from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

Who won? Who lost? Who overpaid for a bag of beans or missed out on an opportunity to get dramatically better?

Check back with us on June 15 — the last possible day of the Stanley Cup final. Until then, all you can really do is speculate. Although, we’ll admit, some teams definitely look better than others today.

And it’s not necessarily the ones that ended up with the best players. Based on the massive return that Ottawa received for Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, it might very well have been the one that gave away its best players.

That might be the feeling in Ottawa, where a team that was looking ahead towards a long and painful rebuild received a significant shot in the arm by acquiring a package of first- and second-round picks, top-end prospects and young roster players for three forwards on expiring contracts.

In other places, the window of opportunity isn’t quite as distant.

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from Kevin Allen of USA TODAY,

NHL trade deadline week belonged to the Columbus Blue Jackets and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. Trade deadline day belonged to the Vegas Golden Knights and general manager George McPhee.

McPhee became the big winner when he traded for Mark Stone, 26, and immediately signed him to an eight-year deal worth $72 million.

Stone has scored 20 or more goals for five consecutive seasons and his all-around game fits perfectly in coach Gerard Gallant’s puck pressure forechecking style. The Golden Knights had to give up prized prospect Erik Brannstrom, plus bottom six forward Oscar Lindberg and a second-round pick.

Stone immediately becomes the Golden Knights' go-to forward. He’s 6-4 and is a quality defensive player with a keen ability to knock pucks away from opponents. He was +15 on an Ottawa Senators team that was one of the league’s worst defensive teams.

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from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,