General manager Marc Bergevin added to the Montreal Canadiens without altering his Eastern Conference-leading lineup.

In Detroit, GM Ken Holland thought it was important to provide his young Red Wings a nudge by adding two experienced veterans. As for the Toronto Maple Leafs, their long-expected purge of high-priced talent failed to materialize before the NHL's annual trading deadline struck on Monday.

"We did as much as we could. We just hoped for more," Maple Leafs general manager David Nonis said after being limited to making just two moves, none of which included forwards Joffrey Lupul and Tyler Bozak, or defenceman Dion Phaneuf. "Today, there weren't deals that were there for any of our players that made sense for us."

That didn't prevent others from staying busy on a day that featured 24 trades involving 43 players.

The Canadiens plugged several needs by acquiring defenceman Jeff Petry from Edmonton, and making two separate deals with Buffalo to land forwards Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn. In exchange, they gave up a combined four draft picks and minor-league prospect Jack Nevins.

"We're getting rewarded for our good play right now," Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty said. "I think (Bergevin) saw a couple of areas he can improve on but not change things too much."

Other East teams weren't going to let Rangers GM Glen Sather steal the thunder a day after the Rangers acquired defenceman Keith Yandle and forward James Sheppard.

The New York Islanders kept pace by making four trades. Aside from adding centre Tyler Kennedy from San Jose, the Isles upgraded their backup goalie spot behind Jaroslav Halak by acquiring Sabres starter Michal Neuvirth.

Holland took an aggressive approach in adding to the Red Wings. A day after acquiring veteran forward Erik Cole from Dallas, Holland gave up a conditional draft choice to New Jersey for veteran defenceman Marek Zidlicky.

"The growth of our team and the growth of our younger players, I guess, sent a message to me that we've got a good team," Holland said. "We're right in the thick of things."

The Anaheim Ducks were among several contenders to stock up in the West.

The Pacific Division leaders made four trades. The most significant involved Columbus, in which the Ducks acquired high-scoring defenceman James Wisniewski and a 2015 third-round pick in exchange for forwards Rene Bourque, Williams Karlsson and a 2015