We are less than a month away from the March 1st trade deadline. This is the most exciting time of year for bloggers. It seems every team has a rumor swirling about. Whether that rumor is your team landing a star player for the playoff run, or they are finally getting rid of the guy with the terrible Contract and you've gained future hope. This is also the second most important part of the year for NHL General Managers, behind free agency. What happens during the trade deadline can decide who is going to become the Stanley Cup champion, or get a GM/coach fired.
This year's trade deadline is very unique due to the added concern of the expansion draft. With the expansion draft, teams can only protect a certain amount of players at each position and are forced to protect players with "no-movement" clauses. So it is much more likely teams will be open to trading players with multiple years left on their contract, so they do not have to protect them from expansion. Also, teams will be more willing than ever to take on contracts that expire at the end of the season, since they do not have to protect them. Teams with two strong goalies will be more apt to trade one away because you can only protect one of your goalies from expansion.
When reading over this list, keep in mind the rankings were made by a combination of tradability (how desirable the player is to other teams) and likelihood (how realistic is it they get traded). Of course every team would want to trade for Connor McDavid, but there is zero likelihood the Oilers would give him up. So the #1 guy "ranked", may not the best player.
10. Dennis Seidenberg - New York Islanders
UFA after 2016/17 - $1 million
Of all the players on this list Seidenberg is the least sexy name. If your team trades for Seidenberg, I doubt there will be a parade. However, he brings a lot more to the table than you may think. Seidenberg is one of the few players on a very bad Islanders team that is having a good season. He can play 20 minutes a night and is a +21 on the season. The best news is his contract. He is a true rental player with minimal cap implications. It will not take much to get Seidenberg. Expect to see him in a new uniform for the stretch run.
9. Valterri Filppula - Tampa Bay Lightning
UFA after 2017/18 - $5 million
Filppula's place on this list may come as a surprise. However, he is a very valuable player that is likely to be traded. Filppula is one of the likely candidates to be lost in the expansion draft for Tampa Bay. The team already will need to protect, Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Ryan Callahan and Steven Stamkos. They simpley cannot protect Filppula. Also cap room is becoming an issue for the lightning. Their young star players will soon need new contracts and the gained cap space from trading Filppula will come in handy. Most importantly there is a large market for Filpulla. He can play second or third line center for any team and brings a ton of playoff experience with him. It does not hurt that the Lightning are having a surprisingly bad season.
8. Jarome Iginla - Colorado Avalanche
UFA after 2016/17 - $5.3 million
In just a few short seasons Iginla has gone from maybe being a career Calgary Flame, to a journeyman chasing a Stanley Cup. If the Avalanche trade him, it will be his fourth team since leaving Calgary. Jarome still brings a lot to the table. He is a great leader for the locker room, hungry to win and is a gritty player. However, he is far from being the 30 goal scorer he was just a few seasons ago. Colorado has no need for Iginla anymore. They are unlikely to make the playoffs and definitely do not appear to be Stanley Cup contenders.
7. Martin Hanzal - Arizona Coyotes
UFA after 2016/17 - $3.1 million
The Coyotes may end up being the busiest team around the deadline. They are already receiving calls about Radim Vrbata, Michael Stone and Shane Doan. However, Hanzal may be the most desirable player on their roster. He is an enormous top six forward on a rental contract. He would be a great fit for team's like Montreal or Columbus. I would be very surprised if Hanzal was still a Coyote after the deadline.
6. Ben Bishop - Tampa Bay Lightning
UFA after 2016/17 - $5.95 million
Finding a legitimate #1 goalie at the deadline is nearly impossible, which makes Bishop's value that much greater. With Andrei Vasilevsky proving his worth during last season's playoffs, the Lightning have little incentive to re-sign Bishop. He has been a great goalie for the past few seasons for a very good Lightning team. Now he could he could be the missing piece for a Stanley Cup contender. Expect Bishop to find a new home prior to free agency.
5. Patrick Sharp - Dallas Stars
UFA after 2016/17 - $5.9 million
Dallas was a popular preseason pick to be in the Stanley Cup finals. Somehow they are going into the deadline unsure of whether they are buyers or sellers. These next two weeks will truly decide the Stars season. If things continue to go poorly expect many teams to push to acquire Patrick Sharp. He is a potential first line winger with Stanley Cup experience. Any team with a lack of scoring will make a push for Sharp. However, a trade may be up to him, as he does have a limited no-movement clause.
4. Thomas Vanek - Detroit Red Wings
UFA after 2016/17 - $2.6 million
Detroit is one of the worst team's in hockey this season and Vanek is playing great. It sounds like a perfect situation for Detroit to move him for some future help via draft picks or prospects. Vanek is on pace for 20 goals and could help a lot of teams. With an expiring contract and low cap hit, most teams can afford his services. Vanek may be the most likely player on this list to be traded.
3. Kevin Shattenkirk - St. Louis Blues
UFA after 2016/17 - $4.25 million
At this point no one knows what the Blues are going to do. They just fired their head coach and seem to need some rebuilding to become a serious Stanley Cup contender. On the other hand they are in a Wild Card spot, which leads me to believe they are not going to sell off their top players. Shattenkirk is one of the Blues top defensemen, but he does have an expiring contract and they have a bunch of quality defensemen. The biggest reason Shattenkirk is on the block is because he doesn't seem to want to re-sign in St. Louis. He wants to test free agency. The Blues feel they cannot afford to lose him and get nothing in return. There is a lot of talking to be done between the Blues and Shattenkirk. Those talks will decide where he ends up beyond March 1st.
2. Marc-Andre Fleury - Pittsburgh Penguins
UFA after 2018/19 - $5.75 million
The year long saga continues. Fleury and the Penguins organization seem to have no idea what to make of each other. Until the mid-way point of last season, Fleury had been the team's franchise goalie for over a decade. With the emergence of Matt Murray it seems there is no room left in the crease for Fleury. The Penguins find themselves in a difficult situation. They are defending Stanley Cup Champions with no weak spots to be improved on by trading Fleury. However, they know they are doing a disservice to Fleury by keeping him and potentially creating a bad situation in the locker room. If the team finally does realize they cannot keep Fleury, there will be a laundry list of buyers interested in a goaltender with two Stanley Cup Rings and an Olympic Gold Medal. Look for Dallas and St. Louis to lead the charge if they remain buyers.
1. Matt Duchene - Colorado Avalanche
UFA after 2018/19 - $6 million
Duchene has been mentioned in trade rumors for a while now. He does not have a no-movement clause and his contract is manageable. Also, he is still only 26 and continues improving as a player. So it is very easy to find teams that would be interested in signing him. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Colorado is woefully under-performing this season and GM Joe Sakic is on the hot seat. Some speculate that a big shakeup could save his job. Moving a player like Matt Duchene would bring a lot in return. Although I would still be a little surprised if a deal was made, you can certainly understand why team's are interested in Duchene. Making a trade seem more realistic, Duchene has said he would not take it personal if the team traded him.
This year's trade deadline is very unique due to the added concern of the expansion draft. With the expansion draft, teams can only protect a certain amount of players at each position and are forced to protect players with "no-movement" clauses. So it is much more likely teams will be open to trading players with multiple years left on their contract, so they do not have to protect them from expansion. Also, teams will be more willing than ever to take on contracts that expire at the end of the season, since they do not have to protect them. Teams with two strong goalies will be more apt to trade one away because you can only protect one of your goalies from expansion.
When reading over this list, keep in mind the rankings were made by a combination of tradability (how desirable the player is to other teams) and likelihood (how realistic is it they get traded). Of course every team would want to trade for Connor McDavid, but there is zero likelihood the Oilers would give him up. So the #1 guy "ranked", may not the best player.
10. Dennis Seidenberg - New York Islanders
UFA after 2016/17 - $1 million
Of all the players on this list Seidenberg is the least sexy name. If your team trades for Seidenberg, I doubt there will be a parade. However, he brings a lot more to the table than you may think. Seidenberg is one of the few players on a very bad Islanders team that is having a good season. He can play 20 minutes a night and is a +21 on the season. The best news is his contract. He is a true rental player with minimal cap implications. It will not take much to get Seidenberg. Expect to see him in a new uniform for the stretch run.
9. Valterri Filppula - Tampa Bay Lightning
UFA after 2017/18 - $5 million
Filppula's place on this list may come as a surprise. However, he is a very valuable player that is likely to be traded. Filppula is one of the likely candidates to be lost in the expansion draft for Tampa Bay. The team already will need to protect, Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Ryan Callahan and Steven Stamkos. They simpley cannot protect Filppula. Also cap room is becoming an issue for the lightning. Their young star players will soon need new contracts and the gained cap space from trading Filppula will come in handy. Most importantly there is a large market for Filpulla. He can play second or third line center for any team and brings a ton of playoff experience with him. It does not hurt that the Lightning are having a surprisingly bad season.
8. Jarome Iginla - Colorado Avalanche
UFA after 2016/17 - $5.3 million
In just a few short seasons Iginla has gone from maybe being a career Calgary Flame, to a journeyman chasing a Stanley Cup. If the Avalanche trade him, it will be his fourth team since leaving Calgary. Jarome still brings a lot to the table. He is a great leader for the locker room, hungry to win and is a gritty player. However, he is far from being the 30 goal scorer he was just a few seasons ago. Colorado has no need for Iginla anymore. They are unlikely to make the playoffs and definitely do not appear to be Stanley Cup contenders.
7. Martin Hanzal - Arizona Coyotes
UFA after 2016/17 - $3.1 million
The Coyotes may end up being the busiest team around the deadline. They are already receiving calls about Radim Vrbata, Michael Stone and Shane Doan. However, Hanzal may be the most desirable player on their roster. He is an enormous top six forward on a rental contract. He would be a great fit for team's like Montreal or Columbus. I would be very surprised if Hanzal was still a Coyote after the deadline.
6. Ben Bishop - Tampa Bay Lightning
UFA after 2016/17 - $5.95 million
Finding a legitimate #1 goalie at the deadline is nearly impossible, which makes Bishop's value that much greater. With Andrei Vasilevsky proving his worth during last season's playoffs, the Lightning have little incentive to re-sign Bishop. He has been a great goalie for the past few seasons for a very good Lightning team. Now he could he could be the missing piece for a Stanley Cup contender. Expect Bishop to find a new home prior to free agency.
5. Patrick Sharp - Dallas Stars
UFA after 2016/17 - $5.9 million
Dallas was a popular preseason pick to be in the Stanley Cup finals. Somehow they are going into the deadline unsure of whether they are buyers or sellers. These next two weeks will truly decide the Stars season. If things continue to go poorly expect many teams to push to acquire Patrick Sharp. He is a potential first line winger with Stanley Cup experience. Any team with a lack of scoring will make a push for Sharp. However, a trade may be up to him, as he does have a limited no-movement clause.
4. Thomas Vanek - Detroit Red Wings
UFA after 2016/17 - $2.6 million
Detroit is one of the worst team's in hockey this season and Vanek is playing great. It sounds like a perfect situation for Detroit to move him for some future help via draft picks or prospects. Vanek is on pace for 20 goals and could help a lot of teams. With an expiring contract and low cap hit, most teams can afford his services. Vanek may be the most likely player on this list to be traded.
3. Kevin Shattenkirk - St. Louis Blues
UFA after 2016/17 - $4.25 million
At this point no one knows what the Blues are going to do. They just fired their head coach and seem to need some rebuilding to become a serious Stanley Cup contender. On the other hand they are in a Wild Card spot, which leads me to believe they are not going to sell off their top players. Shattenkirk is one of the Blues top defensemen, but he does have an expiring contract and they have a bunch of quality defensemen. The biggest reason Shattenkirk is on the block is because he doesn't seem to want to re-sign in St. Louis. He wants to test free agency. The Blues feel they cannot afford to lose him and get nothing in return. There is a lot of talking to be done between the Blues and Shattenkirk. Those talks will decide where he ends up beyond March 1st.
2. Marc-Andre Fleury - Pittsburgh Penguins
UFA after 2018/19 - $5.75 million
The year long saga continues. Fleury and the Penguins organization seem to have no idea what to make of each other. Until the mid-way point of last season, Fleury had been the team's franchise goalie for over a decade. With the emergence of Matt Murray it seems there is no room left in the crease for Fleury. The Penguins find themselves in a difficult situation. They are defending Stanley Cup Champions with no weak spots to be improved on by trading Fleury. However, they know they are doing a disservice to Fleury by keeping him and potentially creating a bad situation in the locker room. If the team finally does realize they cannot keep Fleury, there will be a laundry list of buyers interested in a goaltender with two Stanley Cup Rings and an Olympic Gold Medal. Look for Dallas and St. Louis to lead the charge if they remain buyers.
1. Matt Duchene - Colorado Avalanche
UFA after 2018/19 - $6 million
Duchene has been mentioned in trade rumors for a while now. He does not have a no-movement clause and his contract is manageable. Also, he is still only 26 and continues improving as a player. So it is very easy to find teams that would be interested in signing him. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Colorado is woefully under-performing this season and GM Joe Sakic is on the hot seat. Some speculate that a big shakeup could save his job. Moving a player like Matt Duchene would bring a lot in return. Although I would still be a little surprised if a deal was made, you can certainly understand why team's are interested in Duchene. Making a trade seem more realistic, Duchene has said he would not take it personal if the team traded him.
