5 NHL Teams Set up To Make Runs After the 2026 Trade Deadline – The Hockey Writers – Trade Deadline

The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. Now the attention shifts to the playoff race over the final five weeks of the regular season and beyond. Which teams have put themselves in a position to make a run over the final few weeks of the regular season and into the postseason? Let’s take a look.

Minnesota Wild

Additions:

• Quinn Hughes
• Bobby Brink
• Jeff Petry
• Nick Foligno
• Michael McCarron

The Minnesota Wild have one of the most difficult playoff paths due to the NHL’s unserious playoff format. They’ll likely face the Dallas Stars in Round 1, and a date with the Colorado Avalanche could follow.

Fortunately for the Wild, general manager Bill Guerin has done an excellent job building up his team for a playoff run. Even though the Quinn Hughes trade happened months ago, you can’t ignore it when assessing the Wild’s trades.

The Wild have been a significantly better team since acquiring Hughes, which comes as no surprise. They have an expected goals share (xG%) of 53.72 percent with Hughes on the ice at five-on-five, as well as a goal differential of +9.

Hughes is arguably the second-best defenseman in the NHL after Cale Makar, but he’s not the only player Guerin has brought in for a playoff run. Nick Foligno and Michael McCarron will give them some bottom-six depth, and Bobby Brink is a solid addition for the team’s middle six.

The one question mark for the Wild is down the middle, but they also have elite play-driving wingers in Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov that can make up for the lack of a true 1C. It won’t be easy getting past the Stars in a hypothetical first-round matchup, but the Wild have what it takes to make it a series.

Colorado Avalanche

Additions:

The Avalanche know what awaits them in the playoffs if they advance past the first round: a showdown with the Stars or Wild. That’s why Chris MacFarland was one of the more active GMs at this trade deadline.

Coming out of the Olympic break, they acquired Brett Kulak from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Samuel Girard. Kulak is a solid defensive defenseman and gives the Avalanche a different look that they needed on the back end.

The Nick Blankenburg acquisition might not seem like much, but he’s one of the most underrated bottom-pair defenders in the NHL. At the time of the trade, Blankenburg had posted a goals above replacement (GAR) of 6.1 with the Nashville Predators.

Related: Grading the Flames & Avalanche’s Nazem Kadri Trade

Blankenburg is not a big point-producer, but he’s a well-rounded two-way defender who provides great value in a third-pair role.

MacFarland made sure to shore up the team’s forward depth, too. The Avalanche reunited with Nazem Kadri, who has another three years left on his deal after this one. He’s still a capable top-six center and should provide a significant boost to the team up front.

Nicolas Roy is a solid center himself, but it wouldn’t shock me if he plays some wing since the Avalanche added Kadri. Obviously, this is an all-in year for the Avalanche, given how their regular season has gone. They’ve put themselves in a great position to win the West with their deadline moves.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Additions:

• Mason Marchment
• Conor Garland
• Danton Heinen

I’m unsure the Blue Jackets can win a playoff round, but GM Don Waddell has done enough to help his team make a run to the postseason.

The Conor Garland acquisition could be a problem in a couple of years due to a six-year, $36 million extension that kicks in on July 1, but it’s fine in the short term. He’s a good middle-six winger and will add some scoring pop as they try to climb their way into a wild-card position or even third place in the Metro.

Mason Marchment has also played well since the Blue Jackets acquired him just before the holiday roster freeze in December. And we can’t ignore the impact Rick Bowness has had since taking over as head coach for Dean Evason. At the very least, they can make a run to get into the postseason.

Anaheim Ducks

Additions

The Anaheim Ducks made only one notable addition ahead of the trade deadline, but it was a big one. They acquired long-time Washington Capital John Carlson in the most surprising deal of this deadline.

Carlson is not what he was during his peak, but he’s still a legit No. 2/3 defenseman. The right side of the Ducks’ blue line needed an upgrade, and he will provide that. He gives the Ducks a puck-moving threat from the back end, and he helps push Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas down the lineup and into more suitable roles.

The Ducks are in an interesting position in the West. They could very well win the Pacific, which could give them a tough first-round draw: the Utah Mammoth. But let’s say they finish second or third and face the Edmonton Oilers or Vegas Golden Knights, they could win a playoff round.

Carlson is not that type of needle-mover, but he addressed their most significant need, and the rest of the team is good enough to advance to the next round.

Utah Mammoth

Additions:

Speaking of the Mammoth, they had a similar deadline to the Ducks. They made one notable move, acquiring a right-handed defenseman in Mackenzie Weegar.

Granted, Weegar arguably plays better on his off-hand, but he shouldn’t have much trouble fitting in on the right side of the Mammoth’s blue line. John Marino has had an excellent season, and Sean Durzi is a capable middle-of-the-lineup defender. But like the Ducks acquiring Carlson, Weegar should push Marino and Durzi into more suitable roles that allow them to thrive even more than they already have.

The Mammoth are essentially locked into a wild-card spot if they make the playoffs, but they’re a threat to advance a round, and Weegar can help. Whether it’s the Ducks, Oilers or Golden Knights, they could be a sexy upset pick in the first round.

Western Teams Outdid Eastern Counterparts

If there’s a theme here, it’s that teams in the Western Conference were much more active than teams in the East. Even the Stars, who just missed the cut for this, added Tyler Myers and Michael Bunting ahead of a playoff run.

As for the East, contenders like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes essentially stood pat. We’ll see how that affects the playoff race in the East, but teams in the West are gearing up for what could be a grueling close to the 2025-26 NHL season.

Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick, Evolving Hockey