Biggest Losers of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline

The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline was a wild one, with multiple blockbuster trades happening. With the playoff picture taking shape, there were some notable winners at the deadline. But what about the biggest losers? Let's dive into which teams fared the worst at this year's Trade Deadline.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins really blew it all up, didn't they? It may pay off down the road, but for now the Bruins are the biggest losers exiting the deadline. They traded away their captain, Brad Marchand, veteran center Charlie Coyle, winger Justin Brazeau, and defenseman Brandon Carlo. It's a significant loss for Boston, which has effectively waived the white flag on the 2024-2025 season.

What really makes them the biggest losers, however, is the lack of return. These deals felt rushed and with the lack of leverage, the Bruins couldn't capitalize on this year's sellers market. Instead, they parted with top players for conditional draft picks and one decent prospect.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes have a bone to pick with the Boston Bruins, as they have equal claim to the worst trade deadline performance.

Six weeks ago, the Canes were ahead of the curve when they swung a trade with the Colorado Avalanche for Mikko Rantanen. Fast forward to today, and the Hurricanes have very little to show for it. Rantanen is gone, now a member of the Dallas Stars, and the big haul they sent to Colorado was in vain.

It just doesn't make sense. Why would the Hurricanes give up all of those assets to acquire Rantanen, only to trade him away for a young player and draft picks a month and a half later? Not only that, but they lost Martin Necas, one of their top forwards in his prime playing years, in the process.

The Canes took several steps backward at this year's deadline, and the management team has some serious internal evaluating to do over the summer.

Nashville Predators

Barry Trotz, the Nashville Predators' general manager, has had a tumultuous first season in his new role. The big free-agent signings haven't yielded the results the Preds hoped, and it put them in the position of sellers at the deadline.

And sell, they did. They shipped Gustav Nyquist to the Minnesota Wild for a second-round pick and forward Mark Jankowski to the Hurricanes for a fifth-round pick.

The real head-scratcher was the Michael Bunting trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Predators gave up veteran defenseman Luke Schenn and middle-six forward Tommy Novak for Bunting. The deal was of equal value, but Trotz passed over the opportunity to deal with Schenn for more draft picks. The Penguins recognized that opportunity and flipped him to the Winnipeg Jets for a future second-round pick.

Trotz's lack of awareness of the market is the biggest disappointment and reason the Predators were one of the big losers at this year's deadline.