NHL faces in new places: How players traded at the deadline are faring with their teams

When the Oilers stumbled out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break with four consecutive losses, management needed to do something at the trade deadline if the team had any hope of returning to the Stanley Cup Final.

Would they upgrade their chaotic goalie situation? Or focus on the two-way issues in front of the blue paint? Advertisement With the addition of Jake Walman, Edmonton addressed a major area of need with one of the best defensemen on the market.

Through eight games, the fit has been pretty perfect.

Elsewhere? From Seth Jones in Florida to Mikko Rantanen on his third team of the season in Dallas, lets examine five big-name players in their new surroundings now that the dust has settled from the deadline fallout.

Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars The Stars came into the season as Stanley Cup favorites.

But the addition of Rantanen, without subtracting up-and-coming stars such as Wyatt Johnston or Thomas Harley, only solidified their status as a Western Conference contender to watch.

Trading for Mikael Granlund in February boosted the Stars depth, but Rantanen transformed it.

With his elite offensive skill set at the top of the lineup, Dallas has one of the deepest forward groups in the league.

On paper, the Stars look absolutely stacked.

That just hasnt translated on the ice often enough in March.

Rantanen got off to an encouraging start with a two-point performance in his Stars debut.

He earned a secondary assist on the advantage in the first period, then scored a power-play goal in the third to help spark a comeback attempt that ultimately fell short.

One night later, he scored against the Canucks.

Through eight games, he is up to five points.

Its been a pretty unremarkable start for Rantanen in Dallas, on the scoresheet and at five-on-five.

The Stars look disjointed lately since the trade, and some other existing shortcomings on the back end are holding this group back.

It doesnt help that the center the coaches envisioned him starting with, Roope Hintz, was injured in their first game together.

Combinations of Rantanen and Johnston, with Jamie Benn and Jason Robertson on the top line, didnt have immediate chemistry, either.

Over the last few games, Rantanen has gained some traction with Robertson and Hintz; the results arent there yet, but this trio shouldnt be expected to shoot 6.3 percent forever, either.

Advertisement Its easy to get concerned about Rantanen, especially after his time with the Canes, which didnt go according to plan.

Just because he isnt popping off doesnt necessarily mean he was just a product of Nathan MacKinnons game-breaking ability.

While the line with Hintz and Robertson has some potential, neither has the speed or similar skills Rantanen is accustomed to.

So the winger has to find his footing in a different environment, and the coaches may need to find a better complement for him.

Brock Nelson, Colorado Avalanche The Avalanche have been one of the most active teams on the trade market throughout the season, but adding Nelson was one of the most pivotal parts of their deadline dealings.

After fitting in well with the team last season, 2C Casey Mittelstadts game fell completely flat this year.

To replace him, management added an elite second-line center in Nelson.

Nelsons first game with the Avalanche was an exciting and high-scoring matchup.

The new-look second line of Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin and Jonathan Drouin made an impact on the scoresheet with two goals but also was on the ice for two against.

Their numbers below the surface were somewhat of a mixed bag, too.

And that became a theme over the next six games.

While Nelsons line generally won the shot battle and had a 4-3 scoring edge in their five-on-five minutes, the trio was out-chanced and only earned a 37 percent expected-goal rate.

A few lineup tweaks later, Nelson started to find his footing in Colorado.

Sharing the ice with MacKinnon for parts of two games helped.

Stacking the centers wasnt an ideal solution, but sometimes it helps to play alongside the teams best to get up to speed.

Then against Ottawa, the coaches moved Nelson back to 2C with wingers Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas, who have chemistry together.

This combination helped ignite Nelsons scoring touch.

The Avs dominated play in their first two games, with a combined 70 percent expected-goal rate and a 3-1 edge in scoring versus the Senators and Canadiens.

If this line can keep up the momentum, Colorado should have the top-six balance it has been missing all season.

Seth Jones, Florida Panthers When the Panthers acquired Jones, it looked like an ideal fit .

The Panthers have had a knack for maximizing defensemen within their system, and Jones brought something this team was missing with his ability to retrieve pucks back in his own zone and transition up the ice.

Floridas defensive depth would help insulate some areas of his game that have trailed off.

And instead of being over-leveraged in a top-pair capacity, he just had to be a key cog in the top four.

Advertisement While he saw a lot of Nikita Kucherov in his first game in Florida on the second pair with Niko Mikkola, he made a solid first impression.

Against the Blue Jackets and Sabres in the following days, that pairs minutes were eased.

Together, in about 53 five-on-five minutes across those three games, the Mikkola-Jones pairing wasnt on the ice for any goals and earned a 43 percent expected-goal rate.

Then Aaron Ekblad was suspended, which changed the makeup of the teams top four.

Jones has been tasked with replacing Ekblad on the top power-play unit and the first pair with Gustav Forsling, which has subsequently meant taking on heavier usage.

It started with a tough outing against Boston when Jones went head-to-head with David Pastrnak.

In nine matchup minutes, the Bruins only slightly outshot Florida 9-8, but the quality of those chances separates the two.

The Panthers earned less than 34 percent of the expected goal share in those minutes.

Two days later, the story was similar against Toronto.

The Maple Leafs and Panthers broke even in shots when Jones and Auston Matthews were matched up, but Florida only mustered an 18 percent expected-goal rate.

The Forsling-Jones pairing has had better outings since, including against the Penguins on Sunday.

But the results as a whole are pretty discouraging the pair has a 40.6 percent expected goal rate and has been outscored 5-3.

The early results are concerning, but maybe with more time to acclimate to his new team and role, Jones can stabilize his game ahead of the postseason.

Dylan Cozens, Ottawa Senators The Cozens for Josh Norris deal was one of the most interesting of deadline day.

It wasnt the typical trade that sees a playoff hopeful moving draft picks and prospects in exchange for a pending UFA.

It was a player-for-player hockey trade, similar to one the Sabres made a year earlier when Casey Mittelstadt went to Colorado in exchange for Bowen Byram.

What added more intrigue this year was that it involved two players who play the same position in their own way.

Unlike Norris, Cozens is a puck-mover who needs more puck touches to be successful.

Cozens value had plummeted in Buffalo since his breakout year in 2022-23.

His scoring slowed and his puck-moving ability dropped off.

While he was still entering the zone often and efficiently this season, Cozens struggled to turn his rushes into shots and chances.

In eight games, there have been some signs of improvement at five-on-five.

With the team shooting 14.7 percent in his minutes and rocking a 0.914 save percentage, there is an element of luck in play here.

However, positives below the surface contribute to that, like Cozens shot creation; his shot volume is unchanged from earlier this season, but the quality has improved now that he is driving to the slot a bit more.

His play-making also seems to be trending up, and playing between shoot-first wingers in David Perron and Drake Batherson helps.

Cozens defense is still suspect, and he has to generate more offensively if the team is going to sustain its hot shooting.

But its a promising start for a player who has struggled to turn his skill into consistent results over the last couple of seasons.

Jake Walman, Edmonton Oilers Last summer, the Red Wings packaged a second-rounder as a sweetener to clear Walmans cap hit.

A few months later, the Oilers spent a first-round pick to acquire him.

And so far, the fit has been pretty seamless.

Walmans Oilers tenure started with a bang.

In his first game with Edmonton, he earned a season-high Game Score of 5.24 thanks to his two-way play.

The Oilers outshot the Stars with 26-10 attempts, controlled play with 83 percent of the expected-goal share and outscored Dallas 3-0.

A Walman stretch pass helped set up one of those goals, scored by Zach Hyman.

Against the Stars, he skated alongside Darnell Nurse, his primary partner so far.

In that second-pair role, he brings a lot of value on both ends of the ice with his speed and anticipation.

He can be counted on to break out of his own zone with control and make quick passes up to the Oilers forwards.

He also brings some defensive strengths, such as his ability to close lanes and block shots.

Advertisement One of the most important elements Walman brings to Edmonton is his versatility.

When Mattias Ekholm was sidelined, he jumped up to Evan Bouchards left on the first pair.

There, he can play a more defensive role to complement his partner.

In about 57 five-on-five minutes with Bouchard, the duo earned 56.6 percent of the expected-goal share and a 3-1 scoring edge.

On Nurses right, the team has outscored opponents 5-2.

His play on either pairing helps solidify the top four.

The Oilers flexibility was pretty limited on defense through much of the season, but Walman opens up more possibilities thanks to his ability to play both sides in different capacities.

That adaptability should be clutch in the postseason.

Data via Evolving-Hockey , HockeyViz , Hockey Stat Cards , All Three Zones and Natural Stat Trick .

This story relies on shot-based metrics; here is a primer on these numbers (Top photos of Mikko Rantanen and Seth Jones: Perry Nelson and Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.