This year’s playoff races in the NHL will be fast and furious. Multiple teams will be vying for the automatic division playoff slots as well as the two wild card spots in each conference. In the East there are 13 teams in the playoff hunt for eight slots, while out West one can make a strong argument everyone is still in the race with the exception of the Edmonton Oilers. With this many teams in the playoff hunt there will be plenty of buyers but who exactly is selling?
If the NHL playoffs started right now, ZERO Canadian teams would be in. We’ll talk about each team’s issues next! pic.twitter.com/irQsrQr0oW
— Tim and Sid (@timandsid) January 26, 2016
The Sellers
In no particular order the teams that are in sell mode are the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets. However, each team is at a different time and place and what they are looking for in terms of player assets in return can differ greatly depending upon the club.
Let’s start with the Sabres. Buffalo is building for the future and the current track they find themselves on is to continue to acquire as many future assets as possible. However, outside of pending unrestricted free agent forward Jamie McGinn and Evander Kane it’s hard to find sellable assets in Buffalo. McGinn can help a team’s third line, but best case scenario all Buffalo can expect in return is a third round pick. Kane is still only 24 and partnered with the right center (New York’s John Tavares?) could find his former scoring touch. Given Kane’s performance the last three years, Buffalo should not expect a high return for the former 30-goal scorer.
The Blue Jackets are already in retooling mode. Ryan Johansen is out and Seth Jones is in. I would not be surprised to see more retooling by Columbus by trading 33-year-old winger Scott Hartnell (17 goals this season and 28 last year) and blueliner Jack Johnson.
There is no question Edmonton is looking to make deals to round out their roster by improving their blueline and landing reliable veterans who can help this young talented roster take the next step. However, it’s more likely the Oilers would find such a deal in the off-season.
For the Leafs the question the top brass have to answer is: Do they feel Tyler Bozak, Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri and Dion Phaneuf are part of the plan going forward over the next two-three years? A deal happening with any of these players will not be easy to complete due to their salary cap numbers and the return GM Lou Lamoriello would want back. Pending UFA P.A. Parenteau will be moved for a draft pick and can help some team’s secondary scoring.
There is no doubt the seller with the biggest names are the Winnipeg Jets. Both Andrew Ladd (30) and Dustin Byfuglien (turns 31 in March) are UFAs at season’s end. As I wrote in my previous piece, if I was running the Jets I would trade both and do everything I could to land a top prospect who is on the verge of the NHL. Even if it meant trading both Ladd and Byfuglien together to acquire a talented youngster such as Lawson Crouse from the Panthers or Michael Dal Colle from the Islanders.
Report: Panthers, Canucks potential suitors if Andrew Ladd goes on trading block https://t.co/irDnlRH5TQ pic.twitter.com/rAAT9HD5Wd
— theScore NHL (@theScoreNHL) January 28, 2016
The Wild Cards
There are three situations to keep an eye out for as we approach the February 29th trade deadline. We start with one of the biggest surprises in the NHL and that’s the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina is just one point out of the playoffs heading into the All-Star break. But if the Hurricanes are going to make the playoffs they cannot afford to trade pending UFA Eric Staal. Having said that, if Carolina were to come up short for the playoffs and see Staal walk away July 1st as a UFA and receive no assets in return, that would not be a good scenario for the Hurricanes.
There is no question the Bruins entered this season with a “forest not the trees” approach. Of course the Bruins want to make the playoffs but when you are using $2.75 million of this years cap space for a player not on your roster (Milan Lucic), the plan is looking towards the big picture. With that in mind, if Boston General Manager Don Sweeney comes to the conclusion he is not going to resign pending UFA Loui Eriksson, he very well could be on the move before the trade deadline even if it means it costs Boston a playoff spot this year.
Finally we get to another of the league’s biggest surprises in the Arizona Coyotes. If GM Don Maloney cannot sign 26-year-old Mikkel Boedker before the trade deadline, then he must move the pending UFA for the best package he can get in terms of prospects and draft picks.
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