Capitals GM George McPhee has had a history of making big moves at the NHL trade deadline. He’s acquired key players like Sergei Federov, Cristobal Huet and Jason Arnott all with one eye on the clock.

While this year’s deals to acquire goalie Jaroslav Halak and forward Dustin Penner will likely not be as beneficial as some previous ones, they should help the Caps in their playoff push.

Entering the deadline, the Caps had a number of problems that they had to take care of. Most prominently, they were a point out of the playoffs and needed a boost.

With John Carlson being their only true top-tier blue liner, their biggest need along with many other teams was a top-4 defensemen. However, the offense and goalie situations were far from perfect as well.

McPhee also had to deal with two players, forward Martin Erat and goalie Michael Neuvirth, who wanted out from the team because of a lack of playing time.

First, on the day before the Wednesday deadline, the Caps acquired Dustin Penner in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft. Penner is a big top six forward with a penchant for playoff success. He has won the Stanley Cup twice, first in 2007 with Anaheim and then with the Kings in 2012.

After a couple of down years plagued with injuries, Penner has played well this year with 13 goals and 32 points. For the Caps, he should provide a strong net presence, something they haven’t had since Mike Knuble played for the team.

It’s a great trade considering the Caps only had to give up a fourth-round draft pick.

Next, McPhee traded the unhappy Erat and AHL forward John Mitchell for defenseman Rostislav Klesla, forward Chris Brown and a fourth-round pick in 2015.

Erat, who was acquired last year at the deadline in exchange for phenom Filip Forsberg, was a huge flop for the Caps. He—and his big contract—only recorded two goals and 25 assists in 62 games for the Capitals and never found a niche with the team.

Arguably any move to get rid of Erat would have been a good one, but they did get some return too. Accumulating draft picks is always good and Brown could grow into a useful player.

Klesla would come in handy for the Caps’ final trade. Just 10 minutes before the deadline on Wednesday, the Caps sent Klesla and goalie Michael Neuvirth to the Buffalo Sabres, receiving veteran goalie Jaroslav Halak and a 2015 third round pick in exchange.

This trade has seen some backlash so far but could be a steal for the Caps. The Caps simply got the better goalie in the deal and received a high draft pick to add to it.

This year Halak has a 2.23 goals against average, considerably better than Neuvirth’s 2.82. He also is just two years removed from an impressive 2011-2012 campaign, when he only gave up 1.97 goals per game. Halak also has playoff experience, most notably when he manned the net during Montreal’s upset of the Caps in 2010.

It wasn’t perfect and they didn’t fill their biggest need, but the Caps improved at the deadline and that should give Caps fans some hope.