Trocheck was mostly spare parts. Haula was a rental, Wallmark was a bottom 6 C who was then dealt to Chicago and has played in Europe since 2021, Priskie was an OK prospect who got a total of 4 games. The only player of note in that deal was Eetu Luostarinen, who has developed into a solid player for Florida.When your list of "good trades" is paying full retail for 3 years of Hamilton, giving up a middle 6er for a different middle 6er, trading a cap dump/buyout candidate for a $3.4m backup goalie, and getting a 37 year old Brent Burns for essentially nothing, you'll have to excuse me for not being impressed. Even Trocheck and Skjei weren't exactly cheap, even if they both had term left on their contracts.
But, then again, I could be spoiled as an Avs fan, where a good trade is a couple of 2nds for a Devon Toews, who is then signed for 4 years at $4.1m.
Skjei cost a first, but when you have teams paying 1st+ for rentals, getting 4+ years of a top 4 defenseman signed to a decent deal for a 1st is good deadline value.
Finally, if you think Victor Rask was a middle 6 player at the time of that deal than boy I would like to make deals with you. Getting any usable player for Scott Darling was equally shocking. Was he expensive for a backup? Yes, but Reimer played well in Carolina and unlike Darling, could stop a beach ball.
Toews was a great deal, but there were many good deals by Waddell over time.