Larsson was the 56th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Larsson is good in both ends of the ice and should be able to adapt his game to the NHL. He has 15 goals and 22 assists in 62 games in the AHL this season.
Hackett had fallen behind Darcy Kuemper in the Minnesota depth chart making him expendable. He will go to a Sabres team who already have Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth, he is not fantasy relevant.
Pominville is in his ninth season in the NHL, all of which have been spent with Buffalo. He was Buffalo's captain and is a good player in both zones. He has 10 goals and 15 assists in 37 games this season. He will be surrounded by a better supporting cast in Minnesota than he was in Buffalo which should boost his fantasy value.
Leighton will serve as Sergei Bobrovsky's backup in Columbus.
Steve Mason is a former rookie of the year will replace Leighton as Ilya Bryzgalov's backup.
Moore was the 21st overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He is a 6-foot-3-inch, 202 lbs. defenseman who is a great skater. He has one assist in 17 games for Blue Jackets this season.
Dorsett is a tough player that provides the Rangers with some grit, however he is not fantasy relevant.
Brassard was the sixth-overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He has seven goals and 11 assists 34 games this season.
Gaborik is a 7-time 30+ goal-scorer and 3-time 40-goal-scorer. He is struggling this season with just nine goals and 10 assists in 35 games. He goes to a Blue Jackets team where he will be the obvious number-1 scoring option in Columbus. This should help Gaborik's fantasy value because he will be leaned on heavily to produce.
Conacher got off to a hot start in Tampa Bay posting 18 points in his first 21 games. However he has slowed down lately recording just six points in his last 14 games. His nine goals and 24 points will lead the Senators in each category.
Tampa Bay addresses their need for a goaltender by adding Bishop who has played well while Craig Anderson has been out. He is 8-5-0 with a 2.45 GAA and .922 SV% in Ottawa this season.
Jokinen is struggling this season but he provides the Pens with some insurance with Sidney Crosby out of the lineup. He likely won't become any more fantasy relevant in Pittsburgh than he was in Carolina.
Smithson is a gritty right-handed shot who is a great faceoff guy. He will replace the oft-injured Eric Belanger in the Oilers lineup.
Hannan was originally drafted 23rd overall by the Sharks in 1997. He played for San Jose from 1998-2007. He returns to the Sharks after making stops in Colorado, Washington, Calgary and Nashville. He is not a fantasy relevant defenseman, he has just one assist in 29 games this year.
Sauve has 10 goals and 13 assists in 52 games in the AHL this season.
Flick has three goals and two assists in 51 games in the AHL this season.
This deal is not fantasy relevant.
Paradis, 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, has played in 36 games with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League this season, recording a goal and eight points with 100 penalty minutes. He ranks fourth on the team for penalty minutes.
Gaunce, 23, has skated the last three seasons for the Lake Erie Monsters, Colorado’s development affiliate in the AHL. As a member of the Monsters, the 6-foot-1, 203-pound defenseman has posted 60 points (9G-51A), 272 penalty minutes and a plus-22 rating in 197 games.
Vincour, 22, has played 86 career NHL games, posting 15 points (7G-8A), including one goal and one assist in 15 contests this season. The 6-foot-2 forward from Brno, Czech Rep., was Dallas’ fifth-round selection (129th overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft.
NHL trades are decided between two or more team general managers. The front office’s job is building a winning team. Building a winning team means discussing trades with other general managers across the league.
During the NHL regular season, players can be traded up until the trade deadline. The deadline is the official cutoff point for when teams can no longer make moves between each other. Players can also be traded throughout the offseason.
Teams trade players in hockey for a variety of reasons, but generally, it is done to find success, whether that is in the short term or long term. Teams may trade their top players in search of draft picks if they are undergoing a rebuild, whereas contending teams may look to acquire talent to boost their playoff chances.
Trades are a common occurrence throughout the NHL and happen often. Some years feature less trades than others, it all depends on each teams needs and the availability of attractive talent.