Knights, The

Eighth-placed Doncaster Knights, the one side to have beaten Ealing this season but 29 points adrift of top spot, were the only club to meet the standards required.

While chivalric honor may have been real for some knights, the allure of fame and wealth, or the simple rush of reckless adrenaline, was sometimes too great.

Hanifin was one of the three trade-deadline acquisitions for the Knights, the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

To avoid that, the Kings had to beat the Chicago Blackhawks — or at least take them to overtime — while the Vegas Golden Knights, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, had to lose their final regular-season game to the visiting Ducks.

With the notable exception of a three-team deal that sent Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights, the going rate was a third-round draft pick or lower.