Blues captain Brayden Schenn celebrates after scoring against the Los Angeles Kings in St. Louis on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Nazem Kadri is heading back to familiar surroundings. Brayden Schenn has a new address. And Nick Foligno is set to have an on-ice family reunion.

NHL general managers worked the phones until Friday's 3 p.m. buzzer to signal the league's annual trade deadline.

Transactions dotted a relatively quiet afternoon before reports of a couple more swaps, including Kadri going from the Calgary Flames to the Colorado Avalanche, started to trickle in after league executives put down their pencils.

A total of 23 deals were swung Friday as organizations manoeuvred a new reality that includes a playoff salary cap and the barring of double salary retention — a third team taking on a portion of a player's contract in a transaction — that were brought in with the new collective bargaining agreement.

"You'd see a lot of double retentions," New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said on a video conference call. "Moving forward, teams would've made more moves, I think, if prices were split in half twice. I do think that had something to do with it.

"It was obvious by looking at the past and how many double retentions there were and have been versus this year."

The CBA primer states a team can't retain on a contract that has already been retained "within 75 regular season days of the first retention."

"Days outside of the regular season do not count," the document continues. "If a contract is retained at the trade deadline, it cannot be retained again until the second month of the next regular season."

The league also brought in a playoff cap, which means clubs have to respect the US$95.5-million ceiling during the post-season for the first time. This came after fans and some organizations bemoaned instances where clubs like the Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers iced rosters over the cap in the playoffs after players came off long-term injured reserve.

Tampa was some $18 million over the cap when the Lightning won their second Stanley Cup in as many years in 2021.

"There's certainly a lot of talk of how the playoff salary cap's going to come into play this year," Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said. "And I think there's a lot of planning for teams leading up to it, but the biggest change for me is just the amount of money in the system as opposed to the most recent years."

The league-topping Avalanche made the biggest splash Friday when they acquired Kadri from the rebuilding Flames in a swap that saw Colorado also receive a 2027 fourth-round draft pick from the Flames.

Calgary, which will retain 20 per cent of Kadri's salary, landed forward Victor Olofsson, the rights to unsigned draft pick Max Curran, a conditional 2028 first-rounder and a conditional second in 2027.

Kadri, a hard-nosed centre, returns to the club where he won the Stanley Cup in 2022. The 35-year-old, who has 12 goals and 41 points across 61 games in 2025-26, is on a contract that includes three more seasons with an average annual value of US$7 million.

The New York Islanders added Schenn, captain of the Blues, for 2026 first- and third-rounders, forward Jonathan Drouin and a prospect.

The 34-year-old centre, who helped the franchise win its only Cup in 2019, has two seasons left on a contract carrying a $6.5-million salary cap hit. Schenn's output in 2025-26 for the lowly Blues included 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 61 games.

Minnesota snagged Foligno — the Blackhawks captain and older brother of Wild winger Marcus Foligno — from Chicago for future considerations.

The 38-year-old forward has three goals and eight assists in 37 games, and became the latest veteran sent packing from the Windy City as the Original Six franchise continues to rebuild around Connor Bedard. Chicago shipped centres Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday after also sending defenceman Connor Murphy to the same destination 48 hours earlier.

Buyers at the deadline much of the last decade, the struggling Maple Leafs sent pending unrestricted free agent winger Bobby McMann to the Seattle Kraken. Toronto received a 2027 second-rounder and a fourth in 2026.

The Maple Leafs also dealt pending UFA centre Scott Laughton to Los Angeles for a conditional 2026 third-rounder that will become a second if the Kings make the playoffs.

The Blues traded Justin Faulk to the Detroit Red Wings for fellow defenceman Justin Holl, 2026 first- and third-round picks, and a prospect.

The first significant trade of the day saw Minnesota acquire forward Bobby Brink from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenceman David Jiricek.

Tampa Bay brought back a familiar face by adding Corey Perry from Los Angeles for a 2028 second-rounder. The 40-year-old winger played for the Lightning from 2021 through 2023, including a trip to the Cup final in 2022.

The Carolina Hurricanes added some muscle with the acquisition of the bruising, gloves-dropping Nicolas Deslauriers from Philadelphia for a conditional 2027 seventh-rounder.

A number of GMs were burning the midnight oil with some overnight deals, including two involving Canadian teams.

The Vancouver Canucks shipped winger Conor Garland to the Columbus Blue Jackets for second- and third-round picks, while the Winnipeg Jets sent defencemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn — Brayden's older brother — to the Buffalo Sabres for four assets, including second- and fourth-round selections.

And the Washington Capitals made a surprising move, trading veteran blueliner John Carlson to the Anaheim Ducks for first- and third-round selections.

"There was probably less teams selling this year," Islanders GM Mathieu Darche told reporters. "It was probably more of a seller's market because of that. It's a supply and demand (system)."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2026.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2026