NHL Trade Deadline 2025 Live Blog: Rantanen, Stars at a ‘stalemate’

The 2025 NHL trade deadline is here, and though we’ve seen a number of big moves already happen this week, there is still much to be done on the final day of dealing.

NHL teams can swap players and picks up until the 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT deadline.

What will become of Brad Marchand and the Bruins? Can the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers keep up with the buying spree going on in the West? Will the Toronto Maple Leafs match what division rivals Florida and Tampa Bay have accomplished so far?

Follow along with your live blog for the latest news and notes from the most intriguing deals of the day.

Rantanen at a stalemate with Mikko Rantanen on extension (11:06 am)

As we await what would be the biggest news of the day — whether he’s traded and signs or not — there’s another update on Mikko Rantanen.

“I think there’s a stalemate, they’re apart,” Elliotte Friedman said on Sportsnet’s deadline day broadcast. “I’ve been told it’s not dead, but there’s a stalemate right now.”

Again, the Hurricanes had come to terms on the framework of a trade that would send Rantanen to Dallas for an uncertain return, but only if the player would come to an agreement on an extension with the Stars.

For now, at least, there appears to be a snag.

One Sabres trade candidate coming off the board (10:49 am)

How will Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams react to another disappointing season for the team? Plenty of names have come up in rumours, from Dylan Cozens, to Bowen Byram and Alex Tuch. Lots of blockbuster potential.

Jason Zucker, a 33-year-old winger and pending UFA, was another who some believed could go today. But with 18 goals in 54 games, the Sabres see some value in keeping him around their young group. Elliotte Friedman reports they’ve re-signed Zucker to a two-year extension with a $4.75 million AAV.

Where we’re at with Mikko Rantanen and the Stars (10:29 am)

The latest from Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet’s trade deadline show:

Will Vancouver trade Brock Boeser today? (10:27 am)

The Canucks traded defenceman Carson Soucy to New York Thursday and now we wonder what will become of pending UFA winger Brock Boeser.

A 40-goal scorer a season ago, Boeser is a valued contributor for the Canucks, who are still in a heated playoff race and do not want to wave the white flag on that. So how will they handle Boeser?

“I think there’s a lot of players, and Boeser is in that category, where teams know what the price is and they’re waiting to see how everything falls and then will make decisions today,” Elliotte Friedman told Halford and Brough. “I think Vancouver is willing to retain. I think they’re looking for the best possible asset they can get and we’ll see how things fall.

“If you look at what’s going on out there, these are really high prices so I’m curious to see if teams don’t get what they want they simply say ‘we’re not doing that.’ I think Vancouver is probably at the mercy of some other teams right now that have to make some decisions.”

Meantime, there is some question about Elias Pettersson, who doesn’t have any trade protection yet, but will have a no-movement clause kick in this summer. The Canucks may wait to decide one way or the other on Pettersson in the off-season, but is there any shot he gets dealt today?

“I’ve always heard it was unlikely,” Friedman said.

Winnipeg facing pressure to find a deal today (10:11 am)

Dallas may end up acquiring Mikko Rantanen, but have already brought in Mikael Granlund. Colorado landed Brock Nelson after upgrading their team in other ways previously this season (Ryan Lindgren, goalies). That’s a lot of loading up in the Central Division.

So where does that leave the Winnipeg Jets?

The Jets have $12.4 million of deadline day cap space, enough to address their needs for a second/third line centre with scoring punch and a defenceman or two. Sometimes Winnipeg is on no-trade lists, which can limit their market more than most teams, but there’s no avoiding the fact teams around them are adding big.

Winnipeg may hold top spot in the Central, a place they’ve been all season, but they’re under pressure to find an upgrade or two today.

Will Islanders keep Kyle Palmieri instead of trading him? (9:59 am)

There was some question what the Islanders might do at the deadline and if GM Lou Lamoriello would still give his team a chance, even with a tough climb ahead of them back into the playoffs.

They traded Brock Nelson to Colorado Thursday and got a great return that includes a first-round pick and top prospect Calum Ritchie. That seemed to indicate the Islanders could go hard into sell mode.

However, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports Friday morning that Lamoriello is attempting to re-sign Kyle Palmieri, another pending UFA and a goal scoring winger.

Leafs still exploring options, including Brayden Schenn, Scott Laughton (8:58 am)

So, a few contenders have been buying up players on the market over the past couple of days, including the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers. That has Toronto Maple Leafs fans looking on, hoping today is the time for their team to take the plunge and keep up with what’s going on in the Atlantic Division.

It’s long been expected the Leafs would at least try to land a centre by the deadline, and eyes have been on someone like Brayden Schenn or Scott Laughton.

“I think the Maple Leafs know if they want to get Schenn they have to hit a target and it’s a high bar,” Friedman said on The FAN 590 Morning Show.

The future pieces Toronto has that other teams are trying to get in a big deal include prospects Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, Ben Danford, and the Leafs’ first-round pick in 2026, since they don’t have one in 2025.

“I think Schenn could cost at least two of those pieces and I don’t know if they want to go there.”

Friedman said Laughton would cost the Leafs the first-round pick, and that the team is also kicking around possibilities on the defence market, though that position is beginning to thin out a little bit.

The Maple Leafs put Ryan Reaves on waivers Thursday to clear some cap space for a move and may look to create more cap space today. They’ll open up $1.15 million if he clears, or $1.35 million if he’s claimed at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Will Carolina and Dallas get the trade done, or will other teams be able to jump back in? (8:42 am)

When a (very) late night came to an end, the last update was that the Hurricanes and Stars had the framework of a deal done to send Mikko Rantanen back out West. Dallas was just trying to negotiate an extension with the winger.

“Getting that done — or close enough to it that Dallas is comfortable — will be critical to completing the trade,” Elliotte Friedman reported overnight.

As the hockey world woke up that deal was still not done, and it’s unclear if this trade will get over the line, or if Carolina will have to start exploring other options. That will be the biggest story of the day — where will Rantanen end up?

“There’s some time today, we’ll see how it all goes,” Friedman said Friday on the FAN 590’s Morning Show. “One of the things that was definitely the case over the last couple of days is that teams believed that Dallas was a team that Rantanen was willing to sign with, so we’ll see how it all progresses.”

There are just over six hours until the deadline.

San Jose’s nice bit of business with Jake Walman (8:30 am)

Last June the Sharks acquired Jake Walman and a 2024 second-round pick from Detroit for future considerations. At this deadline, they moved him back out to Edmonton for a conditional 2026 first-round pick, and prospect Carl Berglund.

That’s a first- and a second-round pick for Walman to come in and spend 50 games with the rebuilding Sharks, a nice bit of asset management from GM Mike Grier.