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Roundtable: Who were the biggest winners and losers at the trade deadline?

Greg Wyshynski, senior writer:

Winners: New York Rangers

The Rangers traded three rentals -- Rick Nash, Michael Grabner and Nick Holden -- as well as captain Ryan McDonagh and center J.T. Miller. They did so after declaring they were purging the roster in an effort to rebuild and reload the team, having raised the white flag on the season.

Their haul: Forward Vladislav Namestnikov, 25, who has 123 points in 263 NHL games; center Ryan Spooner, 26, with 144 points in 254 NHL games; 20-year-old WHL defenseman Libor Hajek; 20-year-old KHL defenseman Yegor Rykov; 20-year-old NCAA defenseman Ryan Lindgren; 19-year-old WHL center Brett Howden; 24-year-old AHL prospect Rob O'Gara; the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2018 first-round pick; the Lightning's 2019 second-round pick, which becomes a first if they win the Stanley Cup in the next two seasons; the Boston Bruins' 2018 first-round pick; the New Jersey Devils' 2018 second-round pick; a 2018 third-round pick from Boston; and a 2019 seventh-round pick from the Bruins -- which is, of course, the key to everything. The Rangers may have raised the white flag on this season, but their prospect haul gives them reason to celebrate as they begin the rebuilding process. Elsa/Getty Images

Obviously, there's no telling how this will all pan out. But if you're rebuilding, there are some prime construction materials. It was a strong deadline showing for Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton.

Winner: Rick Nash

Boston was at the top of Nash's trade list, and he's a seemingly perfect fit with the Bruins. Center David Krejci has excelled with big forwards who play at Nash's pace, and Nash can settle into a second-round role, with the Patrice Bergeron line shouldering most of the offensive load. Boston is a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, and Nash has played 1,050 games while looking for a ring.

Loser: Erik Karlsson

We might need to pool our money together for an Edible Arrangement or something just as nice for EK. The Ottawa Senators' star defenseman was twisting in the wind right up until the trade deadline, with the Lightning -- his preferred destination -- opting for McDonagh and the Vegas Golden Knights negotiating until the end before being driven mad by Karlsson mania and trading three picks for Tomas Tatar. Enjoy the next few months of incessant questions about your future and playing out the string with Ottawa, Erik. See you at the draft (in a new uniform, hopefully).

Losers: Dallas Stars

The Stars had a need for a veteran winger and didn't like the prices. "We started to see that they were very high," said GM Jim Nill. "Unless we got some major injury that would force us to make a trade, I didn't think we'd be doing anything major." OK, great, but this lineup could have been significantly bolstered by any of the left wings who moved at the deadline; and it's hard to ignore what the rest of the Western Conference contenders did to bolster their Stanley Cup chances.

play 0:51 What does McDonagh bring to Lightning? The TSN TradeCentre crew breaks down the significance of Tampa Bay's trade for Ryan McDonagh.

Emily Kaplan, national NHL writer:

Winners: Winnipeg Jets

The Jets were starting to look like losers this deadline. The young, plucky group has been such a terrific story this season, and they're surging toward the playoffs as one of the best teams in the West. But they could really use center depth, and for a while it appeared that they were going to lose out on everyone available: Derick Brassard, Mark Letestu, Tomas Plekanec. And then, something shocking happened: the St. Louis Blues dangled Paul Stastny, and the Jets swooped in. Stastny had not been mentioned as a trade target at all, and the Blues were supposed to be buyers, not sellers. (St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong told reporters that he had no intention of trading Stastny until his team's recent six-game slide.) A player with Stastny's experience and talent in the faceoff circle plugged in on the third line? Yeah, we like the Jets a lot more now as a team to emerge from the West. Editor's Picks NHL trade deadline: The trades, the grades and what's next

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Losers: Philadelphia Flyers

Look, it's not that the Flyers had a bad deadline. They had previously addressed their biggest area of need -- goaltending -- by acquiring Petr Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings at a fair price. But Philadelphia didn't do anything else. This is a team that probably deserved a little more help from its front office. After an uninspired start, the Flyers haven't just turned things around, soaring to a playoff position. They've been red hot. They're on a 9-0-2 run. They haven't lost in regulation since the Super Bowl. And with Wayne Simmonds (upper body) injured for an extended stretch, this was a team that could have sneakily been in on Evander Kane. A bottom-six winger would have been fine: Grabner, Patrick Maroon or Tatar, to name three. And then the Flyers saw a team chasing them -- the New Jersey Devils -- pick up two of those players. The division-leading Pittsburgh Penguins only got stronger, as well, with Brassard. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is left with what it has and must hope that's enough to sustain its run.

Winner: Ken Holland

The GM should have been selling low on Tatar. The winger's production is down significantly in points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 from last season to this season (1.85 to 1.01) with essentially the same ice time. His deal ($5.3 million, three more years) is too much for most teams to take on. Not only did Holland find a willing partner in the Golden Knights, but Holland made out like a bandit with a first-rounder, a second-rounder and a third-rounder. Yes, the first-round pick in 2018 will be low considering the Golden Knights' record this season, but we were impressed he mustered this much.