As we enter the final week before the NHL’s 2025 trade deadline, GMs are tempted to pay nearly any price to give their squads the edge to get them to the promised land. But deadline deals can sour in many different ways, and sometimes even sure-fire fits fall flat.
With the benefit of hindsight, here are the five deals that proved to be most disappointing a year ago. They’re examples of an acquiring team that paid too much, players who weren’t difference-makers when the stakes rose and deadline sellers who settled for less than their assets should have commanded.
High Cost of Acquisition
The Trade
On Jan. 31, the Vancouver Canucks acquired center Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames for right winger Andrei Kuzmenko, the rights to unsigned defenseman prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo, a first-round pick in 2024 and a conditional pick in 2024.
The Outcome
With his Vancouver Canucks leading the Western Conference at the 2024 all-star break, GM Patrik Allvin paid a big price to get ahead of the pack and acquire the top rental center.
Elias Lindholm didn’t fit immediately, putting up 12 points in 26 regular-season games with Vancouver. He was better in the playoffs, with 10 points including game-winners against the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers. The player and team didn’t agree on a long-term extension, and Lindholm moved on to the Boston Bruins.
There’s no sure thing yet among the pieces that Calgary acquired in the deal. But with multiple promising lottery tickets, one or more could haunt Canucks fans for years to come if they hit.
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Kuzmenko was a cap dump for Vancouver. Exactly one year later, the Flames flipped him to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the package that brought back Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee.
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Brzustewicz and Jurmo are now signed and playing for the Calgary Wranglers, who are challenging for first place in the AHL’s Western Conference.
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The Flames used Vancouver’s first-round pick to select skilled right winger Matvei Gridin at No. 28. With 66 points in 49 games with the Shawinigan Cataractes, Gridin is the top-scoring rookie in the QMJHL and sits 12th overall in the league’s points race.
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Because the Canucks did not reach the Western Conference final, the Flames’ second draft pick became a 2024 fourth-rounder, rather than a third-rounder. On Day 2 of the draft, Craig Conroy traded down, dealing that 107th pick to the Flyers in exchange for picks No. 150 (fifth round) and 177 (sixth round). At No. 150, the Flames selected center Luke Misa, the older brother of 2025 top prospect Michael Misa. He’s second in scoring this season on the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads. At No. 177, the Flames selected 6-foot-3 defenseman Eric Jamieson. He has 12 goals and is a plus-36 this season for the Everett Silvertips, runaway leaders in the WHL’s Western Conference.
Insufficient Playoff Impact
The Trade
On Feb. 2, the Winnipeg Jets acquired center Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens for a first-round pick in 2024 and a conditional third-round pick in 2027.
The Outcome
With 24 points in 34 regular-season games with the Jets, Monahan initially looked like a great fit as the Jets moved up to second place in the West and gained home-ice advantage over the Colorado Avalanche.
Five games later, Winnipeg’s playoffs were over. There were multiple issues, but Monahan wasn’t a difference-maker, tallying just one assist.
The Jets had to win the Stanley Cup for Montreal to receive the third-round pick, so that didn’t happen. But the first-rounder alone was a high price to pay.
On Day 1 of the draft, Montreal packaged Winnipeg’s 26th pick with a second and a seventh to trade up five spots and select center Michael Hage. He’s second in scoring as a freshman at the University of Michigan this season.
With pick No. 26, the Los Angeles Kings selected big right winger Liam Greentree of the Windsor Spitfires. His 99 points have him third in OHL scoring this year.
The Trade
On March 5, the Vegas Golden Knights acquired right winger Anthony Mantha from the Washington Capitals for a second-round pick in 2024 and a fourth-round pick in 2026.
The Outcome
Mantha made a decent early showing in Vegas, picking up 10 points in 18 regular-season games. But after going without a point in the Golden Knights’ first three playoff games against the Dallas Stars, he was a healthy scratch for Game 4, with Vegas leading the series 2-1. Mantha did not see the ice again, and the Golden Knights fell to the Stars in seven games.
Insufficient Return
The Trade
On March 7, the Carolina Hurricanes acquired left winger Jake Guentzel and defenseman Ty Smith from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Michael Bunting, forward prospects Vasily Ponomarev and Ville Koivunen, the rights to forward Cruz Lucius, a conditional first-round pick in 2024 and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2024.
The Outcome
Guentzel was one of the most coveted deadline rentals. He immediately impacted Carolina, putting up 25 points in 17 regular-season games. Guentzel added four goals and nine points in 11 playoff games, but the New York Rangers eliminated the Hurricanes in six games in the second round.
As a result, neither trade condition was met for the Penguins. The first-round pick changed to a second, and the fifth-rounder left the deal.
When the Penguins traded Guentzel, the return looked underwhelming in the moment for a player of his stature. One year later, not much has changed.
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With the second-round pick acquired from Carolina, the Penguins selected right-shot defenseman Harrison Brunicke from the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.
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Cruz Lucius recovered from shoulder surgery that kept him sidelined for nearly a year. He has seven points in 14 games as a junior with highly ranked Arizona State University.
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Ponomarev and Koivunen have decent numbers this season for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who sit near the top of the AHL’s East Division.
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Bunting is serviceable but unspectacular for the Penguins, with 29 points in 58 games.
The Trade
On March 6, the Florida Panthers acquired right winger Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2024 NHL and a third-round pick in 2025.
The Outcome
When Tarasenko signed his one-year deal with Ottawa in July 2023, it was expected he’d be dealt at the deadline unless the Senators were in playoff contention.
With 41 points in 57 games in Ottawa, the former 40-goal man who won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 was having a decent year. But Senators GM Steve Staios could only extract two mid-round picks in a deal because of Tarasenko’s no-trade clause.
Once he joined the Florida Panthers, Tarasenko chipped in 14 points in 19 regular-season games. He added nine more on his way to collecting his second Cup ring, including the series-winning goal against the Rangers in the Eastern Conference final.
For Ottawa, the Panthers’ win was a double-edged sword. The conditional fourth from 2024 upgraded to a third-round pick, but it’s now in 2026. Combined with a third-round pick from 2025, the Senators have yet to see any return from the Tarasenko deal.
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