The Tampa Bay Lightning headed to Buffalo with their normally ironclad defense in tatters, and things did not improve in a 5-3 loss to the Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Coach Jon Cooper benched three of his stars for the third period: forwards Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. The Lightning are now 0-3-1 in their last four games, their longest winless streak of 2022-23. What happened during that third period? The Sabres led 5-1 after two, and the rest of the team put on a rally with two goals, but they ended up short. Point had a goal and Stamkos and Kucherov had assists in the game, but Stamkos (-3), Point (-2) and Kucherov (-1) all were part of defensive lapses. Can the Lightning right the ship ahead of the playoffs? They certainly have the track record.
Let’s break down how the trade deadline went and how the changes could influence your NHL betting choices.
NHL News: Winners and Losers at the Trade Deadline
Winner: Boston Bruins
No team has ever gotten to 100 points faster in NHL history than the Bruins have. They lead the league in fewest goals permitted and are second in goals scored. So what did they do at the trade deadline? They got even better. They brought in Dmitry Orlov from Washington, who can move the puck and play with physicality. They also got Garnet Hathaway, a grinder on the checking lines. They added Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit to add depth after losing left winger Taylor Hall to injury. They also extended David Pastrnak, giving him an eight year-deal worth $11.25 million per year.
Loser: Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins have been the league’s oldest team all season, and the idea that they would go get more players between the ages of 31 and 34 to boost an unlikely playoff run didn’t make a lot of sense. Nick Bonino (34 years old) was part of the Penguin teams that won Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, and he can still contribute as a defensive forward, but the team needs depth scoring, and Bonino was not the best answer available. The Penguins already had speed and skill deficits, and the trade moves that GM Ron Hextall made did little, if anything, to address them.
Winner: New Jersey Devils
The Devils needed a winger who can score goals and had postseason experience, and they found both in San Jose’s Timo Meier and Vancouver’s Curtis Lazar. Meier is basically a rental, as he doesn’t have a contract after this season, and there is already a $10 million qualifying offer in place since he’s a restricted free agent, but the Devils brought both wingers to town without losing any of tier top assets.
Loser: Anaheim Ducks
As a seller, the Ducks were looking to use assets to build capital in future drafts. John Klingberg, Kevin Shattenkirk and Dmitry Kulikov are all unrestricted free agent defensemen that were attractive to teams looking for help on the blueline. Klingberg was shipped out for a fourth-rounder in 2025, a prospect at forward and a defenseman in the minors. Shattenkirk didn’t go anywhere, and Kulikov’s trade brought back a third-rounder in 2024 and Brock McGinn. It didn’t help that the Ducks didn’t make any deals at all until the deadline itself. Waiting until the bargains were all that was left didn’t help their cause.
Winner: Nashville Predators
Are the Preds a playoff team, or is it time to consider overhauling things? That was the question that the team faced going into the deadline. The team answered that question by moving Nino Niederriter and Tanner Jeannot. For Jeannot, the team got Cal Foote and five draft picks from Tampa Bay. The team also cleared away $15 million in cap space fro next year by sending Mikael Granlund and Mattias Ekholm, and they have 13 picks in the 2023 draft. Adding flexibility – and showing that they are not looking to contend this year – might hurt the fans now but should help in the future.
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