Seven intriguing teams to watch in build up to trade deadline
Seven weeks until the trade deadline, it’s still not clear how the market will shape up. However, it’s clear that there are a number of intriguing teams to watch in the lead up to March 7.
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We’re at the point in the NHL season where everyone usually begins to understand who all the buyers and sellers will be heading into the trade deadline.
This year is a little different, given how tight the standings are packed. Only three teams are more than 10 points out a playoff spot, and no one in the East is truly out of it yet.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers are good examples of predictable teams as we approach March 7, with one expected to look for a centre, the other for a defenceman or two. Many other clubs lack the same obvious projection.
Will the Buffalo Sabres become a seller and extend their playoff drought to 14 years? Even they are a hot streak away from getting back into the thick of a crowded race.
How will contenders such as Winnipeg or Florida handle important pending UFAs Nikolaj Ehlers and Sam Bennett? And what will happen with the inconsistent Canucks, who have a pending UFA of their own in Brock Boeser?
Are there hockey trades to be had in this environment?
Still 50 days away from the deadline, there is much to figure out on the trade market and teams are having their own internal discussions on how to proceed.
In these conditions, we can see how a few teams in particular are setting up to be especially interesting to watch navigate the trade market, for one reason or another. So let’s pick up the conversation from there and highlight seven teams that are especially intriguing when it comes to the trade market.
2025 draft picks: NYR 1, SEA 3, ANA 4, MIN 5, NYR 6, SEA 6, NYR 7
It’s been a season from hell so far for the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners, one that nobody saw coming. Even after already making two big trades, GM Chris Drury may have more up his sleeve.
With just over $23 million in projected deadline day cap space, the Rangers are going to be in the mix to do something big.
With that much cap space, the Rangers could add virtually anything they wanted and change over their struggling roster. According to The Athletic’s Josh Yohe they have tried to trade for J.T. Miller in the past.
New York could play the part of both buyer and seller, given veterans Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad have also been mentioned in trade rumours, the latter of whom appeared on Nick Kypreos’ latest trade board.
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2025 draft picks: UTAH 1, UTAH 2, UTAH 3, UTAH 4, UTAH 5, UTAH 6,
Bill Armstrong and the Utah Hockey Club might just have the best situation heading into the trade deadline. Now they just have to get into a buyer’s position in the standings.
With over $25 million in projected cap space at the trade deadline, Utah could have the most room to work with of any team that could be a buyer. On top of that, they are flush with assets, having drafted 44 players over the past four draft cycles. They have all their early picks in 2025, plus another three second-rounders in 2026. There’s only so much room for these players to develop and it’s worth noting teams are only ever allowed to have 90 players on a reserve list, or 50 contracts signed. Armstrong has all the ammo to begin using some of these futures to land a big fish, and that seems to be his mindset.
On KSL Sports 97.5FM Armstrong said he’s excited for the 4 Nations Face-Off coming up.
“It’s really good to see star players play with star players and see what they can do,” Armstrong said. “You really get to see the elite play the elite so it’s a special time to go watch that and see, hey, if there’s one or two guys we could add into our roster.”
Armstrong surprised everyone at the draft last year when he acquired Mikhail Sergachev, and, with an invested owner eager to compete and spend the dollars to do so, Armstrong could spring into action again.
Buffalo Sabres
2025 draft picks: BUF 1, BUF 2, BUF 3, BUF 4, MIN 4, BUF 5, BUF 6, BUF 7, WSH 7, NSH 7
Thirteen years. That’s how long the Sabres have been falling short of the playoffs.
Along the way, and especially recently, the team has had expectations to take a step and return to the post-season, but then crushed any optimism early on. This season, that came in the form of a 13-game losing streak through most of December that has put them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
So the Sabres are at a crossroads again. Stick with a core that hasn’t broken through, or risk trading someone who could become a star elsewhere? We’ve seen it before with the likes of Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Linus Ullmark. The Eichel trade plunged the Sabres back into another rebuilding cycle and now there are rumours that Bowen Byram or Dylan Cozens could be on the block.
The task of deciding how to proceed falls on GM Kevyn Adams who has always preached patience but is in his fifth season at the helm. On one hand, his job could be on the line if things don’t get better in a hurry. On the other, this team appears too good on paper to not find a way to break through eventually.
2025 draft picks: VAN 1, VAN 2, OTT 4, VAN 5, VAN 6, VAN 7
With each loss or inconsistent run of play, the trade rumours surrounding star players Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller grows, and like Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Saturday Headlines Jan. 4, there are only three possible options to come out of this: One gets traded, the both move, or both stay.
This week was just another example. Saturday’s effort was something of a statement win for the Canucks after a tough day of travel, but then they followed it up with a putrid 6-1 loss in Winnipeg Tuesday and an uninspiring effort in a 5-1 loss to Los Angeles Thursday. After winning the Pacific Division’s regular season title last season, how will management measure this team?
It’s not just Pettersson and Miller that could be shopped. Brock Boeser, a pending UFA mentioned on Nick Kypreos’ trade board, could also be on the move with the team just hovering around the playoffs. With Jim Rutherford at the helm, making huge trades while jumping into the market early is nothing new.
2025 draft picks: VGK 2, NYI 3, WSH 3, VGK 4, VGK 5, VGK 6, WSH 6
The Vegas Golden Knights are the veteran at the poker table; there is always something up their sleeve.
Year after year the Golden Knights are the team to watch out for, with recent massive deadline moves including Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin.
It appears this year will be different. They don’t have a 2025 first-round pick to trade and, instead of having a big contract head to LTIR to clear up a ton of space, Vegas is accumulating space and on track to have about $5 million in deadline day cap room. That’s still enough to get a quality player, but have they run out of assets to use?
We’ve learned to never underestimate the Golden Knights at the trade table.
2025 draft picks: DAL 1, DAL 3, WPG 4, DAL 5, NJD 5, DAL 6, DAL 7
Even with the loss of Tyler Seguin, the Dallas Stars forward group is one of the best in the league on paper, though further injuries to Mason Marchment and Roope Hintz are testing their depth. The team’s back end, which it targeted to improve last trade deadline, could be an area they address in trade again and GM Jim Nill acknowledged earlier in the season on NHL Tonight that, “you can never have enough defencemen.”
So far, the Stars have been able to leave Seguin’s $9.85 million contract on IR, instead of putting him on LTIR, which allows them to continue gaining cap space towards the deadline. It’s expected they’ll eventually put him on LTIR and be able to maximize their space at the deadline, which would allow them to make a big splash addition, or several moves to bring depth to the back end, or try and replace Seguin directly up front.
2025 draft picks: DET 1, DET 2, DET 3, NYR 3, DET 5, DET 6, DET 7, STL, 7
Is it time for the next step in the Yzerplan?
Since firing Derek Lalonde on Dec 26 and replacing him with Todd McLellan, the Red ‘hot’ Wings are 8-2 and have ascended into the playoff race.
With the recent streak and the pressure on Detroit to show progression, are they targeting Cozens out of Buffalo? Friedman reported on last Friday’s episode of 32 Thoughts that he believes the team could be sniffing around on the forward.
Centre talent is something the Red Wings don’t have outside of Dylan Larkin, and with $9 million in projected deadline cap space they have the opportunity and motive to make a big move.
