Puck Wire: Top Hockey News Of The Day: January 29th

The All-Star game is behind us, meaning all attention in the NHL is now on the trade deadline and playoff races. Last night, we saw the first major move of the trading season as the Toronto Maple Leafs finally took a step towards solidifying their defensive group.

With the Maple Leafs making the first major addition, it feels like it is just a matter of time until teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins make moves of their own, The arms race is officially on in the east.

• Here is the official deal. The Leafs get veteran D Jake Muzzin in exchange for their 2019 first, D Sean Durzi and F Carl Grundstrom. The Kings have begun a bit of a rebuild, while the Leafs appear to be all in with this core group.
• Kendall Coyne Schofield stole the show Friday night at the NHL’s Skills Competition. She’ll be staying in the spotlight, as NBC announced she will join their Wednesday Night Hockey coverage this week.
• Speaking of trades, the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins hooked up on a deal for defender Jamie Oleksiak last night. It’s the second trade in a year between the teams involving Oleksiak, who went from Dallas to Pittsburgh for the same exact pick he was traded for on Monday.
• When you start an expansion franchise, you have to plan aspects of the organization that might not be apparent right away. For the Seattle NHL franchise, operating an expansion AHL franchise is one of those items. That was a topic of discussion in Springfield on Monday.
• Is Cale Makar playing his final stretch drive in the NCAA? It certainly seems that way as the Colorado Avalanche are preparing for him to start his professional career in the coming months.
• More on the Brianna Decker situation from All-Star weekend, as an equipment company has stepped up to give her the prize she rightfully earned.