The day before the deadline saw plenty of trades as teams stock up for playoff runs or to simply try to get better for the future. I won't break down or even list every trade that happened today in here because there were quite a few. Instead, I'll direct you to the Trade Deadline Tracker, which you can refresh periodically throughout the day today. You'll also see links to the Fantasy Takes along with the Forum posts.

A late deal that didn't make it onto the tracker as of midnight ET saw the Wild acquire Justin Brazeau from the Bruins for Jakub Lauko, Marat Khustnidinov, and a 2026 sixth-round pick.

The Jake Walman trade to Edmonton was finally announced late Thursday night. Here’s the Fantasy Take. (Spoiler: would hurt Walman’s fantasy value, but could help Timothy Liljegren‘s.) Here’s the full deal:

🚨 TRADE ALERT 🚨

The #Oilers have acquired defenceman Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a conditional first-round draft pick & forward Carl Berglund.

Full transaction details ⤵️ https://t.co/sr51joXhRo

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 7, 2025

Also late Thursday, Colorado acquired Brock Nelson from the Islanders. I won't discuss the trade here. You'll have to read the Fantasy Take. Here's the full deal:

Trade details, per #GoAvsGo:

To #GoAvsGo:
C Brock Nelson (50% retained)
F William Dufour

To #isles:
F Cal Ritchie
D Oliver Kylington
2026 1st Round Pick
Cond. 2028 3rd Round Pick

What an absolute haul. Cal Ritchie is a can't miss prospect.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 7, 2025

To top that off, the Islanders have immediately flipped Oliver Kylington to the Ducks for future considerations. I might not be able to go to bed tonight if this keeps up.

–

This Mikko Rantanen saga is something. Could the Hurricanes really flip him just over a month after acquiring him? I realize how difficult it is to agree to terms on a long-term contract for a player of his magnitude during the season, but surely the Canes had to understand the risk in acquiring him for a player as talented as Martin Necas plus more. It seems like their best bet now is to treat Rantanen as a rental as they go all in, then hope they can swing something before July 1. The Canes wanted to avoid Jake Guentzel 2.0, but I think that's what will happen here. (Of course, not long after I said this, Elliotte Friedman reported that something is brewing between the Canes and Dallas Stars regarding a possible Rantanen trade.)

Rantanen was held without a point on Thursday, which is his third consecutive game without one. Playing on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis doesn't seem to be helping, as Rantanen now has just six points in 13 games with his new team. Maybe it's the shock of the deal, or maybe he had a much stronger connection with Nathan MacKinnon. Another factor in the Canes deciding to explore the trade market is the difficulty he has had adjusting to his new team and the possibility that his production will never be the same as it was in Colorado. Stay tuned.

With all this going on, what a break for the Canes tonight!

ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL STICK BREAK FOR ZADOROV AND SETH JARVIS PUTS THE GAME AWAY 😩🚨 pic.twitter.com/2mjpYhNrxt

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 7, 2025

In a losing cause, Morgan Geekie scored both Bruins' goals while taking four shots. Geekie is up to a career high 22 goals and also has four points in his last four games.

Could the Bruins really trade Brad Marchand? I'm having a hard time picturing him in any other jersey. If you dislike the Bruins, will you dislike them as much without Marchand? That would be a huge part of their scoring – not to mention their identity – gone.

marchand likely dealt to the west per chris johnston pic.twitter.com/bxvuhGYasp

— Marina Maher (@marinakmaher) March 7, 2025

–

Guentzel, who was last year's version of Rantanen, picked up a hat trick in the Lightning's 6-5 win over Buffalo. Settled into his new home in Tampa Bay, Guentzel has five goals over his last two games, back-to-back three-point games, and seven points over his last three games. He has also reached the 30-goal mark for four consecutive seasons.

Whether you believe in their philosophy of trading away first-round picks to win now, the Tampa Bay Lightning are going for it again. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored a goal in his Lightning debut, although he was held to just 13:53 in icetime. He played on a line with fellow new (old) Bolt Yanni Gourde, who assisted on Bjorkstrand's goal and logged 16:47.

Fantasy Take: Lightning Land Gourde and Bjorkstrand in Blockbuster with Kraken

Victor Hedman left Thursday's game in the first period with an undisclosed injury. After the game, Jon Cooper was uncertain about Hedman's status for Saturday. Darren Raddysh picked up a power-play assist and also scored a goal in 24:47 of icetime, so he would be worth adding in many leagues if Hedman is unavailable for Saturday.

In a losing cause, Rasmus Dahlin and JJ Peterka each scored a goal and added an assist for the Sabres. Dahlin might be the hottest defenseman in the league with 17 points in his last 12 games. Meanwhile, Peterka was rumored to involved in a potential deal with the Rangers, which could be something to watch for tomorrow.

–

Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart each scored a goal along with two assists in the Panthers' 3-0 win over Columbus.

On the top power play with Barkov and Reinhart, Mackie Samoskevich scored a power-play goal, giving him power-play points in back-to-back games since being moved up to the top unit. Samoskevich flexed his muscles for those in multicategory leagues, also picking up seven shots on goal and six hits. He's readily available, rostered in only 1 percent of Yahoo leagues and 22 percent of Fantrax leagues.

Sergei Bobrovsky earned his second shutout in his last three games, needing to make just 16 saves. Bobrovsky continues to roll with wins in four consecutive games.

–

Winnipeg's top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Gabriel Vilardi combined for eight points in the Jets' 4-1 win in Philly. Scheifele scored his 35^th goal of the season while adding two assists, Connor scored a goal with an assist, while Vilardi pitched in three assists. Only Leon Draisaitl has more goals than Scheifele this season.

It's possible that we see Eric Comrie more often than usual down the stretch as the Jets prepare Connor Hellebuyck for the playoffs. No problem, says Winnipeg. Comrie made 21 saves on Thursday, giving him four wins and four quality starts over his last five games. If you need a goalie stream, Comrie is probably worth a look (4% Yahoo/12% Fantrax). However, as a goalie on a team at the top of the standings, Comrie doesn't show an impressive record (7-8-1), so a win might not come that easy.

–

The line of Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, and Wyatt Johnston is pretty much guaranteed to pick up points right now. Each had two points in the Stars' 3-2 overtime win over Calgary. After a slow start, Johnston is playing to his potential again with 12 goals in his last 13 games and 14 points in his last eight games. Hintz has an absurd 16 points over his last six games, including four consecutive multipoint games. With two goals on Thursday, Robertson has seven goals and 13 points over his last six games.

–

Colton Parayko will be out for at least six weeks, as he will undergo a scope on his left knee and be re-evaluated then. That could effectively end Parayko's season, as the regular season will end at around that time. Parayko has already matched his career high of 35 points in just 62 games this season, while he is also in the top 30 in combined hits and blocks this season (231 HIT+BKS). The leader in icetime for the Blues (23:51), Parayko is a big loss for the Blues in their pursuit of the final wild-card spot in the West. He can probably be cut from single-season fantasy rosters given his injury timeline.

–

The Utah Hockey Club has signed Karel Vejmelka to a five-year extension worth $4.75 million per season. Vejmelka is having a career year between the pipes, as his 14.03 GSAx is 10th among all goalies. His standout play for the Hockey Club can also be backed up by his six "steals", which is tied for third among all goalies.

Not familiar with GSAx or steals? These are stats that have been recently added to Frozen Tools. GSAx is defined as "expected goals against minus goals against," with the bigger the number the better. Steals is "when goals saved above expected exceeds the margin of victory."

An announcement (via @FrozenTools) 📢
Our goalie profiles (and our Report Generator) now has the GSAx stat, plus a new stat for Goalies that you may or may not have seen around called "Steals"

Steals: When goals saved above expected exceeds the margin of victory pic.twitter.com/Kl8J980EqH

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) March 5, 2025

–

In the Content Creators League where I am in a dogfight to make the playoffs, Cale Makar came up huge for me on Thursday. Makar picked up six points (2 G, 4 A) in the Avalanche's 7-2 win over San Jose. In terms of all-time records, only Tom Bladon and Paul Coffey (8 points each) and Bobby Orr (7 points) have more points in a game among defensemen (a bunch more defensemen have 6 points). Still, that's the highest point total in a game among defensemen this season, and it ties Nikita Kucherov for most points in a game among any player this season.

Yes, I will also mention that Nathan MacKinnon picked up five points in the same game. Two goals and three assists with eight shots on goal. MacKinnon is now just two points shy of being the first player to hit 100 this season.  

–

Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads @goodsfantasyhockey and Bluesky @goodsfantasyhockey.bsky.social