Maple Leafs acquire defenceman Joel Edmundson from Capitals for 2 picks

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired defenceman Joel Edmundson from the Washington Capitals for a pair of draft picks Thursday.

The deal announced just over 24 hours before the NHL trade deadline adds size, snarl and experience to a blue line that was also bolstered by the reacquisition of Ilya Lyubushkin last week.

Toronto sent a third-round pick in June along with a fifth-round selection in 2025 to the Capitals, who will retain 50 per cent of Edmundson's remaining salary.

The Montreal Canadiens, who traded the blueliner to Washington in July, previously retained 50 per cent of his wage bill, which leaves Toronto on the hook for just $875,000 US against its salary cap.

The six-foot-five, 221-pound Edmundson has put up 29 goals, 110 points and 457 penalty minutes in 521 career games with St. Louis, Carolina, Montreal and Washington.

The Brandon, Man., product has added five goals and 21 points in 75 playoff games.

Edmundson won the Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019 and made the final with Montreal in 2021.

The Leafs, who currently sit third in the Atlantic Division, made another deal Thursday when they acquired unsigned six-foot-seven defenceman Cade Webber from the Carolina Hurricanes for a sixth-round pick in 2026.

Habs make swap with Ducks

Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens acquired forward Jacob Perreault from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for centre Jan Mysak.

Perreault, a Montreal native, has seven goals and 11 assists in 31 games with the American Hockey League's San Diego Gulls this season. He has registered 91 points (32 goals, 59 assists) in 161 AHL appearances.

The 21-year-old right-winger made one NHL appearance with Ducks on Jan. 8, 2022, against the New York Rangers.

The son of former NHL player Yanic Perreault was selected by the Ducks in the first round (27th overall) of the 2020 NHL draft.

Oilers bring in Stecher

In other news, the Edmonton Oilers acquired defenceman Troy Stecher from the Arizona Coyotes, the NHL club announced Thursday.

The Oilers also get a seventh-round pick at this year's draft in the deal, while the Coyotes receive Edmonton's fourth-round pick in 2027.

No salary was retained by Arizona in the deal, which comes a day before the NHL's trade deadline. Stecher, a pending unrestricted free agent, has a salary of $1.1 million US this season.

Stecher has a goal and four assists — and a plus-5 defensive rating — in 47 games this season.

The five-foot-10, 184-pound defenceman from Richmond, B.C., who has now been dealt at the trade deadline in three straight seasons, has 19 goals and 89 assists in 487 games with Vancouver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Arizona and Calgary.

Edmonton added forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from Anaheim on Wednesday as the Oilers prepare for the playoffs.

Flames acquire centre Damiani from Stars

The Calgary Flames have acquired centre Riley Damiani from the Dallas Stars in exchange for centre Emilio Pettersen.

As part of the announcement Thursday evening, the Flames said Damiani has been assigned to their affiliate, the American Hockey League's Calgary Wranglers.

The 23-year-old had 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 53 games with the AHL's Texas Stars this season. Damiani has seven games of NHL experience with one goal and one assist back in 2021-22 with Dallas.

Pettersen, meanwhile, had 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) in 54 games for the Wranglers this season. The 23-year-old has yet to play in the NHL.

The five-foot-10, 170-pound Norwegian was drafted in the sixth round (167th overall) in the 2018 NHL draft by Calgary.

Toronto's move for Edmundson comes after a flurry of trades made Wednesday by the New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers. Nine of FanDuel Sportsbook's top 11 Cup favourites, have added at least one significant player since the all-star break, going back to Vancouver getting Elias Lindholm and Winnipeg trading for Sean Monahan igniting the wheeling and dealing in the Western Conference and Dallas acquiring Chris Tanev.

Lindholm, a pending free agent still without an extension, has been mentioned to be dealt again this week, as the Canucks consider trying to get a scoring winger — potentially Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh or Tyler Toffoli from New Jersey. With those players, Washington's Nic Dowd and St. Louis' Pavel Buchnevich among those available, the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes also could be active before the 3 p.m. ET deadline Friday.