The NHL trade deadline looms just under a week away, the 28th of February. This time of year brings some excitement and some fears for fans as they wonder what their team will do, who they will bring in and who they will let go of ... but that only pales in comparison to what the players must feel especially if they are rumored to be potential trade bait. It's not just who will they be playing for, but where they will have to move to or move their families to and sometimes that is even temporary.
Teams themselves are generally considered buyers or sellers at this time of the year based on if they are in the playoff hunt or out of it. Sellers try to move assets that they can do without to get returns that will help in the future, buyers will look for that last piece that will make them a step above their competitors in the race for the Cup. Once in a while a trade that doesn't involve those two factions as it were, and sometimes those trades aren't one team looking for the future or one team looking for the now, but rather both teams are addressing an area of need for the present and the future.
There have already been a number of trades where a players who weren't working out were traded for late picks in the hopes they would work out on a new team, and there have been trades where players not working out for either team were moved such as the Anderson for Elliot trade. There have also been a couple of trades made by teams looking to take a run this year thinking that they are getting that missing piece. Kaberle to Boston is one such move, and Toronto gets a great return in a first round pick, a high end prospect who was also a first round selection, and then if Kaberle re-signs in Boston they get a 2nd round pick as well next year.
There have also been a couple of big trades where the teams weren't looking for that veteran playoff help but for a change young guys were moved. Pittsburgh got a great return for the young PMD Goligoski getting young and talented forward James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen in return. Goli will be nice for Dallas but Neal going to Pittsburgh will be great there. The Avalanche also had a trade which I will touch on more later, after the pain and anger subside and the deadline has passed, which saw a great power forward in Stewart and the highest ranked prospect in the system for years, now making an impact for the Avs, Shattenkirk, both being traded to get potential #1 defenseman Erik Johnson from the Blues. There were other pieces involved but that was the major players in the deal.
There have been 18 deals already made since February 1st. How many more deals will be made, especially as the deadline gets closer, is yet to be seen. There will certainly be more moves though, and I wouldn't be shocked if the Avalanche aren't finished dealing yet either.
Who could be moved from the Avs still? There are plenty of rumors right now, with Stastny, Galliardi, and as always Liles among those names mentioned. However who do I feel is most likely someone that could still move. Galiardi, Wilson, Jones and Dupuis are certainly possible, as is Yip. O'Reilly may be an outside shot as well, and Liles could be too. Hejduk and Stastny are almost certainly not going anywhere, and neither is Foote despite a rumor that he could. However at this point it is really anyone's guess and we won't know for sure until the deal happens or the deadline passes...
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