Deslauriers, 23, was a third-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He is a 6-foot, 230 lbs. defenseman who has 18 goals and 21 assists (39 points) in 60 games with Manchester (AHL) this season. He has yet to make his NHL debut.
Fasching, 18, was a fourth-round pick (118th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He is a 6-foot-2, 213 lbs. winger who has 12 goals and 15 assists (27 points) in 31 games with the University of Minnesota. He had an excellent tournament with Team USA at the World Juniors this season.
McNabb, 23, was selected in the third round (66th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He is a 6-foot-4, 205 lbs. defenseman who has seven goals and 22 assists (29 points) in 38 games with the Rochester Americans (AHL) this season. He has failed to record a point in 12 games with the Sabres.
Dubnyk cleared waivers a few days ago, but has now been sent to the Habs as insurance. This deal has Carey Price owners and Habs fans worried about how serious Price's lower-body injury is. Dubnyk will likely serve as Peter Budaj's backup until Price is ready to go.
Hemsky has been rumoured to be traded for years, but today is finally the day. Hemsky who played very well for the Czech in the Olympics, scored two goals against the Senators last night and is now a part of the Senators team for the remainder of the season. He has a total of nine goals and 17 assists (26 points) in 55 games this season. Another aspect to this deal is the Oilers retaining 50% of Hemsky's contract.
It is a captain for captain trade, however St. Louis is signed through next season while Callahan is a pending free agent who wants a huge contract (expected to be around 6-years / $36M). He is a gritty, hard-working forward who will likely spend the rest of the season with the Lightning but not be re-signed in summer. He could also be a piece in another trade this afternoon, but should he stay with the Lightning, he could find himself replacing St. Louis on a line with Steven Stamos.
Things had gone sour with St. Louis and Lightning GM Steve Yzerman and the result was St. Louis asking for a trade. Yzerman has granted St. Louis' request by sending him to the Rangers and reuniting him with former teammate Brad Richards. Without Steven Stamkos for 45 games, St. Louis still had 29 goals and 32 assists in 62 games this season.
Brown, 23, was a second round pick (36th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. In his second season with the Portland Pirates (AHL) he has scored 14 goals and 21 assists (35 points) in 51 games this season.
Klesla has found himself unclaimed on waivers on a number of occasions this season. He has not played with the Coyotes since January 14, he has four points (1G / 3A) in 25 games with Phoenix this season. While with Portland (AHL) he had three goals and six assists in 21 games. He will report Hershey (AHL).
Mitchell, 27, is a 6-foot-5, 216 lbs. forward who has never played in an NHL contest. He has three goals and three assists in 20 games with Hershey (AHL) this season. He is expected to report to Portland (AHL).
Erat made it public that he wanted to be traded earlier in the season, and his wish was granted tonight. He has a single goal (Feb 8) and 23 assists in 53 games with the Capitals this season.
Rundblad was acquired by the Coyotes when they sent Kyle Turris to the Senators last season. He is a former first-round pick (17th overall in 2009), who only had five assists in 26 games with the Coyotes since 2011-12. He heads to Chicago where he will find himself on another crowded blueline.
Matthias, 26, has nine goals and seven assists (16 points) in 59 games with the Panthers this season. He set a career-high with 14 goals in last year's shortened season, but has taken a step back this year.
Markstrom, 24, was the 31st overall pick in the 2008 NHL draft. He has yet to assert himself as an NHL regular, but will get a chance now in Vancouver to share time with fellow countryman Eddie Lack. The two were teammates back with Brynas of the Swedish Elite League. Markstrom is 1-6-3 with a 3.52 GAA and .874 SV% with Florida this season, but has recently been playing with San Antonio (AHL) where he was 12-11-3 with a 2.56 GAA and .918 SV%.
There is no confirmation as to what is coming back the other way, all that is known as of now is that Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias are headed to Vancouver and the Canucks will retain some of Luongo's salary. We will update this report when the trade is confirmed. This means Eddie Lack starts tonight for the Canucks.
MacDonald was probably the most sought-after defensemen at the deadline. He is in the last year of a deal that only carries a $550,000 cap-hit. MacDonald leads the NHL in blocked shots with 198, which is 28 more than the next highest (Josh Gorges 170). At 25:05 he is eighth in the NHL in TOI per game and sees time on both the Islanders power-play and shorthanded units. The deal gives the Flyers nine NHL defensemen, so expect another move out of the Flyers camp before Wednesday's 3 pm EST deadline.
Costello, 23, is a 6-foot, 210 lbs. winger who was drafted in the fifth round (146th overall) in 2009. He is in his fourth year with Notre Dame where he has 11 goals and 8 assists (19 points) in 34 games.
Mullen, 27, is a 5-foot-10, 184 lbw. defenseman who was an undrafted free agent. Mullen has never played in the NHL, but has recorded seven goals and 13 assists (20 points) in 46 games with the Utica Comets (AHL).
The emergence of Frederik Andersen allowed the Ducks to send Fasth to the Oilers for future assets. Fasth has gone 2-2-1 with a 2.95 GAA and .885 SV% in an injury riddled season with the Ducks. After the Oilers started the season with Devan Dubnyk and Jason LaBarbera they now have Ben Scrivens and Fasth, which is a nice upgrade.
Robidas has been out since November 29 because of a broken leg. He had four goals and one assist in 24 games this season. He is a strong two-way defenseman who can do it at both ends of the rink. The 37-year-old addresses a need for a right-handed shot on the Ducks blueline, not to mention he is as tough as nails.
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.