Each week, theScore looks at the teams, players, and other hockey figures trending upward and taking a step back.

▲ The Metropolitan Division

The best teams in the NHL's most dominant division got even more intimidating over the last seven days.

First, the Pittsburgh Penguins addressed their sudden need for defensive depth last Thursday, trading for Ron Hainsey, then acquiring fellow veteran Mark Streit and the AHL-destined Frank Corrado in separate deals on deadline day.

The New York Rangers improved their back end, too, landing Brendan Smith from the Detroit Red Wings, and the Columbus Blue Jackets secured defenseman Kyle Quincey in a deal with the New Jersey Devils.

Of course, the Washington Capitals made the biggest splash, trading for Kevin Shattenkirk in a blockbuster agreement with the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

Each of the four likely playoff-bound Metro squads made moves to prepare for their postseason runs in the days leading up to the deadline, further cementing the division as one to be reckoned with.

▼ The New York Islanders

Every NHL team did something ahead of the deadline except for the Islanders and the Buffalo Sabres.

While the Sabres' inability to trade away their pending unrestricted free agents was surprising, the Islanders' inactivity was far more puzzling.

Buffalo merely missed a chance to further its rebuild, but New York failed to add to a team that's one point back of a playoff position with a game in hand.

The Islanders arguably had two areas to address, in a top-nine left winger and a right-shot defenseman, but couldn't agree on a deal that would satisfy even one of those needs.

Meanwhile, the teams they're battling with for that eventual playoff berth - the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning - were all proactive in adding pieces for the postseason push.

We should probably expect this from Islanders general manager Garth Snow by now, but it was still a blown opportunity.

Amid the (lack of) trade-deadline activity, there was a more interesting storyline worth acknowledging.

Nashville Predators defenseman Subban held court Wednesday in Montreal, discussing his excitement ahead of his much anticipated first game against the Canadiens on Thursday.

Subban, ever the model citizen despite the rumors and ill-conceived accusations to the contrary, was also honored for his humanitarian efforts earlier this week.

Canada's governor general gave Subban a medal Wednesday in recognition of his charity work, which has included a $10-million donation to the Montreal Children's Hospital that's believed to be the largest philanthropic gesture by a sports figure in Canadian history.

▼ Deadline day

Once considered one of the most exciting days on the NHL calendar, the 2017 edition of trade deadline day didn't live up to the hype.

Only 18 deals were made Wednesday, and only 33 players were sent to new destinations.

While that might have been a welcome development for the forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders who didn't get moved, it was a disappointing day for fans.

There are plenty of factors to blame for Wednesday's lack of major activity: The salary cap, the "loser point" creating false parity virtually league-wide that complicated the task of identifying buyers and sellers, the upcoming expansion draft, and the conservative approaches of many NHL GMs as it is.

Regardless of the reasons, though, this deadline was more about the moves that didn't happen - Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Marc-Andre Fleury, Radim Vrbata, Jaroslav Halak, Evander Kane, and Shane Doan all stayed put.

It wasn't the slowest deadline day ever, but it was another underwhelming one that's sure to be improved upon next season, if and when some of the obstacles are alleviated.

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