Pencils down.

The 2023 NHL trade deadline is behind us, so it's time to decide who won and who lost. We're factoring in moves made in the weeks leading up to Friday's 3 p.m. deadline.

Winners

Senators and Chychrun

The Ottawa Senators seemingly came out of nowhere to land Jakob Chychrun - arguably the biggest fish available. Sure, the Sens were always rumored to be one of the many interested parties, but for Chychrun to actually end up in Canada's capital is a surprise. So is the cost.

The Arizona Coyotes were reportedly seeking a Jack Eichel-like package, or multiple first-round picks, but all the Sens surrendered was a top-five protected 2023 first-rounder and second-round picks in 2024 and 2026.

That's a steal for Ottawa, which desperately needed another top-four caliber defenseman to round out a quality quartet featuring Thomas Chabot, Jake Sanderson, and Artem Zub. Chychrun - a big, mobile, two-way defender - is exactly that.

The Senators' chances of making the playoffs this year sit at 36.1%, per MoneyPuck, but the Chychrun addition sends a strong message to the dressing room. The 24-year-old is also signed for two more years with a $4.6-million cap hit, so he'll help Ottawa as it tries to make the leap.

Chychrun is also a winner here. While he doesn't join an immediate contender, he'll be a key part in a team on the rise. He also has plenty of family from the Ottawa area, so it's a homecoming of sorts.

Eastern Conference powerhouses

The Eastern Conference playoffs are going to be an absolute dogfight.

The top five teams in the league by points percentage entering Friday's games all play in the East. The New York Rangers are tied for seventh overall. All of these teams made impactful additions to increase their chances of winning the Stanley Cup.

In the Atlantic Division, the Boston Bruins, who are on an historic run, added Dmitry Orlov, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Garnet Hathaway. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who are still looking to win a playoff round for the first time since 2004, brought in plenty of pedigree, grit, and tenacity with Ryan O'Reilly, Jake McCabe, Luke Schenn, Noel Acciari, and Sam Lafferty.

It's fair to argue that the Tampa Bay Lightning overpaid for power forward Tanner Jeannot, but who are we to question the team that's won the conference three years running?

Over in the Metro, the Carolina Hurricanes didn't have any major needs but still made savvy moves by adding Jesse Puljujarvi and Shayne Gostisbehere. The upstart New Jersey Devils landed the best forward available in Timo Meier - a move that'll also help them in years to come if they agree to an extension. And the Rangers made multiple splashes, rounding out their dangerous top-six forward group with Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane.

The NHL's cream of the crop improved greatly.

Oilers and Kings

The West, in comparison, was much quieter. But two teams - the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings - stand out above the rest in the conference.

Edmonton added a much-needed shutdown defender in Mattias Ekholm. The Oilers have no issue scoring goals, but preventing them has been an issue. Ekholm, a human eraser, will help greatly in that regard. He's signed for three more years, too, so they'll get multiple playoff runs out of him.

The Kings had two key needs entering the deadline - left-shot defenseman and goaltender - and they addressed both by bringing in Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Goaltending has been the Kings' Achilles heel all season. Heck, journeyman Pheonix Copley beat out Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen for the starting job because he was the only one who could make the routine saves. Korpisalo, who ranks 15th among NHL netminders with 10.18 goals saved above expected, has been sneaky good this season.

Gavrikov, meanwhile, is a big, physical defender who will complement the rest of L.A.'s blue line nicely.

The Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, and Minnesota Wild made some decent moves around the edges, but the Oilers and Kings stood out from the pack.

Hockey fans

The NHL's hard salary cap makes it highly difficult to wheel and deal, but overall, this trade season was a doozy. Deadline day itself wasn't all that exciting since most moves were completed in advance, but a whopping 62 trades were made in the 15 days leading up to the deadline - 22 more than the average over the past decade, per CapFriendly.

So we have to tip our cap to the aggressive general managers who pulled off big deals, providing quality entertainment for die-hard fans of the game. Now imagine how exciting trade season would be if there was a luxury-tax system in place instead of a hard cap?

Losers

Penguins

We already explained how the top six teams in the Eastern Conference further separated themselves from the pack. The Pittsburgh Penguins headline those left in the dust.

The Pens made an effort to close the gap but failed. Their big addition was Mikael Granlund, who's frankly not the player he used to be.

To make matters worse, Granlund is signed for two more seasons at a $5-million cap hit. It cost them a second-round pick - and they gained a third by flipping Teddy Blueger - but Granlund isn't the answer to Pittsburgh's bottom-six woes. And he only hurts their cap flexibility.

The Penguins also added veterans Nick Bonino and Dmitry Kulikov, who are fine players and all, but they simply don't move the needle.

With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang still in the fold and playing at a high level, management should've been willing to spend first-round picks with an all-in mentality. Time is winding down for this core to win again.

Coyotes

General manager Bill Armstrong would never admit it, but he vastly overplayed his hand with Chychrun.

The Coyotes had the defenseman on the trade block for over a year and held him out of the lineup for nearly a month before the deadline. And in the end, the return from the Senators - a top-five protected 2023 first-rounder and second-round picks in 2024 and 2026 - was underwhelming and far less than Armstrong's original asking price.

For a 24-year-old top-four defenseman with term on a team-friendly cap hit, Armstrong should've received way more for his prized trade chip.

Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers, who were obvious sellers, lost out on a free asset.

GM Chuck Fletcher was unable to find a buyer for pending unrestricted free agent James van Riemsdyk, which is pretty hard to believe considering JVR is a seven-time 20-goal scorer and is playing at an 18-goal pace.

Sure, the $7-million cap hit was an obstacle - even at 50% retainment - but failing to even get a mid-round pick for the veteran winger is poor asset management from Fletcher. It may not seem like much, but you never know what that mid-round pick could turn into. More darts to throw at the dartboard never hurts.

Ring-chasing veterans

Speaking of JVR, he's one of a handful of veterans who are surely disappointed to not move to a playoff team and chase a first Stanley Cup. Some still have a lot to offer a contender in the right role.

This includes Flyers teammate Justin Braun, an 831-game veteran who still has some value as a sixth or seventh defenseman, and goaltenders Thomas Greiss and James Reimer - both of whom have sterling postseason resumes but no Cups.

To be clear, we're not calling these players losers. We're just disappointed they weren't able to go ring-chasing after spending so many years in the league without winning a championship.

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said goaltender Matt Murray will start Saturday's contest versus the Vancouver Canucks after missing 17 games with an ankle injury, according to TSN's Mark Masters.

Murray hasn't played since Jan. 17 against the Florida Panthers. He will need to be activated off long-term injured reserve before returning to the crease.

The 28-year-old was initially ruled out for two games. Murray also missed significant time earlier this season with an adductor injury.

Toronto managed an 11-5-1 record during Murray's latest absence, relying on Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll between the pipes.

Murray has been reliable when healthy during his first season with the Leafs, posting 11 wins in 19 appearances with a .911 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average.

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The Calgary Flames acquired forward Nick Ritchie and defenseman Troy Stecher from the Arizona Coyotes for forward Brett Ritchie and defenseman Connor Mackey, the teams announced Friday.

This is the first trade in the league database in which brothers were traded for each other.

Nick Ritchie has nine goals and 21 points in 58 contests. The 27-year-old, who has a $2.5-million cap hit, is an impending unrestricted free agent.

Stecher has zero goals and seven points in 61 games. The 28-year-old is also an impending UFA.

The right-shot blue-liner was acquired by the Los Angeles Kings at last year's trade deadline. He tallied two goals and four points in four playoff games with the Kings.

Brett Ritchie has six goals and eight points in 34 games. The older Ritchie is on a league-minimum contract that expires after this season.

Mackey has two goals and three points in 10 NHL contests this season. The 26-year-old is an impending restricted free agent.

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General manager Steve Yzerman poured cold water on the idea of the Detroit Red Wings having an aggressive trade deadline to supplement their chances in a crowded Eastern Conference wild-card race.

"I was not going to be a buyer under any circumstance," Yzerman said, per WZYZ Detroit's Brad Galli. "Not this year."

A hot stretch in February made it seem as though Detroit could push to end its six-year playoff drought, but recent back-to-back losses to the Ottawa Senators, who are also fighting for a spot, cemented Yzerman's stance.

He traded Filip Hronek, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, and Oskar Sundqvist leading up to Friday's deadline, and worked out a new eight-year extension with captain Dylan Larkin along the way.

"If I really thought that this group had a chance to make the playoffs, and ultimately, not just make them, but really go on a run, then maybe you keep your team together," Yzerman said.

He added: "Do I think we're a Stanley Cup contender this year? No. Did I think we had a chance to make the playoffs? Yes. And if I thought we were a Stanley Cup contender I would not have traded our unrestricted free agents."

Yzerman's recent trades recouped a bevy of assets for Detroit, who now own five picks in the opening two rounds of the 2023 draft and two first-rounders in 2024.

The Red Wings have banked 65 points on the season, and are five back of the New York Islanders for a wild-card spot with three fewer games played. However, four teams in the East currently sit between Detroit and New York at 66 points.

Yzerman took over as Red Wings GM in 2019 after eight seasons in charge of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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General manager Steve Yzerman poured cold water on the idea of the Detroit Red Wings having an aggressive trade deadline to supplement their chances in a crowded Eastern Conference wild-card race.

"I was not going to be a buyer under any circumstance," Yzerman said, per WZYZ Detroit's Brad Galli. "Not this year."

A hot stretch in February made it seem as though Detroit could push to end its six-year playoff drought, but recent back-to-back losses to the Ottawa Senators, who are also fighting for a spot, cemented Yzerman's stance.

He traded Filip Hronek, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, and Oskar Sundqvist leading up to Friday's deadline, and worked out a new eight-year extension with captain Dylan Larkin along the way.

"If I really thought that this group had a chance to make the playoffs, and ultimately, not just make them, but really go on a run, then maybe you keep your team together," Yzerman said.

He added: "Do I think we're a Stanley Cup contender this year? No. Did I think we had a chance to make the playoffs? Yes. And if I thought we were a Stanley Cup contender I would not have traded our unrestricted free agents."

Yzerman's recent trades recouped a bevy of assets for Detroit, who now own five picks in the opening two rounds of the 2023 draft and two first-rounders in 2024.

The Red Wings have banked 65 points on the season, and are five back of the New York Islanders for a wild-card spot with three fewer games played. However, four teams in the East currently sit between Detroit and New York at 66 points.

Yzerman took over as Red Wings GM in 2019 after eight seasons in charge of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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The Anaheim Ducks dealt defenseman John Klingberg to the Minnesota Wild for blue-liner Andrej Sustr, a 2025 fourth-round pick, and the rights to college forward Nikita Nesterenko, reports The Athletic's Joe Smith.

The Ducks are reportedly retaining 50% of Klingberg's $7-million cap hit.

Klingberg was one of the more prominent rearguards on the market. The 30-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent who bet on himself by signing a one-year pact with Anaheim in July. He had a modified no-trade clause that allowed him to list 10 teams to which he was willing to be traded, according to CapFriendly.

The Swede produced eight goals and 16 assists while averaging a career-worst 20:52 of average ice time in 50 games with the Ducks this season. Klingberg also posted subpar underlying numbers in that span, but Anaheim is among the worst teams in the NHL.

Klingberg has a track record of success on a better club, having topped 40 points in six of his eight campaigns with the Dallas Stars - including a 67-point effort in 2017-18 and 58 in 2015-16. The Stars drafted him 131st overall in 2010.

Sustr has spent his entire 2022-23 season in the AHL, collecting two goals and 10 assists in 39 games with the Iowa Wild. The 32-year-old defenseman is rejoining the Ducks organization after playing 23 games for Anaheim last season. Minnesota signed him as a free agent in July.

Nesterenko has 11 goals and 19 assists in 32 contests in his junior season at Boston College. The Wild selected the 21-year-old center 172nd overall in 2019.

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The Minnesota Wild acquired forward Oskar Sundqvist from the Detroit Red Wings, reports The Athletic's Shayna Goldman.

Detroit is getting a 2023 fourth-rounder in return, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith.

Sundqvist has seven goals and 14 assists in 52 contests while seeing 14:16 of ice time per game.

A pending unrestricted free agent, Sundqvist comes with a cap hit of $2.75 million.

The 28-year-old was shipped to Detroit during last season's trade deadline as part of the package that sent defenseman Nick Leddy to the St. Louis Blues.

Sundqvist has 116 points in 340 career NHL games split between the Pittsburgh Penguins, Blues, and Red Wings.

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