Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
It’s over. Even as trades showed up more than an hour after the final horn, the 2026 NHL trade deadline is in the books. The Pittsburgh Penguins largely stood pat, adding only very large winger Elmer Soderblom, who has served as a depth forward for the Detroit Red Wings, and making no subtractions. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas gave an honest answer as to why, and it had nothing to do with market prices and everything to do with winning. And the league threw the book at Evgeni Malkin for his slash on defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
Elsewhere in the Daily, the winners and losers of the NHL trade deadline. The Colorado Avalanche got their 2C about an hour after the horn. The New York Islanders got Brayden Schenn, but is it a good move? The GM is under fire in Toronto, but Detroit seemed to do pretty well.
Church fish fry season is great, isn’t it? By the time I got home, which was around 9 p.m., I sat down to write another column on Kyle Dubas. I don’t think I wrote a full sentence before falling fast asleep.
Glad to have that behind us. And my Dubas column may have some insights that surprise you. This trade deadline was about psychology, and I’ll leave it there for now.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The annual TDL Live Blog was fun, but my goodness, there was not a lot to put into it. With the late trades announced, the total went from 13 to 20 trades. There have been some years in which the total is well over 30, and a few over 40. So, we move on.
Let’s start with Elmer Soderblom, the BIG Penguins trade get.
I also wrote a column about the Penguins’ trade chips (still valid), some potentially expendable prospects who might be better off elsewhere (still valid), and the Evgeni Malkin situation (further reinforced). Here is the Penguins’ analysis.
Kyle Dubas. Here’s why he stood pat, and you can read between the lines on Evgeni Malkin’s future. It was a solid Penguins news conference.
If you watch the full presser, Dubas’s answer on goaltender interference wasn’t really news, and he didn’t break any new ground, but he had the room on the edge of our seats with this impassioned response and frustration. It is minutes long.
And then the NHL Department of (Subjective) Player Safety tossed the book at Evgeni Malkin.
I didn’t see anyone predict the maximum before it happened.
NHL Trade Deadline, News, & National Hockey Now
There’s no question the Colorado Avalanche did well.
Colorado Hockey Now: Nazem Kadri. They got their man (again). The Avalanche are the unquestioned team to beat, but they did more than just acquire Kadri. Aarif Deen has the takeaways from the Avalanche trades.
Detroit Hockey Now: Another good get for the Detroit Red Wings. The Yzerplan was under quiet fire in the offseason, but it has blossomed at the right time. They added Justin Faulk to the Red Wings’ blue line.
Sportsnet: We’ll start with the big boys up North and Ryan Dixon’s reaction to the deadline. The winners and losers of the NHL trade deadline.
TSN: The Stanley Cup pursuit is wide open. Here is the other big boy up North and their take on the deadline and what comes next.
San Jose Hockey Now: I don’t know if you all liked him as much as I did, but I call this good news–a two-year deal for Alex Nedeljkovic.
The Athletic ($): The Rangers didn’t clean house. And it seems they’re not as keen as we thought to trade certain players, such as Alex Lafreniere.
Florida Hockey Now: Cmon, you have to like the Tkachuks, they add so much to the color of the game and the media (for you). The Florida Panthers have neither re-signed Sergey Bobrovsky nor traded him. The 38-year-old is having a bum season and heading toward free agency, but Matthew Tkachuk said his teammates have a plan to get the Panthers goalie to stay.
Tags: Evgeni Malkin Nazem Kadri nhl trade Penguins Trade Pittsburgh Penguins
Categorized:Links NHL Trade Rumors