TIMO MEIER

NHL teams were so busy wheeling and dealing in the days ahead of the trade deadline, Arizona general manager Bill Armstrong jokingly wondered if there would be anything left to talk about come the final day on Friday. “We try to ruin the trade deadline shows, that’s the biggest thing in Toronto,” Armstrong said with a laugh, referring to the NHL's broadcast partners, who dedicate a majority of their airtime to monitor the movement. “We just like to watch those guys talk about nothing for about three hours on trade deadline day.”Armstrong spoke after continuing the Coyotes youth rebuilding movement by trading defenseman Jakob Chychrun to the Ottawa Senators two days before the deadline. The two-week stretch leading into Friday was the busiest for trading in the NHL over the past decade: 43 trades involving 85 players and 55 draft picks, including 12 first-rounders, all since Feb. 17. The trade deadline last year featured 32 trades, tying a one-day record set in 2020, involving 51 players and a record-matching 26 draft picks.

The NHL trade deadline has arrived.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired forward Sam Lafferty and defenseman Jake McCabe from the Chicago Blackhawks.

The New Jersey Devils have added Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks in a blockbuster trade that is designed for a hopeful Stanley Cup run this season.

Timo Meier is going to the New Jersey Devils in the latest ante of the high-stakes poker game among Eastern Conference playoff contenders. Meier joins the Devils after the New York Islanders made a big acquisition, the NHL-leading Boston Bruins got bigger and tougher and the Rangers added one scorer and could get another significantly productive winger before the deadline Friday. New Jersey sent a 2023 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 first-rounder, forward Andreas Johnsson and prospects Shakir Mukhamadullin, Fabian Zetterlund and Nikita Okhotiuk to San Jose.

The New York Rangers have acquired All-Star Vladimir Tarasenko in a trade with the St. Louis Blues.

After weeks of speculation, the Canucks finally dealt captain Bo Horvatto the Islanders, signaling that trade season is officially open. TRADE FORBo Horvat, C (91% rostered) and Mathew Barzal, C, Islanders (67% rostered)There are some split decisions on how the trade will affect Horvat's fantasy value. In the past, Barzal's fantasy value has taken a hit because he doesn't take or win many faceoffs; playing in an RW slot will solve that problem. The time to trade for Meier is now before his fantasy value jumps with a move to a more competitive team. Kuznetsov's fantasy value is almost purely derived from his assists; with limited ice time and without an elite scoring winger to finish his plays, Kuznetsov's fantasy value is unlikely to climb higher.

By Jason Chen, RotoWireSpecial to Yahoo SportsWe've got a bit of everything in this week's fantasy hockey trade analyzer, from players to trade away on teams with scary second-half schedules to players to trade for due to a potential move to a better team. However, even if the trade falls through, you've hopefully traded for a player who has already been productive during the season. Should he avoid injury for the rest of the season, he's well on his way to setting career highs, partially because he has so many quality wingers to play with. TRADE AWAYJeff Skinner, LW, Sabres (81% rostered)He's one of the streakiest players in the league who either scores in bunches or not at all. After a stretch where Skinner scored 12 goals in 12 games, he's scored one goal in his past 10.

Nino Niederreiter scored his debut goal for the Nashville Predators, who beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 in Prague in the NHL regular-season opener.

The NHL playoff race is going into its final few days with both Western Conference wild-card slots still unsettled.

Kings Sharks Hockey San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) reacts after being called for a penalty during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings during an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. The Sharks used a huge first period — including Meier's hat trick — to beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-2 on Monday. Tomas Hertl had four assists for the Sharks, who had scored just one goal combined over their past two games. James Reimer, making his first start in net since Jan. 4 for San Jose due to a lower-body injury, had 39 saves. Anze Kopitar and Anderson scored for Los Angeles, which had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Timo Meier set a San Jose franchise record with five goals on Monday, and the Sharks used a huge first period to beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-2.

Washington star Alexander Ovechkin and high-scoring Edmonton teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl headline the rosters for the NHL All-Star Weekend announced Thursday.

Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and the Vegas Golden Knights became the first NHL team to clinch a playoff berth, beating the San Jose Sharks 5-2 for their eighth straight victory.

(AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King, File)The Minnesota Wild traded goalie Devan Dubnyk and forward Ryan Donato to the San Jose Sharks in two separate deals Monday, continuing their makeover under general manager Bill Guerin. The selection the Sharks sent to the Wild was originally Pittsburgh's, first dealt to San Jose on Feb. 24 for forward Patrick Marleau. The Wild now own two 2021 picks from the Penguins, who traded next year's first-rounder to Minnesota for forward Jason Zucker. Donato, who is the son of former Bruins stalwart Ted Donato, has 29 goals and 28 assists in 130 career NHL games. The 26-year-old Soucy had seven goals, seven assists and a team-leading plus-16 rating in 55 games in his first full NHL season.