The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline is in the books — and your fantasy roster may never look the same. Here’s who got a major boost, who took a hit, and what it all means for the stretch run.
The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline had an unusual rhythm: a week of steady movement building toward a quiet deadline day, followed by a frantic final-hour burst that produced some genuinely surprising deals. By the time the dust settled, 20 trades involving 33 players had been completed on deadline day alone. Some fantasy managers are celebrating. Others are scrambling. Let’s break down every angle that matters for your lineup.
A few things shaped the market this year. New CBA rules eliminated the double-retention strategy — teams now need 75 regular-season days between trades where a player’s salary is retained — which effectively prevented a lot of the creative cap gymnastics that has allowed big-name rentals to move freely in recent years. The playoff salary cap also changed, requiring teams to submit a 20-player game-day lineup with an averaged club salary under the regular-season upper limit. The combined effect: a sellers’ market where asking prices stayed high and many of the biggest names on trade-bait boards simply didn’t move.
Vincent Trocheck stayed in New York. Robert Thomas stayed in St. Louis. Sergei Bobrovsky, Jordan Binnington, Colton Parayko — all held. But that doesn’t mean nothing happened. The moves that did go down reshaped plenty of fantasy situations for better and worse. Here’s your complete breakdown.
Fantasy Winners
Nazem Kadri, C — Colorado Avalanche
Acquired from Calgary Flames | Return: Victor Olofsson, Max Curran, conditional 2028 1st, conditional 2027 2nd
This was the last-minute blockbuster that made the whole deadline worth watching. The Kadri deal wasn’t announced until an hour after the deadline technically passed, but the trade was confirmed legal and Kadri is heading back to Denver — the city where he won his Cup in 2022. From a fantasy standpoint, this is a massive upgrade in context. Colorado already had Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson at center; adding Kadri creates arguably the best 1-2-3 punch down the middle in the entire league.
Kadri won’t be centering the top line, but he doesn’t need to. He slots in as a middle-six center who will still get power-play time in one of the highest-powered offenses in the Western Conference. He’s a firm hold in all formats, and if he was sitting in your free-agent pool — which is unlikely at 83.9% roster rate — he’s a must-add immediately. The power-play access alone makes him a difference-maker in points leagues.
John Carlson, D — Anaheim Ducks
Acquired from Washington Capitals | Return: Conditional 2026 or 2027 1st, 2027 3rd
The wildest trade of the week dropped in the early morning hours and caught everyone off guard. Carlson, a Capital for nearly his entire career, now joins a rapidly ascending Anaheim squad. At 36, he’s not the Carlson of peak years, but his current production tells a different story: 46 points in 55 games before the deal, putting him among the top 25 fantasy blueliners at his position. He was Washington’s No. 2 defenseman behind Jakob Chychrun, but in Anaheim he’s the unquestioned top option on the right side.
The fantasy upside here comes from two sources. First, Carlson should take over first-unit power-play duties over Jackson LaCombe, and the Ducks’ young forward corps — Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and breakout rookie Beckett Sennecke — creates a dangerous PP1 environment. Second, the Ducks are pushing hard for the Pacific Division crown and will be playing meaningful games through the final weeks of the regular season. Carlson is a top-15 fantasy defenseman going forward. Rostered in just over half of leagues before the deadline — grab him if he’s somehow available.
Brayden Schenn, C/LW — New York Islanders
Acquired from St. Louis Blues | Return: Jonathan Drouin, Marcus Gidlof, 2026 1st (from COL), 2026 3rd (from NJ)
Schenn’s production in St. Louis was a quiet disappointment this season — just 12 goals and 16 assists through 61 games, partly due to losing linemates to injury. But this is a situation upgrade that matters. The Islanders are averaging more goals per game than the Blues this season, and Schenn enters a lineup that includes Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, and Matthew Schaefer. He’s pegged to slot in as the team’s second-line center, bumping Nick Ritchie down, and is expected to earn time on a power play that has plenty of room to grow.
The dual C/LW eligibility is a bonus in deeper leagues that value positional flexibility. His physicality — already a peripheral stat asset — plays even better in leagues that reward hits and blocks. Managers in competitive deeper formats should scoop Schenn before the production spike arrives. He was rostered in just 28% of ESPN leagues before the move.
Justin Faulk, D — Detroit Red Wings
Acquired from St. Louis Blues | Return: Justin Holl, Dmitri Buchelnikov, 2026 1st, 2026 3rd
Faulk’s fantasy value had been quietly rebuilding this season — he was putting up 1.9 fantasy points per game across 61 games, and now lands on a Red Wings team that desperately needed a right-shot defenseman with offensive upside. He won’t be the No. 1 guy with Moritz Seider in the lineup, but that’s actually fine. Playing second fiddle to Seider means Faulk still logs heavy minutes without the burden of being Detroit’s go-to defender.
His shot-location metrics are elite among blueliners — 97th percentile in midrange shots on goal, 96th percentile in midrange goals. If anything, the coaching staff under Jim Montgomery was suppressing what he can do offensively in St. Louis. Detroit, which is playing its most meaningful hockey in nearly a decade, should let him cook. He’s a solid add in standard leagues and a strong hold in deeper formats.
MacKenzie Weegar, D — Utah Mammoth
Acquired from Calgary Flames | Return: Olli Maatta, Jonathan Castagna, three 2026 2nd-round picks
This was the first big move of deadline week, and it quietly altered the Western Conference picture. Weegar is signed through 2031, so this isn’t a rental — he’s becoming a foundational piece for the Mammoth going forward. Over the past three seasons combined, he was one of the only NHL players to hit at least 30 goals, 500 hits, and 500 blocks, and he joins a Utah team that was already one of the league’s stingiest defensive units.
The fantasy angle: Weegar’s well-rounded peripheral stat production makes him a category-filler in leagues that count hits and blocks, while his offensive ability keeps him relevant in points leagues. The Mammoth’s defensive structure should support him, and Utah now looks like a genuine dark-horse contender in the West. If you’re in a deep keeper or dynasty league, this is a hold for years.
Andrew Mangiapane, LW — Chicago Blackhawks
Acquired from Edmonton Oilers | Return: Jason Dickinson, Colton Dach, 2026 1st
File this one under ‘change of scenery with upside.’ Mangiapane never found his footing in Edmonton, but he’s a player who has lit the lamp 30-plus times in a season. The Blackhawks are a thin team offensively, which is bad for them but potentially great for his fantasy value. He could slot into a top-six role alongside Connor Bedard, which is not the kind of opportunity he had in Edmonton. Low ownership, low cost, and genuine upside if the production clicks.
Fantasy Losers
Nazem Kadri Owners… Who Had Him on the Flames
Sold in Calgary, reunited with Colorado
If you had Kadri rostered in the expectation of a Flames finish, the team situation just cratered. Calgary is clearly in full teardown mode. They’ve now stockpiled a first-round pick and multiple seconds from the Kadri and Weegar deals, which is great for the franchise long-term but terrible for 2025-26 fantasy production from any remaining Flames on your roster. Morgan Frost, Connor Zary, and Joel Farabee could see elevated roles on the second line — but this is a lottery team, and none of those situations merits significant fantasy attention for the stretch run.
Jakob Chychrun, D — Washington Capitals
Lost Carlson, but got bumped up
This is a nuanced one. Chychrun technically gets promoted — he’s now clearly the No. 1 defenseman in Washington without Carlson around. But the Capitals just traded their cornerstone blueliner and are four points out of a playoff spot, signaling at least a partial white flag on the season. The team’s power-play dynamics shift, and while Chychrun and Rasmus Sandin see nominal bumps in deployment, the context of playing for a team likely spinning down the stretch limits ceiling. In fantasy terms, hold what you have but don’t reach for more Washington exposure.
Players Left Behind in St. Louis
Schenn and Faulk both gone; Blues in seller mode
The Blues shipped out their captain and a key defensive piece in one deadline. If you had any St. Louis assets, take stock. Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou are still there — the Blues declined to sell them, and they remain valuable — but the overall team situation is trending toward a full rebuild. Armstrong has now accumulated three first-round picks in the upcoming draft class. The Blues are sellers, and that organizational posture tends to deflate secondary players’ production and ice time as the season loses meaning.
Every Fantasy Manager Waiting on a Goalie Move
Bobrovsky, Binnington, Stolarz — all stayed put
This was the subplot that fizzled hardest. Heading into deadline week, the goalie carousel had names like Bobrovsky, Binnington, Stuart Skinner, Anthony Stolarz, and Jesper Wallstadt attached to it. The conventional wisdom was that at least one of those situations would shake loose. None did. Teams with real goaltending questions — Carolina, Montreal, Vegas — walked away without addressing the crease. If you were hoping a deal would unlock a clear starter in any of those markets, you’re out of luck. Nothing changed in net.
Owners Relying on Edmonton, Montreal, or Carolina Assets
Three contenders underwhelmed at the deadline
The Oilers made two moves — picking up Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson while dumping Andrew Mangiapane — but neither acquisition moves the fantasy needle. Edmonton is in win-now mode and still spent a first-round pick without addressing the holes that hurt them most. Montreal had the cap space to improve and the need for a second-line center, but GM Kent Hughes stood pat entirely. Carolina, one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, spent a seventh-round pick on fourth-line forward Nic Deslauriers and called it a deadline. If you were counting on upgraded production from guys in those ecosystems based on deadline movement, you’re not getting it.
Nicolas Roy, C — Colorado Avalanche
Acquired from Toronto | Costing Colorado a 1st and a 5th
Colorado was so aggressive at the deadline that they completed two center acquisitions — Roy and Kadri. Roy was added the day before Kadri arrived, at the cost of a first-round pick, which now looks like a significant overpay given what came next. Roy is a reliable bottom-six center with good faceoff numbers and defensive awareness, but with MacKinnon, Nelson, and Kadri now ahead of him, his fantasy ceiling is essentially capped. He won’t get power-play time in that lineup. If you grabbed him expecting a boosted role, manage expectations — he’s a roster filler, not a points driver.
Waiver Wire Targets
Beyond the direct trade participants, every major deal created ripple effects. Here are the secondary targets worth a look on the wire:
Cole Hutson, D (Washington Capitals): With Carlson gone, the BU product becomes Washington’s heir apparent on the right side once his college season wraps. Monitor for call-up timing.
Mikael Backlund, C (Calgary Flames): Should garner turns on Calgary’s No. 1 power play following the Kadri departure. Low upside, but worth a look in deep leagues.
Jackson LaCombe, D (Anaheim Ducks): Carlson’s arrival doesn’t kill LaCombe’s value — the Ducks run a deep blueline and he could still work his way onto PP duty. A hold for dynasty managers.
Ryan Strome, C/LW (Calgary Flames): A salary dump from Anaheim, Strome lands in Calgary with a chance to compete for steady playing time after watching his role evaporate with the Ducks. Long-shot flier in deeper formats.
The Big Picture
The overarching fantasy story of this deadline is opportunity cost. The players who moved — Kadri, Carlson, Faulk, Schenn, Weegar — all land in situations that amplify what they do. In most cases, a trade to a better team, a better power play, or a more meaningful situation is a production unlock fantasy managers can count on for the final stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs.
The players left behind — whether stranded on tanking rosters, blocked in suddenly crowded forward groups, or simply untouched in markets that went quiet — are the cautionary tales. The deadline is as much about reading the room as reacting to the moves. Teams that didn’t buy are signaling something about their playoff ambitions. That context matters for every player on your roster in those organizations.
Make your adjustments now. Playoff schedules start to take over the conversation in a few weeks, and getting the right players into the right spots — on contenders, with power-play access, on teams that are still playing meaningful games — is how fantasy championships are won.