The NHL Trade Deadline is fast approaching. Let’s take a look around the Western Conference at some potential moves and strategies.
Sellers: Colorado Avalanche.
Joe Sakic is playing a nasty game of chicken with the rest of the NHL. Teams are salivating over the chance to add one of Gabriel Landeskog or Matt Duchene to their roster for the playoff push, and one of them may just blink.
And Colorado holds all the power.
Granted, their value is at its peak right now. Deadline Day is crazy for everyone, and it motivates teams to make some ill-advised moves in the name of Cup contention. But even still, both Landeskog and Duchene are locked up for the next few years. If a proper deal is not in place by the time the deadline passes, there is always the NHL Draft. Or even the Expansion Draft, which is a fun new wrinkle to deadline madness.
The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders appear to be biting the hardest on Duchene, though the Avs are reportedly asking for the moon. Philly would likely offer up picks, one of their plethora of prospects and perhaps Brayden Schenn. Colorado is apparently looking for a defenseman, which they could add in the form of Michael Del Zotto and/or Ivan Provorov.
Brooklyn is balking at the idea of selling one of the few blueliners they have like Travis Hamonic or Ryan Pulock.
There has not been as much buzz around Landeskog, which is understandable. Landy is not the pure scorer that Duchene is, and he is locked up for two years longer.
Regardless, the pressure is off Joe Sakic and company. Their top pieces are not going anywhere, and they can play out this hand for as long as they please. This is hardly a DeMarcus Cousins-type scenario where they can overplay their hand and wait too long.
Beyond the decimation of their young core, the Avs are still looking for a suitor for Jarome Iginla. To put it bluntly, they would have more luck if he were not quite so useless. The dude is 39. He is not the offensive shot-in-the-arm-addition that he was at the 2013 trade deadline when he was sent to Pittsburgh. He lacks the physical oomph he once had. Plus, he makes a stupid amount of money at $5.3 million.
Iginla has eight goals and 10 assists in 61 games. But let him have one more go at the Cup, you say! Honestly, find an open spot for him on Washington. On Pittsburgh. On Minnesota. On San Jose.
Maybe I could see John Tortorella giving him a chance in Columbus, or the Montreal Canadiens getting desperate and bringing him in. But otherwise, the choices are not many. Chicago has apparently mulled it.
There is one place he could go that would actually make a bit of sense.
Buyers: Calgary Flames.
How amazing would it be if the Flames brought in Iginla? Okay, it doesn’t help their playoff chances much and they would still have work to do. But come on, this seems like fate.
The Flames have surprised a lot of people, myself included, with just how successful they have been. Calgary has surged to the top Wild Card spot with 72 points, and can even make a run at the Pacific Division spots if they keep it up. They are just two points behind the Anaheim Ducks and four behind the Edmonton Oilers.
Iginla could easily take the place on the roster of someone like Alex Chiasson, who has one goal in his last 21 games. He could even help out on the powerplay, since eight of his 18 points this season have come on the man advantage.
I’m not saying it would be a great addition. But it would absolutely awesome to see him return where it all started 20 years ago.
Calgary has apparently also been looking at Brayden Schenn and Radim Vrbata. Essentially, they are looking for a winger that has a scoring touch and a little punch.
The Flames are unlikely to make a move for a goaltender. For now.
Sellers: Dallas Stars.
I mentioned in one of my daily predictions articles that I expected the firesale to go down any time for Dallas. Mere hours later, Patrick Eaves was shipped off to Anaheim. Since then, the Stars have shipped Jordie Benn off to Montreal and Johnny Oduya to Chicago.
There’s still a ways to go.
There is simply no way that they will find any takers for their goaltenders. Dallas has $10.4 million tied up in Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen next season, a fact which only grows funnier by the day. The Vegas Golden Knights might not even want them the expansion draft, which would be a disaster for the Stars.
Patrick Sharp appears to be the most tradable asset remaining. Sharp has been dinged up this season, playing just 37 games. Apparently, he is still dealing with some issues, which could explain why he has just 15 points in those 37 games.
When he is healthy, Sharp is a valuable winger. His first season in Dallas was hot-and-cold, but he wound up with 20 goals and 35 assists on the year. Though his cap hit is a hard pill to swallow, Stars management can likely eat a sizable amount of his contract to make a deal work.
Jiri Hudler could be a fine rental sell as well if teams are looking for a depth scorer, though injuries and limited playing time could hamper his value.
Sellers: Arizona Coyotes.
Let’s be honest, Arizona only really has one interesting trade piece this year, and that’s Shane Doan.
Sure, Anthony Duclair is apparently on the block, and I stand by my thoughts that there are some teams in the Eastern Conference that could really use him. The likelihood of him leaving are very slim, however. Doan is the one player that people would actually care about if he leaves the team.
However, Doan is still adamant that he will not waive his no-trade clause. He is in the same boat as Iginla in that he’s an old player that could look for one last run at glory but is really not that sexy a buy when it comes down to it.
Unlike Iginla, Doan has zero interest in leaving, which is remarkable. Being the second-worst team in hockey has not deterred him. Dealing away Martin Hanzal has not swayed him. He is content with where he is. In fact, he is actually frustrated that the team traded Hanzal and Ryan White away, saying the deal was “hard to understand.”
Martin Hanzal said it was particularly hard to say goodbye to Shane Doan. "He was like a 2nd father to me. He's been helping me since Day 1"
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) February 27, 2017
It’s a tough business, sports. And when your team can’t score a lick and your franchise is forever drowning in relocation rumors and arena drama, it gets to you.
Shane Doan’s wanting to stay says a lot about his competitive spirit, his character and his devotion to Arizona. It hurts Arizona’s rebuild, but only just a bit. There was not going to be much of a return for him anyway.
Regardless of their captain’s feelings, Arizona should keep selling this NHL trade deadline. Duclair would be surprising, but they might get some good pieces in return.
If they do ship out Duclair, my recommendation would be Montreal. Duc lit up the Bell Centre during the World Juniors, a return to his home province might be just what he needs.
Buyers: Edmonton Oilers.
The Edmonton Oilers should be in the market for a depth center and a backup goaltender. There are rumors that they are talking to the New York Islanders about a trade for Jaroslav Halak. This is good.
Now keep going.
Valtteri Filppula would be a nice get for them. Filppula fills out the middle-six well, bringing some much needed scoring and potential faceoff help. He can play on the man advantage when needed and has playoff experience, winning a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008.
They may have already filled that role with their recent trade for center David Desharnais, but I would not rule out Filppula just yet. Bench Anton Slepyshev or Matt Hendricks, slide Filppula to the left wing where he has played before in Tampa and Detroit, and go to war.
Edmonton is still very much so fighting for playoff position. They are two points up on the Anaheim Ducks and four on the Calgary Flames, but only five back of the San Jose Sharks for the division lead. A nice hot streak could put the pressure on the teal-and-black.
Hey, you never know.
