They said it would be a slow deadline....but they didn't tell the Eastern Conference (or Edmonton).
32 Trades!
While we may not have seen the big blockbuster (we almost did) we saw an arms race for sure...especially in the Metro Division...Declaring winners and losers of a trade deadline are really best determined after all the draft picks ave been made, but this is 2020 where making quick and impulse calls is all the rage...So, while theree were some very conspicuous losers, and I will address them in the next blog, here are your winners of the 2020 Trade Deadline...
Eklund's Winners of the 2020 Trade Deadline...
#1. The Pittsburgh Penguins.
I am counting Zucker in this, who was an amazing pickup, but beyond that the additions of Marleau and the return of Sheary really have taken an already amazing team into one of the favorites in the East..
#2. Tampa
Adding Goodrow and Coleman to what was already clearly the best team in the NHL puts them solely as the biggest winner, despite arguably overpaying for both with futures...
#3. Edmonton.
The Oilers added three very key pieces.. each of which fits specific holes that Holland has targeted in his effort to make the playoffs and make a run..and what's better still is the Oilers added Green, Athanasiou, and Ennis without really giving up a ton...The only move I didn't like was putting Sam Gagne into the deal...I know the cap space was needed, but Gagne has made some very key plays, especially recently with McDavid injured.
4. The Islanders..
Lou might have gotten the #1 spot had he been able to land Parise, but adding Pageau and maybe more importantly Andy Greene has made the Islanders a better playoff team for sure...
5. New Jersey/Ottawa.
Both Gms made some key trades to fill up the future...How they use those picks will be key..
6. Carolina? No sorry. Not a winner in my book We will talk about them in the next blog..
Tonigh't Picks and Updated Projected Final Standings...
Last night's Predictions: 1-0 Season So Far: 1-0 ***********************
Tonight Picks: Boston over Calgary Montreal over Vancouver Tampa over Toronto NY Islanders over NY Rangers San Jose over Philly Winnipeg over Washington Carolina over Dallas NJ over Detroit St Louis over Chicago Nashville over Ottawa Minnesota over Columbus (In OT) Florida over Arizona Edmonton over Anaheim
Our Projected Final Standings.