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With the NHL trade deadline coming by the weekend, both buyers and sellers are starting to feel the pressure of making a move before it’s too late.
Certain teams will be looking to add key players to make the playoffs and add more depth for a deep playoff run. However other teams will be looking to sell assets to better their organisation in the future. Let’s take a look at a few.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made some deals earlier in the week to better their team. But this is just the tip of the iceberg for the Leafs Nation. They still have several players eating up a huge chunk of their salary cap.
A player like Nazem Kadri, for example. At 4.1 million a season, Kadri just isn’t worth anywhere near what he is getting. He would be a excellent third line centre for most teams at the 2.5 million range. They should just get rid of Kadri now for a high draft pick.
Joffrey Lupul has also been bad for the Leafs. Eating up 5.25 million against their cap, he is always injured. He’s a great player when in the line up, but he isn’t there very often. Lupul makes for a great salary dump in the rebuild state the Leafs are currently at. They should take any decent draft pick or quality prospect they can get for Lupul.
The Montreal Canadiens’ season has turned out to be bust. Unfortunately their star player Carey Price was injured for the majority of the season, which resulted in their destruction. I see no reason for Montreal to make any brash decisions at this stage in the game. No need to be buyers or sellers at this point. Get Price back for next year and they’ll be fine.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking to add some depth to their core. They have really turned their season around in the last six weeks. I see them going after Mikkel Boedker from Arizona. This would be a clear rental situation.
Boedker is on pace for twenty goals and would bring immense speed to the line up. He’s putting up decent numbers in Arizona and the sky is the limit.
The Calgary Flames are sellers at this point with their sad season. After making the playoffs last year it was looking like the start of a dynasty for the young team. They still have some young assets in the pipeline with Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Dougie Hamiltion. The future still looks bright for the Flames.
They’re in need of a goalie desperately. Their number one goalie Jonas Hiller is having a poor season and is set to become a unrestricted free agent by summer time. The Flames are in dire need of a goalie right now.
The Edmonton Oilers need to make a couple of moves. Nail Yakupov has to go. He turned out to be bust with this team. His stock will continue to sink if they continue to hang onto him. At this point the former first rounder could potentially bring in a third pairing defenceman or a prospect with a lot of upside. It’s time to move on from Yakupov.
If they could move Ryan Nugent Hopkins for a stud defenceman then I would highly encourage the Oilers to take that route. With Conor McDavid set to be their star at centre, then I would prefer to Oilers to get a legitimate top two defenceman to strengthen their core. Everyone likes Hopkins but the Oilers need to address their defence. Hopkins could easily bring in a stud defenceman.
The Boston Bruins are looking to make some moves as well. They could be both buyers and sellers. They are currently in a playoff spot but their new GM Don Sweeney isn’t afraid to make bold moves. Their biggest bargaining chip is Loui Eriksson.
Eriksson is set to become a free agent by the summer for the bruins. I see no point in letting him go for nothing. He’s a valuable asset for Boston in the middle of a playoff race but to let a player of that calibre go for nothing is not smart management. I don’t see the Bruins winning the Cup so there’s not much point in keeping him.
Eriksson is a huge rental for any team. Boston could easily pick up a first round pick or a top defensive prospect in a trade with any team. Eriksson is on pace for around 30 goals this year so the price is high.
There’s going to be a lot going on in the coming days in the NHL. It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out.
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