
Gustav Nyquist, who we were pondering as a depth pick-up (honestly, the article was half-written) took a flight up north to Minnesota in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick. It’s the second time the Wild have made a deal for Nyquist, having acquired him in 2023 for a fifth-round pick. With some of their forwards a little banged up, Minnesota needed some help up front. This deal probably sets the floor for a Yanni Gourde deal if Seattle wants to move their fan-favorite center.
Finally, the Lightning’s in-state rival made a move.
Panthers acquire Seth Jones from Chicago [Litter Box Cats]
The Panthers solidified their defensive corps (and picked up some insurance in case Aaron Ekblad walks in free agency) by trading for the Blackhawks top defenseman. They also talked Chicago into retaining 26% of Jones salary (roughly $2 million a year) for the next five seasons. Chicago gets their goaltender of the future in Spencer Knight along with a first-round pick in either 2026 or 2027.
Jones had made his request to be traded public last week, and while there were rumors that Columbus was his preferred destination, he ends up with a contender. He’ll likely end up on their second pairing behind Ekblad and Gustav Forsling, but with Ekblad an unrestricted free agent this summer, he could see an increase in his role next season.
We’ll see if these deals spark a run of action from the other general managers as we plow on towards Friday’s deadline.
Lightning News
Lightning down Capitals, 3-1 [Raw Charge]
They ground out two more points (in a usually hostile environment) to keep pace with the Maple Leafs and Panthers. Oh, and that Ovechkin guy scored again.
What makes sense for the Lightning as the deadline nears [Tampa Bay Times]
Eduardo Encina speculates on the Lightning’s plans for this week. Alex Tuch and Jake Evans come up as possibilities. He points out that both players are right-handed shots. The link also has a nice story on Lightning eBUG Kyle Konin designing Jonas Johansson’s new mask.
Brandon Hagel second star of the month for the NHL [NHL.com]
Not to take anything away from Hagel’s spectacular month (7 goals, 6 assists), but how in the world was Andrei Vasilevskiy not one of the stars of the month. C’mon NHL!
Crunch top Amerks in shootout [Syracuse Crunch]
The Crunch took down one of the AHL’s best teams to start the month and are winners of three of their last four games.
Hockey Bay Hockey Cards: One Player, One Card – Daymond Langkow [Hockey Bay Hockey Cards]
Instead of interrupting the Lightning coverage here with hockey card posts, we’ve created a separate location. Yay! It won’t be updated every day, but we should have a few posts every week about those little pieces of cardboard.
Hockey News
Goalie Goal! [NHL.com]
Add Ilya Sorokin to the list of NHL goalies that have put one in the net. Sorokin tied Zemgus Girgensons in goals scored this year with a little help from old friend Steven Stamkos. After the Islanders goalie stopped a shot, Stamkos attempted to pass the puck back to his defenseman, but it was off just a little and the puck wandered down the ice into the empty net.
Jackets win Stadium Series game [Jackets’ Canon]
The magic ride of the Columbus Blue Jackets continue as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings under the lights of Ohio Stadium. Both teams honored Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau prior to the game as the Red Wings sported various jerseys the brothers wore during their careers and the Blue Jackets wore a “Johnny outfit” consisting of a black hat, hoodie, sweatpants, and UGG boots.
Jessica Campbell chats about her time as Kraken Assistant Coach
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