Defenseman Joel Edmundson, who helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019, was traded Thursday from the Washington Capitals to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Stephanie Scarbrough/Associated Press
With one sleep left before the NHL trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs joined the party Thursday by bulking up on defense, while two Western Conference Stanley Cup contenders made more moves to improve in crucial areas.
Colorado acquired a pair of versatile forwards, Brandon Duhaime from Minnesota and Yakov Trenin from Nashville. Edmonton got defenseman Troy Stecher from Arizona, and Toronto received Joel Edmundson from Washington.
“Every team has a window in which they see success or a key moment of time for the organization – whether it’s two years, five years, depending on expiring contracts who they have to renew,” Avalanche Coach Jared Bednar said. “There’s lots of teams going all-in: teams that feel like they’ve got a chance to win, if they add certain things to their lineup, they’re going to go all-in. Your goal is to win the Stanley Cup. We’re not trying to be a mediocre team.”
Colorado and Edmonton stayed active. The Avalanche added center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Sean Walker in separate deals, and the Oilers gave themselves depth down the middle by trading with Anaheim for Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick.
The Avalanche sent a 2026 third-round pick to the Wild for Duhaime and a 2025 third-round pick and defense prospect Jeremy Hanzel to the Predators for Trenin and the rights to unsigned draft pick Graham Sward. The Oilers sent a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Coyotes for Stecher, while the Leafs got Edmundson from the Capitals for a third-rounder this year and a 2025 fifth.
Toronto’s trade for Edmundson added some much needed toughness on the blue line. His playoff experience alone makes Edmundson a potentially important acquisition for a team dreaming of an extended postseason run. Edmundson, 30, helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019 and is a pending free agent. He has averaged about 16 minutes a game this season with Washington.
Earlier in the week, Edmundson seemed content with the possibility of being traded to a contender, though his focus at the time was on helping the Capitals.
“Everyone wants to win,” he said. “I want to win every year, so I think once you get that feeling once, you just want it to happen every year and when you see other teams win it, you just kind of get jealous and frustrated. So yeah, we all want to win it every year.”
It’s not just the championship contenders getting in on the action. The Predators, who hold one of the two wild-card playoff spots in the West, acquired winger Anthony Beauvillier from Chicago for a 2024 fifth-round pick.
Nashville also claimed forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. Carolina could be making space for a big move, after the Hurricanes put goaltender Antti Raanta, defenseman Tony DeAngelo and forward Brendan Lemieux on waivers.
Still also likely to be moved before Friday’s 3 p.m. deadline are Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel and Reilly Smith, New Jersey winger Tyler Toffoli, Washington center Nic Dowd and two more Arizona pending free agents: defenseman Matthew Dumba and forward Jason Zucker. The Devils are holding out Toffoli from their game Thursday night for trade-related reasons, and San Jose is doing the same with Alexander Barabanov and Anthony Duclair.
PANTHERS: Gustav Forsling, the NHL’s leader in plus-minus this season by a wide margin, agreed to an eight-year extension, the team announced.
A person with knowledge of the agreement said Forsling will receive a deal with an annual value of $5.75 million – $46 million in total. He was slated to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The 27-year-old defenseman is plus-43, 10 better than anyone else in the league. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, he’s plus-103, second-best in the NHL.
FINES: The NHL has fined Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins and St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist $2,000 for embellishment.
Sundqvist’s punishment was announced the same day as the Blues signed him to a new two-year contract worth $3 million.
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