
Does anybody remember the old video rental chain named “Blockbuster”? The store where you could rent VHS tapes, DVDs, video games and more was a popular commodity in the 1990s and early 2000s. But, alas, aside from one privately owned store in Oregon, the chain went out of business years ago.
However, The NHL (and The NBA) have recently done their best to keep the term at the forefront of nearly every sports-related conversation.
On Friday, January 24, 2025, the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes stunned the hockey world with a trade that saw Avs superstar Mikko Rantanen go to the ‘Canes in exchange for star forward Martin Necas and more. Then, this past Friday, January 31, 2025, the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers engaged in their own blockbuster deal by sending J.T. Miller to New York as the focal point of a trade that also saw Filip Chytil go to the pacific northwest.
If that wasn’t enough, The NBA got in on the fun late Saturday night as the Dallas Mavericks sent superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a deal that saw Anthony Davis go to the Mavs.
What have these General Managers been drinking? And can we please stop these Friday night “GM ONLY” happy hours? That’s three blockbuster deals in nine days. At this rate, you better get your popcorn ready and make sure your phone is fully charged for this coming Friday night, February 7, 2025, because you never know what might happen.
Actually, noted NHL Insider Frank Seravalli might have a clue based on what he wrote on Twitter/X following the Rantanen news. “Not sure how to process yet, but impeccable source said that this Rantanen deal was not the biggest thing on the table in the last 48 hours.”
Okay, now that’s just scary. If the Rantanen deal wasn’t the biggest thing on the table, then what the heck was? A lot of people speculated that maybe it had something to do with Sidney Crosby, who, although he has repeatedly stated he only ever wants to play for the Penguins, has to at least be thinking about a potential move, given the Penguins’ future-focused deals and that he likely only has a couple years left in The NHL.
The Edmonton Oilers aren’t trading Connor McDavid. BUT, what happens if McDavid tells the Oilers’ hierarchy he plans on not re-signing when his contract is up following next season? That potential blockbuster would re-write the history books if it ever came to fruition.
Vancouver might still trade away Elias Pettersson, given how poorly things have gone this year, although getting rid of Miller has likely cooled their focus on that front. But, again, who knows?
One thing we do know is that all of these trades and rumors have injected the sport with an energy it doesn’t normally have at this point in the season. Which begs the question, what if the Trade Deadline was earlier?
This year’s Trade Deadline is March 7th, which is right around its normal time. But, WHAT IF the annual deadline was, say, February 1st? Or January 25th? Sure, you’d likely get a lot of teams who would be too scared to make a move because it’s still too early in the season, but you’d likely see more “Hockey Deals.”
Instead of the typical rental player-for-draft picks trades and depth-for-depth moves we usually see, might we see more blockbusters since a vast majority of teams would still be alive in the playoff hunt? Could this lead to more exciting playoff chases? We know it would give the players who are dealt more time to acclimate themselves to their new teams.
There’s never been more parity across The NHL than there is right now. If teams felt more inclined to make “Hockey Deals” because of an earlier Trade Deadline, we could see a scenario unfold in which there would be fewer rebuilding teams and the race to make the playoffs would be even more crowded, thus injecting even more energy into the sport and drawing more eyeballs to the product.
It’s something to think about and with a new CBA looming over the horizon, this could be the time to set up The League’s future in more exciting ways.