The Daily Faceoff Show: Which trade-deadline additions have made an early impact?

With the trade deadline well in the rear-view mirror, Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna decided to talk about which deadline additions have been helping their team in the early going.

Frank Seravalli: “Let’s talk about the other trade deadline additions, and the guys that have fit in well to this point. When you take a look at this list of guys and how that they’ve produced since they’ve joined their new teams. Claude Giroux stands out, five points in four games, all apples.

"For me, it’s Rickard Rakell. You think back to last year’s deadline, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, they added Jeff Carter, and what a pickup he was, how he fit in quite seamlessly. I watched Rickard Rakell’s first game with the Pens, and I was like ‘Wow, this guy is so noticeable.’ He really seemed to fit in perfectly, playing on a line now with Evgeni Malkin. They may be getting Jason Zucker back tonight, he’s a game-time decision, you can see their lineup card on DailyFaceoff.com.

"When you look at this group, who stands out?”

Mike McKenna: “I’ll definitely agree with you on Rakell. I’m even thinking to the end of the game against the Rangers the other night, and he’s playing goalie, making saves against the post with an empty net, like he’s bought in. He looks energized, great goal on the rush.

"I think Giroux has really fit. It’s not surprising because he’s been such a consistent player throughout his career. The Florida Panthers should have known exactly what they were going to get, but there’s always apprehension of if that’s exactly going to play out, and it has. And Giroux for me, yeah it’s all assists and not goals, but two have been on the power play, he’s killed penalties for the team, he’s been able to switch between center, right wing. He’s been a perfect fit for that club.

"And as you said, it took a little bit of cap wrangling to be able to make space for him. And also credit to Bill Zito, when Aaron Ekblad went down, he went out and grabbed Robert Hagg, a defenseman to fill in some space on the backend with the Florida Panthers. So, I thought they were great managing the cap.

"I also really like even what Giordano has done in Toronto. That team needed some veteran presence on the back end. I know he’s not on our list, but he’s made a really positive difference. Same with Nick Leddy in St. Louis. That team looked really good the other night, and Leddy’s starting to now play an elevated role with that club and really start to fit in.”