There were a few winners as the NHL trade deadline of April 12 approached and passed. For the most part, however, the moves were non-descript and insignificant. Here are the worst of the worst, the NHL trade deadline losers for 2020-2021.
Philadelphia Flyers Joel Farabee #86 and James van Riemsdyk #25 battle with New York Islanders players as GoalieIlya Sorokin #30 makes a pad save.
The Buffalo Sabres traded Taylor Hall to the Boston Bruins and although Hall was having a poor season (2 goals, 17 assists, 37 games), the return for him was not impressive despite great NHL odds. The main return in the deal was Anders Bjork. The 24-year-old has underwhelmed since being drafted in 2014 and has yet to crack 60 games in a season.
When the Sabres signed Hall to a one-year deal, they expected more from a player that entered the season with 218 goals. In the end, the signing and the trade makes the Sabres and general manager Kevyn Adams look foolish.
The Edmonton Oilers certainly has a luxury that most teams never have, and that is two MVP caliber players on the roster. With Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid have combined for 45 goals and 130 points this season for an Oilers team that is poised to make a run in the playoffs. Because of their position, Edmonton only made a minor trade for Dmitry Kulikov and that wasn’t a bad move. Why are the on this list?
Karson Kuhlman #83 of the Boston Bruins and Sean Couturier #14 of the Philadelphia Flyers
General manager Ken Holland basically said that you cannot make a big move every year, that you have to pick and choose your spots. If a year where you have a good chance to make a deep run in the playoffs isn’t the right spot, then there is never a right spot. Holland’s comment is head-scratching and that alone puts him and the Oilers in the conversation for worse trade deadline moves.
The Philadelphia Flyers had not only played poorly the last few months but also in their leading up to the trade deadline. They opted to send Erik Gustafsson and Michael Raffl packing, but only for late round picks. Then, instead of trading Scott Laughton for likely a strong return that will help the future of the team, they re-signed him for an additional five years. A once promising season has looked more like mass confusion.
Finally, take a look at the Nashville Predators. Once looking like a surefire miss for the playoffs, the team is back into contention. Therefore, you’d expect a trade for a player to make an impact down the stretch. Instead, all they could muster in a trade was for Erik Gudbranson, a journeyman with 11 goals and 32 assists in 309 career games. That’s not going to get the job done!
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