It’s that time of year when winners and losers must — must — be defined. The NHL’s trade deadline came and went on Monday, with less of the usual fanfare and action.

But in defining the inarguable line of who did well and who did poorly, we offer a slight change of protocol. There is one at the top of the list that is hard to miss.

1. Islanders: So maybe there wasn’t a perfect deal out there for them to improve. Maybe Boston was asking way too much for Loui Eriksson, and Andrew Ladd was out of the question. But the Islanders remain in this holding pattern, same as they did this summer, with a ton of prospects, a ton of cap space, and a team that wants to win the Stanley Cup and is hardly primed to do so.

It’s understandable that they held Travis Hamonic for a better deal to be made this summer, likely at the draft. If they want to contend, there was no upgrade for him out there (once Dustin Byfuglien signed his extension in Winnipeg). And it’s understandable that they didn’t trade pending unrestricted free agents Kyle Okposo or Frans Nielsen. The hope from general manager Garth Snow is there will be some contractual middle ground with his career-long Islanders after this season is done.

But they desperately need a top-line winger to suit up next to John Tavares, and however difficult it might be to find the right fit, it’s been pretty well proven that player isn’t on the current roster. Tavares played alongside Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome for Thursday’s dramatic 4-3 overtime, comeback win in Winnipeg — thus completing a sturdy 5-1 road trip over inferior competition. But the only move Snow made before the deadline was acquiring middling winger Shane Prince from the Senators. Prince then played on a line with Nikolay Kulemin and Anders Lee, none of those three being a center. It’s a mishmash of a lineup. There’s a lot of talent, and some grit. They could win a round in the postseason, possibly two if things break well with the tournament bracket. But they’re not a Stanley Cup contender, and Snow did nothing to fix that.

2. Canucks: Boy, what a dud of a year out in Vancouver. With defenseman Dan Hamhuis holding all the cards with his no-trade clause — and not wanting to go anywhere in the Eastern Conference besides interest from contenders like the Penguins and Bruins — the Canucks couldn’t find a deal. There was also interest in Hamhuis from the Blackhawks and Stars out West, but nothing could work? With Radim Vrbata also a pending UFA, he couldn’t move either. They’ll both walk, and what a waste of a season.

3. Lightning: No, GM Steve Yzerman wasn’t going to be forced into dealing talented 20-year-old Jonathan Drouin just because he asked for a trade and now won’t report to the AHL. He’ll get a better deal at the draft, and he knew that.

But for nothing to happen to that team, the one that made it to the Stanley Cup finals last season? Amid all the drama of Steven Stamkos’ pending free agency this summer, they have continued to be awfully inconsistent this season. Standing pat will likely get them nowhere fast.

4. Stars: Dallas has been an offensive juggernaut, easy to see with their top line of Jamie Benn-Jason Spezza-Tyler Seguin, a trio that Rangers alternate captain Derek Stepan called “probably the hardest to play against in the league.” But the Stars’ back end was porous, and they did upgrade with the addition of Kris Russell from the Flames. But for the price of current NHL defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, plus prospect Brett Pollock and a conditional pick that’s either a first- or second-rounder — yeah, that’s a lot. And with Kari Lehtonen still the starter in nets, they might have the second-most points in the West, but they’re primed for a postseason flameout.

1. Blackhawks: Curious what it means to really go for the Stanley Cup every year, and do it smartly? Look at how Stan Bowman operates in Chicago.

He might not have a first- or second-round pick in this year’s draft, but they added Ladd, Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann to an already stacked forward group. Honestly, just look at their projected lines (as captured by WWE star CM Punk).

The ‘Hawks also added Christian Ehrhoff on the back end in exchange for the scuttling Rob Scuderi. They went from favorites to win the Cup to super-favorites. Oh, and they’re the defending champs and have won three of the past six titles. So maybe following their lead ain’t a bad idea.

2. Panthers: The Panthers went from a nice story, overachieving with a fun mix of old and young, to a team that has to be taken very seriously come playoff time. General manager Dale Tallon was probably already on pace to win GM of the Year, but to add Jiri Hudler and Teddy Purcell up front, plus Jakub Kindl on the back end, makes him close to a lock. They got a lot deeper, grittier, and experienced — all to go with the ageless Jaromir Jagr and the colorful Roberto Luongo.

Maybe trading Brandon Pirri for just a sixth-round pick wasn’t exactly the return Tallon was hoping for, but he has put the Panthers on a great track for the spring.

3. Bruins: Eriksson is still in a contract stalemate, and there’s a chance he could walk at the end of the year with nothing in return. But that’s a calculated risk GM Don Sweeney is taking, and likely a good one. He tried to add Hamhuis from Vancouver to help his back end, but it wasn’t happening, so he added John-Michael Liles from Carolina — in my opinion, one of the most underrated defensemen in the league.

Sweeney also swept up Lee Stempniak from the Devils for a little scoring boost up front, sending back a bit of a hefty load in second- and fourth-round picks for New Jersey’s top scorer. But with all the experience they have back there, no one wants to match up with them in the postseason.

4. Rangers: They’re going for it, and that’s well known. With that mindset, they pried Eric Staal out of Carolina to join his brother Marc up here for one last playoff push with this core group of players.

It was a deft trade for first-year GM Jeff Gorton, sending highly touted Finnish prospect Aleksi Saarela, plus two second-round picks, back to the Hurricanes for Eric, a 31-year-old pending unrestricted free agent. If goalie Henrik Lundqvist can stay healthy — and his neck spasms suffered on Thursday night in Pittsburgh aren’t too much to worry about — then the Blueshirts have as good a chance as anyone to come out of the East.