Biggest Surprises of NHL Trade Deadline

The NHL is never boring around the trade deadline, and this season was no different.

Mar 1, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) takes the ice to warm up against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

After 45 trades and 143 assets on the move, the NHL’s trade deadline has come and gone. Teams across the league took big swings while others sold pieces of their lineup with the intention of looking to the future.

Regardless of what teams made which moves, there is no doubt that this season’s trade deadline was an entertaining one full of unexpected decisions.

Let’s look at which moves from trade deadline day were the most surprising.

Senators Trade Josh Norris

It’s not a shock that the Ottawa Senators took a big swing looking to bolster their roster ahead of a push for the playoffs, but dealing away Josh Norris wasn’t expected.

It had been reported earlier in the season that the Senators were shopping Norris around, but he was always looked at as a key piece of the team’s core.

The Senators should see outstanding work from Dylan Cozens in return not only in their push for the postseason, but for numerous years to come. Cozens has five years remaining on his deal and the Senators will be witness to his prime years in the NHL.

The Mikko Rantanen Saga

It was a shock to the system when Mikko Rantanen was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes. Considering the saga that followed, maybe it’s not as big of a surprise that Rantanen was moved again, but on paper, the whole thing seems unprecedented.

The Avalanche seemed clear they had no intentions of trading their leading goal scorer. The Hurricanes believed they were getting a huge piece for a crack at the Stanley Cup, but he remained non-committal to Carolina. The Hurricanes didn’t have much choice but to flip him.

The real surprise is that a top trade asset was dealt multiple times in the same season. A 50-goal scorer will have played for three different teams in one season. That’s the kind of thing that goes down in hockey lore and will be talked about for years to come.

Bruins Trade Brad Marchand to Panthers

Just when everyone thought it was pencils down on the deadline, the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins swooped in for a buzzer-beater that caught everyone off guard. The Bruins traded their captain Brad Marchand to the division rival Panthers.

Marchand had been with the Bruins since they drafted him in 2006, and after almost two decades together they’ve called it quits. Not many players can say they’ve spent their whole NHL careers with one team, but it seemed like a guarantee the Bruins would never let go of Marchand.

With contract negotiations at a stalemate and the Bruins waving the white flag on the season, the Panthers became the benefactor of an unfortunate situation.

Only adding to the shock factor, the Bruins were booted from the playoffs at the hands of the Panthers in each of the last two seasons.

Penguins Not Trading Rickard Rakell

The last surprise move was one that didn’t happen at all. Plenty of teams called the Pittsburgh Penguins about Rickard Rakell, but no deal came to be. Rakell is having a huge bounce back season in Pittsburgh, leading the Penguins with 29 goals.

In a seller’s market, it seemed almost certain the Penguins would land important assets in a trade for Rakell, but they stood pat. Expect a move involving him to be fulfilled during the offseason.

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