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Well, the Edmonton Oilers didn't actually make a move on deadline day they were very active in the week leading up to it, filling multiple needs with talented players such as Mattias Ekholm and Nick Bjugstad. It was widely known that the Oilers needed a shutdown defender and they picked up one of if not the best of the trade season in Ekholm, who also has three more years left on this contract. Bjugstad is a tough, reliable forward who can play center and wing. On top of this, both players add some much-needed size to the Oilers, Ekholm is 6-foot-4, Bjugstad 6-6, and both can kill penalties. The Oilers are all in but if you have McDavid and Draisaitl wouldn't you be? The only thing in my mind they failed to address was picking up a goaltender, ideally, a vet who could step up if Skinner falters come playoff time.

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Everyone, especially in the East, is fair to be somewhat alarmed because the best team in the league got better. Currently, on pace for an astonishing 64 wins and 135 points, they have a shot at breaking the NHL record for wins (62, shared by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning) and points (132, held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens). Overall, they added Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway and Tyler Bertuzzi. Orlov is a big-bodied defender who's already shown the value he can have with the Bruins, with eight points in four games since being acquired. Bertuzzi and Hathaway provide grit and depth scoring to a team that already has plenty of it, but is currently facing injuries to two key forwards in Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno; if those guys return before the playoffs there's not a deeper team in the league

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On deadline day the New York Rangers went for depth acquiring forward Anton Blidh and defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk in different deals. Before that during the trade season, they were swinging for the fences and connecting; with high-end ads in the form of skilled wingers Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane. Both wingers have impressive resumes, especially as playoff performers and history with Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin. Tarasenko already has eight points (four goals including a game-winner), in 11 games with the Rangers. The Rangers also added Tyler Motte and Niko Mikkoa. Overall, it's hard to argue the Rangers didn't stockpile the most assets from the Eastern Conference arms race.

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The Penguins made some solid moves, like picking up Dmitry Kulikov for Brock McGinn and a 2024 third-round pick. Yet the Penguins also made one of my least favourite moves picking up Mikael Granlund for a 2023 second-round pick. Granlund is not a terrible player and the price wasn't particularly egregious, but he is a 31-year-old in the second season of a four-year 20-million-dollar deal; that feels set up to age poorly. The Penguins' other moves such as trading Teddy Blueger in exchange for defenseman Peter DiLiberatore and a 3rd-round pick in 2024 and picking up Nick Bonino in a three-team deal, feel unlikely to move the needle. On top of all this, all of the top six teams in the East made moves to widen the already existing talent gap between them and the wild card squads such as Pittsburgh.

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Philadelphia should have been one of the biggest sellers at the deadline, while they made some solid deals they failed to move likely their best asset in James Van Riemsdyk. The market for the veteran power forward and seven-time 20-goal scorer was quite minimal said Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher. According to the GM, he didn't “have any offers until about 1:40 (p.m.), I got a call from a team and they had a concept that if they were able to move a forward of their team, then they'd have interest in acquiring JVR”. The deal of course failed to materialize. Despite making two other moves on the day, sending Patrick Brown to the Ottawa Senators for a sixth-round pick and dealing Zack MacEwen to the Los Angeles Kings for Brendan Lemieux and a fifth-rounder. It feels as if Philadelphia failed to accomplish its main goals on the day, letting the deadline pass them by

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It's been a tough season for the Flames from Jacob Markstrom's surprising regression to the Jonathan Huberdeau acquisition not playing out the way I'm sure they hoped; let alone Huberdeau’s agent recently questioning the team's culture. The Flames made some minor depth moves at the deadline but mostly stood pat avoiding selling or buying assets. GM Brad Treliving emphasized that he has not lost hope or given up on the team but reiterated that the Flames have not been playing well enough to warrant adding a piece. This leaves the flames in the sword of limbo unlikely to compete this season, but in no better position to compete in the future. While there are times when standing pat and waiting for the summer can be the right move, here it felt like indecision leading to indecisiveness. The Flames' most interesting move was making the first trade involving two brothers, sending Nick Ritchie (and Troy Stecher) to the Arizona Coyotes for Brett Richie (and Connor Mackey)

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