NHL trades today: Jones to Panthers, Rangers deal away Lindgren, Vesey to.Colorado, and more

The National Hockey League Trade Deadline is only a week away now, and there will be several deals made by general managers across the League as they attempt to give themselves a better chance of making a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

And in the days leading up to the deadline, we've seen increased activity of players moving to new locations, including a pair of deals that went down earlier on Saturday.

NHL trades today: Jones to Panthers, Rangers deal away Lindgren, Vesey

Florida Panthers acquire Seth Jones from Chicago Blackhawks

The time of defenseman Seth Jones with the Chicago Blackhawks has officially come to a close, as he was dealt to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers along with a draft pick in exchange for goaltender Spencer Knight and a draft pick.

The now-former Blackhawks defenseman had previously requested a trade after reading the writing on the wall that improvement on the ice wasn't going to be coming any time soon.

"We're the exact same team right now as we were Game 1. It's pretty evident out there. We haven't made any strides to be a better, more simple hockey team, and it shows. We don't get a lot of wins because of that," Jones said this week, following a 2-1 loss at the Utah Hockey Club. "This has been almost four years of bottom of the league."

Jones, who will have $2.5 million of his salary retained by the Blackhawks for the next five years through 2030, will now attempt to help the Panthers secure a second straight Stanley Cup championship.

The New York Rangers traded Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren to the Colorado Avalanche

The New York Rangers, who are currently outside of a postseason spot, traded forward Jimmy Vesey and defenseman Ryan Lindgren to the Colorado Avalanche. In return, the Avalanche sent Calvin de Haan, forward Juuso Parssinen, a second-round draft pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round draft pick in the 2025 NHL Draft back to New York.

It's the latest trade by the Rangers, who have already traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks as well as Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche had already traded away forward Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Martin Necas and Jack Drury in January. As part of the deal, the Hurricanes also acquired Taylor Hall from the Blackhawks.

The Minnesota Wild acquired Gutstav Nyquist from the Predators

The third trade of the day was actually the first that was reported during the day. The floundering Nashville Predators traded pending free-agent forward Gustav Nyquist to the Minnesota Wild; in return, they sent a second round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.