The Largest Mid-Season Trades in the Salary Cap Era

On January 24, 2025, arguably the largest mid-season trade in NHL history took place. Star winger Mikko Rantanen was sent to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the speedy top six forward Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2nd round draft pick, and a 4th round draft pick. The Chicago Blackhawks were also involved in this deal, sending Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes and retaining 50% of Rantanen’s cap hit in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick.

Although there have been larger trades before, trades of this degree typically take place over the off-season, and are not often seen in the middle of the season.

Based on current information, both the Avalanche and Hurricanes benefit from this trade. Although Rantanen was the best player involved in this deal, his rumoured asking price of $14 million AAV after his contract expires at the end of the 2024-2025 season was more than what the Avalanche were willing to pay. Instead of potentially losing Rantanen for nothing as a free agent, the Avalanche instead acquired a young, quality forward with further potential in Martin Necas, in addition to Jack Drury and draft picks. On the other side, the Hurricanes have been a dominant team for approximately half a decade now, but have not been able to achieve more than eight wins in the playoffs during this time. Despite having talented forwards, offense has seemed to be the largest issue in their previous playoff runs, and until now, they have never had a star forward to the same calibre as Mikko Rantanen. Rantanen also has experience playing alongside fellow countryman and Hurricanes’ star forward Sebastian Aho.

While both teams come out of this trade looking like they made a fair deal, whoever “wins” this trade is largely dependent on where Mikko Rantanen signs in the offseason. However, with hindsight on our side for some of the other large mid-season trades, we can take a look back and analyze some of the other large trades in the salary cap era. For consistency, we will exclude trades taken place at or near the trade deadline, and instead focus on trades that shook the hockey world unexpectedly in the months of November to early February, since deadline trades are usually as simple as trading players on expiring contracts, whereas trades earlier on in the season typically have a more interesting back story.

January 31, 2024 - Elias Lindholm for Andrei Kuzmenko and Co

In the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 regular seasons, the Calgary Flames were dealing with major locker room drama, with rumours of various players wanting to leave the team. This was rumoured to be partly due to former head coach Darryl Sutter, although even after he was fired before the beginning of the 23-24 season, the narrative continued for some players. Defenceman Nikita Zadorov had actually joined the Canucks in a trade earlier in the 23-24 season, however, the larger deal between these two teams was Elias Lindholm for Andrei Kuzmenko. The Canucks were in the midst of their best regular season since their Presidents Trophy winning 2010-2011 season. Looking to make a push as cup contenders, the Canucks acquired Lindholm by primarily giving up Andrei Kuzmeko and a first round draft pick. Kuzmenko was well liked in Vancouver and was talented offensively, however, his inability to perform defensively led to many healthy scratches, and eventually trade rumours.

As of 2025, it appears that the Flames got the better end of the deal, as Lindholm is no longer with the Canucks. However, this does not imply that this was a bad trade for the Canucks, as they looked poised in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Lindholm being a key piece of their two-round run. However, it is notable that Lindholm was not as productive during the regular season with the Canucks as he was with the Flames.

November 4, 2021 - Jack Eichel for Alex Tuch & Co

After Jack Eichel suffered a spine injury in the 2021 shortened season, he famously wanted a neck procedure that the Buffalo Sabres were not confident in, and therefore didn’t allow Eichel to take the risk. This is not necessarily surprising, as once Eichel had vocalized an interest in a trade, there were only a few teams willing to make a trade for Eichel to then allow him to receive the neck procedure. However, one team that was willing to take the risk were the Vegas Golden Knights, who had developed a reputation for acquiring top players, even if that meant moving on from previously established players or fan favourite players. In exchange, the Sabres received Buffalo native Alex Tuch, who had shown promising potential but did not fit into Vegas’ competitive top six despite bringing the skillset of a top six forward. The Sabres would also receive prospect Peyton Krebs and two draft picks, including a first round pick.

Both teams benefited from this trade, as Tuch and the Sabres became better than they were before, and Vegas won the Stanley Cup the following season, with Eichel playing a significant role in their cup win. Although the Sabres still haven’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011, they have showed more promise in their play and have had a better position in the final standings after this trade took place compared to previous seasons.

January 23, 2021 - Patrik Laine for Pierre-Luc Dubois

Only one game into the 2021 shortened NHL season, Patrik Laine and Columbus native Jack Roslovic were traded from the Winnipeg Jets to the Columbus Blue Jakcets in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois (sometimes referred to as PLD). There had been trade rumours around Laine’s name previously, many sources speculating that he wouldn’t make it far into the 2021 season before getting traded. Roslovic was added to the trade and was seen as a good fit, in part because he was born in Columbus, since Columbus has historically had the reputation (whether it is true or not) of having difficulty keeping players long-term. On the other side, PLD had evidently wanted out of Columbus, with one of his infamous shifts shortly before the trade being one that showed little effort or interest of anything before being benched for the remainder of the game.

Although none of these players still remain with these teams, the Jets saw far more success in recent years compared to the Blue Jackets. Although the Jets generally had a better overall team outside of these players, PLD put up impressive numbers, with his main downside coming in the form of reoccurring off-ice rumours of wanting out of Winnipeg. Patrik Laine was typically productive when he was in the lineup, but unfortunately faced numerous injuries. Jack Roslovic saw an immediate improvement in his game since joining the Blue Jackets, and upgraded his status from a third-line center to a middle six forward, and is currently one of the Hurricanes’ leading goal scorers.

Overall, neither team won or lost this trade, but the Jets saw more success as a team since the trade.

November 5, 2017 - Matt Duchene Three-Way Trade

After trade rumours had surrounded Matt Duchene in the previous season and into the 2017-2018 season, the Avalanche dealt him to the Senators in a three-way trade involving the Predators, where the Predators received Kyle Turris from Ottawa, and the Avalanche received Sam Girard from Nashville, along with picks and players from the Predators and Senators. Matt Duchene infamously said he wanted to play playoff hockey, something the Avalanche had only managed to do twice in eight full seasons with the Avalanche, which became an ironic statement due to the fact that the Senators would become one of the worst teams in the standings, meanwhile the Avalanche have never missed the playoffs since. Despite this, Matt Duchene was a productive player for the Senators, but would eventually be traded during the 2018-2019 trade deadline to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

While Kyle Turris was a useful middle six forward for the Predators, he was entering a downturn in his career, and his production was lower than when he played on the Senators.

Because of this, the Avalanche won this trade without question, as Sam Girard has been one of their key top four defencemen for many seasons now, and the cap space they freed up allowed them to make further trades and signings that prepared them for what has now been over half a decade of dominance, which includes a 2022 Stanley Cup.

January 6, 2016 - Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen

A perfect example of a symbiotic trade, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators made a one-for-one trade, where the Blue Jackets would receive a high potential defencemen in Seth Jones, while the Predators would receive a high potential center in Ryan Johansen. Both teams made this trade to address current weak spots, as the Predators at the time had one of the best defensive units in the NHL, but were in need of extra offense, whereas the Blue Jackets were looking to improve their defensive unit.

Both teams came out of this trade with future success, as the Predators would continuously make the playoffs and come close to a Stanley Cup championship with Johansen as their number one center, and the Blue Jackets would consistently make the playoffs with Seth Jones as their number one defenceman, something that the Jackets’ franchise had never been able to do before him or since he left to Chicago in a trade.

February 4, 2010 - Ilya Kovalchuk for Oduya and Co

During the 2009-2010 NL season, the Atlanta Thrashers traded one of the best players of the decade, Ilya Kovalchuk, in exchange for various players and draft picks. This trade occurred due to a disagreement on Kovalchuk’s upcoming contract, and immediately after the trade, Kovalchuk signed a massive 15-year, $100 million contract with the Devils, and was one of the primary pioneers for the rule change of limiting contracts to eight years moving forward. The Thrashers would continue to struggle to make the playoffs, which continued for a few seasons after moving to Winnipeg.

Although the Devils would make it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012, Kovalchuk would retire at the end of the 2013 shortened season and move home to Russia only three full seasons after signing his 15-year contract. Kovalchuk would eventually come back during the 2018-2019 season with the Los Angeles Kings.

January 31, 2010 - Dion Phaneuf for Matt Stajan and Co

Dion Phaneuf was selected 9th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, and lived up to expectations immediately when he began playing in the 2005-2006 season. After three full seasons of success, Phaneuf would begin to drop in production in the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, in part due to injuries. However, the Flames changed things up, dealing Phaneuf along with Aulie and Sjostrom to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for various forwards and defenceman Ian White. Phaneuf would become the captain of the Maple Leafs shortly after, before eventually being traded during the 2015-2016 season, not before receiving criticism regarding his defensive capabilities. The Maple Leafs saw playoff hockey once with Phaneuf, which was in the lockout-shortened 2013 season. Matt Stajan and Niklas Hagman were notable forwards for the Flames, but overall, nothing significant came of the Flames in the years after the Phaneuf trade. Because of this, neither team saw significant strides from this trade, but both teams would become competitive again in the mid-late 2010s.

November 30, 2005 - Joe Thornton for Wayne Primeau, Marco Sturm, and Brad Stuart

Arguably one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history, the Boston Bruins traded captain Joe Thornton in exchange for Wayne Primeau, Marco Sturm, and Brad Stuart, all of whom served as useful players, but none of whom were close to the same calibre of talent as Joe Thornton. Despite a strong start with the Bruins in the 2005-2006 season, putting up 33 points in 23 games, Thornton was traded in part due to his unhappiness with the team and the teams’ unhappiness with his previous playoff performance, as well as due to the Bruins’ struggles to start the 05-06 season. The Sharks, who were also struggling, saw an immediate boost upon the arrival of Joe Thornton, and were one of the best teams in the league since the trade. At the end of the 2005-2006 season, Thornton would win the Art Ross Trophy for most points, and the Hart Trophy voted as the NHLs most valuable player, becoming the only player in NHL history to win either of these two awards while playing for multiple teams during the same season.

All three players on the Bruins would leave in the upcoming seasons, whereas Thornton would continue to be one of the best centers in the league for years to come, captaining the Sharks from 2010-2014, and helping the Sharks reach their only Stanley Cup Finals in franchise history in 2016. However, the Sharks ultimately never won the Stanley Cup, whereas the Bruins did in the 2010-2011 season. Although the Sharks won this individual trade by a wide margin, the Bruins as a franchise spared better afterwards. However, aside from the difference in playoff success, with Joe Thornton on the team from 2005-2020, the Sharks were cumulatively the best regular season team in the NHL in this timeframe.

History has shown that large mid-season trades are usually mutually beneficial. Based on the different team needs, this already seems to be the case for the Rantanen - Necas trade. However, it will be interesting to look back on this massive trade in years to come after various signings and other team decisions are made to see how these teams fare.

The Largest Mid-Season Trades in the Salary Cap Era

The Greatest Ending to an NHL Season

The History of NHL Goalie Goals