Checking in on some NHL trade action ahead of Monday’s deadline...
Busy day for Blackhawks
Stan Bowman has been one of the more active general managers on Monday, making a series of trades.
First, he sent forward Matthew Highmore to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Adam Gaudette.
That was followed by a three-team trade that will send Mattias Janmark to Vegas (via San Jose), and net the Blackhawks a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 third-round pick.
The Sharks will receive a 2022 fifth-round pick as well as defenseman Nick DeSimone in that deal for taking on a portion of Janmark’s salary to make the salary cap number work for Vegas. It is the exact same situation we saw play out with the David Savard trade involving Columbus, Detroit, and Tampa Bay over the weekend.
Chicago also sent veteran center Carl Soderberg to Colorado (his second time with the Avalanche) for prospects Ryder Rolson and Josh Dickinson.
The Blackhawks signed Janmark and Soderberg as free agents this past offseason.
Flames trade Sam Bennett to Panthers
The Sam Bennett era in Calgary has officially come to an end as he was dealt to the Florida Panthers on Monday for a second-round pick and prospect Emil Heineman. Heineman was a second-round pick for the Panthers a year ago.
Bennett’s name has been in trade rumors for years now, while he also requested a trade out of Calgary earlier this season.
Now it finally happened.
In 38 games this season Bennett has four goals and eight assists and will add some forward depth to a Panthers team that already has one of the league’s better offenses. Florida also added Brandon Montour from Buffalo to improve its defense depth over the weekend.
Flyers send Erik Gustafsson to Montreal
The Flyers did not end up trading forward Scott Laughton, but they did make one trade on Monday by sending defenseman Erik Gustafsson to the Montreal Canadiens for a 2022 seventh-round draft pick.
The Flyers are also retaining 50 percent of Gustafsson’s contract.
Gustafsson had clearly fallen out of favor in Philadelphia after signing a one-year deal in free agency. Gustafsson will not do much to improve Montreal’s actual defensive zone play, but he can make an impact on the power play and offensively if put into the right situations. Given the cost, as well as the fact Philadelphia is keeping half of the salary, it is a low-risk move.
Predators get Erik Gudbranson
Nashville made a minor trade to add to its defense by acquiring Erik Gudbranson from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Brandon Fortunato and 2023 seventh-round draft pick.
Gudbranson has been bouncing around the league at a rapid rate the past few years and will now be playing for his sixth team since the start of the 2015-16 season.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.