Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Analyzing the Biggest Moves from Day 2 of the 2024 NHL Draft

It was suspiciously quiet on the trade front throughout Day 1 of the draft, especially considering we were expecting fireworks in light of the salary cap increase hitting this free agency.

It turns out we were right to be suspicious because the moves finally started rolling in early Saturday morning ahead of Day 2. Folks, the moves have kept rolling in ever since. You've got certain teams clearing space for not-so-mysterious possibilities, you've got certain players hungry to test free agency in light of the salary cap increase, you've got players getting traded in the middle of signing autographs.

Now that the draft has officially concluded and NHL GMs are hopping on planes home, things might slow down for a minute. Shall we take stock of everything that has already happened as we gear up for the next wave of momentum before the July 1 deadline?

The Lightning have made the most noise so far (more on that later!). First, they traded defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and his $8.5 million cap hit to Utah for JJ Moser, Conor Geekie, 2024 pick No. 199 and a 2025 second-round pick.

Then they traded Tanner Jeannot to the Kings for pick No. 118 and a 2025 second-round pick.

Utah also acquired defenseman John Marino from the Devils for a few picks.

The Penguins (who aren't getting any younger, folks), scooped Kevin Hayes and a 2025 second-round pick-up from the Blues for future considerations. While they did get a future asset, Hayes has seen better days.

The Capitals got Logan Thompson from the Golden Knights for some picks, and it was announced while he was signing autographs in the Sphere. Vegas quickly found their replacement in net, snagging Akira Schmid (and forward Alexander Holtz) from the Devils in exchange for Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round pick.

The Wild went for Jakob Lauko and his interesting upside and gave the Bruins Vinni Lettieri in return, which feels like a pretty even deal.

It's all happening!

The aforementioned Lightning, the Panthers, the Avalanche, and the Golden Knights are all teams that aren't afraid to be aggressive and/or shake up their cores, and they've all been incredibly successful in the contemporary NHL. The off-ice game is the off-ice game, and I'll always respect the Golden Knights for shamelessly playing it.

But that'll create some awkward situations, like today when they traded goalie Logan Thompson to the Capitals for two third-round picks before the start of Day 2 of the draft. With the draft being held in Vegas, Thompson was scheduled to sign autographs for the fans at 10 am inside the Sphere. He got the call from GM Kelly McCrimmon just hours before, and guess what he did?

He showed up, signed autographs, said goodbye to some Vegas fans and hello to some Capitals fans. Good for him showing class in such an awkward situation and reminding us why hockey players are the best.

It turns out that he did put in a request to be traded, but to be a pro in such an unprecedented situation shows class.

The Lightning are clearing space for something, as they made the first move of the day trading defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and his $8.5 million cap hit to Utah for JJ Moser, Conor Geekie, 2024 pick No. 199 and a 2025 second-round pick. They struck again trading Tanner Jeannot to the Kings for pick No. 118 and a 2025 second-round pick.

Are they pushing to re-sign captain Steven Stamkos, who seems to want to test the free-agency market? Are they going for Jake Guentzel, as several insiders have suggested? Are they just making space for the imminent Victor Hedman extension?

According to Elliotte Friedman, Guentzel is Tampa Bay's "priority target." This sure makes things interesting for the Hurricanes, who reportedly offered him an eight-year, $8 million AAV deal ahead of free agency. The Canes are the only team that can sign him to an eight-year contract because they own his rights, but they could do a sign-and-trade if his cost ends up rising to something they aren't willing to pay.

According to Greg Wyshynski, GM Julien BriseBois confirmed Stamkos will test free agency, and that he did not increase his offer to Stamkos despite today's trades. That certainly makes you think they're going in on Guentzel.

Regardless, Tampa Bay is making things interesting and they're the latest reminder that shaking up the core is a tough but sometimes necessary path if you want your team to stay relevant.

It was cool to see the Utah Hockey Club make a splash, acquiring Tij Iginla as their first draftee. If you thought they were calling it a day after that, you were wrong.

They now have Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino anchoring their defense, and they only surrendered one active NHL player (JJ Moser) to get it done. As the Vegas Golden Knights have shown us, the best path to success for a new franchise is becoming relevant immediately. It looks like the Utah Hockey Club wants to immediately compete, and we're here for that.

According to the New York Post's Larry Brooks, the Red Wings and the Rangers are in talks about Michigan-native Rangers captain Jacob Trouba.

"A well-placed source has told The Post that GM Chris Drury is working on a deal to send the captain to the Red Wings, a trade that the Michigan native would presumably accept after having played as a freshman for the Wolverines in 2012-13," Brooks wrote.

Look, we know GM Steve Yzerman had to clear cap space to re-sign RFAs Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond so that part of the Jake Walman trade checks out. But why trade a younger, cheaper and possibly better defenseman in Walman just to acquire Trouba and his $8 million cap hit?

We'll see how this all plays out -- clearly, this is still up in the air. But the Red Wings need a goaltender, and there have been rumblings that Yzerman is still on the hunt for one, so for the sake of Red Wings fans you hope they prioritize the goaltending search.

Guentzel and Stamkos are two particularly interesting players set to potentially hit the market, and there's more. The Cup champion Panthers have 11 unrestricted free agents, including Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour. It would be impossible to keep them all, and knowing how creative Bill Zito has been, I'm looking forward to seeing how he navigates this.

Patrick Kane is coming off another short contract and is sure to attract a lot of attention. According to Emily Kaplan, he wants a raise. Have fun with that.

What's next for the Sabres after officially buying out Jeff Skinner and his $9 million AAV Saturday? They're desperate to make the playoffs and haven't been able to put the pieces together.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have tons of work to do independent of the Guentzel situation. Can they figure out a trade for RFA Martin Necas after several almosts fell through this weekend? Jaccob Slavin is getting extended, but Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei still need contracts that don't seem likely to get done. How do you replace two key blue-liners?

It's going to be an eventful week.