Flames swap Ritchie brothers, get Stecher from Arizona at trade deadline

The Calgary Flames' trade deadline deals included a swap of brothers.

Calgary also picked up winger Dryden Hunt from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Radim Zohorna.

Brett Ritchie, 29, departs after three seasons in Calgary's organization. He totalled 13 goals and seven assists in 107 games as a Flame.

The 28-year-old Stecher from Richmond, B.C., had seven assists in 61 games for the Coyotes. He's played 420 career games with the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and Coyotes.

Hunt came to Calgary from the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies to join his fourth NHL organization this season.

The 27-year-old from Cranbrook, B.C., has 15 goals and 28 assists in 202 NHL games with the Coyotes, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and Toronto.

Mackey, 26, appeared in 10 games for the Flames this season for two goals and one assist. Zohorna played eight games for the Flames.

The 26-year-old Czech compiled 10 goals and 19 assists in 40 games for the AHL's Wranglers.

Calgary is five points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Flames' deadline moves were their first in-season trades.

General manager Brad Treliving engineered blockbuster transactions last summer when he traded for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar, and signed free agent Nazem Kadri.

Canadiens deal for defencemen Allard, Sund

The Montreal Canadiens acquired the rights to two defencemen ahead of the NHL's trade deadline, making separate deals with the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks on Friday.

Montreal received defenceman Frederic Allard from L.A. for forward Nate Schnarr.

The Habs then acquired defenceman Tony Sund, who is currently playing in Sweden, and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft, from the Sharks in a three-team trade that also involved the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Montreal is also retaining 50 per cent of forward Nick Bonino's salary in the trade that saw him move to Pittsburgh.

Sund is a 27-year-old defenceman has a goal and eight assists in 40 SHL games this season.

Allard, 25, scored two goals and added five assists in 35 games with the American Hockey League's Ontario Reign this season.

The native of Saint-Sauveur, Que., was selected by the Nashville Predators in the third round, 78th overall, of the 2016 draft.

Schnarr, 24, has three goals and four assists in 27 games with the AHL's Laval Rocket this season. He was drafted in the third round, 75th overall, by the Arizona Coyotes.

Jets acquire centre Vladislav Namestnikov

The Winnipeg Jets acquired Vladislav Namestnikov from the San Jose Sharks on Friday for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft.

Namestnikov has registered 113 goals and 251 points in 610 career games with the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars and Lightning.

The Russian forward and pending unrestricted free agent has added six goals and five assists in 48 playoff appearances.

Selected with the 27th pick at the 2011 draft by Tampa Bay, Namestnikov joins a Winnipeg team that has dropped six of its last seven games.

Senators add centre Patrick Brown from Flyers

The Ottawa Senators got centre Patrick Brown in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.

Ottawa sent its sixth-round pick in this year's NHL draft to Philadelphia for Brown.

The six-foot-one, 210-pound Brown has eight goals and 11 assists over 120 games with the Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights and Philadelphia.

He was signed as an undrafted free agent by Carolina in 2014 out of Boston College to start his professional career.

Canucks deal Curtis Lazar to Devils

The Vancouver Canucks dealt forward Curtis Lazar to the New Jersey Devils for a fourth-round pick at the 2024 draft on Friday.

Lazar had three goals and two assists in 45 games with the Canucks in 2022-23.

Selected by the Senators with the 17th overall pick in 2013, Lazar has registered 38 goals and 95 points in 449 regular-season games with Ottawa, Calgary, Buffalo, Boston and Vancouver.

He's added a goal and an assist in 24 playoff appearances.

The Canucks signed the unrestricted free agent from Salmon Arm, B.C., to a three-year contract with an average annual value of $1 million US in July.

"[Lazar] brought a lot of great energy and a positive attitude to the rink every day," Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a release. "We wish him the best of luck in New Jersey."

Vrana to Blues, Bonino to Penguins

In other trade deadline deals, the Detroit Red Wings traded winger Jakub Vrana to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for fellow forward Dylan McLaughlin and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, and the Pittsburgh Penguins re-acquired centre Nick Bonino from the San Jose Sharks.

Vrana, 27, has collected a goal and an assist in five games this season. He entered the player assistance program in October before being released in December.

Also on Friday, the Los Angeles Kings acquired Zack MacEwen from the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday in exchange for fellow forward Brendan Lemieux and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

MacEwen, 26, has recorded nine points (four goals, five assists) in 46 games this season. He had just been activated off injured reserve on Thursday.

In other moves, the Rangers acquired defenceman Wyatt Kalynuk from Vancouver in exchange for future considerations.

Minnesota acquired defenceman John Klingberg from Anaheim in exchange for defenceman Andre Sustr, rights to forward Nikita Nesterenko and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

The calm after the storm

The relative calm was in stark contrast to the last few weeks — especially since Sunday — as GMs across the NHL made a flurry of trades.

Surprise moves saw Jakob Chychrun head to the Ottawa Senators from the Arizona Coyotes, while Jonathan Quick was dealt away from the Los Angeles Kings before eventually ending up with the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Leafs have been by far the busiest Canadian team in the lead-up to the deadline, making five trades and adding six players since the middle of February.

"Particularly this year, the calls started way earlier," Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong said this week after trading Chychrun to Ottawa. "I don't know why that is. I think teams want to get the player they want situated, and they don't want to wait until the last moment to do so. I do believe there's a change when teams are negotiating.

"They're not waiting until the final day. They're pursuing three weeks out."