The 2025 NHL trade deadline featured some major players on the move and vaulted both the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars to the top of the Stanley Cup contender conversation.

Close behind them are the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets. Many of those teams moved high-end prospects to bolster their lineup, meaning some less-competitive teams got key pieces for their future.

How will those prospects impact their new teams? When will they play meaningful minutes at the NHL level? Teams and their fans are asking all those questions. Here are scouting notes on eight of the most prominent, including Calum Ritchie, Fraser Minten and Brendan Brisson.

DETROIT — Buffalo‘s Alex Tuch and Detroit captain Michael Rasmussen were the first to drop the gloves in the fight-filled third period of the Red Wings’ 7-3 victory Wednesday night.

They weren’t even among the 11 players assessed 10-minute misconduct penalties in the final frame. Six were from Buffalo, the other five from Detroit.

The final tally from the third: 136 of the game’s 150 penalty minutes, all but two of those either roughing, fighting or misconducts.

The scuffles, including a near-brawl with multiple simultaneous fights, overshadowed the fourth five-point night of Patrick Kane‘s 18-year career in the highest-scoring game of the season for the Red Wings, who stopped a six-game losing streak. Kane had two goals and three assists.

The Detroit lead was 6-3 when Tuch and Rasmussen faced off with eight minutes remaining. They posed with their fists raised for almost as long as the fight lasted, which was only a few seconds.

Less than a minute later, Detroit’s J.T. Compher and Jordan Greenway of Buffalo got tangled up. After the whistle, their scrum was very brief — but bad enough that both went to locker room with game misconducts. Greenway gave officials an ear full on his way off the ice.

The other nine misconducts came at the 16:51 mark, punctuated by one of the referees announcing a roughing penalty for Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson before saying, “All the other guys are going to have a misconduct.” The list included Edvinsson.

Buffalo had just five players on the bench by game’s end after Beck Malenstyn was sent off for roughing in the final minute along with Detroit’s Moritz Seider.

“There was a lot of emotion out there,” the Sabres’ Tage Thompson told reporters. “And we had a lot of frustration with how things had gone during the game.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

FRISCO, Texas — Newly acquired Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen says he’s pleased with where he landed while denying his former coach’s claim that he gave Carolina a list of teams he preferred in a trade, and the Hurricanes weren’t on it.

Rantanen addressed reporters after his first practice with the Stars on Wednesday. He played two games in Canada on a four-game road trip interrupted at the halfway point by a four-day break.

The star forward had a goal and an assist in a 5-4 loss to Edmonton on Saturday, then scored again on an empty-netter in a 4-1 victory in Vancouver the next night.

The Stars play at Central Division-leading Winnipeg on Friday before a Sunday visit to Colorado. Rantanen was abruptly traded by the Avalanche to Carolina on Jan. 24, then moved again with the Hurricanes worried they would lose the 28-year-old in free agency without getting anything in return.

Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour told a radio station in Raleigh, North Carolina, this week that Rantanen told the front office he was only willing to sign his next contract with four teams, and Carolina was not on that list.

“I saw some things were said that I had a list of teams ready when I went (to Carolina), but that’s false,” Rantanen said. “Obviously, it was a big shock to leave Colorado, but I went (to Carolina) with an open mind and tried my best on the ice.”

The Dallas deal came together the morning of the trade deadline Friday, after Stars general manager Jim Nill went to bed the night before believing the sides wouldn’t be able to agree on a contract extension to complete the deal.

Rantanen signed an eight-year, $96 million contract with Dallas as part of the trade. The Hurricanes acquired promising young forward Logan Stankoven along with two first-round picks and two third-rounders.

“When I put the jersey on there, I tried my best and just decided just a little bit before the deadline that Carolina would probably get a better return for me if I would do a sign and trade,” Rantanen said. “That it would be better for their team rather than me being a rental and going somewhere to play. So that was the decision. I want to make it clear that I was open-minded in Carolina and really thought about staying there.”

Rantanen will have to wait to see how fans react to his return to Colorado. The 10th overall pick of the 2015 draft spent his first nine-plus seasons with the Avalanche, getting 681 points (287 goals, 394 assists) in 619 regular-season games. He has 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 playoff games.

“Colorado was always where I wanted to stay, but I understand it’s business and they made a decision,” Rantanen said. “I tried my best in Carolina and I’m here now and I’m so happy to be here, locked in for eight years with a good team and with good coaches. I’m thankful for Dallas to have the trust in me.”