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NHL Notebook: Trades galore as NHL trade deadline looms!
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Mar 6, 2025, 19:30 ESTUpdated: Mar 6, 2025, 20:01 EST
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There have been a whole lot of trades leading into Friday’s trade deadline. Let’s start with the most recent one.
On Thursday afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks sent defenceman Carson Soucy to the New York Rangers in exchange for the San Jose Sharks third-round pick in the 2025 draft.
This season, Soucy has three goals and 10 points in 59 games but is a -13, the worst mark of his career. In fact, it’s the only time barring the two games he played in 2017-18 that he’s been a minus player.
It doesn’t appear that the Canucks will retain any of his salary, as the right-shot defenceman has cap hit of $3 million until the end of the 2025-26 season. He also waived his no-trade clause to agree to this trade.

Other trades in the league

Starting with a pair of trades on Wednesday, the Penguins traded Vincent Desharnais to the San Jose Sharks for a 2026 fifth-round pick on Wednesday. This is the second time Desharnais has been traded this season as he was traded from the Vancouver Canucks to the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this season. 
The Penguins made a second trade later that day, trading Michael Bunting and their fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft for Luke Schenn and Tommy Novak. Bunting and Novak each have term while Schenn could be flipped before the deadline.
Fast forward to Thursday, and there were a handful more trades. First up, the Anaheim Ducks traded Brian Dumoulin to the New Jersey Devils for a 2025 second-round pick and Herman Traff. The pick could be the Edmonton Oilers or the Winnipeg Jets, depending on which one is better. This season, Dumoulin has two goals and 16 points in 61 games and won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
Late Thursday morning, the Vegas Golden Knights brought back one of the original misfits, trading Brendan Brisson and San Jose’s third-round pick (yes, the same one involved in the Carson Soucy trade) to the Rangers in exchange for Reilly Smith. This season, Smith has 10 goals and 29 points in 58 games, winning the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2022-23.
The Florida Panthers remained busy on Thursday, making two small trades. They traded a 2026 fourth-round pick to the San Jose Sharks for Nico Sturm and a 2027 seventh-round pick. Later in the day, they swapped American Hockey League netminders with the Jets, trading Chris Driedger for Kaapo Kähkönen.
Speaking of the Sharks, it appears another trade is in the works. According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, right-shot centre Luke Kunin sitting out Thursday’s game due to roster management purposes. The Calgary Flames are one team interested in Kunin.
It’s going to be a fun trade deadline.

Utah goes on a signing spree

One team that appears to not want to sell is the Utah Hockey Club. They re-signed several of their pending unrestricted free agents on Wednesday evening.
First up was Alex Kerfoot, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3 million.  This season, Kerfoot has seven goals and 16 points in 61 games and is coming off a season with 13 goals and a career-best 45 points.
Shortly after, and I mean like less than 40 minutes, it was announced by TSN’s Chris Johnston that the Hockey Club also agreed to a one-year deal with defenceman Ian Cole worth $3 million. This season, Cole has a goal and 13 points in 61 games.
Lastly, the Hockey Club agreed to a five-year deal worth $4.75 million annually with netminder Karel Vemejka. This season, the Czech netminder has a .910 save percentage and 2.45 goals against average in 38 games played. He was one of the best goalies seen as available on the trade market.
The Hockey Club is one of several teams pushing for a post-season spot that is currently occupied by the Calgary Flames. With a 27-25-9 record, their 63 points are just four behind the Flames, although they’d need to jump the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues as well.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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