The NHL hot stove overheated Wednesday afternoon when three major deals involving big stars and rising young talents went down within a half hour of each other.
The Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators swapped All-Star defensemen, as P.K. Subban traded places with Shea Weber. The New Jersey Devils acquired former No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers for another promising young star in Adam Larsson. And finally, Steven Stamkos opted to stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning by signing an eight-year deal.
Here's some of the social media fallout from the individual deals, as well as the whirlwind afternoon of activity:
Stamkos returning to Lightning
Teammate Ryan Callahan was happy to have Stamkos back in the fold. However, Toronto city councillor Norm Kelly (who had some interesting Twitter battles during the Toronto Raptors' playoff run) had hoped Stamkos would sign with the Maple Leafs.
Excited to be back for 8 more years @TBLightning ! Here we go .....
— Steven Stamkos (@RealStamkos91) June 29, 2016
Could not be more happy to have El Capitan back!!! I think we know who is picking up first tab of the year. #Arbys https://t.co/hp3Oh0iiUQ
— Ryan Callahan (@TheRealCally24) June 29, 2016
Congrats to @RealStamkos91 for his new deal! Happy to see him stay with the bolts. #onetimer #alwaysopen
— Martin St Louis (@mstlouis_26) June 29, 2016
We could have done great things, @RealStamkos91.
— Norm Kelly (@norm) June 29, 2016
Subban-Weber trade
Subban bid Montreal a fond farewell, while Jonathan Toews was more than happy not to see Weber in the division.
Montreal, thank you for the incredible support!!!! @PredsNHL I'm excited about the next chapter. Howdyyy, Let's go! https://t.co/mY7EKFvHud
— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) June 29, 2016
Hey Webs good luck in Montreal thanks for leaving our division! #relief
— Jonathan Toews (@JonathanToews) June 29, 2016
Well I guess all those nights on the Little Texas dance floor are going to pay off after all @PKSubban1 #twosteppin
— Matt Beleskey (@Matt_Beleskey) June 29, 2016
Speechless😱😱😱 @PKSubban1 see you in the central big homie #madness
— Matt Dumba (@matt_dumba) June 29, 2016
Hall-Larsson trade
Devils center Adam Henrique is familiar with both Larsson and Hall, so while he said goodbye to one friend, he welcomed another to New Jersey.
Thank you to the city of Edmonton, the fans, and most of all, my teammates throughout my time with the Oilers. I will always cherish my(1/2)
— Taylor Hall (@hallsy04) June 29, 2016
time there and the memories that came with it. In saying that, my thoughts turn into excitement when I think about the chance in NJ! (2/2)
— Taylor Hall (@hallsy04) June 29, 2016
Gunna miss this guy! Love him like a brother. Good luck @AdamLarsson3! pic.twitter.com/tMAaIaMK9x
— Adam Henrique (@AdamHenrique) June 29, 2016
Together again! @hallsy04 pic.twitter.com/i93uRfuOfD
— Adam Henrique (@AdamHenrique) June 29, 2016
Crazy half-hour of action
And for many NHL players, it was wild to see many of their high-profile colleagues get moved in such a short period of time.
Dear @NHL , pic.twitter.com/2T69puBQ7B
— Jay McKee (@JayMcKee74) June 29, 2016
— Zach Bogosian (@BogosianZach) June 29, 2016
What is going on right now in the NHL??? #lost #🙈
— Michael Grabner (@grabs40) June 29, 2016
holy trades @NHL...and Andrew Luck just got really, really rich #wow
— Jon Gillies (@JGillies36) June 29, 2016
Hey guys, we're just hanging out on our bye week. Did we miss anything sports related?
— Edmonton Eskimos (@EdmontonEsks) June 29, 2016
