The Colorado Avalanche made a big splash on the eve of the NHL trade deadline late Thursday night by getting center Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders.
The move came hours after the Western Conference rival Vegas Golden Knights reacquired winger Reilly Smith in a deal with the New York Rangers. Much of the action came in the East, where the New Jersey Devils added on defense with Brian Dumoulin in a deal with the Anaheim Ducks, the Florida Panthers picked up depth center Nico Sturm from the San Jose Sharks and the New York Rangers also bought by acquiring Carson Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks.
The Avs sent defenseman Oliver Kylington, prospect Calum Ritchie, a 2026 first-round pick and a conditional third-rounder in 2028 to the Islanders for Nelson and 23-year-old winger William Dufour. Nelson, a pending unrestricted free agent, was considered one of the top players available. The Islanders almost immediately traded Kylington to the Ducks for future considerations.
The Devils’ acquisition of Dumoulin, sending a second-round pick in this year’s draft and the rights to unsigned 19-year-old prospect Herman Traff to the Ducks, comes after they learned leading scorer Jack Hughes is done for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery and with No. 1 defenseman Dougie Hamilton also out because of injury. With Hughes going on long-term injured reserve, they can add roughly $10 million worth of players before the deadline, even after getting Dumoulin because the Ducks are retaining half of Dumoulin’s salary.
The Rangers also are retaining half of what’s left of Smith’s salary and getting young forward Brendan Brisson and a 2025 third-round pick — previously belonging to last-place Sharks — back from the Golden Knights. Hours later, they sent that pick to the Canucks for Carson Soucy, a left-shooting defensemen under contract through next season who effectively replaces Ryan Lindgren after he was sent to the Avalanche.
Another player who fell out of favor with the Rangers, Smith has been traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, to New York and back to Vegas since helping the Golden Knights win the Cup in 2023 as an alternate captain and original member of the expansion franchise.
The Panthers, who lost in that final before winning their first title last year, sent a 2026 fourth-rounder to the Sharks for a seventh in ’27 and Sturm, a capable 29-year-old penalty killer who has seven goals and six assists and won 62.7% of his faceoffs in 47 games this season. That is the highest total of anyone who has taken part in at least 200 faceoffs, and Sharks Rookie of the Year candidate Macklin Celebrini said the Panthers are getting “someone that will do all the little things.”
“(He) makes sure all the all the small stuff is taken care of, like penalty kill, you name it, just faceoffs, his defensive game — all that stuff,” Celebrini said. “It’s not stuff you get recognized for but it’s something that will definitely help them.”
In a pre-midnight move preceding the Avalanche adding Nelson, the Minnesota Wild got 6-foot-5 winger Justin Brazeau from the Boston Bruins for younger forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko, plus a 2026 sixth-round pick.
With top winger Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR like Hughes, the Panthes — who already traded for defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks and added backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek — still has space to potentially add another forward in the aim of becoming the third series of back-to-back champs over the past decade. Thursday also brought a depth-goalie swap, getting Kaapo Kahkonen from the Winnipeg Jets for Chris Driedger.
The Devils are contenders again and looking to get back in after falling out of the race last season, and they hope Dumoulin, 33, brings some valuable experience with him from his 789 regular-season and playoff games. He won the Cup with the Penguins in 2016 and ’17 and this season has 16 points over 61 games with the Ducks.
“Brian was good for us both on and off the ice, and we wish him well in New Jersey,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “This wasn’t an easy decision for us. We do feel this allows more opportunity for our young defensemen, who have proven they can play and succeed at the NHL level.”
Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald could still be looking to add a high-end forward — ideally a center — who could help fill the void left by Hughes’ absence. Hughes is tied with the Carolina Hurricanes’ Mikko Rantanen in the league scoring race with 70 points on 27 goals and 43 assists.
Rantanen’s future remains the biggest mystery to watch before the 2 p.m. CST deadline Friday. Already traded once this year from the Avalanche to the Hurricanes in a three-team blockbuster in late January, the 2022 Cup-winning, point-a-game winger in his prime could be on the move again with no guarantee Carolina will be able to sign the pending free agent beyond this season.
“If he got moved out of Carolina, it’s not because of his play,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Thursday. “Just looking at Mikko’s game, he’s played well since he’s been there — a little snakebit at first — now the production is starting to come. I think he’s a fit on any team in the league, including Carolina. So, yeah, I think that’s just the business side of hockey at this point.”
As teams sort out their business before the deadline, the waiver wire Thursday also was busy, with the Nashville Predators claiming winger Jakub Vrana off waivers from the Washington Capitals and defenseman Jordan Oesterle from the Bruins. The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed forward Christian Fischer from the Detroit Red Wings, while the Toronto Maple Leafs put enforcer Ryan Reaves on waivers in an attempt to clear another $1 million in space.
AP’s Pat Graham in Denver contributed.