The trade deadline came and went on Friday with lots of activity. For a full list of trades, go to the Trade Deadline Tracker. For the most impactful trades from a fantasy perspective, go to our Fantasy Takes page.

I don't usually reinvent the wheel and break down the key trades in the Ramblings if they were already covered in separate pieces. Instead, I'll take this opportunity to recap the important signings and other news of the day, including notes from the day’s games as you’ll usually find here.

Friday was a memorable day for the Dallas Stars. Moments after acquiring Mikko Rantanen in a monster deal, the Stars announced the signing of up-and-coming star (see what I did there?) Wyatt Johnston to a five-year extension with an $8.4 million AAV. After a lukewarm start of three goals and 12 points in his first 21 games, Johnston has cranked up the scoring with 29 points in his last 20 games. He could be immediately impacted by the Rantanen trade with a move off a hot scoring line with Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz, but I wouldn't worry too much about that. With this signing, the Stars have signaled that the 21-year-old Johnston is a major part of their plans both now and in the future.

The Sabres pulled Jason Zucker off the trade market before the deadline, signing him to a two-year extension worth $4.75 million per season. Zucker has had a strong first season in Buffalo, scoring 44 points (18 G, 26 A) in 54 games, good for a 67-point pace over 82 games. That being said, he may be a bit of a surprise signing, as he is now 33 years old and his production has been all over the map throughout his career. The young Sabres could probably use a veteran stabilizing force, particularly since they have been stuck in a rebuild for so long.

Johnathan Kovacevic has signed a five-year extension with a $4 million AAV to stay in New Jersey. In his first season with the Devils, Kovacevic is averaging nearly 20 minutes of icetime per game while working in a shutdown role with Jonas Siegenthaler. By the way, Siegenthaler is expected to be out for the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury.

Urho Vaakanainen has been extended by the Rangers: two years with a $1.55 million AAV.

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The Oilers have announced that Evander Kane will not return to the lineup during the regular season. The focus immediately turns to whether Kane will be ready just in time for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. I won't try to speculate whether that will or won't happen, but at least we now know that Kane will not play in a single game this regular season after undergoing abdominal surgery in September. He has one more year left after this one on his contract with a cap hit of $5.125 million.

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Several hours after the trade with Seattle was announced, Brandon Tanev was in Winnipeg's lineup on Friday. Tanev logged 11:28 while playing on the Jets' fourth line with Alex Iafallo and Morgan Barron. He did not register a point but was credited with two hits.

Also acquired by the Jets earlier in the day, Luke Schenn was not in the Jets' lineup on Friday.

Fantasy Take: Jets Add Bangers in L. Schenn, B. Tanev

In Winnipeg's 6-1 win over New Jersey, Nikolaj Ehlers led the way with a goal and two assists, taking four shots on goal as well. Ehlers now has goals in three consecutive games and five points over those three games.

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Aliaksei Protas scored two goals and added an assist in the Capitals' 5-2 win over Detroit. Protas has now reached 25 goals this season, which is a huge jump considering his previous career high was six goals last season. In addition, Protas is on pace for 70 points, which also seems out of nowhere. Digging a little deeper, Protas continues to ride a 21.2 SH%, 13.5 5-on-5 SH%, 3.1 PTS/60, and 1044 PDO, all of which suggest that a regression will occur next season if not sooner. The 6-6, 247 lb. Protas was also a plus-3 on Friday, which gives him a plus-33 on the season, placing him behind only Ryan McDonagh in the plus-minus race.

One of Protas' goals and his assist were shorthanded, while Tom Wilson also had a shorthanded goal and a shorthanded assist. Wilson now has three consecutive games with exactly a goal and an assist.

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With a power-play goal and an assist on Friday, Clayton Keller now has 15 points over his last nine games.

Connor Bedard hasn't always had fun during his time in Chicago, but it looked like he did on Friday. Bedard scored the overtime winner along with an assist and five shots on goal in 23 minutes of icetime.

CONNOR. BEDARD. OT. WINNER. ARE. YOU. NOT. ENTERTAINED. pic.twitter.com/kUuCPgqcdL

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 8, 2025

By the way, those vintage uniforms with my dad's old hockey gloves look fantastic. Not every team can pull that off, but the Blackhawks can with their history.

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Canucks fans were not a happy bunch on Friday, as their team could not orchestrate a trade involving UFA-to-be Brock Boeser for assets that could help beyond this season. The Canucks could still sign Boeser before July 1, but the two sides are reportedly still far apart.

Canucks fans did find something to be happy about in their game on Friday night, though. Elias Pettersson scored his first goal in 16 games, finally channeling the one-timer that we haven't seen for a while.

🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨

Elias Pettersson blasts a one timer to the back of the net to open the scoring!

🎥: Sportsnet | NHL#Canucks | #mnwild pic.twitter.com/Yi5x9oIsVW

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 8, 2025

Pettersson has looked much more engaged and confident in his past two games. Although he was held off the scoresheet again on Wednesday, he won 20 faceoffs in that game against Anaheim. If you've been patient all this time, I'm here to tell you there appears to be a light at the end of this tunnel.

Coincidentally, hits leader Kiefer Sherwood also scored his first goal in 16 games, which turned out to be the game-winner. Sherwood is fantasy relevant because of his dominance in the hits category, but he can be that much more valuable if he can add scoring to his skill set. His 14 goals this season is already a career high, while his 25 points is two shy of his career high set last season. As for the hits, Sherwood had seven on Friday, giving him 15 over the past two games.

Continuing this weird coincidence, Brock Faber also scored his first goal in 16 games on Friday. Faber is back on the Wild's top power play and continues to log heavy minutes (27:20 on Friday), so some offense should come.

Kevin Lankinen was outstanding on Friday, stopping 37 of 38 shots in the Canucks' 3-1 win over Minnesota. With Thatcher Demko's return date still a mystery, expect Lankinen to start the bulk of the games for the Canucks down the stretch.

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Mark Stone scored a goal and two assists and a plus-3 in the Golden Knights' 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. If Stone is on your roster, count your blessings that he is not on LTIR at this stage of the season.

In his first game back with the Golden Knights, Reilly Smith was held without a point in 14:19 of icetime. He was on a line with Nicolas Roy and Cole Schwindt. Smith wasn't having an outstanding season with the Rangers, and it doesn't look like he'll replicate his roughly 50-60-point pace from his previous stint with Vegas.

Fantasy Take: Reilly Smith Reunites with Old Teammates in Vegas

Tanner Pearson has exactly a goal and an assist with a plus-2 in back-to-back games. He's been doing that while on a line with Stone and Jack Eichel. It's not the first time Pearson has been on that line this season, so he's a player to add in those very deep leagues where few options with any kind of upside surface.

Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves in picking up his second shutout of the season. Samsonov also earned his first quality start since January 30.

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Earlier in the day, Brayden Schenn survived not being traded. Then on Friday night, he led the Blues with a pair of goals in a 4-3 win over Anaheim. Nice timing for the Blues, as Schenn now has 10 points over his last nine games. Schenn's scoring has gradually declined over the past few seasons, but he has managed to reverse that trend recently. The Blues are only one point back of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference (although they have played two more games than both the Canucks and Flames), so they could use their captain. Multicategory fantasy teams could also use Schenn, as he has reached triple-digit hits for the 14^th consecutive season.

With a power-play assist on Friday, Jackson LaCombe has 10 points over his past eight games. LaCombe is the breakout candidate that you didn't expect, currently on a full-season pace of 50 points while playing on the top power play over Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger. The trade of Brian Dumoulin to New Jersey on Thursday appears to have created room for both Mintyukov and Zellweger, as either one or the other had often been healthy scratched up to that point. Those smaller deals often don't have major fantasy impacts, but this one does. If LaCombe really starts to cool off, Mintyukov or Zellweger might be granted a turn on the top power play.

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