The banged up New Jersey Devils wasted no time filling an area of need ahead of the NHL trade deadline, the defending champion Florida Panthers made an under-the-radar move that could pave the way for another deep playoff run, and the Vegas Golden Knights are bringing back a member of their recent Stanley Cup-winning team.
With action heating up Thursday with roughly 24 hours to go before the deadline, New Jersey acquired veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin from Anaheim and Florida got depth center Nico Sturm from San Jose. Vegas is reacquiring winger Reilly Smith from the New York Rangers for young forward Brendan Brisson and a 2025 third-round pick, according to a person with knowledge of the trade.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized.
The Devils’ acquisition of Dumoulin, sending a second-round pick in this year's draft and the rights to unsigned 19-year-old prospect Herman Traff to the Ducks, comes after they learned leading scorer Jack Hughes is done for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery and with No. 1 defenseman Dougie Hamilton also out because of injury. With Hughes going on long-term injured reserve, they can add roughly $10 million worth of players before the deadline, even after getting Dumoulin because Anaheim is retaining half of Dumoulin's salary.
The Rangers are also retaining half of what's left of Smith's salary. Smith has been traded to Pittsburgh to New York and back to Vegas since helping the Golden Knights win the Cup in 2023.
The Panthers, who lost in that final before winning their first title in franchise history last year, sent a 2026 fourth-rounder to the Sharks for a seventh in '27 and Sturm, a capable 29-year-old penalty killer who has seven goals and six assists and won 62.7% of his faceoffs in 47 games this season. That is the highest total of anyone who has taken part in at least 200 faceoffs, and San Jose rookie-of-the-year candidate Macklin Celebrini said the Panthers are getting “someone that will do all the little things.”
“(He) makes sure all the all the small stuff is taken care of, like penalty kill, you name it, just faceoffs, his defensive game — all that stuff,” Celebrini said. "It’s not stuff you get recognized for, but it’s something that will definitely help them.”
With top winger Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR like Hughes, Florida — which already traded for defenseman Seth Jones from Chicago and added backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek — still has space to potentially add another forward in the aim of becoming the third series of back-to-back champs over the past decade.
The Devils are contenders again and looking to get back in after falling out of the race last season, and they hope Dumoulin, 33, brings some valuable experience with him from his 789 regular-season and playoff games in the league. He won the Cup with Pittsburgh in 2016 and '17 and this season has 16 points while skating just under 20 minutes on average over 61 games with Anaheim.
“Brian was good for us both on and off the ice, and we wish him well in New Jersey,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “This wasn’t an easy decision for us. We do feel this allows more opportunity for our young defensemen, who have proven they can play and succeed at the NHL level.”
New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald could still be looking to add a high-end forward — ideally a center — who could help fill the void left by Hughes' absence. Hughes is tied with Carolina's Mikko Rantanen in the league scoring race with 70 points on 27 goals and 43 assists.
Rantanen's future remains the biggest mystery to watch before the 3 p.m. EST deadline Friday. Already traded once this year from Colorado to the Hurricanes in a three-team blockbuster in late January, the 2022 Cup-winning, point-a-game winger in his prime could be on the move again with no guarantee Carolina will be able to sign the pending free agent beyond this season.
“If he got moved out of Carolina, it’s not because of his play,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Thursday. "Just looking at Mikko’s game, he’s played well since he’s been there — a little snake-bit at first — now the production is starting to come. I think he’s a fit on any team in the league, including Carolina. So, yeah, I think that’s just the business side of hockey at this point.”
As teams sort out their business prior to the deadline, the waiver wire Thursday was also busy, with Nashville claiming winger Jakub Vrana off waivers from Washington and defenseman Jordan Oesterle from Boston. Columbus claimed forward Christian Fischer from Detroit, while Toronto put enforcer Ryan Reaves on waivers in an attempt to clear another $1 million in space.
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
