DALLAS — Shortly after the 2026 NHL trade deadline passed, the general managers for the teams currently in third and fourth place in the league standings offered a very similar summation of what just transpired.
The appetite to make a big trade before the deadline was there for Minnesota GM Bill Guerin and Carolina GM Eric Tulsky, but the market — either players available or prices asked — made it prohibitive. That was a big development for the NHL’s pacesetter, the Colorado Avalanche, on its own. Other clubs chasing the Avs couldn’t find another marquee player to help bridge the gap.
Then Colorado GM Chris MacFarland pulled one of those big moves just before the buzzer, anyway. Colorado has been the team to beat for much of this season.
Are the Avs still in the pole position after the deadline passed?
“Absolutely, 100 percent,” TSN analyst Craig Button said. “The Minnesota Wild are playing catch-up. The Dallas Stars are playing catch-up. When they think they are catching up, it’s like the coyote and the roadrunner. The coyote thinks he’s getting closer, and close is still pretty far away.”
Let’s take a look at where the Western Conference stands after a relatively slow deadline.
NOTE: Records are as of Saturday morning.
1. Colorado Avalanche (42-10-9, 93 points)
IN: Nazem Kadri, Nicolas Roy, Brett Kulak, Nick Blankenburg
OUT: Samuel Girard, Victor Olofsson, Max Curran
Button made those comments above before the Avs stacked Kadri on top of three other sensible additions that all addressed the first-world needs of the league’s top club. There was a blip while two key veterans were out before the Olympic break. Colorado is 5-1 since the restart.
Beep. Beep.
Nashville Predators left wing Michael Bunting (58) skates with the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
2. Dallas Stars (38-14-10, 86 points)
IN: Michael Bunting, Tyler Myers
OUT: None
The Stars are deep, talented and have no obvious weaknesses. It felt like Jim Nill was going to be able to pull off something big when the club declared Tyler Seguin out for the season and playoffs. Bunting is a good player. Myers is slightly better than one or two of the guys Dallas might need to play in a playoff series. Small upgrades to an already really good team.
The potential fatal flaw? The Stars just aren’t as good, on paper, as the Avalanche. That was probably true each of the past two seasons as well, though, and it didn’t matter.
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes passes the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Mammoth, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
3. Minnesota Wild (37-16-10, 84 points)
IN: Bobby Brink, Michael McCarron, Nick Foligno, Jeff Petry
OUT: David Jiricek, Vinnie Hinostroza
The Wild did make the biggest trade of the NHL season. Adding Quinn Hughes makes this a different, dangerous club. Minnesota has a pretty obvious issue, though. The center depth chart — Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, Danila Yurov, Michael McCarron, throw ex-Avs Nico Sturm and Yakov Trenin in there too — is clearly third-best among the “Big Three” in the Central.
And the Wild are most likely going to need to win a seven-game series against both of the other two.
4. Utah Mammoth (33-25-4, 70 points)
IN: Mackenzie Weegar
OUT: Olli Maata
Weegar’s play has dipped a bit recently, but could a playoff chase give him a boost? He’s one of the best players who was traded this past week, a fun addition for a young team that might be a year ahead of schedule. Utah is likely to end up with the winner of the Pacific Division. When Karel Vejmelka is in the net, the Mammoth are pretty clearly the fourth-best team in the West.
Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) in action during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
5. Anaheim Ducks (35-24-3, 73 points)
IN: John Carlson, Jeffrey Viel
OUT: Ryan Strome
Speaking of young teams ahead of schedule, the Ducks have arrived and might squeak out a division title. Carlson was a surprising addition, but that’s a pretty strong blue line now to help Anaheim’s collection of young scorers. The obvious question is, can this group hang with Vegas or Edmonton, two of the most battle-tested postseason clubs in the league, in a playoff series? Maybe the Ducks’ talent and speed will just overwhelm them. It’s worth noting Anaheim is 8-0 in shootouts this year. The Ducks will go 0-0 in shootouts once the tournament starts.
6. Vegas Golden Knights (29-20-14, 72 points)
IN: Rasmus Andersson, Nic Dowd, Cole Smith
OUT: Zack Whitecloud
The Ducks collect a bunch of shootout points. The Golden Knights collect a bunch of overtime loss points. Neither team wins in regulation very often. Vegas is the first of two teams that should be way better than. Will the Golden Knights flip some proverbial switch in mid-April? Andersson was a nice addition.
Carolina Hurricanes' Seth Jarvis (24) chases Edmonton Oilers' Jason Dickinson (16) during second-period NHL action in Edmonton, Alberta, on Friday March 6, 2026. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
7. Edmonton Oilers (30-25-8, 68 points)
IN: Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, Colton Dach
OUT: Andrew Mangipane
Edmonton has also spent most of the season looking for the same “remember we are actually good” button as Vegas. The Oilers spent some premium assets to add depth players. They switched goaltenders in December, and no contender still has a bigger, more obvious flaw than Edmonton’s goaltending.
The Oilers have allowed 56 goals in the past 12 games. They could flame out in five games. They could still win the West, in theory.
8. Los Angeles Kings (25-22-14, 64 points)
IN: Artemi Panarin, Scott Laughton, Mathieu Joseph
OUT: Warren Foegele, Corey Perry, Liam Greentree
The Kings are yet another team that should be better. Adding Panarin could make them dangerous if they sneak in, but there are a bunch of injuries right now, and a push for the final wild-card spot could come up short. Maybe there will be a new-coach bump. Maybe they just are what the record has said most of the year.
Bobby McMann #74 of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Gavin Brindley #54 of the Colorado Avalanche battle for the puck during the third period at Scotiabank Arena on January 25, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
9. Seattle Kraken (29-23-9, 67 points)
IN: Bobby McMann
OUT: None
McMann is a nice complimentary player. Would have fit in well with the Avs, had a deal crossed the finish line there. It also feels like Seattle should have made another move? The Kraken are trying to reach the playoffs for the second time in five seasons, and still feel like a club with a nice foundation but short on the top-end talent to be more than this.
10. San Jose Sharks (30-25-5, 65 points)
IN: Kiefer Sherwood, Jet Woo
OUT: Timothy Liljegren, Jack Thompson
This team is exciting, if unpredictable. The fan base is coming back in droves and having a moment. The Shark Tank is alive again. The vibes are very high, and maybe the kids have one final push for a wild-card spot in them. But the Sharks did also just trade away their fourth-most-used
defenseman this season, the one position that still needs some long-term work before Macklin Celebrini and Co. are ready to really compete in the postseason.
11. Nashville Predators (28-26-8, 64 points)
IN: None
OUT: Michael Bunting, Michael McCarron, Nick Blankenburg, Cole Smith
Could the zombie Predators still sneak in? They didn’t trade Ryan O’Reilly or Steven Stamkos, though they did gut the depth of the roster in a pretty significant way. The fact that O’Reilly is still in Music City, and not on one of the top contenders, was another small win for the Avs at the deadline.
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