It’s been 17 days – just over two weeks – since the NHL Trade Deadline spiced things up.
So it’s not a lot of time, but most key players are hovering near the 10-game mark. With playoff pushes in full swing, you don’t have much time to get up to speed – especially if you’re on a club trying to do everything possible to stay in the hunt.
Today, we’re looking at seven players who have been among the most productive since getting moved. The criteria is simple: the player needed to have been moved the week of the March 8 deadline. So Sean Monahan, who was traded during NHL All-Star Game weekend, won’t count because he’s had significantly more time to get used to his new home.
So, here’s seven guys that have stood out so far:
Jake Guentzel, LW (Carolina Hurricanes)
Unsurprisingly, the best player moved ahead of the deadline is still the best player after the deadline. Guentzel was injured before the trade took place, but he never missed a beat once he returned. He has two goals and 12 points in eight games for the Hurricanes, including a pair of three-point efforts last week. Guentzel has looked excellent on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, and while Guentzel knows how to put pucks in the net, he’s been more of an all-situations setup guy instead. Guentzel is set to face the Penguins for the first time later this week, and it would probably mean the world for him if he can come out on top here. Oh, and with the way he’s playing and a potential Cup run on the horizon, Guentzel is going to be mighty expensive this summer.
Tyler Toffoli, RW (Winnipeg Jets)
Over the past two years, Toffoli has played for three teams, but he seems to have found a home with the Jets. He has four goals and six points in eight games and gives the team the extra offensive boost it needs – especially with Cole Perfetti struggling like he is. After acquiring Sean Monahan to be Winnipeg’s second-line center, Toffoli’s presence on the third line gives the team even more firepower ahead of what they hope is a long playoff run. The results are especially impressive given, at an average of 15:01, he’s seeing the least amount of ice time he has played since his rookie season. A three-point effort against Columbus skewed his stats a bit, but he’s still generating a few scoring chances each game, at the bare minimum.
Michael Bunting, LW (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Bunting was a salary dump in the Guentzel trade, but he’s playing his best hockey of the season since the move. Sure, he gets to play with Evgeni Malkin, but with six points in nine games – including a two-point effort against Dallas on Friday – he’s been a force for good in Pittsburgh. The problem? He can’t fix a broken team, and he’s not Jake Guentzel. The Penguins are 2-5-2 since Bunting’s arrival, helping to affirm that this isn’t a playoff year. But we know GM Kyle Dubas likes Bunting from his days in Toronto, and he has another two years at $4.5 million on his deal. He has a chance to play more significant minutes with the Penguins than in Carolina, which doesn’t hurt.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, C (Carolina Hurricanes)
It’s been anything but easy for Kuznetsov this year. He needed a fresh start out of Washington, and getting traded to a team with big Stanley Cup aspirations could be huge for him. And simply put – you can see it in his face: he’s having a blast right now. Kuznetsov has five points over his past 10 games, albeit they all came in a four-game span. Nobody was expecting a miracle out of Kuznetsov, who had just 17 points in 43 games with Washington this year, but he’s starting to look more comfortable in Carolina’s top six. He’s in a mini-slump now,
Jake Allen/Kaapo Kahkonen, G (New Jersey Devils)
We’ll count these as two, because they’ve both done about as good as they possibly can on a Devils team that has struggled to keep pucks out of their own zone this year. Jake Allen is 3-2-0 in five starts with a .923 save percentage, while Kahkonen is 1-2-0, but with a .934 save percentage. By all accounts, they’ve done about as good as you could ask for in the playoff push given the team’s flaws. It’s a short sample size, but they’ve already outperformed what Vitek Vanecek was doing in the weeks leading up to the trade, helping to give the Devils a fighting chance.
Sean Walker, D (Colorado Avalanche)
The 29-year-old defender has had a career year, playing key minutes at a near 30-point pace before the Flyers moved him last month. But in Colorado, even with reduced ice time, Walker has been tremendous. He had two goals against Edmonton on March 16 and is up to four points in seven contests. Walker won’t have to play in every situation like he did in Philly, but having him man the third pairing on one of the best defensive units in the NHL will make Colorado so difficult to beat come playoff time.
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