How trade deadline moves have panned out for playoff teams

Welcome to 10 Insights and Observations. Every week, I’ll use this space to highlight teams, players, storylines, and general musings around the NHL, and perhaps at times, the greater hockey world. We are changing it up this week, with a look back at the additions teams made ahead of the playoffs.

We have a tendency to immediately rate things in sports – draft classes, trades, signings and the like — without ever actually going back and evaluating how they played out. Although the season isn’t over yet, we are getting a clearer picture of how teams fared at the NHL trade deadline.

For the purposes of this review, we did not look at teams that failed to make the playoffs as they generally make moves with an eye towards the future. We also did not just look at moves made on deadline day. Teams are lauded for getting business done early and beating the market, so we wanted to recognize that here.

Boston Bruins

• Acquired defenseman Josh Brown and a conditional 2022 seventh-round pick from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Zach Senyshyn and a 2022 fifth-round pick

• Acquired defenseman Hampus Lindholm from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defensemen John Moore and Urho Vaakanainen, a 2022 first-round pick, 2023 second-round pick and 2024 second-round pick

The big haul for Boston was acquiring Lindholm, and they immediately safeguarded the move by locking him into an eight-year, $52-million extension.

Lindholm was slotted in next to Charlie McAvoy, giving the Bruins one of the best top pairings in the league. They controlled almost 60 percent of the shot share across the board and were on for 12 goals for to just three against at 5-on-5 in the 10 regular-season games he played with the Bruins. They carried the control of play through the playoffs, but goaltending was not kind to them as they were outscored by one at 5-on-5. All in all, McAvoy is 24, Lindholm is 28, they looked like a legit top pairing and have many good years to go.

Story continues

Moore was a…