How every contending team’s GM has behaved at previous NHL Trade Deadlines
The dominoes are already toppling, with Rasmus Andersson and Kiefer Sherwood changing teams over the past couple days. NHL Trade Deadline Season is here.
A couple GMs have made aggressive moves to better their clubs. What else can we expect from them – and from GMs of other playoff-hopeful franchises – in the coming weeks?
Today, we examine the past deadline trading history of every GM currently in a buyer posture or at least in the playoff hunt to see what it might mean for this season. Think of the NHL Trade Deadline as a poker table. Understanding the game doesn’t solely apply to the hand each player may have, right? It’s just as important to read your opponents.
Predicting what happens each year at the deadline isn’t as simple as observing which contending teams have the best assets to offer the seller teams. The personalities of the people in charge matter, too. Sometimes, a GM on a stacked contender prefers to stand pat or make minor tweaks. Other GMs go all-in with swashbuckling trades even when their teams are middling. A select few GMs have an ability to pull off blockbuster deals even when it appears they don’t have the cap space to do so.
If past behavior predicts future behavior: can the current NHL GMs’ recent Trade Deadline history tell us what to expect from them in the next few weeks? Let’s explore it, updating the breakdown we built last year.
But first, a few rules for the exercise:
(a) In the spirit of this analysis, we’re only examining GMs of teams positioned as buyers or at least potential buyers. We want to know which contender is likely to make The Big Move. Almost any GM on a team missing the playoffs will be active in selling off assets. It’s what they do when they’re in buyer mode that tells us who they really are.
(b) Each GM analyzed must have experienced a least one Trade Deadline in the big chair, be it with their current team or a previous one, making the New York Islanders’ Mathieu Darche the only one who doesn’t qualify.
(c) A Trade Deadline deal = one made within two months of the deadline in a given season.
A noticeable difference this year: I’m featuring far more GMs than normal given the unbelievable league-wide parity. Almost anyone whose team was within six points of a playoff position through games Sunday, Jan. 18 is included, minus the still-rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks and already-selling Calgary Flames.
Tier 1: THE COWBOYS
These GMs fearlessly go all-in and will sacrifice futures gladly in the name of chasing championships.
JULIEN BRISEBOIS
(Tampa Bay Lightning, 2018-present)
Notable acquisitions: Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Brandon Hagel, Nick Paul, David Savard, Tanner Jeannot, Anthony Duclair, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Yanni Gourde
The BriseBois playbook is to publicly express concern over having no cap space, then pull off a stunning feat of financial gymnastics to land a key piece of a championship puzzle. Since Tampa’s development system was peerless for a decade and a half, turning mid-tier prospects into impactful NHLers, BriseBois gave zero f—s about draft picks. He surrendered five for Jeannot alone three years ago. The Bolts have made one first-round pick in the past six drafts and don’t pick in the first round again until 2028.
KYLE DUBAS
(Pittsburgh Penguins, 2023-present)
(Toronto Maple Leafs, 2018-2023)
Notable acquisitions: Ryan O’Reilly, Jake Muzzin, Jake McCabe, Luke Schenn, Mark Giordano, Nick Foligno, Erik Gustafsson, Ilya Lyubushkin, Jack Campbell, Noel Acciari, Kyle Clifford
We can debate plenty whether Dubas should buy at the 2026 Trade Deadline, but what choice does he have if his creaky veteran group is remotely close to a Wildcard position? During seasons in which Dubas has felt confident in his team’s playoff standing, he has been quite an aggressive buyer, chucking first-round picks around like darts at a pub, with quite a hit-miss history. Dubas’ best trade success has come when he procured players with term left, most notably Muzzin and McCabe.
JARMO KEKALAINEN
(Buffalo Sabres, 2025-present)
(Columbus Blue Jackets, 2013-2024)
Notable acquisitions: Marian Gaborik, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Ian Cole, Thomas Vanek, Mark Letestu, Lauri Korpikoski, Kyle Quincey, Blake Comeau
Kekalainen’s most noteworthy deadline acquisitions, Gaborik and Duchene, are particularly relevant today. In both cases, Kekalainen gambled with a major move in hopes of helping a bubble-tier playoff team get over the hump. In other words: Kekalainen doesn’t wait to have a first-place powerhouse before he chases something at the deadline. Does that mean he could turn sneaky buyer for his surging Sabres this March? Don’t bet against it.
CHRIS MACFARLAND
(Colorado Avalanche, 2022-present)
Notable acquisitions: Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Casey Mittelstadt, Charlie Coyle, Sean Walker, Lars Eller, Ryan Lindgren, Jack Johnson, Erik Johnson
MacFarland obviously had a big influence on the moves Joe Sakic made along the way to building the 2021-22 Stanley Cup champions, but MacFarland didn’t technically inherit the captain’s chair until July 2022. In his first deadline year, he was more thrift shopper than big spender, but he graduated to the cowboy division with his work two years ago, and he established himself as one of its top gun slingers last year. After landing Martin Necas in the Mikko Rantanen blockbuster, MacFarland also sacrificed his top prospect in Cal Ritchie to bring Brock Nelson aboard. As the NHL’s best team in 2025-26, the Avs will pursue upgrades again, though they aren’t asset-rich.
KELLY MCCRIMMON
(Vegas Golden Knights, 2019-present)
Notable acquisitions: Rasmus Andersson, Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin, Ivan Barbashev, Robin Lehner, Alec Martinez, Reilly Smith, Mattias Janmark, Nick Cousins, Anthony Mantha
The Golden Knights are all-in, every year, at all costs. The acquisitions above don’t include Mark Stone, who was acquired at the deadline while McCrimmon was assistant GM, not to mention Jack Eichel, whom McCrimmon acquired in November 2021. The Golden Knights are so hellbent on winning in the present that they won’t merely punt picks, like Tampa; Vegas actively punts its best prospects, almost every season. Vegas has owned 13 first-round picks across its first 11 drafts and has traded 12 of them if you count the already-gone 2026 and 2027 first-rounders, the latter of which was part of the Andersson trade on Sunday. The only first-round pick in franchise history that remains Vegas’ property: Trevor Connelly.
DON SWEENEY
(Boston Bruins, 2015-present)
Notable acquisitions: Rick Nash, Hampus Lindholm, Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov, Charlie Coyle, Marcus Johansson, Garnet Hathaway, Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, Drew Stafford, Lee Stempniak, John-Michael Liles, Andrew Peeke, Patrick Maroon
Sweeney’s soft-spoken public persona connotes a more conservative personality, but his resume says otherwise. He has repeatedly moved heaven and earth to bring in veteran help. With his Bruins more of a fringe contender this time, will he behave more cautiously or take a swing to give his core another shot at glory? The latter sounds likely given we know Boston pursued Andersson hard.
ERIC TULSKY
(Carolina Hurricanes, 2024-present)
Notable acquisitions: Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven, Mark Jankowski
Tulsky established himself as bold and decisive during his first Trade Deadline season as a GM last year. Not only did he deal a top scorer in Martin Necas to bring Rantanen in, but Tulsky also had the guts to undo his trade and ship Rantanen to Dallas once it was clear he wouldn’t re-sign. Tulsky has established that he’s capable of pretty much anything, and he has another powerhouse team at his disposal this year, so we should get the popcorn in the microwave now.
BILL ZITO
(Florida Panthers, 2020-present)
Notable acquisitions: Brad Marchand, Seth Jones, Claude Giroux, Brandon Montour, Sam Bennett, Vladimir Tarasenko, Ben Chiarot, Kyle Okposo, Nico Sturm, Vitek Vanecek
Notice what all the top GMs of the decade have in common? They find ways to bring in top talent at the deadline year after year. Last season in particular was a coup for Zito, who bet successfully on the Jones reclamation project and bought low-ish on an injured Marchand. But will the playoff salary cap hinder Zito this time? Florida has to save space for a potential Aleksander Barkov return.
Tier 2: PICK THEIR SPOTS
They’re usually active, but the ambitiousness of their trades varies year to year.
DOUG ARMSTRONG
(St. Louis Blues, 2010-present)
(Dallas Stars, 2002-2007)
Notable acquisitions: Ryan Miller, Jay Bouwmeester, Kevin Shattenkirk, Nick Leddy, Chris Stewart, Mattias Norstrom, Ladislav Nagy, Janne Niinimaa, Willie Mitchell, Zbynek Michalek, Marco Scandella
Armstrong’s list of deadline acquisitions is long but also the product of being a GM for two-plus decades. There are plenty of years in which he played it safe. He’s shown a willingness to take massive swings when it makes sense, succeeding at times (Bouwmeester) and failing at times (Miller), but Armstrong lays low when it’s prudent to. Even at the 2018-19 deadline, when Armstrong had a team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup, he acquired no player who drew into the playoff lineup. What does this resume tell us? Armstrong’s Blues are (barely) in the playoff fight this year, so it doesn’t seem like a window when ‘Army’ goes all-in at his final Trade Deadline as a GM. It’s far more likely he breaks the other way and sells off the likes of Justin Faulk or Jordan Binnington.
TOM FITZGERALD
(New Jersey Devils, 2020-present)
Notable acquisitions: Timo Meier, Jake Allen, Brian Dumoulin, Cody Glass, Daniel Sprong
Three years ago, his first with a playoff-bound team, Fitzgerald scored a blockbuster deal for Meier. He’s made more modest moves in the seasons since. So far in his tenure, Fitzgerald feels like a malleable GM who adapts to his situation, meaning he should take a wait-and-see approach with his team no lock for the playoffs – similar to what he did in 2024 when he acquired Jake Allen for long-term use in net.
KEN HOLLAND
(Los Angeles Kings, 2025-present)
(Edmonton Oilers, 2019-2024)
(Detroit Red Wings, 1997-2019)
Notable acquisitions: Mattias Ekholm, Todd Bertuzzi, Adam Henrique, Andreas Athanasiou, Mike Green (twice), Tyler Ennis, David Legwand, Marek Zidlicky, Brad Stuart, Kyle Calder, Brett Kulak, Dmitry Kulikov, Derick Brassard, Troy Stecher
We may think of Holland as a Trade Deadline cowboy given his long resume of splashy moves dating back to the pre-salary cap days. But if we’re talking (a) cap era and (b) acquisitions actually made at or near the deadline: Holland picks his spots. He went for it in 2022-23 with the Ekholm trade. Other years, he swings minor deals to add depth.
JIM NILL
(Dallas Stars, 2013-present)
Notable acquisitions: Mikko Rantanen, Mats Zuccarello, Chris Tanev, Evgenii Dadonov, Max Domi, Mikael Granlund, Vladislav Namestnikov, Jamie Oleksiak, Kris Russell, Cody Ceci
Nill is the third-longest tenured GM in the league and had maintained a fairly consistent profile for years: he mostly added complementary pieces, not game breakers, partially because his teams tended to be so deep. At least, that was true through 2023. Chris Tanev in 2024 was one of Nill’s higher-profile gets, breaking his pattern, and then he went all-in to get Rantanen last year, plus Granlund and Ceci. If Tyler Seguin’s cap hit goes to season-ending LTIR, Dallas might stay aggressive. When you lose in three consecutive Western Conference Finals, you have to.
BRAD TRELIVING
(Toronto Maple Leafs, 2023-present)
(Calgary Flames, 2014-2023)
Notable acquisitions: Tyler Toffoli, Joel Edmundson, Brandon Carlo, Calle Jarnkrok, Erik Gustafsson, Scott Laughton, Derek Forbort, Connor Dewar, Curtis Lazar, Michael Stone
Everyone loves tying the Leafs to every big name available at the deadline, and previous GM Dubas was consistently active in headline-maker trades. But Treliving hasn’t often been a big deadline mover and shaker, preferring depth additions. That said: with Mitch Marner a pending UFA and 2024-25 having a make-or-break feel, Treliving upped his aggression last year, acquiring Laughton and Carlo in a pair of deals that have already aged poorly. This season: might Treliving back off a bit if his Leafs aren’t locks to make the playoffs, or must he throttle up before the contention window closes?
DON WADDELL
(Columbus Blue Jackets, 2024-present)
(Carolina Hurricanes, 2018-2024)
(Atlanta Thrashers, 1999-2010)
Notable acquisitions: Jake Guentzel, Keith Tkachuk, Vincent Trocheck, Alexei Zhitnik, Brady Skjei, Max Domi, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nino Niederreiter, Pascal Dupuis, Sami Vatanen, Jani Hakanpaa, Eric Belanger, Luke Kunin
Once in a blue moon, Waddell goes on a wild deadline spending spree. He landed Tkachuk, Zhitnik, Dupuis and Belanger within days of each other when his Atlanta Thrashers were in the hunt in 2007. In 2020, Waddell secured Trocheck, Skjei and Vatanen on the same day. In 2023-24, he tried to put the Canes over the top with Jake Guentzel, who excelled post-trade. Waddell has been quiet more years than not, but what will he do with his Blue Jackets? They’re in the Wildcard hunt but not by much. Do you try to lift your team into the race with a helpful acquisition or cut your losses? The suitor list for Boone Jenner will be huge if he’s made available.
STEVE YZERMAN
(Detroit Red Wings, 2019-present)
(Tampa Bay Lightning, 2010-2018)
Notable acquisitions: Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Ben Bishop, Braydon Coburn, Dwayne Roloson, Eric Brewer, Petr Mrazek, Craig Smith
During years in which Yzerman had a powerhouse team in Tampa, he was willing to pay up and land some high-impact players. He doesn’t do it every year, however, and we haven’t really seen him in true deadline buyer mode yet since he took over the Red Wings, who haven’t made the playoffs in nine seasons. Assuming they don’t slump in the next few weeks, the Wings are finally a clear buyer this time around, and it sure feels like it’s time for them to take a big swing or two.
Tier 3: WILD CARDS
They’ve displayed cowboy potential but haven’t been buyers at the deadline often enough yet to develop patterns.
BILL ARMSTRONG
(Utah Hockey Club / Arizona Coyotes, 2020-present)
Notable acquisitions: None
A disciple of Doug Armstrong in St. Louis for many years, Bill was fairly conservative in his first several seasons in Utah/Arizona’s GM chair…until summer 2024. That’s when he flipped a switch and made a few win-now trades, strengthening his blueline with Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino. Armstrong kept that momentum going with the JJ Peterka deal the following summer. Does that mean Armstrong will be open to a splashy move in hopes of delivering Utah fans playoff hockey in Year 2 of the relocation? Bet on it.
JASON BOTTERILL
(Seattle Kraken, 2025-present)
(Buffalo Sabres, 2017-2020)
Notable acquisitions: Wayne Simmonds, Michael Frolik
Botterill has never found himself in a true buyer position as a GM. Even when he acquired Simmonds and Frolik in 2020, the Sabres were well south of a Wildcard position and not serious playoff contenders. What will he do in the Kraken’s big chair? It sure feels like they’d be wiser to sell, and they have plenty of veteran pieces who would attract interest, but they’ve defied the odds to hang in the playoff race. We may not truly understand their Trade Deadline plan until late February or even early March.
DANNY BRIERE
(Philadelphia Flyers, 2023-present)
Notable acquisitions: Erik Johnson
Briere acquired Johnson to help an overachieving John Tortorella-coached team that ended up missing the playoffs two winters ago, but Briere has yet to navigate a Trade Deadline as a real buyer. A few weeks ago, it looked like he might finally get to, but the Flyers have slumped in the New Year, and they seem to be teetering on the edge of buyer versus seller now.
MIKE GRIER
(San Jose Sharks, 2022-present)
Notable acquisitions: Kiefer Sherwood
Rebuild phase one…complete! The Sherwood acquisition from the Canucks earlier this week tells us the Sharks are serious about maintaining their playoff position in the West. They built a critical mass of picks and prospects to the point they felt comfortable sacrificing a couple second-round picks in the trade. The question now is: was that Grier dipping his toe in the contender water with just the one trade, or could the Sharks add additional pieces?
KENT HUGHES
(Montreal Canadiens, 2022-present)
Notable acquisitions: None
The Habs did make a veteran addition last season in defenseman Alexandre Carrier and another this season in Phillip Danault, but both came in December and thus don’t qualify as “deadline deals” in spirit. Watching Hughes navigate his first deadline as a true entrenched buyer should be fascinating given he’s a fairly bold and shrewd trader at other times of the year, also having landed Noah Dobson last June on Day 1 of the 2025 NHL Draft.
CHRIS PATRICK
(Washington Capitals, 2024-present)
Notable acquisitions: Anthony Beauvillier
Last season marked Patrick’s first Trade Deadline as a GM. With his Capitals retooled and bouncing back as contenders after barely making the playoffs the season prior, he opted for a conservative approach, landing Beauvillier. This season, Washington’s playoff spot is far less assured than it was a year ago. Does that mean another cautious deadline for Patrick? Or will he push his chips in given we could be witnessing the final stretch run of Alex Ovechkin’s career?
STEVE STAIOS
(Ottawa Senators, 2023-present)
Notable acquisitions: Dylan Cozens, Fabian Zetterlund
With Ottawa en route to its first playoff berth since 2017 last year, Staios showed he was willing to ante up when it made sense, landing Cozens and Zetterlund. The decision to push doesn’t feel nearly as easy this time around. The Sens have seemingly regressed and can barely call themselves a playoff hopeful; they’ve gotten legendarily inept goaltending and are watching pretty much every other Atlantic Division team go on a heater. Could the Sens thus end up in more of a stand-pat situation? Heck, they’re another bad week or two away from being sellers.
PAT VERBEEK
(Anaheim Ducks, 2022-present)
Notable acquisitions: None
After several seasons as a clearly defined scorched-earth rebuilder, Verbeek’s club has finally reached the playoff bubble. There’s a degree of risk if you adopt a buyer position on shaky contention ground, but the Ducks traded for Chris Kreider, signed Mikael Granlund and installed Joel Quenneville as head coach over the 2025 offseason, so it’s obvious they don’t want to rebuild anymore. They just have to avoid another nine-game losing streak…
Tier 4: MODERATE SPENDERS
More often than not, they’ll land intermediate-level pieces to help their squads, but they don’t have a history of big-game hunting at the deadline.
STAN BOWMAN
(Edmonton Oilers, 2024-present)
(Chicago Blackhawks, 2009-2021)
Notable acquisitions: Nick Leddy, Kimmo Timonen, Johnny Oduya, Andrew Ladd, Antoine Vermette, Jake Walman, Trent Frederic, Michal Handzus, Christian Ehrhoff, Michael Frolik, Kim Johnsson, Andrew Desjardins, Dale Weise, Tomas Fleischmann
Bowman is an extremely active Trade Deadline GM when he has a good team. But if you peruse the list of names he secured for his dynastic Blackhawks, you see a lot of support pieces, role players and folk heroes, right? So Bowman isn’t a big-game hunter. Historically, using the deadline to add complementary pieces is his preferred strategy, and he applied it with the Oilers last year, fortifying their depth with Walman and Frederic rather than bringing in a star.
BILL GUERIN
(Minnesota Wild, 2019-present)
Notable acquisitions: Marc-Andre Fleury, Jacob Middleton, John Klingberg, Gustav Nyquist (twice), Marcus Johansson
For most of Guerin’s tenure as GM, he has sought out depth pieces at the deadline, the exception being his move for Fleury a couple years back. But it feels like’s about to break from his routine. In spirit, he already did last month, surrendering a huge package for Quinn Hughes, and the Wild appear dead-set on adding another high-impact forward.
BARRY TROTZ
(Nashville Predators, 2023-present)
Notable acquisitions: Jason Zucker, Anthony Beauvillier
Trotz has one buyer Trade Deadline and one seller Trade Deadline on his resume. Which hat will he wear this time? It’s too soon to tell. The Predators have plenty of veterans who have spent all season in the rumor mill, from Steven Stamkos to Ryan O’Reilly to Jonathan Marchessault, but they’re just three points out of a playoff spot as of press time. Trotz is a competitive guy. He’d be smart to sell rather than keep his team in the dreaded murky middle…but will he?
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