Who’s still in play, and who will stay put?
Stone, Simmonds among players still available for teams looking for a late-season addition
The deadline is here. The last of the NHL trades will be completed by 3 p.m. this afternoon.
Of course, not everyone waited for the deadline. The Leafs acquired defenceman Jake Muzzin last month. The Blue Jackets raided the Senators on consecutive days over the weekend, acquiring forwards Matt Duchene on Friday and Ryan Dzingel on Saturday. Buffalo picked up blue-liner Brandon Montour from Anaheim on Sunday.
But there’s still the potential for much, much more. Or so the sports networks hope. They start their coverage at 8 a.m. Which team has done the best job in the early deals?
Most would say the Blue Jackets because they have added Duchene (28 goals) and Dzingel (22 goals). But Capitals GM Brian MacLellan helped his team considerably by adding speedy Carl Hagelin to be a fourth-line role player and Nick Jensen to be a dependable third-pairing defenceman. Jensen could help the Capitals as much as Michal Kempny did last season. Stars GM Jim Nill added veteran defenceman Ben Lovejoy and creative forward Mats Zuccarello for reasonable prices. And the Senators are doing a good job stockpiling draft picks.
With the Blue Jackets and Capitals both significantly improving their teams this week, will the Penguins answer with a deal?
For sure. Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford is historically one of the most aggressive traders. He lost two more defencemen, Brian Dumoulin (concussion) and Kris Letang (upper body), in Saturday’s outdoor game. He will be looking at defencemen. How should we rate this year’s crop of available players for the deadline?
The best forward group in recent memory. Ottawa’s Mark Stone, the Rangers’ Kevin Hayes, Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds and Florida’s Mike Hoffman are four players who will significantly upgrade teams. There are rumours about Simmonds ending up in Tampa Bay, but several teams are interested. Detroit’s Gustav Nyquist is having a good season. New Jersey’s Marcus Johansson could add secondary scoring to a team. The defence crop is weak, unless a general manager wants to make a hockey trade to land one of the Hurricanes’ defencemen. Carolina GM Don Waddell would probably be willing to deal Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce or Justin Faulk, especially if he could acquire a forward who can play in his top six. Who is the sleeper in this season’s trade market?
Hoffman has another season left on his contract paying $5.187 million (U.S.), and teams are interested because he is not a rental. He has 26 goals this season. What do the Red Wings want for Nyquist?
General manager Ken Holland has asked for a first-round pick, but he would probably take a second-rounder and a young player, like he did in the Jensen deal with the Capitals. The Red Wings would prefer to re-sign Nyquist. Who’s under the most pressure to make something happen?
Nashville GM David Poile. He has the league’s most talented defence, and a proven goaltender. The Predators are considered one of the top West contenders, but they don’t look sharp. They could use another scorer, particularly for the power play, where they rank last. Will goalies Sergei Bobrovsky or Jimmy Howard move? Don’t see it happening. There’s no goalie marketplace.