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Good morning, hockey folks. We’re exactly a week out from the NHL trade deadline, and the scuttlebutt is coming fast and furious. Let’s dive into some of the latest.
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic, with photos by Ezra Shaw, Ethan Miller and Melissa Tamez / Getty Images)
For SaleTop 10 sellers
Originally, I was going to rank all 32 teams by their willingness to buy and/or sell, but let’s just say that ended up being too ambitious for this Red Lighter — in part because a few teams are in a weird in-between space, where they may not be big players either way at the March 6 deadline.
So, let’s instead break down the 10 most likely buyers and sellers, with a deeper look at which players might be on the trade block over the next seven days. As always, make sure you’re keeping an eye on the latest trade board for up-to-date info.
Here’s our sellers list as it stands today, ranked by likelihood of being the biggest players on the market:
1. St. Louis Blues
Pending unrestricted free agents: Oskar Sundqvist, Robby Fabbri
Others on trade board: Justin Faulk, Jordan Binnington, Brayden Schenn, Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou
Analysis: No team has as many high-impact players available. How dramatically GM Doug Armstrong unloads remains to be seen, but the Blues could bring the biggest fireworks if the deals line up for them. Here’s what Jeremy Rutherford is hearing.
2. Vancouver Canucks
Pending UFAs: Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger, David Kämpf
Others on trade board: Elias Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland
Analysis: It’s full-on tank mode for the Canucks, who are paying for years and years of mismanagement and now have to sell off anything that isn’t bolted down. It’s going to be painful, sure, but at least there’s finally a semblance of a plan and a youth movement on the way.
3. Calgary Flames
Pending UFAs: Ryan Lomberg
Others on trade board: Blake Coleman, Nazem Kadri, Zach Whitecloud, Morgan Frost
Analysis: The Flames have some very interesting pieces with term that could fetch high prices, led by Kadri and Coleman, who have both played key roles on Cup winners in recent years.
4. New York Rangers
Pending UFAs: Jonathan Quick
Others on trade board: Vincent Trocheck, Braden Schneider, Brennan Othmann
Analysis: The Rangers have already shipped out a ton over the past 12 months or so, but the sell-off is likely to continue with a haul for Trocheck — and maybe more, depending on how deep GM Chris Drury wants to cut.
5. Nashville Predators
Pending UFAs: Michael Bunting, Erik Haula, Michael McCarron, Nick Blankenburg
Others on trade board: Ryan O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault
Analysis: The Preds have made quite a run back to respectability of late, but their playoff chances are still sitting around just 24 percent, and they have some valuable vets to peddle. If ROR and Stamkos decide they want to go, Nashville could climb this ranking.
6. Toronto Maple Leafs
Pending UFAs: Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, Calle Järnkrok, Troy Stecher
Others on trade board: Simon Benoit
Analysis: Woof, have they been bad coming out of the Olympic break. The only question now is how aggressively GM Brad Treliving is willing to sell, as there’s no point holding out hope they’ll make a playoff push. (It’s more like a lottery push at this point.)
7. Chicago Blackhawks
Pending UFAs: Nick Foligno, Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, Ilya Mikheyev, Matt Grzelcyk
Others on trade board: none
Analysis: They’re creeping into the lottery conversation again after a pile of losses over the last six weeks, and it’s time to sell to keep stocking the cupboards for better days ahead.
8. San Jose Sharks
Pending UFAs: John Klingberg, Kiefer Sherwood, Alex Nedeljkovic, Mario Ferraro, Timothy Liljegren, Vincent Desharnais
Others on trade board: none
Analysis: The Sharks still have a legit chance at making the playoffs, but their contention window is a ways down the line, so moving off of some of their many UFA defensemen for futures makes a lot of sense. But they could keep some of their rentals if they’d like to give Celebrini and company a shot at a postseason push.
9. Winnipeg Jets
Pending UFAs: Gustav Nyquist, Luke Schenn, Logan Stanley
Others on trade board: none
Analysis: What a horrible, no good, very bad season in Winnipeg. It doesn’t appear as though the Jets will move more than rentals, with an eye on a return to competitiveness next season, so there may not be anything too exciting here.
10. New Jersey Devils
Pending UFAs: Evgenii Dadonov
Others on trade board: Dougie Hamilton
Analysis: New Jersey’s playoff chances are basically nil at this point, but don’t expect a widespread sell-off. If the Devils find a taker for Hamilton, however, that could make them one of the more high-impact teams at this deadline. Otherwise, it could be quiet.
Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche. (Jamie Schwaberow / Getty Images)
Goin’ For ItTop 10 buyers
The list below reads a lot like a ranking of the top Cup contenders, with these 10 teams combining for an 86 percent chance to win it all this year.
1. Colorado Avalanche
Needs: This is a deep roster, but the Avs could still use help up front. They already bolstered the back end by adding Brett Kulak earlier this week, but another impact center and winger would go a long way to helping them escape their current malaise. And they have a ton of cap room.
2. Carolina Hurricanes
Needs: An elite center would sure fit nicely here. And you can’t help but wonder if the ‘Canes contemplate an upgrade in goal, given Frederik Andersen’s injury issues and Brandon Bussi’s inexperience.
3. Dallas Stars
Needs: They have cap room if they spend some of Tyler Seguin’s long-term injured reserve money and could use help both up front and in their top four on D.
4. Edmonton Oilers
Needs: Time to go play goalie roulette again, I guess? Tristan Jarry is down to an .864 save percentage, significantly worse than anything Stuart Skinner ever put up in Edmonton, so it’s back to the drawing board.
5. Montreal Canadiens
Needs: If they can find a taker for Patrik Laine’s contract, they’ll have enough cap space to bring in an impact player up front. A center would be ideal, although rookie Oliver Kapanen has been growing into the role fairly nicely of late.
6. Minnesota Wild
Needs: Does Bill Guerin have another trick up his sleeve after landing the big fish in Quinn Hughes in December? The Wild ideally can land a center to help take on the Avs/Stars juggernauts in the Central, and they will dangle top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt to make that happen.
7. Detroit Red Wings
Needs: Help down the middle (second-line center) or a top-four defenseman would make the most sense for Detroit. Could Tyler Myers be a fit here?
8. Tampa Bay Lightning
Needs: They’re a bit tight on cap space, so they’d have to get a little creative, but that hasn’t stopped GM Julien BriseBois in the past. More forward depth is probably the only need, given how many defensemen they’ve had step up this year.
9. Vegas Golden Knights
Needs: Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon is never shy about going after what he wants, and he has enough cap flexibility to be a player at this deadline. Do the Golden Knights feel good enough about their situation in goal, which has been in flux all year?
10. Utah Mammoth
Needs: Our insiders flagged Utah as a potential surprise player at the deadline, and the fact that the Mammoth are up to an 85 percent chance of making the playoffs in the West means they can get more aggressive. Could they possibly land one of the big names, given they’re interested in adding either a forward or a D-man (or both)?
🔄 For more deadline analysis, check out Pierre LeBrun’s latest rumblings, which have details on Steven Stamkos, Nazem Kadri, the Panthers and more.
Ray Shero lifts the Stanley Cup in 2009. (Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)
MirTrivia Question
Let’s see how well you know your trade deadline history.
Early in the salary-cap era, the Penguins were always aggressive at the deadline. At one point, their GM, Ray Shero, added three different veteran stars in 2008, 2009 and 2013, in three of the bigger deadline moves in that time period.
They traded away five young players (Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito, Kenny Agostino, Ben Hanowski), two first-round picks and a third-round pick to bring in two future Hall of Famers and one 400-goal man who is now the GM of a top club.
Who were those three additions? And which one won a Cup with the Penguins?
Answers at the bottom.
Coast to Coast
🥇 The U.S. women’s players say they are eager to put the focus on their Olympic gold-medal win, not a “distasteful” joke from Donald Trump. And the men’s team weighs in similarly here.
📰 Here’s what Blues writer Jeremy Rutherford is hearing about their deadline plans, including for Team Canada netminder Jordan Binnington.
👀 Josh Yohe weighs in on Penguins GM Kyle Dubas’ latest savvy trade and what it says about Pittsburgh’s surprisingly successful retool.
🏒 A fire sale is coming in Vancouver, and Tyler Myers is likely the next to go. Here’s why that’s a good thing.
🤔 Should the NHL learn from the Olympics and switch to a 3-2-1 point system? It certainly has my vote.
🎤 “The Athletic Hockey Show” puts a bow on the Milan Cortina Games, discussing the controversy surrounding the men’s team attending the State of the Union and Connor Hellebuyck receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The crew also looks ahead to the deadline.
Bill Guerin celebrates after winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
MirTrivia Answer
Who did the Penguins acquire at the 2008, 2009 and 2013 deadlines?
Marián Hossa was the big addition in 2008, via the Atlanta Thrashers, and he helped Pittsburgh all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before the Penguins lost to the Detroit Red Wings, whom he then signed with the following season. And then lost in the final … to the Penguins.
Bill Guerin, now the Wild GM, joined Pittsburgh a year later, in 2009, and won his second championship as a player.
And, in 2013, the Penguins went to the veteran well again, bringing aboard Jarome Iginla, whose brief tenure in Crosbyville ended when the Pens were swept by Boston in the Eastern Conference final.
Iginla, like Hossa, then joined the Bruins a year later — but failed to win a title.
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