The National Hockey League’s trade deadline is Monday, with teams having until 12 noon PT to make trades and have those acquired players eligible for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Vancouver Canucks added winger Tyler Toffoli a week ago. They may yet make another deal, perhaps for a defenceman.
“Everyone wants D” seems to be the conclusion of most people working in and around the NHL’s Pacific Division.
Let’s take a look at the seven teams in the division.
Anaheim (sellers)
Biggest item: Derek Grant.
The Ducks don’t seem inclined to do much else after moving Ondrej Kase this week to Boston. That said, Michael Del Zotto did find himself shifted to St. Louis at last year’s deadline so anything could happen here, even if they really do seem set on standing pat.
Abbotsford’s Derek Grant is a checking centre who has apparently landed on a few teams’ want lists, likely due to his cheap salary and his ability to chip in offensively despite a defensive-oriented deployment.
Arizona (sellers)
Biggest item : Taylor Hall
What a mess. They need to run the table, so while they should be selling they probably won’t be.
They picked up Taylor Hall earlier this year because they believed themselves a playoff team. Then their goalies got hurt.
They still don’t score enough. They’d be wise to flip Hall on to another team and recoup what they paid for him in the first place.
Calgary (buyers)
Biggest item : Blue line help
This is a bit of an all-in moment. If they somehow miss with this talent, a lot of rethinking is sure to follow. No doubt that would lead to a number of their still-young stars moving on.
They do have defencemen T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic on expiring contracts so they could get creative in their chase to add another forward, or to re-jig their defensive makeup.
Edmonton (buyers)
Biggest item : improve the defence
Dave Tippett and Ken Holland have wrung quite the season out of the detritus Peter Chiarelli left lying around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They still need lots, like better defencemen and depth forwards.
If there are players like that to be had, they’d be wise to add them, since they’re in many ways hoping to follow the same path as the Canucks: avoid Vegas in the first round and then take their chances with the Golden Knights in the second round.
They have very little cap room to work with so it will be a challenge for Holland to change the mix up at this point.
Los Angeles (sellers)
Biggest item : Jeff Carter
There are still some faces to be moved out here, like centre Jeff Carter or defencemen Ben Hutton and Derek Forbort. Carter is 35 but still has some zip to his game.
Hutton we know well in Vancouver, he’s a decent puck mover who generally gets the play moving in the right direction while Forbort is a dependable defence-first blueliner who would do well in a depth role.
San Jose (sellers)
Biggest item : Joe Thornton
Jumbo Joe would look pretty good as the fourth-line centre on most teams. He’s going to get to write his own ticket as he chases a new chance at Stanley Cup glory.
Goalie Aaron Dell is also seen as a possible depth-goalie pick up for a team worried about the health of their current goalie(s).
Vancouver (buyers)
Biggest item : Blue line help
To date, we’ve mostly heard about the Canucks having interest in adding Wayne Simmonds for his grit. But what this team really needs is to improve on defence. Troy Stecher seems likely to be shipped out, but the Canucks no doubt want to find upgrades on the blue line even in the midst of the possible departure of the tidy little defenceman.
Would they spring for something big, maybe involving a leading young player like Adam Gaudette? Or will they just keep things simple and perhaps bring back a familiar defensive face in Alex Biega or Luke Schenn. Don’t be surprised if a reunion happens.
Vegas (buyers)
Biggest item : Depth
In a league where everyone loves defencemen, the Golden Knights are doing pretty well in this regard. They added Alec Martinez this week. GM George McPhee then found a way to free up more cap space by trading Cody Eakin to the Jets.
So does this put them in the conversation for someone like J-G Pageau or Chris Kreider?
Adding one or another would certainly strike further fear into one’s heart.
NEXT GAME
Tuesday
Vancouver Canucks vs. Montreal Canadiens
4 p.m., Bell Centre , TV: SNETP, TSN2; Radio: SNET 650 AM
LISTEN: Ed Willes joins Paul Chapman to talk about the current plight of the Vancouver Canucks.
Is the trade for Tyler Toffoli a wise move for the franchise? Ed is not sour on the deal, but having spent a lot of time watching Tyler Madden last year, he feels the kid has a lot of potential.
They also get into the injury and the issues plaguing Brock Boeser, the team MVP candidates, and revisit Sedins Week and talk about the ups and downs of the 2000s as part of the Canucks at 50 series.
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