NHL TRADE RUMORS

TRADE DEADLINE PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

February is shaping up to be a month that is filled with excitement. With so many teams competitive, lots of buyers will be stepping up to play in the trade deadline ceremonies.

A couple of months ago, we took a very early look at what the trade deadline would look like come February 25th. It was comprehensive, full of valuable information, and had a little something for fans of every team.

This time around, we’ll still have valuable information and a little something for fans of every team. The difference here is that we will be more concise with what we’re analyzing.

The reasons are as follows. Firstly, not a whole lot has changed in terms of the cap space or draft picks. Yes, there have been some trades since our last look that would change factors, but not a whole lot that would shake up the play on everyone’s agenda.

Secondly, things are going to be coming to a head now a lot quicker than when we last met here in December. The mid-season trade market is a spit in the ocean compared to what happens come February. This is because you can identify more conclusively who’s a contender and who’s looking at prospects and ping pong balls.

So things have developed since last time. A GM we all know and love has been canned, some trades have been made, new players have come in and established themselves, and the standings seem like they’re in line for what we can expect the stretch run to look like.

We will be going through all 31 teams, and briefly identifying whether they are buying or selling, who they’re shopping or shopping for, and what it would do for them if they successfully achieve their goals over the deadline.

Season outlooks hang in the balance. Futures can be determined here. Fans are ready to drop money on tickets if they succeed, and are armed with rotten fruit and shoes if their team makes bad moves. We all love the trade chatter, so let’s make some more of it.

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Position: Stand pat
Market to watch: What their division rivals do

The Penguins already shot their shot with the acquisition of Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann. It cost them a couple of expiring contracts and three draft picks, but the payoff is getting reasonably priced players for the next year and a half plus. All they have to do now is hope the trade works out, because they aren’t in a situation where they can do much without messing up what they have.

The cupboards are nearing empty of draft picks, so there isn’t a ton left for the Penguins to trade anyway. Plus, when you have Sidney Crosby and crew at full steam, you can bank on making a good run at Lord Stanley’s Cup. The Penguins are likely done shopping for now.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

Position: Cautious Buyer
Market to watch: Goaltending

Carolina is a very interesting team to watch right now. They are on the outside looking in for the playoffs, which has been more or less where they’ve been for a while now. They are a few months away from having to shell out lots of money for Sebastian Aho’s new contract, and they have a few more players with team friendly deals that they can roll with for a while.

The defense is set and has been for some time. The main problem has been in goal for the majority of their playoff drought. Scott Darling wasn’t the answer, and it remains to be seen if Petr Mrazek or Curtis McElhinney could be the answer in net for this team. If they can land a goalie who’s good to great, the Canes very well could be a playoff team. If they decide against a trade, they can make a run at a goalie over the summer, and start from there.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

Position: Buyer/Seller
Market to watch: Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky

The big one. Well, the big two, really. The Blue Jackets are faced with a scenario that no one envies. They are primed for a playoff run, but their two best players very well could leave for nothing at season’s end. In fact, the odds are that neither player will re-sign in Columbus. Bobrovsky has made his intentions clear by his willingness to waive his NTC, and Panarin stated he won’t talk contract until the summer.

Lately, the Blue Jackets’ play has been sliding, and they are now a Wild Card team bordering on a bubble team if things continue to trend down. This leaves the Jackets with two options:
Keeping both – Both Panarin and Bobrovsky will effectively be in-house rentals, and it wouldn’t technically cost the Jackets picks or prospects. They make a run for the playoffs, and then let the chips fall as they may in the summer. Here, there’s a chance that Panarin signs back in Columbus, but Bobrovsky is likely all but gone.
Trade both – This means possibly giving up on the season, and getting as much as they can for both players. They have a young enough core that whatever they get back can only help this team contend for the next few years, not just this year.
It’s a tough choice to make, look for them to heavily consider the second option.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Position: Seller
Market to watch: Depth options

The Devils are in a very interesting place right now. We’ve seen as recently as last year that the talent is real, and the team is not far out of being a playoff team. This year, the goaltending largely collapsed until Mackenzie Blackwood showed up, and the reigning league MVP Taylor Hall has been on injured reserve for over a third of the season. For the Devils, not the worst thing in the world, honestly.

Here’s why – New Jersey should make a good trade partner with a bunch of teams. The Devils have some expiring contracts in every position, and those pieces won’t be too expensive to get. Marcus Johansson and Brian Boyle each have small no-trade lists (according to Bob McKenzie, Boyle is going to Nashville for a 2nd round pick), but that shouldn’t be too much a worry. Ben Lovejoy is exactly the type of depth defenseman teams love to pick up at the deadline (pun not intended). Keith Kinkaid might be the odd goalie out for next season, and could definitely help out a contender needing a backup.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Position: Possible Buyer
Market to watch: Forwards

The Islanders are one of the biggest surprises in the NHL this season. After losing John Tavares over the summer for nothing, they suddenly started playing much better hockey, and are one of the league’s elite overnight. It all begins with a stifling defense and great goaltending, and it continues with a great forward group, led by a 21 year old Mat Barzal.

However, this group is going to have a lot of work to do this summer as well to keep the team as is. Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, and Robin Lehner are pending UFA’s (and they aren’t the only ones). Anthony Beauvillier and Barzal are going to get big raises both this and next summer, respectively. In order to keep this team competing at this level, GM Lou Lamoriello will have his hands full. In the meantime, it may be a good idea to just go for it this year and worry about these things over the summer. If they stick with what they have now though, it wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Position: Seller
Market to watch: Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello

The Rangers are in full on rebuild, as mentioned by the upper staff as recently as last summer. The Rangers are still far from being fully cleaned out and ready to build again, though. The defense group has some unwieldy contracts that’ll take a while to get rid of, and while Henrik Lundqvist is still good, his contract status isn’t doing them any favors.

However, Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello should land the Rangers some more futures to continue that rebuild. Both are clearly capable forwards, both have playoff experience, and both would bring back nice bundles to keep the plan in motion. There are a bunch of good young pieces in the system, and working toward a better tomorrow is what the Rangers are about today.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Position: Seller…for now
Market to watch: Wayne Simmonds

The current core of the Flyers are aging, but are still going to be around for the near future. Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, and Jakub “Tormund Grittysbane” Voracek are all signed for at least four more years, and each are older than 29. Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, and Travis Koneckny will need big raises this summer and Nolan Patrick will next summer. Carter Hart will eventually need a new contract too, but that’s not for a while.

Despite the team starting to really turn it around with Hart backing them up (all they needed was a goalie, who knew…), it’s probably still a better idea to clean house a little bit, because the battle for a playoff spot may be a little too much out of their reach. Wayne Simmonds is guaranteed to bring back value on an overpay, because that’s what desperate teams do this time of year, so it’d be a wise move to make. But if they keep winning this month, they may switch their stance slightly. Who knows?

WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Position: Stand pat
Market to watch: Andre Burakovsky

Like the Penguins, the Capitals are scraping the bottom of the barrel for items to trade for roster reinforcement come playoff time. The difference here, is that the Capitals’ fixes are likely internal. Plus, the Caps have almost no money free to make a big move if they wanted.

So what do they do? Well, they have more or less the same team as last year, save a piece here or there, and that group seemed to work fine last I checked. So why mess with success? Sure they’ve seen some struggles during the regular season, but other than the Lightning, who hasn’t gone on a cold streak at some point this year? They’ll be fine as is.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

BOSTON BRUINS

Position: Buyer
Market to watch: Artemi Panarin

Boston’s offense has largely siphoned through one of four forwards: David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Krejci. No other forward has more than 20 points, which is worrisome this time of year. Especially considering the Bruins would likely have to go through one of if not both the Maple Leafs and Lightning to get anywhere in the playoffs, secondary scoring is of the utmost importance.

Artemi Panarin has the ability to make a line that much more potent, and would do wonders creating the Bruins’ second line into something elite. Or, they could move Krecji down to the third line and put two younger forwards with Panarin on the second line. Point is, adding Panarin would make this team that much more dangerous, in front of an already stacked blue line, as well as a great goalie in Tuukka Rask. Panarin would make the Bruins a force come playoff time.

BUFFALO SABRES

Position: Extremely Cautious Seller
Market to watch: Jeff Skinner

The Sabres have one of the toughest positions right now in terms of whether to buy or sell. On the one hand, the Sabres had a blazing hot streak to start the year, and at one point had the best record in the league. On the other hand, just about all the other hockey they’ve played has been somewhere between mediocre and abysmal. The question is, are they Jekyll or Hyde here?

This murk’s up the Jeff Skinner contract situation. You would think its imperative to sign him to an extension the way he’s playing, rightfully so. But also, if the Sabres doubt their ability to make the playoffs as they’re currently built, which is entirely possible, could you sell on Skinner and hope to get a big return for him and then hope he hits free agency and sign him back? Or is that too much to ask? Either way, the Sabres will likely spend the next couple of weeks weighing those odds. I don’t envy GM Jason Botterill.

DETROIT RED WINGS

Position: Clearance Sale
Market to watch: Anything they can

The Red Wings have a problem, and that’s the glut of no-trade clauses handed out by GM Ken Holland. There are three big time rental opportunities Detroit can trade out, but they’re held back by some kind of NTC. Niklas Kronwall has a 10 team NTC, while Thomas Vanek and Gustav Nyquist each have a full NTC. Trading any of them would bring back decent returns, and allow the Red Wings further advancement in their long awaited rebuild.

They also feature Jimmy Howard, who’s also a straight up rental, but is not tied down by an NTC, so he’s more than fair game. With teams looking for high caliber goalies and Howard has shown he can hang this year, Howard can certainly be someone teams look for. If the Red Wings can get a good return for Howard, as well as anything from Kronwall, Vanek, or Nyquist, the rebuild can take a big step forward.

FLORIDA PANTHERS

Position: Seller
Market to watch: Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan

As they are constructed, it seems as if the Panthers are just short of what it takes to win. Sure, factors include the fact they have been missing Vincent Trocheck most of the season, and the goaltending has been pretty bad most of the year. It didn’t matter, though, and the Panthers started moving some gears and getting ready for some big moves. The Nick Bjugstad deal was certainly a good start.

The Cats acquired two expiring contracts, allowing them to free up some cap space to land one or two big free agents this coming summer (somewhere, Jay Onrait is yelling “Bobrovsky!”). They could also trade for one and sign them to an extra season if they so choose. If they go with the route where they wait until the summer, they may call this season a loss, and trade those two expiring contracts they just picked up, and get even more future value with them. Can’t hurt, can it?

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Position: Buyer
Market to watch: Defensemen

Montreal’s sudden return to relevance makes the Atlantic division that much more deep. Despite the much lower goal differential, they right up there with the Maple Leafs for second in the division. The additions of Max Domi and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have certainly paid off, and Carey Price staying healthy and playing well is a must in Montreal.

One place they could and should try to improve on is their defense, possibly helping out Price a little. Reinforcing the blue line is crucial when it comes to competing with the other top teams in the East, including Tampa, Toronto and Boston within their own division. The Canadiens do have some extra picks lying around in this and next year’s drafts, so it may be helpful to spend one or two of those on a defenseman with some experience.

OTTAWA SENATORS

Position: Clearance Sale
Market to watch: The big fish

The Senators are currently hovering around last in the NHL standings; yet don’t have their first round pick this year due to the Matt Duchene trade. So the worse they do this year, the better it is for the Avalanche. That being said, they can still help their own future stock by trading away their big ticket pending UFA’s, Duchene and Mark Stone.

There has been talk of extending one or both of them, but nothing more than whispers have materialized from it. Considering that the Senators franchise is pretty close to rock bottom, it should behoove the team to sell off those players and get more parts to build the future of the franchise with. It makes little sense to commit money and term to those guys if they’re going to clog up the roster when time comes to contend years down the road.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Position: Stand Pat
Market to watch: Depth

This year’s Lightning team is one of the best teams in the lockout era. It helps that they are getting production from Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, and Mikhail Sergachev while they’re on cheap entry level deals, so when it comes time to pay them, who knows what would happen with this team?

Until then, the Lightning don’t need to do much to improve on the product they have. As long as they are healthy come playoff time, they are the team to beat. If it ain’t broke, as they say.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Position: Buyer
Market to watch: Anything that’ll help

It’d be weird to call this year a must win for the Leafs for a couple of reasons. Firstly, John Tavares just got here, and has a long Leafs tenure ahead of him. Secondly, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are each just 21 years of age, and the rest of the core isn’t much older. So why would this be such an important year for the Leafs?

Matthews and Marner are exactly why. Matthews is now locked in for five years at about $11.5M, and Marner deserves around that much as well. The cap hit on these two combined will jump from the $1.8M to some figure at least 10 times that, which would take otherwise useful money away from the complementary pieces they need to win. So this year is the last year they can afford the amount of talent they have now, before most of their money gets tied up in only a few players. Better buckle up.

CENTRAL DIVISION

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Position: Seller
Market to watch: Did someone say Duncan Keith?

But actually, they did.

Well, here’s the thing with the Blackhawks: The glory days are done. They’re in the phase now of bad contracts looking worse because they had to keep the core group around while they were winning. This is the cost, though most Hawks fans would yell, “Worth it!” As they should.

So getting out from four plus more years of a 35 year old Duncan Keith, who’s in the twilight of his career already wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He’s given the franchise more than many others give theirs, after all, so what more can you ask of him?

The Hawks aren’t far out of a playoff spot, and making it would give the league a nice spot of TV money for that first round beatdown they’d receive. But realistically, the time is now to really start gearing toward their next potential dynasty. Getting out from under some of these massive contracts would be a good start.

COLORADO AVALANCHE

Position: Stand pat
Market to watch: Nothing in particular

There are a couple of reasons the Avalanche should do nothing at the deadline.

First, is where they are in the division race. The Jets and Predators are at least two classes ahead of the Avs, then you have Dallas and Minnesota between the top and where the Avs are now. Buying anything now would probably not move the needle enough to justify paying for what will be a bright future.

Secondly, they have Ottawa’s first round pick this summer, which is almost a lock for a top five pick. They’ll get better immediately due to that. It’ll help the depth the team doesn’t have right now, and it won’t cost them anything dear to do so.

So the Avalanche shouldn’t be active traders. Heck, if they miss the playoffs, they could even have two lottery picks. Imagine that.

DALLAS STARS

Position: Cautious buyer
Market to watch: Secondary scoring

The fact that the Stars have secondary scoring issues has been driven home too many times this season. Despite that, the onus seems to be on the star players like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn to carry that offense, which they have done so. But in this league, especially in the Wild West, if you don’t have scoring help for your top forwards, you won’t last long come playoff time.

Yes, the Stars have been getting excellent goaltending from Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin. Yes, the defense is playing well, and yes Miro Heiskanen is worthy of the hype. But if you can’t score, you can’t win, and if teams lock down Seguin and Benn, there’s little else that’s threatening offensively right now. It’d obviously help the Stars to get that help, but if they play conservative, it wouldn’t surprise anyone.

MINNESOTA WILD

Position: Should sell, probably would try to buy
Market to watch: Eric Staal

The Wild are in a daunting race for the final spots in the West playoff picture. They have several teams breathing town their backs, and a tall mountain to climb for some security from that. Having said that, the Wild aren’t likely to be favorites if they do make the playoffs, as they’d end up playing one of Nashville, Calgary, or Winnipeg, and we know how that story ends.

So getting something out of the expiring contract of Eric Staal is probably a good idea. The Wild are hurting for a better future, now that the upper staff has gone through their transition. Staal does carry a 10 team NTC, so he could have some say as to where he goes, if he goes. But what the Wild may end up doing is look to buy so they could make something out of their playoff position. It may not do them any good, but you gotta try, right?

NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Position: Buyer
Market to watch: Warm bodies

The Predators are up there with the league’s elite yet again this year, despite lots of bumps along the way. Many important players for the team have spent some time on the injury list, like Filip Forsberg, PK Subban, Viktor Arvidsson, and Kyle Turris. Additionally, tough guy Austin Watson was just suspended indefinitely, so the need is there for depth and support for all those man-games lost to injury.

Injuries are especially prevalent come playoff time. Being able to shake them off and continue on is vital for contenders for the Cup like Nashville. So having those guys ready to go, even if they end up as glorified black aces come playoff time, is vital, and Nashville should be looking to land some reinforcement to their forward group for that.

ST LOUIS BLUES

Position: Seller
Market to watch: Anything, really

The carpet was pulled out from underneath the Blues this season, and it wasn’t until Jordan Binnington of all people came in that they started winning games with any consistency. Now that the Blues are finally winning some games, is it enough to say that they should keep who they have now and go for it? Or, should they start selling off parts and build toward a future?

Gut says they should sell. There are too many teams who could claim to have a chance at the Wild Card spots in the West that making a move would realistically be worth it to buy. Additionally, this team has lots of valuable pieces that other teams might pay big prices for, such as Brayden Schenn or Alex Pietrangelo. They may not actually sell, but they should really consider it.

WINNIPEG JETS

Position: Buyer
Market to watch: Center depth

It’s weird that the Jets are starting to pull away from other teams in the West, yet many experts would say that they haven’t fully taken off just yet. But with Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, and Jacob Trouba among the names that will need new contracts this summer, this year becomes more important for the Jets to win.

Word is that the Jets’ first round pick is in play, and they’d go for a rental to help them down the middle. Something like the Paul Stastny trade from last year is something to look to. It’d certainly help the Jets fully take flight, and turn into the contender everyone predicted they’d be this year.

PACIFIC DIVISION

ANAHEIM DUCKS

Position – Seller Market to watch – Jakob Silfverberg

Just a couple months ago, John Gibson was single-handedly dragging the Ducks toward a potential playoff spot. However, as far as regression curves go, it was widely expected that eventually Gibson would come down to earth, and the Ducks would plummet in the standings. Sure enough, Gibson sprung a few leaks, and the Ducks are bottoming out.

The Ducks made some tinkering to their roster, adding Michael Del Zotto, Devin Shore, and Derek Grant all in one week, but to no avail. The play here would be to sell, but the Ducks don’t have much other teams would want to buy, save Jakob Silfverberg. While the Ducks have said they want to extend Silfverberg recently, it may be more prudent to trade the pending UFA for futures, and try and retool around a new core of Rickard Rakell, Daniel Sprong, and Hampus Lindholm.

ARIZONA COYOTES

Position – Cautious Buyer
Market to watch – Veteran forwards

The injury to Antti Raanta may have been the arrow to the knee that took out the Coyotes from being a legitimate threat to a playoff berth in the West. Despite that, the Coyotes are still within reach of that coveted spot. It would really great for this team to actually get some playoff experience for a change, considering all the young players they currently have.

Because of the collective age of this group being what it is, there are a lot of pending RFA’s to renew next year, mostly at forward. Lawson Crouse, Conor Garland, and Nick Cousins all are due new contracts, and that may take away one of the Coyotes’ strengths in play here, and that’s cap space. So if they really want to make a run for it, buying in on some veteran scoring help may be their play here. If they don’t want to buy though, it’s perfectly reasonable.

CALGARY FLAMES

Position – Stand Pat
Market to watch – Backup goalies

The Flames have a great luxury on their hands, and that’s the fact that their main group of players are locked up for at least three seasons after this one finishes, and for reasonable money. Dave Rittich and Sam Bennett are due a new contract this summer, and there isn’t a ton of wiggle room for that, even with letting Mike Smith walk. But that’s a summer problem.

Calgary is running away with the Western Conference’s top spot right now, and they don’t need to change anything to make a potential deep run in the playoffs. The only thing they may be concerned about is their backup goaltending, because Mike Smith’s three-plus goals against and sub-.900 save percentage aren’t gonna hack it for a contender. Other than that, though, the Flames shouldn’t tinker with the success they already have.

EDMONTON OILERS

Position – Good question
Market to watch – Anything within reason

Oh boy…where to begin? Peter Chiarelli was fired far too late, and the collection of his moves amount to the same result as surrounding the Hope Diamond with cardboard cutout security guards and nothing else. The Oilers’ new regime, be it led by interim GM Keith “Not Wayne” Gretzky or someone else, have to task themselves with cleaning up after the Chiarelli Oil-Spill (see what I did there?), and build a legit team around the best hockey player in the world, Connor McDavid.

There are some pieces in place that should stick around for that next page to be turned and others who probably won’t be. Aside from the obvious (Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Larsson, Darnell Nurse, Oscar Klefbom), the other kind of obvious (Milan Lucic, Mikko Koskinen), and the up-and-coming (Kailer Yamamoto, Jesse Puljujarvi), everything should be fair game. It’s just damage control until such time where things get cleaned up.

MORE: 3 Movers That Doomed Peter Chiarelli

LOS ANGELES KINGS

Position – Clearance Sale
Market to watch – Everything

It’s amazing how quickly the Kings went from contender to dumpster fire. This archetype of regression tends to happen over longer periods of time than, say, a month. Now, the Kings are stuck in a really bad spot, where they have some older players stuck with bad contracts worth lots of money, and wouldn’t be particularly useful to other teams.

That said, the Kings should be open for business, and have already begun shedding parts with the Jake Muzzin trade. Muzzin may have been the easiest player to trade, but the pattern has to continue for the Kings to regain any form they’ve had over the past decade. Everything that isn’t bolted down (meaning everyone but Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty) is on sale, and can be had for a reasonable price.

SAN JOSE SHARKS

Position – Buyer
Market to watch – Goaltenders

The Sharks are one of a couple of teams that are in severe win-now mode. Consider their UFA class right now that includes Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Joonas Donskoi, and Erik Karlsson, add on the fact that they have $57M locked in to 14 players next year already, money will be very tight. If they decide to attempt to sign Karlsson to a new contract, figure at least $10M more against the cap for a 15th player.

So, because the Sharks’ window is currently set to possibly slam closed by next year if nothing goes right, this year is a must win situation. That means gathering as many provisions as possible and just playing their hearts out. One thing that needs improvement more than anything is goaltending, and there are some affordable pieces out there with proven ability in limited appearances to shore things up.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Position – Passive Buyers’ Market to watch – Depth defensemen

One of the most pleasant surprises this season has been the emergence of the Canucks’ young roster. One year after Brock Boeser broke out; Elias Pettersson has emerged to steal the show. Dekey Pete is just one of many younger players that the Canucks can boast, and they may even sneak in to a playoff spot on their merits.

The reason why they should remain passive is that it’s not worth mortgaging much of the future to assure a playoff berth, only to get knocked out by one of the West’s elite teams in the first round. Additionally, the Canucks will have some money to shell out this summer (Boeser, Nikolay Goldobin, Josh Leivo, Markus Granlund, Ben Hutton, all RFA’s), and may be able to make a move then to move the needle more. However, if the right deal comes along to help make the playoffs, there’s no reason they shouldn’t see that through.

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Position – Buyer
Market to watch – Forward depth

The Golden Knights may have begun life by quickly jumping into the thick of things, but that doesn’t mean it’s not sustainable. The reason being is that the Golden Knights have a couple of tricks up their sleeves that no one else can say they have.

Firstly, draft picks. Vegas picked up so many extra picks in the expansion draft, that they still have loaded up for more moves should they choose. They have three picks in the 3rd and 5th round this year, and three more 2nd rounders next year, including all their other top picks. Secondly, they are exempt from the Seattle expansion draft, so they can use that in some way as well.

The Knights have to try and keep track with the Sharks and Flames in the Pacific, which may look more and more difficult as the days roll on. Adding some help in the depth department can never hurt, and they have plenty of picks to trade if they choose to do so.