A lot has gone down at the trade deadline and a lot of teams in contention for the Cup have bulked up on players. Eichel left to Vegas, Toffoli departed to the Flames, Giordano went to the Leafs, Fleury is now in the Wild, Giroux left Philly to the Florida Panthers, Lindholm got signed by the Bruins from the Ducks, Chiarot left Montreal, and Brandon Hagel went to the defending champions.
I feel Claude Giroux going to Florida is a really good deal for the Panthers. He is an elite player with a lot of experience and he might just finally add a Stanley Cup to his resume. We can clearly see Florida is going for it with the addition of Chiarot and Giroux. He plays well in the big moments and his presence will be quite important in the locker room. His skill and leadership is why Florida got him from the Philadelphia Flyers.
Another player Florida got is Ben Chiarot from the Canadians. Their defense needed a push and now they have a strong and good defenseman. Chiarot was a big reason the Canadiens made it to the big stage and played a huge role in defeating Vegas and the Maple Leafs. He will be a nice piece to this back line along with Aaron Ekblad.
One of the biggest trades this month was the Chicago Blackhawks trading their star goaltender in Marc-Andre Fleury to the Wild. The Wild got the goaltending they much needed if they are trying to go deep into the playoffs. Marc-Andre Fleury will have a good defense to back him up which he has wanted for a while. He’ll also have the All- Star Cam Talbot to back him. The 3 time Stanley cup winner will enjoy his new home to finish his 18th season in the NHL.
Also, Mark Giordano left the Seattle Kraken to go to the Toronto Maple Leafs. After spending 60 games in the expansion club, Giordano has a chance to win the Stanley Cup. He is talented and being 38 years old, he has the leadership and defensive capability that Toronto needs. Toronto has really good forwards but their defense lacks some good players. Their goalies have been struggling and part of the blame might go to their D men. They got Giordano to strengthen the defense and to help the goalies out. He’s going to be quite important when this team makes the playoffs.
Some other noticeable trades have been when Colorado traded Tyson Jost to the Wild for Nico Sturm, the Avs acquired Josh Manson, and the Rangers acquired Frank Vatrano. The East looks completely different as many contenders in the East got great players. The West looks mostly the same as the Avalanche still have the first spot. All of these trades have been really good and have changed the shape of the NHL, but which one of these players will win the Stanley Cup?
THE END