The busiest trade deadline days in NHL history

It’s always difficult to gauge how busy the NHL’s trade deadline day will actually be each year.

Last year, we only saw 19 trades on March 3. Two years before that, the COVID-impacted 2021 deadline saw just 17 moves made on the final day. But the 2020 and 2022 deadlines set an NHL record for most trades with 32 moves each, with more than 50 players traded both times.

Will we have a humdinger of a 2024 trade deadline, or an absolute stinker? We all want chaos, so hopefully it’s bonkers. But with many quality names moved already, it’s hard to feel confident. Teams simply aren’t willing to wait until the last second to make a move as often as they used to.

With the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline set for 3:00 PM ET on Friday, here’s a look at some of the busiest final trade days in league history:

March 21, 2022 – 32 Trades

Notable players traded: Marc-Andre Fleury (to Minnesota), Artturi Lehkonen (to Colorado), Jake Walman (to Detroit), Andrew Copp (to NY Rangers), Kaapo Kahkonen (to San Jose)

The 2022 NHL Trade Deadline will go down as the one that saw the voided Evgenii Dadonov trade between the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks – eventually leading to the Ottawa Senators losing a first-round pick for not submitting the player’s no-trade list to Vegas.

But a few players who moved that day remain with their teams today, with some playing significant roles. Marc-Andre Fleury has had some solid stretches for the Wild, while Lehkonen was a key piece of Colorado’s Stanley Cup run later that year. Jake Walman has established himself as a key piece of Detroit’s defensive unit after falling down St. Louis’ depth chart, while Kaapo Kahkonen is viewed as one of the more intriguing goalie options ahead of this year’s deadline. Andrew Copp also had one of the best stretches of his NHL career while playing for the Rangers before signing in Detroit a few months later.

Feb. 24, 2020 – 32 Trades

Notable players traded: Vincent Trocheck (to Carolina), Barclay Goodrow (to Tampa Bay), Evan Rodrigues (to Pittsburgh), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (to NY Islanders), Mike Green (to Edmonton)

The lead-up to the 2020 deadline had no shortage of quality players moved – Alec Martinez, Mason Marchment, Tyler Toffoli, Blake Coleman, Jason Zucker, Jack Campbell, and Trevor Moore, to name a few.

The actual deadline day itself lacked high quality, but it made up for quantity with 55 players moved – tied for the most in history with 2010. Looking back, Vincent Trocheck was the top player moved after going from Florida to Carolina, a team that helped him spice up his career after a few difficult seasons with the Panthers. Jean-Gabriel Pageau has had a solid few seasons with the Islanders and was especially valuable during the team’s playoff runs in 2020 and 2021, while Evan Rodrigues has proven to be a decent depth scoring option with Pittsburgh, Colorado and Florida the past few years.

But two of the more interesting names? Alec Martinez and Blake Coleman. Both went on to help their respective teams win Stanley Cups, with Martinez, in particular, being a big part of Vegas’ push last spring.

Feb. 24, 2020 might not be one of the most exciting days in NHL history, but it was far better than what the world went through three weeks later, right?

March 3, 2010 – 31 Trades

Notable players traded: Dennis Seidenberg (to Boston), Lee Stempniak (to Arizona), Ryan Whitney (to Edmonton), Steve Staios (to Calgary), Clarke MacArthur (to Atlanta)

The 2010 deadline was the year of the veteran defender. Teams looking for size and experience had no shortage of options to choose from, with Boston’s acquisition of Dennis Seidenberg being the best. The German defender was a big part of the Bruins’ Stanley Cup victory in 2011 and stuck around until 2016 before joining the New York Islanders.

Ryan Whitney had just returned from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver when the Ducks moved him to Edmonton for Lubomir Visnovsky. Whitney became an alternate captain with the Oilers and played a few decent seasons before finishing his career out in Europe. The Oilers also moved away from veteran Steve Staois, trading the future Ottawa Senators GM to, of all teams, the Calgary Flames. Blasphemy!

On the forward front, the Coyotes added a key scoring piece in Lee Stempniak from Toronto for a couple of draft picks that never amounted into anything. Clarke MacArthur didn’t do much during his short stint in Atlanta, but he had a career-best 62 points with Toronto the following year.

March 9, 2006 – 25 Trades

Notable players traded: Mark Recchi (to Carolina), Sergei Samsonov (to Edmonton), Jeff Friesen (to Anaheim), Brad Lukowich (to New Jersey), Brendan Witt (to Nashville)

The 2006 draft started a three-year run of precisely 25 deals on deadline day. The best trade, by far, saw veteran Mark Recchi traded by Pittsburgh to Carolina in exchange for a pair of prospects and a second-rounder. None of those amounted to anything, while Recchi was one of Carolina’s best players en route to the team’s first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Recchi would return to Pittsburgh the following year before bouncing around a few times before wrapping up his career with another Cup with Boston back in 2011.

The Oilers, meanwhile, acquired Sergei Samsonov from Boston for, among other things, the pick that turned out to be Milan Lucic. Samsonov had a great playoff run with Edmonton before jetting off to Montreal the following year—a move that saw his production drop drastically.

Most other moves were minor. But the Washington Capitals acquired a first-round pick and Kris Beech for Brendan Witt, and they used that pick to select Semyon Varlamov.

Feb. 27, 2007 – 25 Trades

Notable players traded: Dennis Wideman (to Boston), Gary Roberts (to Pittsburgh), Martin Biron (to Philadelphia), Todd Bertuzzi (to Detroit), Ryan Smyth (to NY Islanders), Bill Guerin (to San Jose)

Now we’re cooking! Most of the veterans who moved on this day were past their best-before date, but they still brought star power.

The deal that ended up working out the best was Boston’s acquisition of defenseman Dennis Wideman for Brad Boyes. Wideman became one of Boston’s best defensemen during his four-year run, including a whopping 50-point effort in 2008-09. He was gone before Boston’s Cup in 2011, but he played well beyond what you’d expect from an eighth-rounder.

The most sentimental move was Ryan Smyth’s trade from Edmonton to Long Island. At the time, he was a point-per-game player and was in the midst of his seventh season of 50 points or more. Smyth became a star in Alberta, and he never played to the same level after the deal. He’d finish his career back in Edmonton, and even had a solid 46-point effort in 2011-12. But given Ryan O’Marra, Robert Nilsson and Alex Plante didn’t amount to anything more than inexpensive depth, it was a sore spot for Oilers Nation.

For Todd Bertuzzi, Gary Roberts and Bill Guerin, their teams acquired the three greybeards to add veteran experience. Martin Biron, meanwhile, served as Philly’s starter for two seasons, with his 30-win, five-shutout run in 2007-08 being the best of his NHL career.

Feb. 26, 2008 – 25 Trades

Notable players traded: Marian Hossa (to Pittsburgh), Brad Richards (to Dallas), Mike Smith (to Tampa Bay), Sergei Fedorov (to Washington), Andrew Ladd (to Chicago), Tuomo Ruutu (to Carolina), Brian Campbell (to San Jose), Hal Gill (to Pittsburgh), Adam Foote (to Colorado)

What a stacked deadline day 2008 was. From future Hall of Famers to Stanley Cup champions moving on, this was one of the better deadlines in NHL history.

The most notable name was Marian Hossa, who switched teams for the second time in his career by going to Pittsburgh. He never broke the 100-point mark again in his career, but he played in his first of three consecutive Stanley Cup finals that year. He lost the first two, but finally won it all in 2010 – though his 2008 playoff performance was the best of his career.

The thought of Brad Richards leaving the Lightning felt impossible at one point, especially after winning the Conn Smythe in 2004. But Richards was moved in a deal that sent Mike Smith the other way, with Richards having one of his best seasons ever with a 91-point effort in 2009-10. His play in Texas helped him land one of the biggest NHL contracts at the time when he signed with the Rangers in 2011, but he never ended up coming close to his previous output and retired just five years later.

There was no shortage of notable names moved that year – just look at the group above. But perhaps the funniest on paper was Sergei Fedorov going from Columbus to Washington in exchange for defenseman Theo Ruth. Sure, the 2015 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee’s NHL days were numbered at that point. But Ruth never came close to sniffing the NHL after signing a three-year, entry-level contract in 2010 and retired by 2014.