NHL Trade Deadline Grades: Nobody is better at this than the Golden Knights and Avalanche

The Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche showed again this week why their front offices are among the best in the NHL.

The 2023-24 NHL Trade Deadline is onFriday and the league went crazy on Tuesday and Wednesday with a flurry of trades. Let’s talk about them!

Anthony Mantha Goes to Vegas

The Trade

Vegas receives: Anthony Mantha

Washington receives: 2024 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick

The Grades

I love everything about this trade for the Golden Knights. They needed more scoring depth, and Mantha has rediscovered his goal-scoring touch this season and has quietly put together what is literally the best goal-scoring season of his career. Even going back to his days in Detroit where he looked like an on-the-rise star. Even if this is just a random one-season heater that is not going to last beyond this season, he is a rental and the Golden Knights don’t need him to be a long-term fit. They just need him to score some goals between now and June. Add in his possession-driving ability and defensive play and it’s a huge addition (literally and figuratively).

They were also able to get him at a reduced rate with Washington retaining half of his remaining salary, while also not giving up any of their future first-round picks. All of this will come in handy later (and we will talk about that again soon).

Golden Knights grade: A

For the Capitals this is just a harsh reminder of what a miss the original Mantha trade was for pretty much everybody involved. I admit, I loved the initial trade for Washington and thought Mantha was going to fit like a glove there. He was another big, punishing power forward on a team that was loaded with them and given his ascent in Detroit I thought he was going to really break out in Washington. He never did. Not until it was too late to make a difference, and just in time for the Capitals to trade him for some draft picks that may never produce anything noteworthy. 

But that is the going rate for second-tier rentals, so it’s really hard to be too critical of the return other than to say this — if you are retaining half of the salary of one of the top forwards available, not coming away with a first-round pick or a prospect is pretty underwhelming. 

I know there is a positional difference at play (center vs. wing), but If Sean Monahan goes for a first … maybe Anthony Mantha at 50 percent of his salary should as well.

Capitals grade: C- 

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Florida gets another goal-scorer