Stanley Cup contenders aren’t waiting until the NHL trade deadline day to shore up depth for what they hope is a long playoff run.
The league-leading Florida Panthers got deeper on the wing on Wednesday by acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko from Ottawa, and the Colorado Avalanche loaded up by getting defenseman Sean Walker from Philadelphia and center Casey Mittelstadt from Buffalo in separate trades.
Colorado traded a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick and center Ryan Johansen to Philadelphia for Walker and a fifth-rounder in 2026 and got Mittelstadt in a one-for-one trade that sent defenseman Bowen Byram to the Sabres.
The Panthers sent a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft to Ottawa for Tarasenko, and the fourth-rounder would upgrade to a 2026 third-rounder if Florida wins the Stanley Cup this season. Ottawa also is getting a third-round pick from Florida in 2025, while the Senators are retaining half of Tarasenko’s salary.
“Vladimir is a highly skilled and experienced scoring winger who provides our club with another dynamic offensive option as we embark on the remainder of our season,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “We are excited for him to join our team, and to compete for the Stanley Cup once again.”
The moves come less than 24 hours after the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights got the ball rolling by trading with Washington for 20-goal scorer Anthony Mantha. Many more moves are expected before 3 p.m. EST Friday deadline.
After taking on Johansen’s contract, which has $4 million annually left on it through next season, the Flyers immediately put him on waivers. GM Danny Briere, whose team is in third place in the Metropolitan Division and an unexpected playoff contender, said “everything’s on the table” for Philadelphia at the trade deadline as he looks to build for the future.
One of those things could be a new contract for Walker’s former defense partner, Nick Seeler, a favorite of coach John Tortorella who went on injured reserve Wednesday after taking a puck off his left foot during a game earlier in the week.
Extension talks were not happening between the Senators and Tarasenko, who had a full no-trade clause as part of his $5 million, one-year contract that allowed him to choose his preferred destination. Another pending free agent who signed just for this season, Washington’s Max Pacioretty, is in the same boat.
Tarasenko, 32, has 17 goals and 24 assists in 57 games with Ottawa this season.
And selling him on Florida likely was easy. Tarasenko owns a home in South Florida, has a relationship with Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and now joins a team good enough to win a title.
He has tons of playoff experience - 97 games in 10 years - and helped St. Louis win the Stanley Cup in 2019 with 11 goals in 26 games.
“Florida is probably a little bit different echelon than us right now,” Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said when asked about the Panthers’ trade for Tarasenko. “Florida is a really good team. What they’ve been doing of late is nothing short of extremely impressive.”
The Avalanche have been up and down lately, and getting Walker and Mittelstadt may just be the start of the excitement in Denver. The Avs are soon expected to get versatile winger Valeri Nichushkin back from the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, and there’s even a chance captain Gabriel Landeskog returns for the playoffs after missing a second consecutive season following knee surgery.
“The best trade deadline asset we can add is Val Nichushkin,” Mikko Rantanen said before the trades were made. “He’s looking good, I think, and he’s feeling well, so just a matter of time when he can get back to playing.”
Mittelstadt, 25, is on the verge of having a career year. He was the Sabres’ leading scorer with 47 points, including 14 goals - one short of matching his career high set last season.
Walker, a right-handed shot, gives Colorado more stability on the blue line as it tries to win the Cup for the second time in three years. Him coming off the board could lead teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs to circle back on other defensive options available.
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