There were a lot of trades in the NHL Monday. Some teams came out the winner in these trades, and some came out the loser. Let's take a look at some of the top trade deadline deals over the past couple days.
Rangers Acquire Keith Yandle: The New York Rangers went out and made a splash the day before the deadline when they acquired Keith Yandle, prospect Chris Summers and a fourth-round pick from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for one of their best prospects in Anthony Duclair, defenseman John Moore, a first-round pick in 2016 and a second-round pick in this year's draft. Quite the blockbuster. The Rangers are clearly in a win now mode as their window to win the Stanley Cup is only open for another season or two due to so many players that will become free agents. They've also traded a lot of draft picks over the years which will come back to haunt them in a few years. For Arizona, they are rebuilding and will be a good team in a few years.
Blackhawks acquire Antoine Vermette: Due to Patrick Kane being out for 12 weeks, the Hawks needed to make a trade to help out the loss of one of their best players. They acquired Antoine Vermette to play in the top six in exchange for a first-round pick and a prospect. If the Hawks get to the Western Conference Finals, they will most likely get Patrick Kane back, which would make them favorites in the West. This was still a very good trade for Arizona.
Ducks acquire James Wisniewski: The Anaheim Ducks really improved their defense Monday by acquiring James Wisniewski from the Blue Jackets in exchange for Rene Bourque, William Karlsson, and a second-round draft pick. Anaheim has been a contender all season long and they really improved their chances of potentially coming out of the Western Conference with this deal.
Red Wings acquire Marek Zidlicky: Detroit bolstered their defense at the deadline when they acquired Marek Zidlicky from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for conditional draft picks. I would have thought that New Jersey could've gotten a bit more for Marek Zidlicky despite him being older but Detroit is glad it didn't have to give up any roster players or prospects for him.
Blue Jackets acquire David Clarkson: In what was one of the most shocking trades of the deadline, the Columbus Blue Jackets decided to acquire David Clarkson from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Nathan Horton who may very well never play again due to his back. This was a clear win for Toronto because it got rid of that awful contract that Clarkson has that pays him over five million per season. I really don't know what Columbus was thinking on this trade.
Penguins acquire Daniel Winnik: The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Winnik from the Leafs last week in exchange for Zach Sill and two draft picks. That is a very high price on a player like Winnik but it is the price you have to pay in order to acquire these players. Pittsburgh got him because he gives them depth in the bottom six which is something the Penguins have lacked in recent years.
Jaromir Jagr Goes to Florida: Everyone knew Jaromir Jagr was going to get traded. It was just a question as to where he would get traded. It ended up surprising a lot of people when he was traded down south to the Florida Panthers. This is a Panthers team that may not make the playoffs this season but they are in a dog fight with Boston for that last playoff spot. If the Panthers don't make the playoffs this season, I'm sure Jagr would be very dissapointed since his time in the NHL is running thin.
Montreal acquires Jeff Petry: Montreal bolstered their defense today when they went out and got Jeff Petry from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a couple draft picks. Petry is a very good defenseman who can play top four minutes on every team in the NHL even though he doesn't put up that great of numbers.
Islanders acquire Michal Neuvirth: The Islanders needed a better backup for Jaroslav Halak and they got exactly that. They traded away former backup Chad Johnson and a pick to the Buffalo Sabres for him. For the Sabres, this is the ultimate tank job for Connor Mcdavid. Their goaltenders for the rest of the season are Anders Lindback and Chad Johnson which is just terrible.