March 6, 2026, 3:42 p.m. ET
The 2026 NHL trade deadline has come and gone and it certainly was … a deadline!
After a slow lead up in the days ahead, the gentle trickle of trades continued basically right up until the 3 p.m. ET deadline on Friday itself. As is often the case, trades can be announced after the 3 p.m. deadline and on Friday, that was basically all the action hockey fans got for the majority of the day.
NHL trade tracker for 2026 deadline: Live updates, grades and analysis
It’s certainly a disappointing deadline for fans given the fun, chaotic nature we all know the day can be. However, now that the dust has finally settled and no more major moves are likely to come, there are still things to discuss as we begin the post-deadline analysis period. That’s right, folks, it’s time to hand out some awards to the biggest winners and losers of the 2026 NHL trade deadline. Let’s dive in!
The Blues are without a doubt the biggest winners of the day. Landing two first-round picks and two third-round picks — plus a few depth pieces — for Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk is great work from Doug Armstrong. Plus, St. Louis kept Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou as players to build around as the team works through a rebuild. A job well done from Armstrong and the team in St. Louis.
Winner: NHL brothers
The trade deadline was a big day for brothers. Both Schenn brothers were moved to New York state — with Luke Schenn headed to the Sabres and Brayden Schenn to the Islanders — as the two long-time NHLers sit in prime position for a playoff spot. Also, veteran Nick Foligno joined brother Marcus Foligno in Minnesota in the final few months of his NHL contract that’s set to expire this summer.
It’s not often we see this much trade movement with brothers involved, so that was pretty neat to see.
Winner: Dark horse playoff candidates
There was some movement from the NHL’s top teams, but most of the noise came from the mid-tier contenders or dark horse teams. The Wild made a bunch of moves, including adding Bobby Brink, Jeff Petry and Foligno. The Sabres nabbed Sam Carrick, Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn. And the Ducks made a surprise splash with trading for long-time Washington Capital in John Carlson. Overall, a pretty solid day for teams below the top contenders.
We were told that this was expected to be a seller’s market, given the amount of players available across the board. But because the buyers didn’t bite on the big names, a few of the sellers were left basically as they were just a few weeks prior. Teams like the Flyers and Rangers were mostly shut out of deals due to sticking to their asking prices. Things were looking bad for the Maple Leafs, but the team did move Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton at the buzzer. However, Rangers fans and Flyers fans cannot be happy their teams didn’t move on from Vincent Trocheck and Rasmus Ristolainen respectively here.
Loser: CBA changes
Headed into the 2026 NHL trade deadline, general managers expressed their frustrations with new rules in the collective bargaining agreement that they said would make it more difficult to make trades. And it turns out, they were right! Friday’s trade deadline was sloooooooooooow. Even slower than it usually is. Given the new rules were instituted earlier than expected too, it’s safe to say much of the blame for this slow deadline can be put at the feet of these changes.