Iginla, Sabres highlight NHL trade deadline winners and losers

Another trade deadline has come and gone, and while this year's mill didn't churn as much water, there are no shortage of talking points.

Here are three clear winners and losers.

Winners

Jarome Iginla

Sweet freedom.

Possibly in the final days of his NHL career, Jarome Iginla was mercifully cut loose by the woeful Colorado Avalanche and traded to the Los Angeles Kings, with whom he could have a shot at landing a long sought-after Stanley Cup.

First, though, the Kings need to clinch a playoff spot. At the deadline, Los Angeles sits one point behind St. Louis and six behind Calgary in the race for a wild-card berth.

Still, Iginla's in a much better spot this afternoon than he was this morning.

Vancouver Canucks

Canucks general manager Jim Benning veered further to the right on the "goat to G.O.A.T" scale with a pair of deals that brought nice pieces to Vancouver.

Out went Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen, and in come promising forward prospects Jonathan Dahlen and Nikolay Goldobin (along with a fourth-round pick) from Ottawa and San Jose, respectively.

In truth, the rebuilding process should have begun a few years ago, but these are steps in the right direction.

Detroit Red Wings

Ken Holland recognized the reality in Detroit, and the Red Wings' GM entered sell mode for the first time in a while.

Forwards Thomas Vanek, Tomas Jurco, and Steve Ott, along with defenseman Brendan Smith were all shipped out of town, with rearguard Dylan McIlrath and a handful of draft picks coming back in return.

Detroit now holds 11 picks in 2017, nine in 2018, and seven in 2019.

With all due respect, getting anything for Ott was a win in and of itself.

Losers

Radim Vrbata

The Arizona Coyotes failed to find a new home for Radim Vrbata, and missing out on playoff hockey will cost him.

Built into his contract are the following bonuses:

• Qualify for playoffs - $250,000
• Playoff round win - $250,000 per round

Vrbata, who has 15 goals and 32 assists to his name, did sign the one-year, $1-million base deal with a Coyotes team unlikely to qualify to begin with, but surely he was hoping to be moved - not only for a chance at those bonuses, but more importantly, a Stanley Cup.

Maybe next year.

Colorado Avalanche

Apparent sellers for weeks now, the last-place Avalanche dealt Iginla to Los Angeles for a fourth-round draft pick that carries two conditions - one playoff-related and the other based on whether Iginla re-signs with the Kings for next season.

The merits of saving potential trades involving Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog for the offseason are clear, but to come out of the deadline with that lone pick is pitiful, especially with useful veterans like John Mitchell and Fedor Tyutin to sell.

As it stands, Colorado will enter the 2017 draft with just two picks in the top 90, with the first likely being No.1 overall.

Godspeed.

Buffalo Sabres

Losers of four in a row heading into the deadline and all but dead in the water in the playoff race, the Buffalo Sabres did ... absolutely nothing.

That, with at least four soon-to-be unrestricted free agents who should have been able to command at least a draft pick in return:

• G Anders Nilsson
• D Cody Franson, Dmitry Kulikov
• F Brian Gionta

All these players can now sign elsewhere at the end of the season, with nothing to show on Buffalo's end.

Not a good look in the midst of ongoing disappointment.

(Photos courtesy: USA Today Sports, Getty Images)