Welcome to your one-stop shop for analysis and grades of every major NHL transaction ahead of Friday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
"Fine" is the word that comes to mind here.
Foegele is a perfectly fine NHL winger - very good defensively at five-on-five and useful on the penalty kill, but with a relatively low offensive ceiling (career-high 46 points in 2024-25, and only nine in 47 games this season for the Kings).
The fit is fine. Ottawa doesn't necessarily need another forward with Foegele's skill set and statistical profile. But the 29-year-old worker bee is a useful piece for coach Travis Green and has a reputation as a well-liked teammate.
The cost is fine, too. Would a third-rounder have made more sense based on market trends? Yes. But a second is all right since Foegele is under contract through next season at a digestible $3.5-million cap hit.
All three picks in this deal feature a quirk: Los Angeles is receiving Buffalo's second-rounder, not Ottawa's. The third-rounder going to the Kings is the better pick between Ottawa's own third and Washington's third. Ottawa, meanwhile, is receiving the worse pick of L.A.'s own third and Dallas' third.
First, Tyler Myers. Now, Bunting. Stars general manager Jim Nill is getting his deadline shopping done early.
Bunting, a pending unrestricted free agent with a $4.5-million cap hit, is a dirty-areas winger who's historically averaged half a point per game. He can man the left wing on virtually any line, but ideally, he slots into the bottom six at even strength and gets net-front duty on the second power-play unit.
A relentless pursuer of pucks, Bunting is tied with Matthew Tkachuk for the sixth-most penalties drawn since his rookie 2020-21 season - especially impressive since he's logged just 15:30 a night in 405 career games. Dallas will be Bunting's sixth team in six years (Arizona, Toronto, Carolina, Pittsburgh).
The Stars' forward group needs more jam and feistiness, so I like this addition on the surface. I really like it at this low cost. Acquiring Bunting for a third-rounder is a bargain given the caliber of players currently garnering seconds.
Nashville's now traded four pending UFAs this week. Nick Blankenburg, Cole Smith, and Michael McCarron are also gone, while Erik Haula and Tyson Jost should be traded before the deadline. The league is keeping an eye on GM Barry Trotz: Will he deal stars with term in Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly?
Note: First-rounder becomes an unprotected 2028 first if the Avalanche land a top-10 pick in 2027.
Colorado, the NHL's best team all season, is bringing in a bottom-six center in exchange for a first-round pick (plus a fifth). Talk about a seller's market.
It's a bit difficult to evaluate this trade without knowing what else Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland has up his sleeve. If this is the Avs' only move to upgrade at center, it's underwhelming considering Nazem Kadri, Ryan O'Reilly, and Vincent Trocheck are all still reportedly available. A center group of Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Jack Drury, and Roy could power the Avs to a Stanley Cup. But this deal hasn't meaningfully raised the club's ceiling; a trade for a top-six center would.
Roy is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. The 29-year-old brings a little scoring touch, is solid in the faceoff circle, and won't hurt you defensively. He'd been buried on the Golden Knights, and the Leafs had high hopes for him after picking him up in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade deal last summer.
Colorado is betting on Roy excelling in a limited role, like he did in Vegas. Also, MacFarland may simply lack the types of high-end prospects required to pair with a first-rounder in order to acquire a premium center.
A first-rounder plus a fifth (which will be the lowest of Colorado's three fifths in 2026) is a dream return for Toronto, especially since Roy's 59 games in a Leafs uniform were mediocre at best. He makes $3 million this year and next - not an onerous contract for the Avs but not an amazing bargain either.
Note: Blackhawks retain 50% of Dickinson's $4.25-million cap hit.
Edmonton deepened its blue line Monday by picking up Connor Murphy from Chicago. Two days later, GM Stan Bowman has returned to the same rival team (and his former employer) to deepen his forward group.
Dickinson, a 30-year-old pending unrestricted free agent, slides into the Oilers' third-line center slot behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. A defensive pivot who scored a career-high 22 goals in 2023-24, Dickinson is best known for his penalty killing. The Blackhawks sit first in penalty kill percentage through 61 games in large part due to Dickinson's diligence, and the Oilers will count on him to improve their 26th-ranked rate.
Dach, a 23-year-old forward, has split his season between the NHL and AHL.
Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson is doing his old boss two money-saving favors by keeping $2.125 million (Dickinson retention) and bringing in $3.6 million in cap commitments through 2026-27 (struggling winger Mangiapane's deal).
Dickinson alone wouldn't have fetched a first-rounder, so the favors are worth it for the Blackhawks. (Is it worth it for the Oilers? That's a trickier question considering so much of their current cap crunch is self-inflicted.)
The Blackhawks now own two first-round picks in 2026 and two in 2027, along with three second-rounders in 2026 and two second-rounders in 2027. Davidson's attempting to build a sustainable Cup contender around superstar forward Connor Bedard, so expect Chicago to flip some of those picks for NHL help. The Blackhawks want to keep taking steps forward.
Utah's Bill Armstrong has become one of the NHL's boldest GMs of late, having acquired Mikhail Sergachev and JJ Peterka in 2024 and 2025 blockbusters. He strikes again by adding a top-pairing defenseman to a Mammoth defense corps that's been missing a workhorse on the right side.
Weegar, 32, is a do-everything blue-liner who can handle heavy minutes. He skates well, makes crisp breakout passes, blocks a ton of shots and passes, recovers loose pucks efficiently, and lays the body when necessary. Like most Flames players, Weegar's production is down in 2025-26: He's got 21 points in 60 games for a 29-point pace after seasons of 47 and 52 points.
The 32-25-4 Mammoth, easily a top 10 defensive team this season, now have three key blue-liners under team control for the next handful of years - right-handed Weegar plus lefty Sergachev and stud rookie Dmitri Simashev.
Weegar's in the third year of an eight-year deal paying him $6.25 million annually. Utah's assuming risk in those final few years given Weegar's age.
All that said, Craig Conroy deserves props. The Flames GM reeled in an absolute haul for a player whose best remaining seasons don't align with Calgary's timeline.
Maatta is a pro's pro on the back end - a solid third-pair guy who can mentor young players. Castagna is a B-level forward prospect in the middle of a point-per-game junior year at Cornell. Three second-rounders in one draft is extremely fun and certainly better than getting only a first-rounder from Utah.
The Flames now own one-eighth of the 2026 second round: their own early selection, the New York Rangers' early pick, the Ottawa Senators' selection in the middle of the round, and Utah's late pick. A good scouting staff can find Conroy two future NHLers with those four picks, all of which should fall within Nos. 33-55.
Note: Canucks retain 50% of Myers' $3-million cap hit.
Dallas, a legitimate Cup contender, desperately needs help on the right side of its blue line. Myers is indeed a veteran right-handed NHL defenseman, but I'm not convinced the 36-year-old solves the whole problem.
Myers, listed at 6-foot-8 and 229 pounds, can clear the front of the net and kill penalties. While mobile for his size, he isn't smooth with the puck and spends too much time in the box (20 minor penalties in 57 games in 2025-26).
With Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen on the top pair, Myers will likely find a home beside Thomas Harley on the second pairing while Lian Bichsel and Ilya Lyubushkin or Nils Lundkvist hold down the third. That right side, beyond Heiskanen, remains vulnerable if Dallas doesn't make another trade.
On the other hand, Myers arrives on a cheap contract with the Canucks retaining salary. He'll count for a mere $1.5 million against the salary cap this year and next. So: bargain addition for the Stars but not a hugely impactful player.
The last-place Canucks, meanwhile, make out well by acquiring two draft picks, including a valuable second-rounder, for a player who's of no use to them.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).
