NHL Trade Deadline 2014 Analysis: Who Were the Major Winners?

The NHL Trade Deadline 2014 came and went on Wednesday and featured plenty of interesting moves.

There were a plethora of trades that resulted in major winners and some that placed teams at huge disadvantages. Here are the winners of the NHL trade deadline.

1. NY Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning

The two sides wound up winners after trading away their respective captains. The Rangers obviously got better with the acquisition of Martin St. Louis as he provides them with a speedy winger that is also a terrific leader and goal scorer. St. Louis is the kind of guy teams dream about for a playoff run and the fact that he will be reunited with Brad Richards—the two won a Stanley Cup together in 2004—should only help the team's cause.

The Lightning lost their captain, but it was a mitigated disaster waiting to happen if general manager Steve Yzerman did not find the deal to trade away the unhappy St. Louis. Callahan may not sign with the club, but at least Tampa Bay gets a first round draft pick in the supposedly deep 2015 draft as well as a conditional second. Callahan gives the Lightning a forward that can score and plays with tremendous energy and determination. The return of Steven Stamkos should offset any offensive drop off this team might experience from St. Louis' loss.

2. The Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo wound up getting very little from Matt Moulson on Wednesday, but the team made out well with numerous solid moves throughout the week. The team managed to get five assets from the St. Louis Blues for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott. They held on to Chris Stewart but turned Jaroslav Halak into Michael Neuvirth and Rostislav Klesla. The team lost a few draft picks for Nicolas Delauriers and Hudson Fasching, but Buffalo is loaded with enough picks that the risk is well worth the effort. It was a solid haul for the worst team in the NHL.

3. Edmonton Oilers

Often a laughing stock in the NHL, the Oilers made a statement by grabbing Ben Scrivens from Los Angeles a few weeks ago to shore up their goaltending situation. The team also made a grab for Viktor Fasth in exchange for two draft picks to further cement their goalie situation. The team traded away Ilya Bryzgalov for a pick and also got two picks—to replace those lost to Anaheim—from Ottawa for Ales Hemsky. The team added yet another pick in this year's draft for Nick Schultz later in the afternoon. The team did not fix its defensive problems, but definitely helped its goaltending situation.

4. The Montreal Canadiens

Thomas Vanek was arguably the most valuable player on the market and the Canadiens acquired him for what amounted to nothing. The team gave away prospect Sebastian Collberg and a conditional second round draft pick for Vanek, who has 53 points on the year including 21 goals. Many question whether Collberg will ever be a top forward—though he has top six potential—and the second round draft pick only heads to the Islanders if Montreal makes the playoffs. If Montreal does not make the playoffs then the team basically gave away a prospect for a top scorer.