As usual, deadline day in the NHL saw many players switch teams as several moves were made and changed the landscape of the league heading into the final push for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The deadline passed Monday at 3 p.m. ET and after a flurry of moves were made over the weekend, many teams are set to make a postseason push while others have stockpiled draft picks and prospects to look ahead to next year.
Here are the three biggest trades that happened before the deadline.
3) Curtis Glencross to Washington Capitals: The Capitals added Glencross to bring a veteran presence to the team's lineup as it continues to jockey for postseason positioning in the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division.
Washington acquired Glencross, a rental player, from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2015 second and third round pick.
Glencross, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and has an annual cap hit of $2.5 million, has 28 points off of nine goals and 19 assists this season and is 114-128--242 in his career through 418 games spanning 11 seasons.
Glencross, 32, spent the last seven campaigns with Calgary.
The Capitals (34-20-10, 78 points) enter Monday as the top wild-card team in the Eastern Conference, seven points ahead of the eighth place Boston Bruins (71 points) and three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins (81) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Fantasy Spin: Glencross is a physical presence who will play in front of the net for the Capitals and should slot in nicely to their top-six group of forwards. If he finds his way onto the top line with NHL-leading scorer Alex Ovechkin (41 goals) and Nicklas Backstrom (four-way tie for first in NHL with 65 points along with Ovechkin), the points should definitely come.
2) Keith Yandle to New York Rangers: General manager Glen Sather proved he was all-in on making a big run this spring by making a huge move to secure Yandle for the team's blue line at the expense of a prospect with a lot of potential.
The Rangers acquired Yandle along with AHL defenseman Chris Summers and a 2016 fourth round pick in exchange for defenseman John Moore, promising 19-year-old forward Anthony Duclair and a 2016 conditional first round pick along with a 2015 second round pick.
Yandle, 28, had 41 points off of four tallies and 37 helpers with the Arizona Coyotes and is 65-246--311 in his nine-year career -- all with Arizona.
Yandle was brought in largely because Dan Boyle has been ineffective as a top-four defenseman and power play man for the Blueshirts.
New York is hopeful that bringing in Yandle and the eventual return of Henrik Lundqvist (throat injury) will put it over the edge after falling in the Stanley Cup Final in five games to the Los Angeles Kings last spring.
The Rangers (38-17-6, 82 points) are in second place in the Metropolitan Division entering Monday, two points shy of the first place New York Islanders (84 points) and one point ahead of third place Pittsburgh (81).
Fantasy Spin: Yandle will look to fix the Blueshirts power play as he has 24 power play points this season -- all off of assists -- and is 23-120--143 in his career on the man advantage. While detractors will point to his -23 rating, Yandle was on a terrible Coyotes team and should be a huge producer quarterbacking the Rangers' power play, which is in a bit of a slump, but should be bolstered by this offensive defenseman. The Rangers length 11th in the league in power play percentage (18.8).
1) Antoine Vermette to the Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks won the sweepstakes for the highest coveted rental player at this year's deadline and it was the Arizona Coyotes once again striking a deal.
The Coyotes sent Vermette -- highly sought due to many team's needs for forward depth and a quality veteran center -- to the Blackhawks in exchange for defensive prospect Klas Dahlbeck and a 2015 first-round draft pick.
Vermette, 32, has 35 points this season off of 13 goals and 22 assists and is 89-87--167 through his 13-year career. He also boasts a 50.6 percent face-off percentage this season.
The Blackhawks needed a forward to replace Patrick Kane, who had a team-high 64 points before being lost with a clavicle injury that will keep him out until at least late May and Vermette should slot in nicely while also adding veteran leadership.
Chicago (37-21-5, 79 points) enters Monday in third place in the Central Division, three points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets (76 points) and six points behind the second place St. Louis Blues (85).
Fantasy Spin: Vermette is set to be a top-six forward, sliding into the center position on the team's second line between Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad, giving Chicago a dangerous 1-2 punch on its top two lines. The move to Chicago should more than help Vermette's numbers going forward.
The NHL trade deadline provided many interesting moves and these three players should thrive in their new homes.
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