The top teams in the NHL’s East Division played a high-stakes game of one-upmanship in the hours before the trade deadline Monday, while the West leaders made depth moves designed to extend their Stanley Cup playoff runs. The Ducks did what they’ve done all season — not much. Maybe 24-year-old defenseman Haydn Fleury, acquired from Carolina for defenseman Jani Hakanpaa and a 2022 sixth-round draft pick, will blossom if given regular ice time but he won’t save them from missing the playoffs again.
The rich got richer and rebuilding teams got assets, producing a few preliminary winners.