Bowers, 18, was a first round pick (No.28 overall) this summer and is currently in his first season at Boston University, where he has four goals and two assists in 10 games. Bowers is at least a year or two away from making it to the NHL.
Hammond has spent all of 2017-18 in the AHL, where he has gone 2-2-1 with a 2.61 GAA and .925 SV% in seven starts with Belleville. He has made 55 career NHL appearances, going 27-14-6 with a 2.32 GAA and .923 SV%. He may stick in the AHL with Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier already with the Avalanche.
Girard, 19, was a second round pick in 2016 (No.47 overall) and made his NHL debut this season, recording one goal and two assists in five games with the Predators. Girard should step right onto the Avalanche blueline and be an impact offensive-defenseman, but he will have to play well to stick with the team, because his development is more important than their success this season.
Turris was set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but the Predators immediately inked him to a six-year deal worth $6.0 million per season. Turris bolsters the Predators down the middle and will serve as their No.2 centre behind Ryan Johansen. He heads to Nashville with three goals and six assists (nine points) in 11 games so far this season.
Duchene was pulled off of the ice in the middle of tonight’s game in Brooklyn and heads to Ottawa, where he will make his Senators debut in Sweden against…Colorado.The 26-year-old has recorded four goals and six assists (10 points) in 13 games so far this season and has a career-high of 30 goals (2016) and 47 assists (2014). He will replace Kyle Turris, who heads to Nashville as a part of this trade.
Tokarski appeared in 27 games with San Diego (AHL) last season, going 17-8-1 with a 2.93 GAA and .898 SV%. The 28-year-old has had limited success in his brief NHL career, going 10-12-5 with a 2.84 GAA and .904 SV% in 34 career games between the Lightning, Canadiens and Ducks.
Lindberg, 22, was originally a fourth round pick of the Senators in 2013 and has only appeared in six NHL games since, collecting two assists. Last season, Lindberg had 16 points (6G / 10A) in 44 AHL games with the Marlies.
Pickard was placed on waivers on Thursday and cleared Friday afternoon. The Maple Leafs waited for him to clear because now they can send him to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and keep him in their system. This is a smart move for Toronto, who’s current backup goaltender is veteran Curtis McElhinney, who has had his fair-share of struggles during his career.
Redmond split the 2016-17 season between the AHL and NHL. He had five assists in 16 games with the Canadiens and 18 points (4G / 14A) in 26 contests with the St. John’s IceCaps (AHL). He is nothing more than an AHL D-man or seventh/depth defenseman for the Sabres.
Deslauriers is a bruising winger who appeared in 42 games with the Sabres last season, picking up just two assists and 38 PIMS. He is a depth forward for the Canadiens.
Pedan was a third-round pick in 2011 and has only appeared in 13 NHL games since. The Lithuanian defenseman had 10 points (5G / 5A) and 100 PIMS in 52 games with Utica (AHL) last season. He is expected to start the year with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Pouliot was the No.8 overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, but has yet to reach his full potential in Pittsburgh. The 23-year-old defenseman split last season between the NHL and AHL, recording 23 points (7G / 16A) in 46 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and no points in 11 games with the Penguins. The rebuilding Canucks can take a chance on the young blueliner, who likely won’t crack the top-6 to open the season.
This is seemingly more more of a salary-saving move by the Panthers than an actual need for a player like McGinn. The Panthers are eating 12.5% of Demers’ contract to send him to Arizona, but it frees up a spot on the blueline for either Ian McCoshen or MacKenzie Weegar. McGinn is coming off of a disappointing 17-point (9G / 8A) season in Arizona.
After just one season in Florida, Demers is on the move to his third team in three years after being traded to the Coyotes on Sunday. Arizona was in need of a right-shot defenseman and they have found their man in the 29-year-old Demers. The Canadian-born blueliner is coming off of a season in which he collected a career-high nine goals with 19 assists (28 points) in 81 contests for Florida. With Jakob Chychrun to miss a lot of this season, Demers will slide right into a top-4 role, likely alongside Alex Goligoski.
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.