Manny Malhotra #20 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his first period goal with teammates during the NHL game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images
Barely 15 minutes after the final horn, the seller's dressing room is empty and shows no physical evidence the Toronto Maple Leafs were ever here.
The only clues are a full-ish garbage can and an untouched bottle of pink energy drink left behind on one of the benches.
Nameplates have been removed, bags are already loaded in a truck, there is an occasional glimpse of a besuited player sauntering silently to the bus; the aftermath of a loss in an NHL room is never lively, but in this case there's an added psychic weight from being a selling team at the trade deadline.
"You're definitely answering a lot of questions about it. But we put ourselves in this position, we have not played up to the capabilities of where we believe we are as a team, and when that happens, and when you struggle, and where we're at in the standings, there's going to be changes," said Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, whose name has been bandied in trade talk.
Added goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who, according to Sportsnet, is rumoured to be available: "Of course you can feel it, guys are a little tired of hearing about what may or may not happen, but as professionals we can't really worry about that, you have to focus on what happens on the ice."
About 50 metres away, the buyer's room isn't exactly raucous – the Montreal Canadiens may have beaten their old rivals 4-0 on Hockey Night in Canada, but it was far from a dominant effort.
Still, there's a general ease that comes with success and the idea that Monday's deadline will be about bringing in reinforcements rather than auctioning off assets.
Veteran Manny Malhotra is semi-basking in the glow of his first goal as a Hab. It came in his 53rd game, so the sentiment is surely more relief than anything.
The best part? Malhotra was finally able to answer his six-year-old son's daily question of whether dad had scored a goal.
Hockey executives spend an inordinate amount of time pondering unquantifiable things such as chemistry and character; at the moment the Habs seem to have plenty of both.
Witness goalie Carey Price, who chalked up his sixth shutout of the season and fourth since Jan. 1, making a point of skating over to the bench after Malhotra's goal to give him a congratulatory slap with his glove.
Good vibes are a function of victories – show us a united room and we'll show you a winning one – and as the Habs undertake a four-game Western road swing they are in ample supply.
"We're looking forward to seeing some good weather," joked Price, who has won a franchise-record 10 consecutive starts on the road. "We're just going to take the same approach we've taken all season: It's all about the first opponent."
The Leafs, for their part, jetted off to Washington to play the Capitals on Sunday. (They also added a new player, claiming defenceman Tim Erixon off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks.)
Deadline day is always stressful for players, even those whose status isn't really in doubt.
"You build friendships, you build relationships with guys, you're competing, you're working day in and day out with them and when you lose teammates, that's the toughest thing,' Phaneuf said.
For the remaining Leafs players who have been slung into the marketplace of trade rumours – Phaneuf, Tyler Bozak, Korbinian Holzer, Olli Jokinen, and to a lesser extent, Phil Kessel – the chance to exhale comes at 3 p.m. (ET) on Monday.