There's no explicit rule stating that non-competing teams can't make trades before the Stanley Cup Final concludes, but it's not something you see every day.

It is something we saw Tuesday, though, when Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Brière kicked off his tenure with a splash.

In a three-way trade involving Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Columbus, the Flyers sent Ivan Provorov and Kevin Connauton to Columbus in return for the Blue Jackets' 2023 first-round pick (No. 22 overall), a conditional second-round selection (either 2024 or 2025), the Kings' 2024 second-round pick, Cal Petersen, Sean Walker and defense prospect Helge Grans.

The Kings are retaining 30 percent of Provorov's salary. The 26-year-old defenseman has two years remaining on his deal, which carries a $6.75 million AAV.

What type of precedent does this set for Brière's vision for the Flyers' formerly stagnant rebuild? What are the chances 2015 No. 7 overall pick Provorov bounces back to his once-promising first-pairing defenseman form in a new environment? What the heck are the Kings doing here?

Let's unpack the unexpected Cup Final off-day moves and award some instant winners and losers.

Winner: Flyers GM Danny Brière

Flyers legend Danny Brière went from former GM Chuck Fletcher's assistant, to interim GM upon Fletcher's firing, to full-time at the helm of the Philly rebuild May 11.

His first moves Tuesday make a significant statement for a few reasons.

Firstly, you've got the timing. Rarely do you see the trade market open up before or during the Stanley Cup Final.

Then, you've got the stark deviation from what had become a slow and uneventful rebuild under Fletcher. His disappointing tenure ended in a trade deadline in which he failed to get a trade for playoff rental James van Riemsdyk done and didn't do much of anything else to accomplish his explicit goal of making the team younger.

Then you've got the moves—and the juicy haul—themselves. Controversial defenseman Ivan Provorov (we'll get into his regression later) and the two years left on his $6.75 million AAV contract are gone, along with fringe defenseman Kevin Connauton and AHL forward Hayden Hodgson.

Say what you will about Provorov and how promising the beginning of his career was, but his last three seasons have been subpar and he didn't seem thrilled about the rebuild.

What was once an untouchable player became a must-trade-for-the-right-price, and snatching a first-rounder and more for him is huge for Brière.

The Flyers acquired depth defenseman Sean Walker from the Kings in the trade, and his cap hit is steep for what he offers at $2.65 million AAV. But Philadelphia isn't expected to contend for a Cup in the next few years.

If they've truly committed to a rebuild, they should eat some short-term contracts that are less than perfect. Walker and his $2.65 million AAV are off the books at the end of next season, so this is simple.

Do the big thing, suck it up for a few years, and profit. Brière's first moves as Flyers GM show that, at the very least, he understands this concept.

The Flyers now have 10 picks in the upcoming 2023 NHL draft, including No. 7 and No. 22 overall.

Boldness and thinking outside the box are welcome changes to Philly's front office.

Loser: Columbus Blue Jackets

What are the Columbus Blue Jackets and what do they hope to be?

Perhaps we got our hopes and expectations up too high when Johnny Gaudreau took his talents to Columbus somewhat unexpectedly in free agency last season. He's only one man, and he couldn't have predicted the slew of devastating injuries that hit the team.

But their brutal 2022-23 season and some of the ensuing decisions have been head-scratchers. The reported Mike Babcock coaching hire is not something we'll even dignify with a spin zone.

I do understand trading pending unrestricted free agents at the deadline during a particularly unlucky season in which it was clear Columbus wasn't going to compete. So, it sent goalie Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to the playoff-bound Kings.

They used the first-round pick acquired in that deal to acquire Provorov from the Flyers Tuesday. Yes, Provorov has two seasons left on his contract, the Kings are retaining 30 percent of his salary, and according to John Buccigross, Gavrikov could be commanding anywhere in the $6-7 million AAV range.

Provorov is entering the fifth season of a six-year, $40.5 million deal signed in September 2019, and his on-ice performance has been declining ever since.

To be fair, the team around him has not done him any favors, and you saw what happened to Tony DeAngelo when he went from the cushion of the Hurricanes' blue line and Jaccob Slavin to the Flyers. But Provorov has been expected to be the guy leading the charge in the other direction, and he hasn't been particularly up to the task.

The high-event left-shot defenseman still has upside and can handle big minutes. He averaged 24:05 of time on ice with 65 goals and 152 assists in seven seasons with the Flyers, coming off a 2022-23 season in which he tallied six goals and 21 assists in 82 games.

Provorov was a minus-20 in 2021-22 and a minus-17 in 2022-23, which isn't exactly unexpected as a top-pairing defenseman on a bad team, but it still isn't great.

Maybe the Blue Jackets are anticipating a bounce back for Provorov under less pressure in a second-pairing role behind Zach Werenski, but it's tough to imagine the guy who wasn't on board with John Tortorella is going to ride off into the sunset with Babcock.

It's an expensive move that reeks of bad vibes. It could become costly if the Blue Jackets and/or Provorov don't get it together next season and there's no first-round pick to show for it.

Winner: Los Angeles

Why are the Los Angeles Kings so generously retaining 30 percent of Provorov's salary, you ask?

Oh, to unload Petersen's $5 million cap hit for space to re-sign former Blue Jacket defenseman Gavrikov, I answer.

Gavrikov was a great fit as a rental-turned-potential-mainstay in Los Angeles last season. His size is always going to lend itself to big hits and a difficult-to-play-against vibe first and foremost, but he was also able to chip in offensively when needed.

He played pretty well on the Kings' revamped blue line throughout the playoffs, eating big minutes expected of him, although the young Los Angeles team still wasn't quite ready to solve Connor McDavid and the Oilers.

Gavrikov and his veteran-ish good vibes seem pretty important to the fabric of this Los Angeles team, but the $6-7 million AAV Buccigross threw around feels a bit steep. In any event, the Kings are now prepared to pay up or find a more cost-efficient fit in that role.

Besides, it was clear Petersen was not their guy in net. The Joonas Korpisalo-Pheonix Copley tandem has become another feel-good facet of the Kings and, again, the Flyers can suck it up with a less-than-elite goalie on a cheaper contract for a few years while they rebuild. Carter Hart could be on the move for even more, but that'll be a story for a different day.

It feels like teams are showing more and more creativity with salary retention and jumping in on three-way deals these days, and they'd better get used to it with the cap not expected to rise above $1 million. Good for the Kings.

Losers: Veterans Staying in Philly

What a strange turn of events for this franchise over the better half of the last decade, but sometimes that's just the way these things go.

What was supposed to be a promising era highlighted by Kevin Hayes' slightly expensive yet then-understandable contract has now seen franchise legend Claude Giroux traded, and other mainstays such as Jakub Voráček and Provorov left.

Young—but not getting any younger—star goaltender Carter Hart's future is now in question too, with the Petersen trade and rumblings around the rumor mill.

Where does the new push for youth and rebuild leave the returning veterans who once thought they were in a decent spot to at least make the playoffs? Well, not in the best shape.

Sean Couturier is signed through 2028-29, Hayes is signed until 2026-27, Scott Laughton until 2025-26, Rasmus Ristolainen until 2026-27, and Travis Sanheim (NTC) until 2027-28.

You have to wonder if some of these guys hint at wanting a trade a la Provorov, and what direction ownership and coaching will take with managing the veterans.

Winner: Trade-Rumor Geeks

There's something magical about unwritten rules or expectations being broken in sports, especially in a league as stiff and rigid as the NHL.

It's like we're back in high school and there's an assembly during math class; we're not skipping school or doing anything, but there's an exciting little twist in the day that gives us the thrill of doing something bad without any consequences.

Anyway, the trade market actually opening up before the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final is a trade-rumor geek's dream.

This is something you never anticipate actually happening, but the geeks persist in your Twitter mentions with their two favorite words: "technically" and "actually."

Well, folks, enjoy your day. Not only did a trade occur halfway through the Cup Final, but it was a big one involving a top-four defenseman, a first-round pick, a goaltender and a brand-new GM.

Does this set the stage for more precedents bending? Please sound off in our mentions for the rest of the day with all the "technicallys and "actuallys" you want. You've earned it.