A day before the much anticipated first round of the 2023 NHL Draft, a flurry of activity took place. There were five trades made involving eight teams. Key players changed rosters along with some draft picks moved.

In the appetizer to the busy day, the Flyers finally sent Kevin Hayes to the Blues in exchange for a 2024 sixth round pick. By clearing space, the Flyers are picking up half the tab on the remainder of Hayes’ contract. That leaves the Blues on the hook for $10.5 million over the last three years.

Credit Kevin Weekes for being the first to break the story. As usual, the personable Weekes tweeted it from location. He’s really a classic.

Another deal that happened was the Canadiens acquiring center Alex Newhook from the Avalanche in exchange for the 31st pick and 37th picks, along with Gianni Fairbrother. The Habs are betting that the former Avalanche first round pick can fulfill his potential. A former 16th pick in 2019, he’s totaled 66 points in 159 games. The Avs decided to move on and create some room to re-sign a player. Newhook is a restricted free agent.

In a minor deal, that definitely wasn’t surprising, the Devils sent restricted free agent Mackenzie Blackwood to the Sharks for a 2023 sixth round pick (#164). The writing was on the wall for Blackwood, who never could stay healthy enough to become a full-time starter. Now, he’ll get a fresh start on a goalie starved team in San Jose. That could be a long rebuild with Norris winner Erik Karlsson reportedly asking for a trade to a contender.

As it turned out, the Devils were just getting started. They just made another deal that should please fans. The news broke a little while ago. They dealt RFA Yegor Sharangovich and the 80th pick to land Tyler Toffoli from the Flames.

It’s a good upgrade for an emerging team looking to contend. The 31-year-old Toffoli is a proven checking forward who can play in any situation. A former Stanley Cup winner with the Kings, he’s coming off a big season in which he set personal bests in goals (34), assists (39), and points (73).

A versatile right wing who has a good shot that should help the Devils out, Toffoli can finish on the power play and be a shorthanded threat. He only has a year remaining on a contract that pays him $4.25 million through next year.

For the Devils, they subtracted a depth player who likely wasn’t going to re-sign. Sharangovich totaled 106 points (53-53-106) over three seasons. He did well for a former fifth round pick. The 25-year-old was also a good penalty killer, scoring five shorthanded goals as a Devil. He’ll look to establish himself with the rebuilding Flames.

In terms of where they are in relation to the salary cap, the Devils still have over $18 million left per puckpedia.com. Team President and GM Tom Fitzgerald has enough room to re-sign RFA’s Mike McLeod, Nathan Bastian, Jesper Boqvist, and Kevin Bahl. None should be too expensive.

That means Timo Meier could still sign a new long-term contract. We know it should be in the $9 million range. Assuming it gets done, that would take them out of the Connor Hellebuyck sweepstakes. It’ll be interesting to see what develops over the next few days. July 1 is on Saturday.

In the biggest trade of the day, the Kings finally got their coveted player by giving up a lot to bring in center Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Jets. A good player who’s hit the 60-point mark three times in his career for both the Blue Jackets and Jets, the 25-year-old will be asked to do even more in LA.

That’s because the Kings paid a heavy price. Not only did they sign him to a big contract extension worth $8.5 million over the next eight seasons. But they traded their entire third line with a Montreal 2024 second round pick to acquire Dubois. A moody player who at times can look disinterested. Is he worth it? We’ll see.

Winnipeg did extremely well. They got back a good return by dealing for Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, and Rasmus Kupari. That’s a heckuva return for a player who wasn’t staying. I really like Vilardi. A former first round pick, he finally broke out by scoring a career high 23 goals with 18 assists for 41 points over 63 games. He tallied two goals and two helpers in five games against Edmonton.

Iafallo is a gritty veteran who Jets fans should love. He’s not going to blow them away. But his work ethic is excellent. He wins puck battles and is a solid depth forward who plays with energy. Kupari is 23. A former first round pick, he’s yet to establish himself. Maybe the scenery change will help.

The Kings did hold onto Quinton Byfield. The former second pick taken behind Alexis Lafreniere had 22 points (3-19-22) in 53 games last season. They aren’t ready to give up on the 20-year-old center. He saw some time on the wing. Perhaps that’s the thinking moving forward.

That’ll do it for now. So. We had some interesting deals made. Dubois was the headliner. I like what the Devils did. Toffoli can help them. He’s got the necessary experience to make a difference. Secondary scoring is always nice to have. Toffoli should slot in as a top nine forward, who Lindy Ruff can trust at even strength, on the power play and the penalty kill. Those are valuable players to have.

I’m curious to see how Newhook does in Montreal. He never found his footing with Colorado. They did well by retrieving two good picks in this year’s draft. That’ll be an interesting trade to keep track of.

The first round is live tomorrow on ESPN at 7 EST. Rounds 2-7 will air on NHL Network on Thursday starting at 11 AM.