Booooooring.

The meat of the NHL trade deadline from a pure entertainment standpoint was an unmitigated yawn-fest. As a broadcaster, these are the days you live for. Today, I didn’t feel such envy, having to fill several hours with idle talk, cutting off conversations to say things like, “The Carolina Hurricanes are gunning for a bottom-six forward.”

However, per usual, the last few minutes of the deadline, combined with the hour following it, provided some much-needed interest.

The Nazem Kadri trade a full hour after the deadline to Colorado? For the package of a first-round pick, a second-round pick, Victor Olofsson, and the rights to Max Curran, while the Flames retain 20 per cent of the contract?

Wow. Who is beating this Avalanche team as we stand here on March 6, 2026? The Flames get a bunch of stuff, I guess. There’s your deadline, folks.

The Oilers were sniffing around goalies, apparently, but got let off the scent.

This deadline seemed like one giant Mexican standoff. After the high prices we’d seen earlier in the week, like a second-round pick for Michael McCarron from Nashville to Minnesota, it seems the asking prices were steep.

At least, much steeper than we’d seen in years past.

That’s what makes the tail end of the deadline, and the capitulation of Leafs general manager Brad Treliving, all the more frustrating from an Oilers perspective.

Edmonton went for the right fit as opposed to the sexy names in acquiring Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, and Colton Dach on Monday and Wednesday. Finding the right fit in free agency has been a struggle, to say the least, with the failures of Andrew Mangiapane, Jeff Skinner, and Viktor Arvidsson top of mind — and there’s no escaping Trent Frederic.

So looking for a pure fit is the right idea.

Toronto did good business by getting a first-rounder for Nicolas Roy, but at the end of the deadline, they seemed to panic.

Bobby McMann for a second- and a fourth-rounder from Seattle? I think the fit with Edmonton made a ton of sense at that price.

Scott Laughton gets dished for a third-rounder to Los Angeles, which could turn into a second-rounder if the Kings make the playoffs. That is a basement price for a player that fulfills many of the same boxes as Dickinson.

That’s the risk you run.

If Bowman waited and waited till the final moment, but didn’t close a deal with the Leafs, he’d be lambasted, tarred and feathered from pillar to post. So getting the business done early, and forewarning the fanbase that Friday would not be a busy day, isn’t a bad way to approach the deadline, either.

Overall, though, the trades were made for fit. So if the pieces don’t fit, then Bowman, and coach Kris Knoblauch, especially, are in a lot of trouble. Particularly as these are rental pieces.

But I’d argue that even more important than these pieces fitting, is getting the players they’ve already committed millions upon millions to going.

Jake Walman is signed for $49 million for the next seven years and is struggling mightily after being benched in the third period on Tuesday vs. Ottawa. Trent Frederic is coming on, but the Oilers need more with roughly $26 million in future money still allocated.

These are two players extended for the long-term that need to step up because they are pieces that have been committed to for seven seasons after this year.

As Bowman said, the answers need to still come internally. Quickly.