The trade deadline is less than a week away and NHL teams are weighing all of their options.
Buyers, sellers. Contenders, pretenders. All in or just enough to get in.
Some will throw in the towel now as lottery teams and keep Laggin’ for Gavin or stay Subpar for Ivar — McKenna and Stenberg are the top two prospects for this year’s draft, both looking like franchise forwards with the potential to make an immediate impact as rookies next season.
Others will forge ahead in the muddy middle, still trying to win down the stretch with the goal of making the playoffs but without making many moves to improve. Essentially standing pat and letting this season play out for better or worse.
Minnesota made the biggest move to date by acquiring Quinn Hughes from Vancouver, and Bill Guerin won’t be done wheeling and dealing for the Wild.
Los Angeles landed Artemi Panarin but lost Kevin Fiala to a leg injury at the Olympics, with the Kings in the wild-card race for the Western Conference.
Vegas is topping the Pacific Division again, already adding Rasmus Andersson from Calgary after signing Mitch Marner in the offseason. The Golden Knights will keep loading up, if possible.
Colorado created some cap space by swapping Samuel Girard for Brett Kulak, so look for the Avalanche to take a bigger swing ahead of the deadline.
Dallas will be swinging too in that Central Division arms race, especially with Tyler Seguin ruled out for the remainder of the season, including playoffs. Jim Nill can target a star now as a result.
Edmonton rounds out the obvious buyers in the West, with the pressure on Stan Bowman to find the right pieces for another Cup run. Tristan Jarry hasn’t been the answer in goal thus far, but the Oilers need help on defense and up front too.
Tampa Bay has been torching the league lately, led by Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning are looking legit again as the class of the Eastern Conference, so Julien BriseBois will be looking for reinforcements, if not a ringer.
Carolina is in a familiar spot atop the Metropolitan Division and Eric Tulsky will try to make another splash for the Hurricanes despite being spurned by Mikko Rantanen and Jake Guentzel the previous two seasons. They might target a player with term as opposed to another rental.
Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Vegas and Edmonton in the West. Tampa Bay and Carolina in the East. Those seven teams are sure to be buyers.
As for guaranteed sellers, there are a half-dozen of those too. Starting with the Rangers, who already parted with Panarin, and presumably the Devils with New Jersey falling further behind the pack in the East.
Vancouver and St. Louis are certainly salivating over McKenna and Stenberg, with Calgary and Chicago likely tapping out and turning their attention towards the draft too. Kyle Davidson could try to buy some help for Connor Bedard, more so for the future than the present if any long-term fits are available at the deadline.
Upstart Utah and Anaheim have put themselves in playoff positions and impressed enough for Bill Armstrong and Pat Verbeek to become buyers, to some degree. They won’t be parting with top prospects, knowing they have an uphill battle with tough matchups in the first round, but they can upgrade here or there to make that playoff experience more enjoyable for as long as it lasts.
Back in the East, Montreal is in the same boat but might be more aggressive with what they are willing to give up to win a round. Ditto for Detroit, with Steve Yzerman preparing to compete and potentially face his former team, Tampa Bay, in the second round.
Buffalo should be hell-bent on ending the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports, with Jarmo Kekalainen attempting to extend Alex Tuch while simultaneously shopping around to put his stamp on that roster. Their fan base has endured enough losing at this point, and a lot of people are rooting for the Sabres to make it and perhaps make some noise.
There has been a surge of excitement surrounding the Islanders too, thanks to rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer. Mathieu Darche has done well there as a rookie GM, with subtle additions in Ondrej Palat and Carson Soucy, but he’d love to reel in a big fish at the deadline.
Those six teams should be fascinating to watch this coming week and throughout their stretch runs. The moves their general managers make, or lack thereof, will likely determine their playoff fate.
Seattle and San Jose could be in the same conversation if they string together a few wins ahead of the deadline, but they could still go either way and appear more likely to sell.
Mike Grier could get the Sharks more bite, rewarding Macklin Celebrini’s efforts and improving his chances of winning the Hart Trophy by bolstering their lineup, but there is no rush for San Jose.
The Kraken should be more motivated to make the playoffs, ensuring a successful first season under Jason Botterill and Lane Lambert, but Seattle has time on their side too.
The same cannot be said for aforementioned Los Angeles, with Anze Kopitar in his final season and Drew Doughty’s days now numbered. He turned 36 in December and Darcy Kuemper will celebrate that birthday in early May, ideally with the Kings still in the playoffs. Panarin came cheap, thanks to his no-move clause and preferred landing spot in La La Land, but Ken Holland will have to pull another rabbit out of his hat in hopes of giving Kopitar a proper send-off.
Washington can relate in the East, wanting to go for it for Alex Ovechkin. He doesn’t have many years left (if any) as the face of their franchise, so making the playoffs is important for the Capitals. They are on the cusp, albeit on the outside looking in today, so Chris Patrick is a perceived buyer for his captain’s sake.
Pittsburgh is in a more precarious spot with Sidney Crosby sidelined for up to four weeks following his Olympic injury. He is their captain and the face of that franchise — turning 39 in August, a week after his running mate Evgeni Malkin turns 40. They would be in the playoffs if the season ended today, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Penguins approach the deadline.
Kyle Dubas has been among the league’s busiest GMs this season — adding Girard, Yegor Chinakhov and Stuart Skinner (in return for Jarry) — but he hasn’t made any blockbuster moves to support their playoff push and might still be leaning towards selling.
It would be shocking to see Crosby or Malkin traded but other teams will be inquiring and expressing interest. Dubas could turn them down and become a buyer, bringing in help for Dan Muse and hoping to hold off the Capitals, among others, until Crosby is healthy.
Florida, Toronto and Ottawa were projected as playoff teams by many of the preseason pundits, but they will be hard pressed to make it now. Nobody had all three missing but that could be the case, with their seasons derailed for a variety of reasons.
The two-time defending champion Panthers had too many injuries to overcome (Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Seth Jones), the Maple Leafs missed Marner more than anticipated, and the Senators lost their Vezina-winning goaltender Linus Ullmark for a long stretch due to personal reasons.
That doesn’t necessarily make them sellers. They could ride it out, as is, and regroup for next season. But Toronto, in particular, will be open for business at this deadline.
Those three teams are surprisingly behind Boston and Columbus, with the Bruins and Blue Jackets exceeding most expectations this season. Columbus benefitted from the new coach bump when Rick Bowness replaced Dean Evason in January, while Boston has been thriving under rookie bench boss Marco Sturm and his staff, including Steve Spott overseeing their power play.
The Blue Jackets made an early move by acquiring Mason Marchment in December but Don Waddell might have more up his sleeve. Don Sweeney’s Bruins are in a better position — occupying the second wild card, six points up on Columbus — so he’ll be proactive in pursuing upgrades between now and the deadline on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
Philadelphia is also in that cluster with Columbus, Ottawa, Florida and Toronto. Danny Briere and the Flyers don’t have a lot to sell but won’t be buyers either. It could be relatively quiet there, like Ottawa and Florida, but Briere could be eager to get a couple deals done.
Nashville is another team to watch in the West, trending up with Barry Trotz on his way out. The Predators were destined to be sellers — expected to move Ryan O’Reilly and Michael Bunting, among others — but Trotz could stay the course with the team he built, potentially adding instead of subtracting now. If those decisions are still up to him for the deadline.
Last but not least, last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winners in Winnipeg. Similar to the Cup winners in Florida, this season has been a disappointing setback or step back for the Jets, but Kevin Cheveldayoff isn’t about to blow it up there. He has always been patient and loyal to his core, so aside from shipping out pending free agents, the Jets are likely to run it back with a similar squad next season. Assuming they don’t go for it again as buyers — eight points out with 24 games to go.
It might be best to shift their focus to next season, but don’t tell that to the players or the coaches. They are still playing to win, still coaching to make the playoffs. So it’ll be up to management, how to proceed and which direction to go in terms of buying or selling.
Stay tuned for what promises to be an eventful deadline for most, if not all 32 teams.
Fishbowl Sports 
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