In an offseason that has seen the NHL welcome a 31st team, the other 30 sure have not hesitated to make some noise.
Free agency is still around the corner and clubs have wrapped up an Entry Draft full of some early-round steals, but trades have consistently stolen the spotlight across the league. Blockbuster ones, too.
From the Montreal Canadiens' early acquisition of Jonathan Drouin to the Chicago Blackhawks' move to bring back Brandon Saad, here are some of the biggest and most curious deals to date, with grades for each team involved:
Canadiens trade Mikhail Sergachev, 2018 sixth-round pick to Lightning for Jonathan Drouin, 2018 second-round pick
Sergachev, 18, was Montreal's top defensive prospect and just a year removed from being taken ninth overall in the draft. So the Habs should immediately be docked for mortgaging such promising blue-line talent for the sake of instant offense, even if Sergachev played only three NHL games in 2016-17.
Drouin should do well to up Montreal's attack after a late emergence in Tampa Bay. But the Lightning look like the long-term winners here, saving money while jettisoning a guy who once had big problems with team management and may have been lost via the expansion draft, all while landing a premier project on defense.
Grades: Canadiens B- Lightning A
Oilers trade Jordan Eberle to Islanders for Ryan Strome
Edmonton should be able to find a way to do without Eberle, if only because someone named Connor McDavid headlines their offense. That doesn't mean, however, the Oilers won this one-for-one swap. They saved salary cap space, sure, and that can go toward locking up McDavid. But getting Strome in return seems awfully lopsided. Eberle was a seven-year vet and offered noted depth despite a down season in 2016-17, but even his down numbers bested any totals put forth by Strome, who is just 23 but will be a free agent after this season and has struggled with consistency.
Grades: Oilers C- Islanders B+
Blackhawks trade Artemi Panarin, Tyler Motte, sixth-round pick to Blue Jackets for Brandon Saad, Anton Forsberg, 2018 fifth-round pick
It's not surprising Chicago wanted to bring back Saad, who thrived alongside Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. It is, however, a little surprising that Columbus was able to make out so well in this deal. Sure, Panarin is going to demand big money and is a year older than the 24-year-old Saad, but he's still a proven weapon up front.
And yet you also have to credit the Blackhawks for getting creative to reacquire a two-way guy they traded away two years earlier. They're wasting no time trying to right the ship for Kane and Toews. Columbus, meanwhile, has to be stoked to have Chicago give it offensive firepower for the second time in three years.
Grades: Blackhawks B+ Blue Jackets A+
Coyotes trade first-round pick, Anthony DeAngelo to Rangers for Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta
We're lumping this one in with Arizona's trade with the Blackhawks, in which the Coyotes sent Connor Murphy and Laurent Dauphin in exchange for D-man Niklas Hjalmarsson. Why? Because both swaps went in Arizona's favor, which is curious not only because of the team's noted struggles of late but also because, apparently, this team is making moves to contend. The Rangers weren't robbed here seeing as though Raanta was exposed in the expansion draft, but they shed salary at the risk of losing more playoff-caliber offense. Stepan has the potential to be a long-term No. 1 center for the Coyotes.
Grades: Coyotes B+ Rangers B-
Blues trade Jori Lehtera, first-round draft pick, 2018 first-round draft pick to Flyers for Brayden Schenn
Another semi-win-win situation here. Philadelphia is one of those teams that could make an immediate push back into the playoffs after missing the postseason in 2016-17, so the Flyers sacrificed immediate goal-scoring talent for draft capital, albeit a lot of it, at somewhat of an odd time.
That's not to say Schenn is some superhero up front, but he makes for an intriguing first-line pairing with Vladimir Tarasenko. Morgan Frost could turn out to be just fine in Philly, and Nolan Patrick at No. 2 in the draft ensured the Flyers had a solid draft, but hanging onto Schenn for this season's playoff run would've made quite a bit of sense.
Grades: Blues B+ Flyers B-
Penguins trade first-round pick, Oskar Sundqvist to Blues for Ryan Reaves, second-round pick
General manager Jim Rutherford was apparently seeking a tough guy to protect Sidney Crosby and the Pens' superstars, even though Pittsburgh had no trouble winning back-to-back titles without much of the roughness other teams covet. He got one in Reaves, who will probably build a following among the grittiest of Pens fans. The real question is why Rutherford felt the need to part with Sundqvist and a first-round pick to acquire him. Yes, Pittsburgh usually knows what it's doing (see: Stanley Cups), but it's fair to say they look a little desperate -- and for an odd reason -- in this move.
Grades: Penguins D+ Blues A
Islanders trade Travis Hamonic, fourth-round pick to Flames for 2018 first-round pick, 2018 second-round pick, conditional second-round pick
The Flames already had a tight blue line before landing Hamonic, so they've really got defensemen stockpiled now. If anyone won this deal, though, it's probably Hamonic, to be honest. At one point earlier in his Islanders career, he requested a trade into Canada, and now he gets to move to a hopeful contender that surrendered a lot to get him and the three years that remain on his deal. Calgary's big compensation package doesn't look quite as hefty when considering what the Blues offered for Brayden Schenn, but this one still benefits New York, which has ammunition for a follow-up move.
Grades: Islanders B+ Flames B-
