January in the NHL came with surprises and shocking trades. Some were speculated, and some came totally out of the blue. 

Firstly, a three-way trade between Chicago, Colorado, and Carolina. Two big names were involved in this trade, Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen, Carolina’s Martin Necas, and Chicago’s Taylor Hall. Both Hall and Rantannan headed over to Carolina in exchange for Martin Necas and Jack Drury (Colorado receiving), and a 2025 third-round pick (Chicago receiving). 

In my opinion, I have no idea what Chicago was thinking for this trade. Their biggest and most talented player, Connor Bedard, needs all the help he can get as the Blackhawks have struggled to support him. This trade is directly detrimental to Bedard’s development as Hall was one of the more talented stars on Chicago’s roster. 

After that, the Philadelphia Flyers threw their name out there with a trade that left fans feeling uneasy. The Calgary Flames traded Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, and second-round 2025 draft pick, and a seventh-round 2028 draft pick for two forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost. 

For the Philadelphia Flyers, this has been the biggest trade of the season, but they aren’t done yet. The trade deadline is March 7th, and the Flyers are still on the prowl for a playoff spot. 

Another team that is in the hunt for a playoff spot is the New York Rangers. They completed a deal with the Vancouver Canucks that consisted of JT Miller, Erik Brannstrom, and Jackson Dorrington going to New York. In turn, Vancouver received the Rangers’ first-round 2025 draft pick, Filip Chytil, and Victor Mancini. 

Speaking of the Canucks, they now have three Petterssons on their roster, as they traded for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor. The Pittsburgh Penguins received the first-round draft pick that was acquired in the JT Miller trade, Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, and Melvin Fernstrom. 

Lastly, three days ago, Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci were traded to the Dallas Stars from the San Jose Sharks in return for Dallas’ first-round and conditional fourth-round 2025 draft pick.

So as the trade deadline approaches, keep an eye out for blockbuster trades and big names being passed along to new cities.