<p>With just over one month until the NHL’s trade deadline on March 8, we’ve got you covered at&nbsp;<em>Daily Faceoff</em>&nbsp;with at least one trade-focused story every day until Deadline Day.</p>



<p>Today, we look back at the best deadline deals made involving forwards in the salary cap era.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2024-nhl-trade-deadline-countdown-37-days">2024 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 37 Days</h2>



<p>The trade deadline always brings some interesting moves, as teams get desperate to put their rosters over the top and get that precious Stanley Cup. Sometimes it gives a team success immediately, sometimes it gives them a long-term star, and sometimes it blows up in their face and the player is gone by the summer, but it doesn’t mean it’s not fun to witness in real time.</p>



<p>With the deadline around the corner, I thought I’d take look at the five best trades to happen at the deadline over the next three days, looking at forwards, defensemen, and then goalies. I evaluated them based on the success of the team, the success of the player with that team, and the longevity the player had there, with my window for the “trade deadline” being the start of the calendar year on Jan. 1 of that season. Let’s dive into the honorable mentions before we begin.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="200"></div>



<p><em>Pittsburgh acquires Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi from Anaheim for Ryan Whitney  – February 26, 2009</em></p>



<p><em>Nashville acquires Filip Forsberg from Washington for Martin Erat and Michael Latta  – April 3, 2013</em></p>



<p><em>Pittsburgh acquires Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from Atlanta for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a 2008 first round pick (Daulton Leveille) – February 26, 2008</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. Los Angeles acquires Marian Gaborik from Columbus for Matt Frattin, a 2015 2nd round pick (Travis Dermott) and a 2014 3rd round pick (Dominic Turgeon) (March 5, 2014)</h2>



<p>The Kings had already established themselves as an elite team thanks to their Cup win in 2012 (more on that later), but it was still very apparent in 2014 that the one thing this team lacked was a dangerous offense. Jeff Carter, Justin Williams and Mike Richards were a solid supporting cast, but the Kings lacked a true sniper for Anze Kopitar, something they’d need in their arms race against the Chicago Blackhawks in the West. When Gaborik’s time in Columbus wasn’t going well and he found himself on the market, the Kings jumped on him and it paid off well.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="163"></div>



<p>Case in point, Gaborik ended up 13th on the team in scoring <em>in the whole season</em> in just 19 games, clicking immediately with Williams and Kopitar. That carried into the playoffs with 14 goals and 22 points in 26 games on route to the Kings’ second Cup win in three years. And for the cherry on top for Gaborik, they won the Cup against his former team in the New York Rangers. He only had one other really good season for L.A., and his seven-year contract that he signed afterwards didn’t age well, but it was the perfect add for the Kings at that time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Tampa Bay acquires Blake Coleman from New Jersey for Nolan Foote and a 2020 first round pick (Shakir Mukhamadullin) (Feb. 16, 2020)</h2>



<p>I could cheat and include both of the 2020 trades for Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow, since both players gave the Lightning an elite shutdown line alongside Yanni Gourde that helped them to back-to-back Cups. But, I decided against it because I think Coleman was the bigger driver on that line while Goodrow worked on that line just by simply not dragging it down, and Coleman was more worth the first-round pick than Goodrow. Look no further than Goodrow’s time since with the New York Rangers, and it just goes to show how he isn’t quite as capable of that role on his own.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="209"></div>



<p>Regardless, championships are more important than prospects, and everything Tampa gave up for Coleman (and even Goodrow) was worth it since it got them those two Stanley Cups. I’d probably have this trade even higher if the Lightning had been able to keep Coleman around longer, but even without the longevity, it was still an important trade for the Bolts to finally get those Stanley Cups with this core.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Boston acquires Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik from Atlanta for Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart (Feb. 18, 2011)</h2>



<p>This trade is about as ideal as you can get for a deadline deal. On one hand, the Bruins got a good player in Rich Peverley who had another year on his contract and ended up being a contributor for their Stanley Cup victory later in 2011. On the other hand, the Thrashers, who were just months away from moving to Winnipeg, got a franchise piece in Blake Wheeler, someone who would go on to lead the franchise in scoring and captain the team.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="153"></div>



<p>It’s that reason why I opted to go with this one in the #3 slot. You rarely see both teams do well in this kind of trade, and sure, you could argue that Wheeler was way too much to give up for Peverley, but considering the Bruins won the Stanley Cup that season, I doubt they’ll complain. And while the Jets never went on to win anything with Wheeler and ultimately bought him out last season, they still had a long ride with someone who is currently the top-scoring player in the history of their franchise.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Los Angeles acquires Jeff Carter from Columbus for Jack Johnson and a 2013 first round pick (Marko Dano) (Feb. 23, 2012)</h2>



<p>So far on this list, trades have either provided an immediate Stanley Cup-winning impact or a long-term franchise impact, but none has really done both. The Kings got just that with Jeff Carter. They were barely hanging on to a playoff spot in 2012 and struggling to score despite strong underlying numbers, and they needed one big punch to the lineup to put them over the top. Much like Gaborik two years later, the Kings took capitalized on a struggling star in Columbus, and they acquired Carter for a relatively cheap price.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="188"></div>



<p>Even if it wasn’t cheap, it’d be worth it. He hopped in the lineup and gelled with the team immediately (although it helped that he was reunited with former Philadelphia Flyers teammate Mike Richards) with six goals in the 16 remaining games in the regular season, and then got another eight in their surprise Stanley Cup run that season. If it was a one-and-done, that would already be fine, but instead they got another nine seasons out of Carter before dealing him in 2021. In that time, he’d have four 50-point seasons (and probably five if not for a shortened 2012-13 season), finish 14th in points and 10th in goals in franchise history, and seventh and third in those respective stats in the playoffs, on top of another Cup win in 2014. How can you even beat that?</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="138"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-vegas-acquires-mark-stone-and-tobias-lindberg-from-ottawa-for-erik-brannstrom-oscar-lindberg-and-a-2020-second-round-pick-egor-sokolov-to-ottawa-feb-25-2019">1. Vegas acquires Mark Stone and Tobias Lindberg from Ottawa for Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second round pick (Egor Sokolov) to Ottawa (Feb. 25, 2019)</h2>



<p>It’s not often that someone like Mark Stone is on the trading block, but it wasn’t exactly normal circumstances either. The Ottawa Senators were struggling to keep their stars, and after Stone signed a one-year extension in 2018 that would walk him into free agency the following season, the Sens had to recoup what they could for him at the 2019 trade deadline. Enter the Vegas Golden Knights. Fresh off a run to the Cup Final in their inaugural season, they were hungry for more and had all kinds of assets and cap space to pull off a big move like this, and even then, they didn’t even have to move a first-round pick to bring in Stone. They immediately locked up the winger, and so it began.</p>



<p>The move wasn’t met with immediate success. That season the Golden Knights lost in the first round after blowing a 3-0 lead in Game 7, and it wasn’t until after two more runs to the final four and missing the playoffs that it paid off just last season when Vegas finally got back to the Cup Final and finished the job this time, with Stone coming up clutch with the hat trick in the clinching game. With his scoring and defensive prowess, he’s the best player to be moved at the deadline, stick around long term, and win a Cup at some point during his tenure, making him the easy top choice.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="6" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="240"></div>



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