Last year, it was Wild GM Chuck Fletcher who made a big push at the trade deadline. Minnesota was one of the regular season’s best teams and the Ryan Suter/Zach Parise window is starting to close. The timing was right and he sent a big package to the Arizona Coyotes in return for Martin Hanzal.
As we know now, it didn’t come with a payoff. Neither did Washington’s trade for Kevin Shattenkirk. So as trade deadline season begins, you can’t help but wonder what kind of impact that will have on the market this year. Last year’s draft wasn’t considered a great one, so there might have been more willingness to move a first-round pick. That’s not the case this year, as evaluators seem to be approaching the 2018 draft with more optimism.
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So will that mean a quiet trade deadline in 2018?
“It depends on who is available,” said one GM on Tuesday. “Does one team decide they’re going for it?”
Usually, that’s the case and usually it’s more than one. Whether or not it makes any sense long term. That’s the beauty of chasing a Stanley Cup.
Last year, there were five trades in January with activity really picking up in mid-February, but we’re closing in on the point in the season where conversations are starting to pick up league-wide.
“There’s a ton of conversations going on right now,” said another GM. “You’re setting things up. Teams are asking about asking price. I think some of the smart ones will attack it in the next week or two.”
Teams with bye weeks coming up will likely use that as an opportunity to get their pro scouting staff together and formulate a gameplan. Then it’s off to the races. So with that in mind, here’s an early primer for the 2018 Trade Deadline:
EARLY SELLERS
Buffalo Sabres – Evander Kane is the big piece Sabres GM Jason Botterill is getting calls on already and for good reason. He’s been really good this season. Kane has 15 goals and, as the season closes in on its halfway point, is nearly maintaining a point-per-game pace. He’s also proven to be effective on the penalty kill. When we chatted earlier this season, Kane seemed open to staying in Buffalo. “I love the guys in here. I’ve enjoyed playing in Buffalo, I’ve enjoyed the city. I really like the group in here. It’s really been a plus for me,” he said. But it would be hard for the Sabres to pass up adding needed assets to the organization with Kane playing in the last year of his deal. The San Jose Sharks are an interesting team to watch on this front because they have the cap room to pursue him this summer if they wanted to, so GM Doug Wilson might be tempted to bring him in early. Teams are also calling on Benoit Pouliot, Johan Larsson and Jacob Josefson.
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Arizona Coyotes – There isn’t a Hanzal in the group this year for the Coyotes, with most of the team either very young or on longer-term contracts. But there’s an interesting option for teams looking for more than a rental. According to an NHL source, 22-year-old forward Anthony Duclair has requested a trade and the Coyotes are trying to make it happen. He has a 20-goal season on his resume and, after scoring just five goals last season, has bounced back with seven so far this season. He’s loaded with speed and seems like the kind of player who would benefit from a change in scenery.
Ottawa Senators – As it stands right now, the Senators don’t have any draft picks until the third round of the 2018 draft because of the Matt Duchene and Derick Brassard deals, so that’s something GM Pierre Dorion will want to fix. That 2018 second-round pick sent to the Rangers is now property of the Red Wings, by way of the Brendan Smith deal, and it’s a pick that increases in value with each Ottawa loss. The big name is Erik Karlsson, if the Senators really feel like they need to maximize value by dealing him now, although that’s a monster trade to try and pull off in the middle of the season. Posed with the Karlsson question, one NHL source said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is such a wild card that you can’t rule anything out. “He could wake up one day and really do it,” he said. “Or wake up and not do it.” A defenseman like Johnny Oduya is a traditional rental who could get moved close to the deadline, but you can’t rule out the Senators taking calls on anyone on their roster at this point.
THE BUYER TO WATCH
St. Louis Blues – Colleague Pierre LeBrun is going to get into the want-list for some of the leagues’ contending teams later this week, so we don’t want get into it too much here, but one NHL source mentioned that Blues GM Doug Armstrong is someone worth watching this trade season. “Army is going to push hard,” said the executive. “Army is aggressive.” The Blues are battling the Jets and Predators at the top of the Central, and the West is as wide open as its been since Armstrong has been the Blues GM. It’s a good year to make a push in that regard, with their big need being scoring up front, especially something that can help a St. Louis power play that’s currently No. 28 in the league. Armstrong is a GM who tends to balance the short and long-term needs quite well, so it might make most sense for him to target a forward with term on his deal, like Ottawa’s Mike Hoffman, who has been connected to the Blues. If St. Louis is adding a contract with term, there will have to be money sent the other way.
TRADE SEASON WILD CARD
Montreal Canadiens – Max Pacioretty’s name has moved to the forefront following Nick Kypreos’ report that the Canadiens are shopping the veteran winger. If teams weren’t calling, they surely were after his name was made public. GM Marc Bergevin’s MO is to make his major trades in the off-season, and he’ll have all kinds of options and cap flexibility this summer to operate, assuming he’s still the GM. The Jonathan Drouin trade was a mid-June deal. The P.K. Subban for Shea Weber swap was at the end of June. But Pacioretty might have more value now than in the summer, and there’s still belief that Alex Galchenyuk is a real candidate for a trade. Perhaps the smart move is for the Canadiens to sell now and regroup in the summer with restocked assets and cap space. “Talk about stuck in the middle,” said a Western Conference executive of the Canadiens. “They’re getting older and it’s not getting better. At some point you have to take your lumps.”
(Feature photo by Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
