Three Losers of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline

NHL Trade Deadline Day has come and gone, and there are some teams that really could have helped themselves towards the playoffs and some teams that could have helped themselves towards a rebuild but just did not do enough.

On Deadline Day, teams that are selling like to set sky-high prices on their players to see if they can get some teams to bite or not. But if that doesn't work in their favor and the clock is winding down towards the final hour or so, usually those prices come down a bit.

Even if the prices come down in the final hour, some teams still choose not to deal players when they absolutely should, or teams that are contending do not tend to jump on these low prices and take advantage with the playoffs coming.

That was the case for a few teams and why they ended up as Deadline losers.

New York Rangers

The Rangers are quite a story because they were coming into the year looking good after they had made the playoffs the last couple of years but missed the playoffs last season. They decided to hire veteran coach Mike Sullivan to lead them back to the promised land, but that has not exactly worked.

General manager Chris Drury ultimately sent a letter out to his fans mid-season telling them they were likely going to sell and say goodbye to some fan favorites. He did deal Artemi Panarin, but did not get that much in return.

He also decided not to trade veteran Vincent Trocheck, who has a ton of playoff experience and would have been a great addition for a contending team. Drury ultimately chose to hold on to him for no particular reason when Trocheck will likely not want to stay around for a rebuild. Yikes.

New York Islanders

The Islanders are a story this year as well, as they are currently tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division with the Pittsburgh Penguins at 75 points, but they technically sit in third place because the Penguins have two games in hand on them.

With the Islanders in the playoff race, general manager Mathieu Darche did not do enough to help his team and overpaid for a player past his prime and in his 30s. Darche acquired Brayden Schenn from the St. Louis Blues but paid a first-round pick as part of the return.

Schenn is 34 years old and is not the same player that he once was. He is not going to help the Islanders as much as Darche thinks that he might. Darche vastly overpaid when he could have had a younger Conor Garland for a cheaper price that the Columbus Blue Jackets got him at.

The Islanders are going to have to try to do everything they can to make the addition of Schenn work, but it looks rough on paper right now.

Jan 31, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves (73) defends the net against St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (10) during the second period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Tampa Bay Lightning

General manager Julien Brisebois did not do enough to help his team just like the Islanders did not. The Lightning are currently tied for first place in the Atlantic Division with the surprising Buffalo Sabres at 80 points.

But Brisebois decided to be a bit cheap and pay a second-round pick for 40-year-old forward Corey Perry from the Los Angeles Kings. Perry was a Bolt before a couple years ago and was a good fit.

But Perry is not a needle mover for this Lightning team that could come out of the Eastern Conference. He is not going to be this massive scorer, and the Lightning could have tried for someone better with their assets.

Brisebois has to hope re-acquiring Perry for his bottom six provides some jolt as the playoffs are around the corner in April. But right now, this move does not help them all that much.

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