Trade Deadline 2016
Preview:
The Buyers -
Chicago Blackhawks - It's a bit of a down year for the defending champs, as salary cap mismanagement and some injuries have slowed them down in an incredibly competitive Central Division. However, their mandate is still to Win Urgently, and they have serious depth issues, especially in net and on the blueline. They also are weak down the middle, with not much after Toews and rookie Nick Schmaltz. Their top four of Keith, Hjalmarsson, Byfuglien and Seabrook is formidable, but expect them to try to add some NHL depth for the bottom pairing as well.
Nashville Predators - GM David Poile is in Win Now mode, with his squad leading the Central and the Blackhawks limping. Rinne has been an absolute workhorse for them, and it could be prudent to bring in an NHL level backup to spell him off and keep him fresh for the post-season. Their defense corps is perhaps the best in the league, with five top four defensemen in Weber, Josi, Ellis, Jones and Ekholm. They lack offensive punch down the middle after Mike Ribeiro and might look to add a scoring 2C if one is available for the right price.
Washington Capitals - This is a team in a playoff spot that wants to win now. They believe in their core, locking in Ovi and Holtby to long term deals lately. They have a solid blueline, with Carlson and Green providing offense on the right side while Alzner, Niskanen and Orpik hold down the fort on the left side. They have great goaltending between Holtby and rising young talent Philipp Grubauer. And they have a surging Ovechkin who is still in the conversation for the Richard after a slow start. While they have a good 1-2 punch at center with Backstrom and Kuznetsov, they again find themselves lacking any sort of scoring depth on the wings after Ovechkin. Expect them to be aggressive adding a top six winger to push deeper into the playoffs this year.
The Sellers -
Toronto Maple Leafs - Dave Nonis seems to have embraced the idea of a total rebuild as his club sits outside of the playoff picture yet again. With young star Jack Eichel to build around, it sounds like not much else besides rising star Morgan Reilly is nailed down. Captain Dion Phaneuf has a no trade clause, but if he is willing to waive it and a team is able to take on his five year, $7M AAV contract he is on the table. Phil Kessel is also rumoured to be available, but rival GMs claim the asking price is too high. If Nonis lowers some of his asks at the deadline there could be a real fire sale, but the ball is in his court as not many of his better assets are on expiring deals besides maybe Bozak or Komarov.
Carolina Hurricanes - In the basement of the Metro, the Canes do have a bright future, one that Ron Francis hopes to be around to see. They have an impressive stable of young stars, from Sebastian Aho, Elias Lindholm and Mitch Marner up front to Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin on the blueline, and the goaltending they've had from Carter Hutton has been good, but as a team they have no identity and little success this year. Veteran bleuliners like Ron Hainsey, Paul Martin and John-Michael Liles could all be available, as well as gritty winger Justin Abdelkader. Team captain Eric Staal is on the record as being committed to the team through the rebuild, and it is expected that the situation is the same with his brother Jordan. They don't have the premium pieces some other sellers do but they should be active on deadline day all the same.
Arizona Coyotes - The 'Yotes are in the basement and probably open to moving veteran roster players. The catch is that most of the roster is already on the younger side. A 39 year old Shane Doan doesn't move the needle much anymore, even if he was willing to waive to leave the desert. They may however have teams interested in Brian Boyle and Martin Hanzal, experienced centres with big frames who can take the beating of the NHL playoffs and wear down opposing bluelines. Their oldest defenseman is Michael Stone at 25 years old. If they don't see him as a core piece down the road they could certainly find buyers for the steady, defense first blueliner who has also put up 20 points so far this year. Veteran wingers like Korpikoski and Erat will also be available, though it remains to be seen how much of a market there will be for them. Lots of teams are asking about Boedker but for now Malone seems content to hold onto the speedy winger who leads his team in scoring with 33 points.