2026 nhl trade deadline Came and went. Toronto Maple Leafs The players were sent off, the Foligno brothers would play together on the same hockey team for the first time, Colton Parayko did not go to buffalo saberAnd the rich appear to have become richer.
This is especially true in the Central Division. The top three teams of Central are also in the top four in the league. dallas starsIn second place in the NHL and Central, were quite quiet on Friday after adding tyler myers And michael bunting While their powerhouse counterparts were active earlier in the week.
let’s get started minnesota wild. “Business SJN” actually started when they acquired quinn hughes In December, well before the deadline. Hughes is not only one of the game’s top defenders, but also a true leader who played a key role in Team USA’s Olympic gold.
last week they moved forward bobby brink From Philadelphia (and he’s come to work there, Not to reunite with my friends in Minnetonka), defenseman Jeff Petry From Florida, and Blackhawks captain Nick Folignowho joins brother marcus Try to win the Stanley Cup together.
Not bad for a team that was already fourth in the NHL standings.
While the Wild and Stars will likely go out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs as a No. 2 vs. No. 3 matchup, colorado avalanche The season-long question was finally resolved: “Who will replace nazam qadri As a second line center on the Avs?”
Answer: Kadri, which was a buzzer-beater trade from Calgary back to Colorado. The veteran center won the Stanley Cup in 2022 (and famously brought the Cup to a mosque that summer, the first time that is known to have happened). AVS now has nathan mackinnonKadri, brock nelson And Nick Roy In the centre. not too shabby.
Fans complain about the playoff format every spring, and there’s another reason this season: Whoever emerges from the Central Division bracket will have to beat the league’s two strongest teams to do so.
If we talk about strength anaheim ducks There were big winners even at the deadline, who shocked the hockey world. washington capitals experienced defender john carlson. The Ducks are poised to make the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons.
The East still remains a complete challenge, and I’m surprised more teams weren’t active. New rules regarding double salary retention and the “playoff salary cap” may have played a role, but many teams are still fighting for spots.
The Sabres, with the longest playoff drought in the league in 14 years, and detroit red wingsThose who have not hosted postseason hockey in their current building are both in playoff spots right now and have fans ready to explode upon their return to the postseason.
It’s time to dive into one of the most exciting times of the hockey season. Let the final round of the playoff race begin!
Proceed:
games of the week
what i liked this weekend
Hart Trophy candidates
social post of the week
paste tap
biggest games of the week
This week, I’ll be taking a look at the teams that have taken the biggest steps forward to see how those new players settle in.
For Avs: How will Nazem Qadri enjoy his old digs? He is a player who can make an immediate impact. avs play edmonton oilers on tuesday, seattle kraken Thursday and go winnipeg jets On Saturday.
How about the Dux and John Carlson? Anaheim can now field a defensive pairing involving a young player under the age of 25 on the left side (jackson lacombe, pavel mintyukov And oleen zellweger) and a 32-year-old playoff veteran on the right side (Carlson, Radko Gudas And jacob trouba).
After Sunday’s game against the Blues in SoCal, the Ducks embark on a Canadian road trip: the Jets on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs on Thursday, ottawa senators on Saturday and montreal canadiens On Sunday.
Hart Trophy contenders if the season ended today
For those who have been reading all season, I’m officially narrowing the field to the final three:
my winner right now connor mcdavid. He leads the league in scoring with 106 points, which includes 10 points in his last five games.
nathan mackinnon He is in second place as the leader of the league’s top team. He has 103 points and also has 10 points in the last five matches.
Nikita Kucherov of tampa bay lightning My second finalist. He has 100 points on the season with six of his last five games.
All three have separated themselves from the group, but there’s still a month left to play and time for someone to make a run for it.
what i liked this weekend
On Saturday, I moderated a hockey analytics panel at the MIT Sloan Sports Conference and was on stage with Stathletes founder Meghan Chayka, Olympic gold medalist and Hockey Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero, and Team USA women’s coach John Wroblewski, who went from winning gold in Milan to appearing on our panel.
Coaches don’t get physical medals to keep, but I asked him if he at least got one of the official Olympic stuffies (you know, the one Nathan MacKinnon looked like he was). I’m going to France When was it given to him?)
“I didn’t, but I bought one the very first day I went there,” Wroblewski replied. Come on, IOC, the coaches could have at least got luggage!
The panel is worth watching, especially as these three look at how analytics can impact the performance and confidence of top performing athletes at different stages of their careers. Wroblewski also talked about key moments from the gold medal match against Canada.
The panel begins after 15 minutes of the video below:
After Sloan, it was back to the ABC Hockey Saturday studio, including special guest, viral content creator Kickball Dad. Speaking of content creation…
weekend social media posts
As a fan of themed nights at hockey games (and sporting events in general) this caught my attention: The Oilers presented World of Warcraft Night last Friday. It was a co-promotion with Blizzard, the developer behind the popular game. Video games and sports definitely go together, but I had never heard of World of Warcraft before pulling a Leroy Jenkins and rushing to a hockey game.
if you’re coming tonight #oilers vs hurricane game @RogersPlaceCheck out the Midnight Booth behind World of Warcraft: Section 105 for a chance to win this custom Hunter x World of Warcraft shirt and more. @warcraft Prizes while supplies last! pic.twitter.com/6YXhYyNeiA
– Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) 6 March 2026
So I decided to investigate. On Blizzard’s side, there is a new expansion coming out to the game, so the awareness was a big push.
“What we’ve learned directly from our player base in Canada is how deeply ingrained hockey is in the culture,” Guido Alves, publishing director of Canada/Latin America for Blizzard Entertainment, told ESPN. “That passion constantly emerges when players talk about their interests outside of our game, and it made us realize that while our communities already shared similar connections, we also realized that we hadn’t really connected to the game in a meaningful, direct way before.
“As World of Warcraft: Midnight is designed to be more social and welcoming with stronger shared experiences, it felt like the right time to connect those worlds.”
Alves said it’s less about creating a “direct overlap” between hockey and sports and more about meeting players where they are.
Alves said the company would like to continue hosting more nights like this at NHL games throughout the league. “The fan reaction has been incredibly positive,” he said.
I’ve spent about 3,500 hours playing Hearthstone Battlegrounds, so I’m curious to see an event based on that game.
paste tap
Congratulations to Warroad for winning the Class 1A Minnesota High School Boys Hockey State Tournament Championship! They forced overtime thanks to a 43-save performance from Patrick Kennedy. Roderick Jackson scored the overtime winner and Warroad became winners for the first time since 2005.
Coincidentally, 2005 was also an ESPN analyst TJ Oshie Played for “Hockeytown USA” and won a state championship. This time, he was able to watch the victory with his children:
Got to see it with my four kids! It would be nice to live right here in Lenny’s mind. Helmet, gloves and sticks all over the ice from the OT GWG festival. Winner and runner up shaking hands. What is she thinking? I’m guessing something like “that’ll be me one day.” You have to love sports! https://t.co/hluO3VxcCa pic.twitter.com/1EQYb4W2QF
– TJ Oshie (@TJOshie77) 8 March 2026
“The Tourney” is also famous for the players’ iconic hairstyles, often featuring gorgeous (never say it, disgusting) mullets or mohawks with platinum blonde lettuce as they introduce themselves before the game. Oishi was one of the pioneers of this trend 20 years ago.
“My mother had her own salon for 20 years,” she recalled. “He did almost the entire team’s hair.”
