Gleason is not expected to have much fantasy significance with Toronto.

Gleason is not expected to have much fantasy significance with Toronto.

Liles still has some offensive potential and the Canes desperately needed a puck moving defenseman. This could end up being a good situation for Liles and the Canes.

The Hurricanes needed to move a contract, so they dealt Westgarth and recieved an under-achieving former 1st round pick (25th overall in 2008). Westgarth is a big body at 6-foot-4, 235 lbs. and is more known for his toughness than his scoring touch. In 12 games this season he has no points and has just nine points (3G / 6A) in 133 career NHL games.
Nemisz was the 25th overall pick in the 2008 NHL draft. He skated in 15 NHL games with the Flames recording just one assist and has not dressed in the NHL since the 2011-12 season. In 32 games with the Abbotsford Heat this season, Nemisz has five goals and four assists in 32 games.
Omark was drafted in the fourth round (97th overall) in 2007. He has skated in 66 NHL games with the Oilers registering eight goals and 22 assists (30 points). In 29 games with the Oklahoma City Barons this season, Omark has 14 goals and 15 assists (29 points). On a weak Sabres squad he is expected to battle for playing time with the NHL club.
LaBarbera will report to AHL Rockford. He was 1-3-0 with a 3.27 GAA and .870 SV% with the Oilers. The move means that Ilya Bryzgalov is good to go.

This is a minor league deal. Beach was the 11th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, but has yet to make his NHL Debut. He had 26 points and 204 PIMs in 66 games with Rockford last season and has four goals in seven games this season. He will report to Hartford, the Rangers' AHL affiliate.
This is a minor league deal. Mashinter is 25-years-old and has not recorded a point while piling up 27 PIMs in 23 career NHL games. He had a goal and an assist in 11 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack this season and will report to Rockford, Chicago's AHL affiliate.

The Flames traded tough-guy Tim Jackman yesterday for a 6th and have now dealt a 6th to get tough-guy MacDermid. MacDermid will be assigned to Abbotsford (AHL).
Jackman is 6-foot-4, 220 lbs. fourth line forward. He had one goal and 41 penalty minutes while averaging 6:23 TOI in 10 games with the Flames. The 32-year-old tough-guy has skated in 400 career NHL games and has spent the last four season with Calgary. He is not fantasy relevant but brings some toughness to the Ducks.

Staubitz will head to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and is not a fantasy relevant forward .
Blacker was the 58th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. The 22-year-old defenseman has six goals and 28 points in 125 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) over the last three seasons.

Holland was the 15th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. He is a skilled offensive centre that will address the need for a centre on an injury riddled Maple Leafs roster. Holland will fly to Toronto immediately and is expected to be in the lineup tonight. The third round pick becomes a second if Holland plays 25 games with the Maple Leafs. He has one goal in four games this season.

Olsen was the Blackhawks' first round pick (28th) in 2009. He is a six-foot-three, 210 lbs. stay-at-home D-man. Olsen played 28 games with Chicago in 2011-12, posting just one assist. He has since been with the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) - Eight assists in 16 games this season.

Hayes was originally drafted 60th overall (2008) by Toronto but has been in the Blackhawks' system since 2010-11. He has played 43 games over three seasons with Chicago, registering six goals and 13 points. In 13 games with Rockford (AHL) this season he has four goals and eight points.

Lefebvre is a 22-year-old left-wing who has spent the last three seasons bouncing between the AHL and ECHL. This season he has two goals and five assists in nine games with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.
Versteeg played for Chicago for three seasons from 2007-10. He scored 44 goals and 101 points in 170 games with the Blackhawks. Versteeg missed much of the lockout shortened season, he was held to four points (2G / 2A) in 10 games. This season he has two goals and seven points in 18 games. Versteeg has been a 20-goal scorer three times, so he adds extra firepower to an already strong Blackhawks lineup.

Smid has one goal and one assist with a minus-6 rating in 17 games with the Oilers. This is simply a salary dump for the Oilers who are reportedly in talks with Ilya Bryzgalov.

The 29-year-old Talbot, was an eighth round pic in 2002 and has spent his nine year career with the Flyers and Penguins. He won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009. He has one goal and one assist in 11 games this season. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see where Talbot plays in Colorado.

Downie was the first round pick of the Flyers in 2005 (29th) overall and spent 2006-09 with the Flyers organization. Downie has had a strong start to the season with one goal and six assists in 11 games. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see where Downie slots into the Flyers lineup.

NHL trades are decided between two or more team general managers. The front office’s job is building a winning team. Building a winning team means discussing trades with other general managers across the league.
During the NHL regular season, players can be traded up until the trade deadline. The deadline is the official cutoff point for when teams can no longer make moves between each other. Players can also be traded throughout the offseason.
Teams trade players in hockey for a variety of reasons, but generally, it is done to find success, whether that is in the short term or long term. Teams may trade their top players in search of draft picks if they are undergoing a rebuild, whereas contending teams may look to acquire talent to boost their playoff chances.
Trades are a common occurrence throughout the NHL and happen often. Some years feature less trades than others, it all depends on each teams needs and the availability of attractive talent.