Devils get Dumoulin, Panthers add Sturm and Golden Knights reacquire Smith as NHL trades pile up

Stephen Whyno · The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 4:05 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

The banged up New Jersey Devils wasted nary clip filling an country of request up of the NHL commercialized deadline, portion the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers made an under-the-radar determination that could pave the mode for different heavy playoff run, and the Vegas Golden Knights are bringing backmost a subordinate of their caller Stanley Cup-winning team.

With enactment heating up Thursday with astir 24 hours to spell earlier the deadline, New Jersey acquired seasoned defenceman Brian Dumoulin from Anaheim and Florida got extent centre Nico Sturm from San Jose and Vegas reacquired winger Reilly Smith from the New York Rangers.

The Devils' acquisition of Dumoulin, sending a second-round prime successful this year's draught and the rights to unsigned 19-year-old imaginable Herman Traff to the Ducks, comes aft they learned starring scorer Jack Hughes is done for the play aft undergoing enarthrosis country and with No. 1 defenceman Dougie Hamilton besides retired due to the fact that of injury. With Hughes going connected semipermanent injured reserve, they tin adhd astir $10 cardinal US worthy of players earlier the deadline, adjacent aft getting Dumoulin due to the fact that Anaheim is retaining fractional of Dumoulin's salary.

The Rangers are besides retaining fractional of what's near of Smith's salary. Smith has been traded to Pittsburgh to New York and backmost to Vegas since helping the Golden Knights triumph the Cup successful 2023.

The Panthers, who mislaid successful that last earlier winning their archetypal rubric successful franchise past past year, sent a 2026 fourth-rounder to the Sharks for a seventh successful '27 and Sturm, a susceptible 29-year-old punishment slayer who has 7 goals and six assists and won 62.7 per cent of his faceoffs successful 47 games this season. That is the highest full of anyone who has taken portion successful astatine slightest 200 faceoffs, and San Jose rookie-of-the-year campaigner Macklin Celebrini said the Panthers are getting "someone that volition bash each the small things."

"[He] makes definite each the each the tiny worldly is taken attraction of, similar punishment kill, you sanction it, conscionable faceoffs, his antiaircraft crippled — each that stuff," Celebrini said. "It's not worldly you get recognized for, but it's thing that volition decidedly assistance them."

With apical winger Matthew Tkachuk connected LTIR similar Hughes, Florida — which already traded for defenceman Seth Jones from Chicago and added backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek — inactive has abstraction to perchance adhd different guardant successful the purpose of becoming the 3rd bid of back-to-back champs implicit the past decade. Thursday besides brought a extent goalie swap, getting Kaapo Kahkonen from the Winnipeg Jets for Chris Driedger.

The Devils are contenders again and looking to get backmost successful aft falling retired of the contention past season, and they anticipation Dumoulin, 33, brings immoderate invaluable acquisition with him from his 789 regular-season and playoff games successful the league. He won the Cup with Pittsburgh successful 2016 and '17 and this play has 16 points portion skating conscionable nether 20 minutes connected mean implicit 61 games with Anaheim.

"Brian was bully for america some connected and disconnected the ice, and we privation him good successful New Jersey," Ducks wide manager Pat Verbeek said. "This wasn't an casual determination for us. We bash consciousness this allows much accidental for our young defencemen, who person proven they tin play and win astatine the NHL level."

New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald could inactive beryllium looking to adhd a high-end guardant — ideally a centre — who could assistance capable the void near by Hughes' absence. Hughes is tied with Carolina's Mikko Rantanen successful the league scoring contention with 70 points connected 27 goals and 43 assists.

Rantanen's aboriginal remains the biggest enigma to ticker earlier the 3 p.m. ET deadline Friday. Already traded erstwhile this twelvemonth from Colorado to the Hurricanes successful a three-team blockbuster successful precocious January, the 2022 Cup-winning, point-a-game winger successful his premier could beryllium connected the determination again with nary warrant Carolina volition beryllium capable to motion the pending escaped cause beyond this season.

"If helium got moved retired of Carolina, it's not due to the fact that of his play," Avalanche manager Jared Bednar said Thursday. "Just looking astatine Mikko's game, he's played good since he's been determination — a small snake-bit astatine archetypal — present the accumulation is starting to come. I deliberation he's a acceptable connected immoderate squad successful the league, including Carolina. So, yeah, I deliberation that's conscionable the concern broadside of hockey astatine this point."

As teams benignant retired their concern anterior to the deadline, the waiver ligament Thursday was besides busy, with Nashville claiming winger Jakub Vrana disconnected waivers from Washington and defenceman Jordan Oesterle from Boston. Columbus claimed guardant Christian Fischer from Detroit, portion Toronto enactment enforcer Ryan Reaves connected waivers successful an effort to wide different $1 cardinal successful space.