ANALYSIS: NHL trade deadline is a day for fine-tuning – Winnipeg

The NHL trade deadline has really taken on a life of its own — sometimes unfairly to the players and their families that are rumoured to be moving — and it gives us the first real indication during the season of what the teams really feel about themselves.

It’s purely coincidence, but in many ways, it is every hockey team’s version of the State of the Union which was delivered by U.S. President Joe Biden last night. Don’t worry, I’m not going down that rabbit hole. I’m paid to talk about hockey, not about the circus.

By the end of the day Friday, most teams will have told their fanbases whether they are in or not, whether it’s go for broke or just stand pat and hope for the best.

And while the deadline has become a focal point for the hockey world, in 2024 it has also witnessed, for the most part, the end of the pure hockey trade. You don’t see “My guy for your guy” very much anymore.

The challenge for these GMs has become so multi-faceted, it’s almost like a Rubik’s Cube. Certainly, with a salary cap league, there is the financial side of each trade. Hence, the emergence of trades that involved three teams, with that third team being bought off by a draft pick to carry some salary for the next six weeks. And then there’s the speculative side, gambling a player today for a draft prospect years from developing.

But this is not a blockbuster trade day. Sure, there have been famous ones, like Andy Bathgate from the Rangers to the Maple Leafs in 1964, which helped Toronto win their third straight Cup (when they were winning Cups) and Butch Goring in the early 1980s, which put the Islanders over the top — but that one was more than 40 years ago.

This is a day for fine-tuning. Last year, Vegas traded for Ivan Barbashev minutes before the deadline on the way to their Cup, and he was solid throughout the playoff run. He made a difference. So, perhaps, don’t look at the big names. Look for players that will complement what is already on any of the contenders.

That’s what these GMs are paid to do. Not make a big splash but give their teams the chance to win for the next three months.

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