The teams involved in that flurry of activity were no doubt pleased with the results, but it certainly made for a quiet Monday.
The 17 trades consummated before the 3 p.m. ET cutoff were the fewest since the league's lockout shortened 2012-13 campaign, while the 23 players changing teams were the fewest since 2000.
The NHL's pandemic deadline day largely featured depth moves as teams manoeuvred around a variety of challenges unique to 2021, including a flat salary cap, a condensed schedule, drastically reduced revenues, quarantines and an expansion draft looming just over the horizon.
"It seemed like a lot of the top teams this year that think they have a chance to win their divisions were adding players," Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning said. "What we've seen in past years is teams that were playing for playoff spots were trying to add, too, for that push to make the playoffs. I don't think we've necessarily seen that this year.