Just before midnight on the eve of NHL trade deadline day, Chris MacFarland bolstered the Colorado Avalanche for a long playoff run by getting center Brock Nelson. His rival general managers in the Central Division slept on it, then responded big time.
Jim Nill's Dallas Stars acquired the top player available, Mikko Rantanen, without having to give up more than one of his blossoming young stars, while Kevin Cheveldayoff's league-leading Winnipeg Jets got tougher and deeper with forward Brandon Tanev and rugged defenseman Luke Schenn. Oh, and MacFarland wasn't done, shoring up Colorado's lineup down the middle with Charlie Coyle and deepening the blue line by bringing back Erik Johnson.
The arms race heated up in the Central — and the Atlantic, where defending Stanley Cup champion Florida looks even more formidable with Brad Marchand, first-place Toronto added help up front in Scott Laughton and on the back end in Brandon Carlo, and Tampa Bay traded multiple first-round picks for Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
"Wow, what a first-round matchup it’s going to be in our division, what a first-round matchup it’s going to be between Florida, Toronto or Tampa (and) Colorado, Winnipeg, Dallas,” St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "It’s going to be great hockey. The league is going to be the massive benefactor of it. But someone’s going to be really unhappy 14 days after the season ends.”
Even if there weren't a lot of sellers making players available, the moves made shifted the balance of power in the Eastern and Western conferences. The Stars and Panthers are now co-favorites to hoist the Cup, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
As long as Miro Heiskanen can return from knee surgery in time for the playoffs, the Stars made the most of losing their Norris Trophy-caliber No. 1 defenseman for much of the second half of the season. Putting him on long-term injured reserve along with center Tyler Seguin cleared the salary cap space necessary to get Rantanen, who had 101 points in 81 postseason games with Colorado and was a key part of the 2022 Cup run.
The Avalanche sure weren't expecting to have Rantanen back on their side of the bracket after trading him to Carolina in January. Now he's squarely in their path to another title for the better part of the next decade thanks to an eight-year, $96 million extension Colorado was worried about affording.
“We made a really hard decision, and it was a hockey decision,” MacFarland said. “We got some really good hockey players. Mikko is a great hockey player and a great person, and I’ll always wish him the best. But no, we don’t spend much time on seeing what other teams may or may not do. I think the Dallas Stars got a great hockey player and a great person.”
It is Winnipeg that is atop the standings and the front-runner for home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs behind goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. And the Jets filled two important areas of need with Schenn and Tanev.
So did the Avalanche. It was clear to MacFarland that a couple of big centers were needed.
“Those two guys have been in deep runs, and they’ve been around a long time,” reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon said of Nelson and Coyle. “Two huge bodies down the middle. I think both can play wing or whatever. Versatility’s great, and I’m really excited.”
Lightning GM Julien BriseBois stole the show earlier in the week. Florida counterpart Bill Zito got the last laugh by sending a draft pick to Boston for Bruins captain Brad Marchand.
Adding Marchand to a group that already includes Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett makes the Panthers even tougher and harder to play against than they were before — and increases the odds of the final including a team from the Sunshine State for a sixth consecutive season.
Toronto has a Cup-winning coach in Craig Berube, and Laughton and Carlo give them a better chance of hanging with the Panthers or Lightning. But Florida not only got Marchand but in previous days added top-four defenseman Seth Jones and depth center Nico Sturm to remain the team to beat in the East.
The Hurricanes' midseason gamble for Rantanen — sending leading scorer Martin Necas and young forward Jack Drury to Colorado while adding winger Taylor Hall — did not work out the way they had hoped. Carolina added an intriguing talent in getting 22-year-old Logan Stankoven and plenty of high draft picks from the Stars but fell short in adding elite talent to help this season.
East-leading Washington made only one move, sending a second-round pick to Pittsburgh for winger Anthony Beauvillier. Third-place New Jersey added some players but won't have No. 1 center and leading scorer Jack Hughes for the rest of the season and playoffs, while the New York Rangers traded away pending free agents Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey and Reilly Smith.
Capitals general manager Chris Patrick was happy to see so many players go West, but he doesn't think the Metro is easy to get through.
“You’re going to have to be ready to play at a high level and relatively mistake-free hockey, so that’s what we’re expecting,” Patrick said. “It doesn’t matter who’s in or who’s out for these teams. These are the top teams in the East, and we have to be ready to match their play.”
Vegas reacquired Smith, who was part of the 2023 Cup team, Edmonton added offensive-minded defenseman Jake Walman and rough-and-tumble forward Trent Frederic, and Los Angeles boosted its scoring potential by getting Andrei Kuzmenko.
Those seem like minor moves compared to the colossal activity in the Central. But the Oilers got to Game 7 of the final last year, still have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and could still get Evander Kane back in the playoffs. The Golden Knights are stacked for another deep run.
"We liked our team," Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon said. “We like our centers, we like our defense — I think they’re among the very best in the NHL.”
AP Sports Writers Pat Graham and Alanis Thames and freelance writers W.G. Ramirez and Denis Gorman contributed.
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Boston Bruins center Trent Frederic (11) shoves Toronto Maple Leafs center Bobby McMann (74) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Carolina Hurricanes' Mikko Rantanen (96) concentrates on the puck as Boston Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Seattle Kraken left wing Brandon Tanev (13) reacts to the St. Louis Blues’s win on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
BANGKOK (AP) — The death toll from Myanmar's powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake keeps climbing amid rescue efforts.
The military government said Saturday that 1,644 people have been killed, with thousands of others injured and dozens missing.
The earthquake struck midday Friday, followed by several aftershocks, including one that measured 6.4.
In Thailand, the quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, leaving 10 people dead.
Several countries, including Malaysia, Russia and China have dispatched rescue and relief teams.
Here is the latest:
An initial situation report on earthquake relief efforts issued Saturday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that it's mobilizing with other groups, and $5 million has been allocated from a Central Emergency Response Fund for “life-saving assistance.”
“Supply infrastructure and communication towers were severely impacted, electricity and water services were disrupted, including in Yangon Region,” it noted. “Landline, mobile and internet networks remain unstable.”
The immediate planned measures include a convoy of 17 cargo trucks carrying critical shelter and medical supplies from China that is expected to arrive on Sunday, it said.
It noted the severe damage or destruction of many health facilities, and warned that a “severe shortage of medical supplies is hampering response efforts, including trauma kits, blood bags, anaesthetics, assistive devices, essential medicines, and tents for health workers.”
Myanmar’s ruling military said on state television that the confirmed death toll from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake increased to 1,644.
The new total is a sharp rise compared to the 1,002 total announced just hours earlier. The number of injured increased to 3,408, while the missing figure rose to 139 from Friday's quake.
Russia has sent a medical team to Myanmar to care for earthquake victims, a Health Ministry official said.
According to Alexey Kuznetsov, the medics include specialists in infectious diseases, resuscitation and traumatology.
Separately, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said that two planes carrying Russian rescue workers have landed in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon.
Earlier, the ministry reported that a mission, including search and rescue teams, canine units, anaesthesiologists and psychologists, was on its way to the disaster-stricken country.
The ministry said that its rescue teams are equipped with “endoscopes and acoustic devices for searching for people in rubble up to 4.5 meters (nearly 15 feet) deep, as well as ground-penetrating radars and thermal imagers.”
Hong Kong sent a group of 51 search-and-rescue personnel to help with earthquake relief efforts in Myanmar. The group includes firefighters and ambulance personnel as well as two search-and-rescue dogs, among others.
The group brings along nine tons (18,000 pounds) of equipment including life detectors and masonry cutting machines, as well as an automatic satellite tracking antenna system that provides network connection, according to a statement on the Hong Kong government’s website.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press show the earthquake toppled the air traffic control tower at Naypyitaw International Airport.
The photos taken Saturday show the tower toppled over as if sheered from its base. Debris lay scattered from the top of the tower, which controlled all air traffic in the capital of Myanmar.
It wasn’t immediately clear if there had been any injuries in the collapse, though the tower would have had staff inside of it at the time of the earthquake Friday. It likely also stopped air traffic into the international airport, given all electronics and radar would have been routed into the tower for controllers.
Flights carrying rescue teams from China have landed at the airport in Yangon instead of going directly to the airports in the major stricken cities of Mandalay and Naypyitaw.
A spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency said that Beijing will provide Myanmar with 100 million yuan ($13.8 million) in emergency humanitarian aid for earthquake relief efforts.
An additional rescue team of 82 people left Bejing, hours after a different team of emergency responders from the Chinese province of Yunnan, bordering Myanmar, arrived in the earthquake-stricken country.
Additionally, 16 members of the Chinese civil relief squad Blue Sky Rescue Team in the city of Ruili, Yunnan, departed to Muse City in northern Myanmar to help with relief efforts, according to state broadcaster CGTN. Chinese authorities also sent a first batch of 80 tents and 290 blankets.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended condolences to Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The earthquake was felt in parts of China's Yunnan province, though casualties were limited. Two people in Ruili suffered minor injuries and 847 homes were damaged, according to authorities. Some high-rise buildings and older houses in urban areas were also partially damaged, but power and water supplies and transportation and communications lines have been restored.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters says that his government will support relief efforts “via the International Red Cross Movement."
“Our thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones, and to everyone else affected,” Peters posted on X.
South Korea will send the aid through international organizations to support recovery efforts following the recent earthquake.
The Foreign Ministry stated on Saturday that Seoul will closely monitor the situation and consider additional support if needed.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese rescuers arrive at the Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Haymhan Aung/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 29, 2025, Russian Emergency Ministry employees gather to board one of two planes with rescuers to Myanmar following Friday's earthquake, from a Moscow airfield, Russia. (Russia Emergency Ministry press service via AP)
Rescuers walk past the ruin of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
People stand near a damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as rescuers search for victims following its collapse after Friday's earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescue workers help an injured women who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects damaged road caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Patients are evacuated outdoors at a hospital after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Tadchakorn Kitchaiphon)
Rescue workers take an injured man who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
People wait at the damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as rescuers search for victims following its collapse after an earthquake. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake wait as rescuers search for victims, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Volunteers look for survivors near a damaged building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, victims caused by an earthquake is seen compound of government hospital Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
