Trade Deadline Primer: Boston Bruins
With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? After looking at teams at the ends of the standings, we shift our focus to teams fighting for a playoff spot. Next up are the Bruins.
The Bruins remain in contention despite many having them pegged to miss the playoffs this year by a fairly significant margin. The Bruins were sellers at last year’s trade deadline but have shifted toward a more promising retool. Boston still has a solid core to build around in David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman, so they will be incentivized to continue adding to their lineup while that core is in the prime of their careers. General manager Don Sweeney has been criticized in the past for some of his moves, particularly in the wake of the Bruins’ record-setting 2022-23 season. Still, he has done solid work over the last year, steering the Bruins through a tough time and back into playoff contention.
Record
32-20-5, 5th in the Atlantic (61% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Conservative Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$3.98MM on deadline day, 1/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: BOS 1st, TOR 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 3rd, BOS 4th, PHI 4th, TB 4th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th
2027: BOS 1st, FLA 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 4th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th
Trade Chips
The Bruins’ best trade chips at the moment are the four first-round picks they hold in the next two entry drafts. Those picks, should Boston opt to move any of them, would be a significant piece of a package for an impact player at the deadline. It remains to be seen whether Sweeney has the stomach to do that this year, but the option is available.
Aside from the picks, Boston doesn’t have a deep prospect system, and they are unlikely to move their best prospect, James Hagens, whom they drafted last June with the seventh overall pick. The 19-year-old profiles as a center, and the Bruins have a good amount of long-term depth down the middle, so it’s possible they could consider a move. However, Hagens has seen a good amount of usage on the wing this year at Boston College, which means the Bruins have options when it comes to their top prospect.
Beyond Hagens, there is a major drop-off in talent throughout the Bruins’ prospect system, with some of their top players already having graduated to the NHL. Fraser Minten is one of those former prospects who is now a full-time NHLer at 21, and another young player Boston probably has no interest in trading. Minten has posted 14 goals and 15 assists in 57 games this season while providing a steady physical presence. The Bruins have decent center depth throughout the system, but it’s hard to imagine them trading a young center who is just scratching the surface of his potential.
Sticking with young forwards, Fabian Lysell is the Bruins’ 2021 first-round pick (21st overall). He had a cup of coffee in the NHL last season, playing 12 games and recording one goal and two assists. The winger returned to the AHL this season, where he is having the most productive offensive season of his career, with 15 goals and 21 assists in 42 games. At 23, Lysell is on the older side for a prospect, but he’s shown enough offense in the AHL to be viewed as a decent trade piece. Lysell is an excellent skater with good vision through traffic, which should help him when he gets to the NHL full-time and is looking to provide support and opportunities for his teammates. Lysell won’t net the Bruins a top piece via trade, but he could be packaged with other picks and prospects to acquire top-end talent.
Dans Locmelis was a fourth-round pick in 2022 (119th overall) and is another center in the Bruins system, though he doesn’t have the same shine as some of his more well-known peers. Locmelis began his pro career last year, appearing in six AHL games and recording three goals and nine assists. While he hasn’t maintained the same scoring pace this season, Locmelis has remained productive with 28 points in 43 games and an appearance at the Olympics, where he played for Latvia and scored a couple of goals in four games. The Bruins are high on the 22-year-old, and there is a possibility he breaks the NHL roster this season. The Bruins could dangle Locmelis as a potential trade candidate, but given that he isn’t a well-known name and his play has been largely understated, they might not get enough value to entice them to move on from him.
Team Needs
A Right Shot Defenseman: The Bruins made a great move last year, trading defenseman Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The move has turned out to be a huge win; however, the Bruins have never actually replaced Carlo, leaving a big hole on the right side of their defense. There are plenty of options available in Boston that should meet just about any price point, and it will be interesting to see whether they go the rental route or make a move for a player with some term remaining on their contract, such as Justin Faulk of the St. Louis Blues. While Faulk has been a solid pro for a long time, he would be a downgrade from some other options the Bruins were considering, such as Rasmus Andersson, who was traded a few weeks ago to the Vegas Golden Knights. Boston was reportedly in on the Andersson sweepstakes and went as far as negotiating an extension with the soon-to-be UFA (as per Elliotte Friedman).
Top Six Forward Help: The Bruins are dealing with a few injuries at the moment, which isn’t the worst timing, given the extended break for the Olympics. Centers Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha should be back in the lineup when NHL play resumes, and their injuries have pushed other forwards in Boston into other roles in the team’s hierarchy. Despite the team getting healthy in time for a playoff push, it is clear that Boston needs to add to its top six if it wants any chance of a playoff run. This would allow a player such as Casey Mittelstadt to push down the depth chart and play in a role that better suits his skill set. The Bruins might not want to pay premium prices for a forward, but given that they didn’t send any assets out the door for Andersson, they likely have some options to facilitate a trade for forward help.
Photo by Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Trade Deadline Primer: Ottawa Senators
With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? After looking at teams at the ends of the standings, we shift our focus to teams fighting for a playoff spot. Next up are the Senators.
The Senators are in a very tough spot as we approach the trade deadline. The team was built to compete this season, but it has failed to build on last season’s playoff appearance and risks regressing. Ottawa has a small competitive window left to win something of substance and isn’t likely to punt on this season, especially given that they don’t currently have a first-round pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch has hinted that Ottawa would rather add than subtract from its roster, which makes sense given that Ottawa was heating up in the weeks leading up to the Olympics. If the Senators can get some goaltending down the stretch, they will be in the hunt for a wild-card spot. That being said, should they add to their lineup, stand pat, or sell off their pending UFAs?
Record
28-22-7, 6th in the Atlantic (42.2% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Conservative Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$13.95MM on deadline day, 1/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: BUF 2nd, OTT 3rd, FLA 3rd, WSH 3rd, OTT 5th, OTT 6th,
2027: OTT 1st, OTT 2nd, OTT 3rd, OTT 4th, OTT 5th, OTT 6th,
Trade Chips
If the Senators opted to sell off this season, they would have no shortage of pieces to move, including forwards David Perron, Lars Eller, Nick Cousins, and Claude Giroux, as well as defenseman Nick Jensen. PHR covered that angle a month ago, when it looked as though the Senators were headed for a sell-off, but now they may have positioned themselves to be buyers if they can keep rolling. But do they have any assets that could be moved to acquire talent that can help this season?
Ottawa doesn’t have much, but they have a few pieces that could be moved to acquire more talent. The first name that comes to mind for anyone familiar with Ottawa’s prospect system is Carter Yakemchuk. The 20-year-old defenseman is the Senators’ top prospect and currently plays for their AHL affiliate in Belleville, where he is having a solid first professional season. To put it bluntly, Ottawa isn’t moving Yakemchuk for any short-term gains and may not be inclined to move him at all. If they had a move available to address both their short- and long-term futures, they might be open to it, but for now, he is likely staying put.
Outside of Yakemchuk, the Senators have a few other prospects they might be more willing to move, including another defenseman, Logan Hensler. The Senators’ 2025 first-round pick (23rd overall) is currently in his second season in the NCAA with the University of Wisconsin. He has already matched his point total from all of last season (12) in just 23 games. Hensler’s game is quite different from that of Yakemchuk in that he plays a safe, steady game focused on gap control, an active stick, and using his explosiveness to make defensive recoveries. Hensler is well-suited to play alongside a defenseman like Yakemchuk, who is more offensively minded and gifted. Should Ottawa make Hensler available in a trade, he is the kind of player who could be the big piece in a package that includes draft picks and other players.
In the crease, the Senators have run the course with goaltender Mads Sogaard, and it certainly feels like his time with Ottawa needs to end soon. The former second-round pick has not shown much in his last two professional seasons, after a stellar start to his AHL career from 2020 to 2023. Sogaard is now 25, and although the Senators don’t exactly have a deep prospect pool in the crease, it seems likely they will non-tender him this summer. Given that trajectory, it makes sense for Ottawa to move him before the deadline (hopefully) for a late-round pick or let him walk in the summer for nothing. Sogaard isn’t going to fetch much of a return, but Ottawa could pair the pick with other assets to facilitate a bigger move elsewhere.
Shifting up front to the forwards, Stephen Halliday has been a nice story this season for the Senators. The 2022 fourth-round pick (104th overall) was an overage draft pick when Ottawa selected him, and he has had a terrific start to his professional career. The Senators have rewarded his progression by giving him 25 NHL games this year, and Halliday, in turn, has rewarded the Senators’ trust in him by tallying four goals and seven assists while averaging just over eight minutes per game. Halliday’s skating isn’t great, but his size and offensive skill set would be desirable to a team looking to add good young talent to its prospect pool.
Team Needs
A Top Six Center: Ottawa had hoped that last year’s trade-deadline acquisition, Fabian Zetterlund, could slide into a role in the Senators’ top six. However, that hasn’t been the case, as Zetterlund has struggled this season and has been relegated to fourth-line duties alongside Eller. The 26-year-old isn’t much of a play driver, but he has fared better in this department this season despite his demotion. Zetterlund can skate well and could likely play in Ottawa’s top six if needed, but at the moment, he’s been a disappointment this year. With his play moving him down the lineup, it’s become clear that Ottawa could use a top-six forward to bump some of their other players back to a more suitable role. Some fans might point to a veteran like Perron as a potential candidate for the top two lines, but given his age and recent injury history, that is not a safe bet. Ottawa doesn’t need to sell the farm to make an addition, and it probably wouldn’t be in on any of the trio of St. Louis Blues who are available (Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, or Brayden Schenn). However, Ottawa could afford to target a player like Michael Bunting of the Nashville Predators or Andrew Mangiapane of the Edmonton Oilers. Both of those players are having down years, but perhaps an opportunity in Ottawa’s top six might reignite their play this year.
A 1B Goaltender: Linus Ullmark is a terrific NHL goaltender who has had a great career. He’s dealt with a lot this season, and unfortunately, it has affected his play on the ice. Had Ottawa received league-average goaltending this season, it would be comfortably in a playoff position at the moment, instead of sixth in its division. The Senators don’t have the assets to acquire another starting goaltender. Still, they could find a more consistent backup, or ideally, a 1B goaltender who can take more starts and allow Ullmark to work through his game without the pressure of shouldering the bulk of the goaltending load. The name Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild has been thrown around quite often in online forums. Still, the Senators probably don’t have the trade capital to make that move, particularly given that the Wild are looking for center help and Ottawa likely doesn’t want to part with any of their young, cost-controlled centers (nor should they).
Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Trade Deadline Primer: Los Angeles Kings
With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? After looking at teams at the ends of the standings, we shift our focus to teams fighting for a playoff spot. Next up are the Kings.
The Kings made a splash recently by acquiring Artemi Panarin from the Rangers for a minimal return. The trade surprised some in the hockey world and showed the Kings are serious about winning this season. Los Angeles has meandered through the first two-thirds of the season and hasn’t looked like a serious contender, but with Panarin in the mix, it’s clear they plan to add to their lineup and make a push. Whether they make that push remains to be seen, but management’s mindset is fairly clear as we approach the trade deadline.
Record
23-19-14, 5th in the Pacific (55.3% playoff probabilty)
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$15.71MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: LAK 1st, LAK 2nd, CBJ 2nd, DAL 3rd, LAK 4th, LAK 5th, LAK 6th, COL 6th, LAK 7th
2027: LAK 1st, LAK 2nd, LAK 4th, LAK 6th, COL 6th, LAK 7th
Trade Chips
The Kings have plenty of draft picks they could move in any deadline deal, but they aren’t exactly stocked with quality prospects and have a farm system that would rank in the bottom third of the league in terms of quality and quantity. The team already dealt their top prospect, Liam Greentree, for Panarin, but they do have other pieces if they want to make another splash.
Francesco Pinelli was a second-round selection in the 2021 draft (42nd overall) and has not had a smooth transition to the professional ranks, struggling early in the AHL. He had 15 goals and 14 assists in 70 AHL games last season, and likely needs to size up if he hopes to break through to the NHL. Pinelli is a smart player who identifies open space for himself and teammates to create offensive opportunities. On the defensive side of the game, his instincts aren’t as strong, and it is something he is working to round out in the AHL.
Another potential trade piece for the Kings is defenseman Henry Brzustewicz. The 2025 first-round pick (31st overall) plays a safe, simple game and relies on moving the puck to a teammate rather than creating offensive plays himself. His defensive game is steady and effective, as he is adept at forcing opponents to the perimeter, protecting the slot, and containing them. Brzustewicz does have some offensive capabilities, but he isn’t a play driver and likely won’t be running a team’s power play if/when he makes it to the NHL. Brzustewicz could be a good piece of a bigger package if the Kings are looking to make another splash before the trade deadline.
Finally, we come to goaltender Carter George, who might be the Kings’ best prospect after the Greentree trade. George has had a decorated international career, representing Canada at the last two World Junior Championships, and he has also been terrific during his tenure in the OHL with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The Thunder Bay, ON, native isn’t overly big, but his puck-handling makes him a third defenseman, which can facilitate quick breakouts and transition play. In terms of his goaltending, he is technically sound and doesn’t appear to wilt under pressure. If the Kings wanted to move a prospect whose value is inflated at the moment, George is probably the piece.
Team Needs
A Top Six Center: Los Angeles desperately needs a center going forward. It’s gotten to the point this season that winger Alex Laferriere has slotted in at center in the top six, which is less than ideal. They have Anze Kopitar for the rest of the season until he retires, and Quinton Byfield is likely fine as the second-line center, although he’s had a rough stretch this year. Beyond that, Alex Turcotte has not reached the levels many expected, putting the Kings in a predicament this season and beyond. The Kings have cap space to acquire a center this year, but it’s hard to say how strong the internal pressure is to acquire a pivot before the deadline. Los Angeles could let this year play out and chase a Nick Schmaltz-type player in free agency, or they could look to the current available options, which would likely be Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks, Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken, or Robert Thomas out of St. Louis. There is always Vincent Trocheck of the New York Rangers available as well, and given the ties to Panarin, there could be something to that one.
A Depth Forward: No disrespect to Taylor Ward or Jeff Malott, but if Los Angeles enters the playoffs with those two taking regular shifts on the fourth line, that would be a problem against a team like the Edmonton Oilers. The Kings have dealt with some injuries, and the Kevin Fiala injury is another obstacle to overcome, especially since the Kings don’t have a ton of reinforcements who can play at a high level long term. Malott has been a fine replacement this season, but Ward has just 16 NHL games of experience and is a late bloomer, much like Malott. The Kings could likely find a reasonably priced depth forward on the trade market to insulate themselves against future injuries, which will no doubt happen as the NHL plays a compressed schedule down the stretch. A player like Erik Haula might make sense coming out of Nashville, as the Predators aren’t a playoff team, and Haula has an expiring deal. His market could be limited due to his $3.15MM cap hit, which the Kings could easily absorb at this time with any retention from Nashville.
Photo by Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Trade Deadline Primer: Pittsburgh Penguins
With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league at teams on the playoff bubble; next up are the Penguins.
The Penguins spent the summer collecting what appeared to be spare parts, and many expected them to be a top contender for the first overall pick in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. That has not been the case, however, as the Penguins have defied projections and their own uneven play to find themselves not only in the hunt for a playoff spot but also in a position to earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. It’s been a fun, feel-good story thus far, but it has certainly changed the calculus for Penguins GM Kyle Dubas as he heads into the trade deadline. What once appeared to be a surefire sell-off now feels as though it could turn into a conservative shopping spree for the Penguins.
Record
29-15-12, 2nd in the Metropolitan
Deadline Status
Conservative Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$53.52MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: PIT 1st, PIT 2nd, WPG 2nd, PIT 3rd, SJ 3rd, NSH 6th
2027: PIT 1st, PIT 2nd, NYR 2nd, PIT 3rd, NJ 3rd, WPG 4th, PIT 5th, PIT 6th, PIT 7th
Trade Chips
The Penguins have no lack of trade chips heading into this deadline, which is something they haven’t been able to say all that often in recent years. Pittsburgh has built a healthy backlog of prospects and a robust stockpile of draft picks for the coming years. That said, GM Kyle Dubas has shown a willingness to pivot from the plan slightly if it makes sense to bring in young, controllable talent. In some cases, Dubas has brought in talent along with futures, but the deadline may be an opportunity for Pittsburgh to move some pieces out for a bigger piece.
So, who could Pittsburgh trade? Well, last summer’s trade chips are probably not on the table, given their playoff positioning. That list includes Bryan Rust, Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell, and unless Pittsburgh is blown away, it feels like all three will remain with the Penguins. In fact, it feels like most of Pittsburgh’s current NHL roster is safe for this season, because it is a tight-knit group, and it would be hard to tell the veterans that they need to subtract talent.
But what about in the minors? One potential chip is 2022 first-round pick (21st overall) Owen Pickering. The hulking defenseman hasn’t progressed as Penguins management would have hoped, but he shows signs of being an NHL defenseman, possibly even in the team’s top four. Pickering has long been viewed as a defenseman with a very high ceiling. He is mobile, has good size, and is reasonably skilled with the puck on his stick. That said, Pickering remains a project, and there is work to do on the defensive side of his game. Pittsburgh has been patient with his development, but you have to wonder if the Penguins might see him as another potential Samuel Poulin, a former first-round pick who ran out of chances and watched his trade value fall to nothing. Pittsburgh has to make a call on Pickering soon, and they could leverage him as trade bait before that decision is made.
Another prospect who has fallen out of favour this season is Ville Koivunen. The forward was a key piece in the Jake Guentzel trade two years ago and showed enough last season to have people thinking he would be part of Pittsburgh’s top six this year. He had chances this season, but his play was uninspired, and he was quickly returned to the AHL, where he has been fantastic, posting 25 points in 20 games. Koivunen has a ton of skill and hockey IQ, but he isn’t overly big or strong, nor is he fleet of foot. He will rely on his smarts to score, but there is an adjustment to the NHL game Koivunen hasn’t made yet. Given that Koivunen is probably Pittsburgh’s highest-skilled prospect, it’s hard to imagine them dumping him in a deadline move, but anything is possible.
Finally, we return to the NHL roster and the possibility of moving a player off it. While it seems unlikely that Pittsburgh makes any major changes with the big club, there is always the possibility that a team blows them away with an offer for one of their veterans. Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson aren’t likely to be moved, but a player like Noel Acciari probably wouldn’t be off limits. Acciari has formed a formidable fourth line with Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar and is a free agent this summer. Pittsburgh isn’t likely to re-sign the 34-year-old, but Acciari has played well enough to get paid this summer. If a team made a strong enough offer, one would have to believe Pittsburgh could be persuaded to move him if it improved their long-term future.
Team Needs
A Right Shot Defenseman: It’s easy to look at the Penguins’ defensive core and think their bigger issue might be on the left side, but Pittsburgh is banged up on the right side. Kris Letang is out, as is Jack St. Ivany, and with those two hurt, the right side looks very thin. Ryan Shea has been filling in recently, but his performance has declined, and he looks uncomfortable in his current role. Right-handed defensemen are historically hard to acquire, and given that Dubas has been stockpiling assets, he probably isn’t interested in turning a bunch back to acquire a stopgap. An under-the-radar trade feels likely here rather than a big addition, but Dubas is nothing if not unpredictable, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see him look for a longer-term solution if it fits the bigger plan.
Top Nine Forward Help: The Penguins look set up front and able to roll four consistent lines. However, they lack depth beyond their top 12 forwards and struggled when several forwards were sidelined by injury in December. Pittsburgh lost 9 of 10 games during that stretch as the loss of Evgeni Malkin, Anthony Mantha, and Justin Brazeau eroded the team’s depth. Given the Penguins’ history of injuries, adding an extra top-nine forward might be a wise move to prepare for such an unfortunate series of events. The Penguins don’t need to break the bank to acquire an additional body and could certainly shop the bargain bins to add a bit of depth just in case they run into injury troubles in the final weeks of the season.
Trade Deadline Primer: Winnipeg Jets
With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league at teams on the playoff bubble, next up: the Jets.
The Jets entered this season with the loftiest expectations after capturing the Presidents’ Trophy last year. Unfortunately, injuries and inconsistency have set the club back, and it is well below .500, struggling to climb the Western Conference standings. The playoffs look unlikely at this point, but with most of their stars signed long term, the Jets aren’t likely to push the button on a rebuild. A small retool in the offseason seems probable, and the Jets do have the personnel to turn around their fortunes in a hurry. The deadline feels like a good time to begin the retooling, and it seems likely they will move on from their pending UFAs.
Record
22-26-8, 7th in the Central (5.5% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$17.44MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: WPG 1st, WPG 3rd, WPG 5th, WPG 6th, WPG 7th
2027: WPG 1st, WPG 3rd, WPG 5th, WPG 6th, WPG 7th
Trade Chips
Winnipeg has yet to define itself as a seller, but it will need to pivot to that mindset, barring a miraculous short-term turnaround. The Jets want to win and were presumably built to win this season, but things haven’t panned out. If the team does begin a mini selloff, it has some desirable veteran pieces, particularly on the backend.
Big Logan Stanley is a pending UFA and would surely draw interest from any team looking to beef up their blueline. The 27-year-old couldn’t have picked a better time to have a career year, and he is sure to get paid when he hits the open market. He and the Jets haven’t engaged in contract talks, which is a strong sign he is done in Winnipeg after this year. If the Jets do indeed punt on the season, Stanley could net them some decent assets. At 6’7” and 230 lbs, Stanley will have multiple suitors, which could create a bidding war for Winnipeg to cash in on.
Another defenseman who could net some assets is Luke Schenn. The 18-year NHL veteran isn’t having a great year, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have suitors. Schenn still blocks shots and hits a ton, both desirable traits in the eyes of most NHL GMs. A year ago, the Jets acquired Schenn from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second-round pick, but it’s hard to envision them getting the same return this time around. That being said, the Jets should be able to nab a similar pick if Schenn is made available, as right-shot defenseman almost always go for a premium.
Up front, Winnipeg has a couple of forwards who would be in demand despite their own poor seasons. Jonathan Toews was brought in to potentially serve as Winnipeg’s second-line center, but he hasn’t been close to the player he once was. He has just 19 points in 56 games this year, but could still serve as a fourth-line center on a solid playoff team. Toews remains elite in the faceoff circle, winning 61% of his draws, and he hasn’t been a drain on possession, even though he’s clearly not the skater he once was. He would need to waive his no-movement clause to facilitate a deal, but if he wants one more shot at a Stanley Cup, it could be possible for him to do so.
Another forward who could fetch a draft pick for the Jets is veteran Gustav Nyquist. The 36-year-old has had a dreadful season with the Jets, tallying just nine assists in 35 games while averaging almost 13 minutes per game of ice time. It’s a sharp drop from two seasons ago, when Nyquist had 23 goals and 52 assists in 81 games and was a key contributor for the Nashville Predators. Nyquist has been fairly inconsistent offensively since crossing the 30-year-old mark, and it looks as though he is a 20-30-point player at this stage of his career. Given the teams that are looking for help offensively, there should be a small, lukewarm market for Nyquist, but if the Jets are selling, there is really no reason to hang onto Nyquist past the trade deadline.
The Jets also have veterans Tanner Pearson, Cole Koepke, and Colin Miller on their roster, but none of those three are likely to fetch much at the deadline other than a low-level prospect or a very late draft pick. Miller is currently dealing with a knee injury, but if he can return to health, he could command the highest return given the robust market for right-handed defensemen.
Team Needs
A Second Line Center: The Jets hoped Toews could recapture the magic from his early Chicago days and fill the void at second-line center. However, Toews’s limited playing time over the last few years has been a glaring issue, and he is no longer a top-six fixture, likely best suited to fourth-line duties. It was a worthy gamble for Winnipeg, given that the market for second-line centers wasn’t exactly a buyer’s market. The Jets need to fill that role going forward, and it likely won’t be easy. Top-six centers don’t grow on trees, and the cost in both the trade market and free agency will be high.
The Jets don’t need to address the issue before the deadline, but if they can trade pending UFAs and stack draft capital and prospects, they could use those assets to try to be buyers in the trade market this summer. There will be options available, likely for veteran players such as Nazem Kadri or Tyler Seguin. While these players have had great careers, the Jets would be better served by targeting a younger player, though it will certainly cost more.
More Depth Scoring: The Jets have relied heavily on their stars this year, which has put a lot of pressure on the likes of Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. If those players don’t score, the Jets generally don’t produce offense, since their bottom-six forwards haven’t been able to provide consistent point production. It’s not something Winnipeg is likely to address before the trade deadline. Still, it could be something they target if the right move presents itself, similar to how the Penguins brought in Thomas Novak at last year’s deadline, even though they weren’t a playoff team. Winnipeg needs another playmaker in its middle-six group, and given that playoff teams will be vying for exactly that kind of player, Winnipeg might find better prices in the summer.
If they can find someone to fill that void, particularly on the second forward unit, it could push everyone else down in the lineup, which might allow for better balance and team play five-on-five, something that is lagging well behind other playoff teams.
Photo by Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
The Danger Of Signing Goalies To Lucrative Contracts
The New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks are two of the NHL’s worst teams this season and are both on the verge of massive roster changes. While both teams face unique challenges, one parallel is that they’ve made a mess of their goaltending finances with pricey extensions that were miscalculations.
The Rangers and Canucks are far from alone in this predicament. High-priced extensions have also burned several other teams at the bottom of the standings, leaving them with goaltenders who had been performing well but whose play fell off a cliff after signing their new deals.
That isn’t necessarily the case for Shesterkin, however, it is the case for Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators, Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators, and Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils, who are all making big money on recent contract extensions, with no guarantees their play will turn around. This has left three teams with win-now rosters featuring goaltenders who are vastly overpaid.
It’s become a trend over the past five-plus years that teams signing goaltenders to expensive deals must be seriously concerned about their performance throughout the term of the agreement.
There is concern about every player’s performance after they sign a lucrative long-term deal. However, goaltenders have become a unique cause for concern lately, and it’s hard to say why.
In the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, many veteran goaltenders on the wrong side of 30 would sign expensive long-term deals without so much as a second thought from their new teams. In July 2002, for example, goalie Curtis Joseph signed a three-year, $24MM contract with the Detroit Red Wings, even though it wasn’t the best offer on the table.
Joseph had a three-year $26MM offer from the Toronto Maple Leafs but opted to move to Detroit. Toronto then pivoted and signed Ed Belfour to a two-year, $13.5MM deal.
By today’s standards, those contracts aren’t eye-popping, and the term is relatively short. But Belfour and Joseph were 37 and 35, respectively, and there was a chance their play would drop off significantly during the brief time they were signed.
Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine a team giving $8MM a season to a 35-year-old goaltender, and Joseph’s deal was inked 23 and a half years ago. The Senators gave Ullmark four years and $8.25MM annually just last year, but he had just turned 32 and was two seasons removed from a Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender.
It was a pricey gamble for Ottawa and hasn’t looked like good value this season, but Ullmark has been dealing with personal issues, so it’s hard to project how the deal will work out long-term.
Circling back to the Rangers and Canucks, they are a tale of two teams whose expensive goaltending has led to team-wide issues, but for wildly different reasons. In Vancouver, Thatcher Demko was signed to a lucrative three-year deal at the start of free agency, worth $8.5MM annually.
It was a gamble by Vancouver, as they hoped the former Vezina Trophy finalist could bounce back from a poor showing last season. Had Demko had a good year, he would have been a candidate to get $9MM or more on a new contract, but Vancouver thought it was wise to jump the queue. It has not turned out well.
If Demko had played well, Vancouver likely would have paid him an AAV slightly higher than the $8.5MM they gave him, but would’ve been on the hook for more term, which would’ve been riskier. Instead, Vancouver made a different bet and is now on the hook for more term than Demko would’ve received in free agency. But hindsight is 20/20, and for the Canucks, they are stuck with the Demko deal, one they’d love to have back.
In New York, it was a different calculation. Rangers’ general manager Chris Drury believed he had a Stanley Cup contender on his hands, which meant doing everything he could to retain his Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender, Igor Shesterkin. Drury moved out his captain, Jacob Trouba, to open up space to sign Shesterkin to a record-breaking eight-year, $92MM contract.
While it was the right on-ice move given Trouba’s cap hit relative to his play, the Rangers have never been the same since the trade. New York fell off a cliff last season and has remained at the bottom of the league this year, despite Shesterkin being good.
But that is the issue: Shesterkin has only been good. In the years leading up to his extension, Shesterkin was elite.
His play in those seasons masked many of the Rangers’ problems and led Drury and New York management to think the team was much better than it actually was. Shesterkin’s goaltending was a mask, hiding the fact that Drury had built a fatally flawed roster that relied too much on out-of-this-world netminding, which was clearly unsustainable.
While the Rangers, Canucks, Devils and Predators aren’t the only teams with pricey goaltending, they are the most apparent examples of paying a premium for goaltending. But even middle-of-the-pack teams can run into issues where their extensions turn into disasters.
There are good examples in Washington: a few years ago, with Darcy Kuemper, who had just won a Stanley Cup, and Philipp Grubauer, who had been solid for years before signing as a free agent with Seattle and becoming unplayable in the NHL. Matt Murray in Ottawa was the same story, but none is more egregious and obvious than Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh, who was recently dealt.
Pittsburgh is a relevant example because of Stuart Skinner, who has been a revelation with the Penguins but is a UFA at the end of the season. Pittsburgh already has its goalie of the future in tow in Sergey Murashov, and the Penguins would be wise to ride Skinner into the playoffs and then let him walk in the offseason if his salary demands exceed $5MM annually, which they surely will. It should be interesting to see the Skinner story unfold, but there is plenty of evidence that the Penguins would be wise to avoid giving term to a netminder who is unpredictable.
Who Could The Penguins Target Before The Trade Deadline?
The Penguins appeared to fall back to earth in December after a strong start had them in playoff contention. A ten-game stretch dropped Pittsburgh to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. However, since the Christmas break, the Penguins have been on a tear, going 14-3-3 and climbing to second place in the Metropolitan Division.
No one expected Pittsburgh to be in this spot, but that’s where they are, and it is likely changing general manager Kyle Dubas’ long-term plans. Pittsburgh was expecting to sell at the trade deadline, but now there is talk of potential additions, as Josh Yohe writes in The Athletic.
But what exactly would the Penguins add? The truth is that Dubas probably isn’t looking for short-term answers and isn’t going to give up previous picks and prospects for rentals.
He might send out a late-round pick for a player or two, but his big moves, if he makes them, will not be short-sighted. So, given that he is armed with a ton of cap space and a plethora of draft picks in the subsequent three drafts, who could Dubas target?
Some people might see a player like Blues forward Jordan Kyrou as a fit, but Pittsburgh’s GM has a type. For the past two years, it’s been clear he’s targeting high-ceiling, (mostly) young players who have fallen on hard times, need an opportunity to showcase their skills, and come at a discount.
Egor Chinakhov, Arturs Silovs, Philip Tomasino, Cody Glass, and Stuart Skinner were part of a couple of trades Dubas made to acquire young talent with a ton of upside. Most of those moves have worked out, with Tomasino being the exception.
Then there is the free agency market, where Dubas’s work is very impressive. Justin Brazeau, Parker Wotherspoon, Ryan Shea, and Anthony Mantha were all brought in for a song. Now, they are all contributing significant minutes in key roles for Pittsburgh, and the team is reaping the benefits.
Kyrou could be considered a fit, but given the price tag and the money he is owed, it doesn’t feel like a Dubas target heading into the trade deadline. He has been burned by significant acquisitions before, both in Pittsburgh and Toronto, so he could be tepid when it comes to big-game hunting, especially if he is eyeing the Penguins’ long-term prospects. But like Kyrou, there are many players who have fallen on hard times and are available, with the upside Dubas might be looking for.
What about a Shane Wright in Seattle? Would Dubas be willing to move some of his picks and prospects to acquire the former fourth-overall pick in 2022, or even go so far as to move a player from the Penguins’ current roster?
Wright looked like he’d found his NHL footing last season, but an uneven start to this year has him on shaky ground. Seattle is putting out feelers to gauge the market for the 22-year-old.
Pittsburgh needs young, high-end talent to add to its young core of Benjamin Kindel, Sergey Murashov, Harrison Brunicke, and Rutger McGroarty. Could Wright be a fit? There is nothing to suggest Pittsburgh has interest, but given Dubas’ track record, it’s hard to ignore that there could be a fit there.
What about another top pick, Alexis Lafrenière, who is reportedly not a significant part of the New York Rangers’ retool? The former first overall pick in 2020 looked to have turned the corner two years ago, when he tallied 28 goals and 29 assists in 82 games.
However, last season was a setback offensively, and this season has been an even steeper drop. His assist numbers remain stable, but the finishing just hasn’t been there. He has a two percent drop in his shooting rate and isn’t generating the same shot volume as in 2023-24.
It’s hard to believe the Rangers would trade with the Penguins given the bad blood between the two sides, but they’ve done business before, as recently as 2024, when Pittsburgh sent forward Reilly Smith to New York for two draft picks. This would be different, though, as Lafrenière is in the first year of a seven-year, $52.15MM contract. And make no mistake, that contract could be a barrier to the Rangers moving him, although with a rising cap, it could be worth taking on, given Lafrenière’s potential.
At 24 years of age, Lafrenière has yet to live up to the billing that made him a first-overall pick. He was touted as an offensive wizard, drawing comparisons to another former first-overall pick, Sidney Crosby.
Now, in his sixth NHL season, it doesn’t appear he will morph into an offensive wizard anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t value to be had. Lafrenière could be a good long-term option to play on the wing with Kindel in Pittsburgh’s top six.
Lafrenière is a smart player. Like Kindel, he has a high hockey IQ and is an excellent passer who handles the puck well. There could be a match there if the Penguins are looking for younger players who have underperformed.
Given Dubas’s previous connection in Toronto, it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t be interested in right winger Nicholas Robertson, a pending RFA next summer who has been on the trade block for what feels like forever.
Robertson wanted out of Toronto 18 months ago and never got his wish. However, the Maple Leafs have moved him up the lineup this season, with varying results, thanks to the injuries the team has dealt with. Would Toronto move him now? It’s hard to say, but for the right price, anything is possible.
It’s not certain that Robertson would be a fit in Pittsburgh, as he likely wouldn’t be in their top nine. The Penguins’ fourth line of Blake Lizotte, Noel Acciari and Connor Dewar has been highly effective this year, meaning there might not be a place for Robertson with the Penguins. Things could change in the summer, when the Penguins have more slots open up due to departures, but for now, it seems unlikely that they would acquire the 24-year-old forward.
At the beginning of the season, the Penguins were widely regarded as having the worst left-side defensive unit in the league. No one could have predicted the emergence of Shea and Wotherspoon, who have become solid defensive options, while Brett Kulak was still playing in Edmonton with the Oilers.
At the time, Penguins fans were discussing the possibility of acquiring Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, the 10th overall pick in 2022. Reports from Elliotte Friedman at the time indicated that Mintyukov wasn’t happy with his playing time, and Penguins fans rightly saw him as a potential solution to their defensive woes. But now, with the Penguins’ current depth, it’s hard to say whether it would be a move for Pittsburgh to make. Dubas always likes to stockpile NHL defensemen and has at least a dozen of them right now, but would he put together a 22-year-old defenseman who would be a heck of a buy-low option?
Make no mistake, Mintyukov can play and would be a great long-term option for the Penguins alongside Brunicke on the back end. This season, Mintyukov has six goals and eight assists in 48 games, buoyed by a career-high shooting percentage of 12%. Pittsburgh is being cautious about how it spends its future assets and may not want to roll the dice if the price gets too high. But if Anaheim is looking to move on from Mintyukov, the Penguins could likely put together a competitive offer for the pending UFA.
NHL Teams Continue To Avoid Roster Re-Starts
Several NHL teams have been major disappointments this season, particularly the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. While the Rangers have made it clear they intend to retool, the Canucks have refrained from labelling their plans, possibly due to ongoing roster assessments or other internal considerations. Even teams that have entered clear rebuilds have become apprehensive about fully starting over (e.g., the Calgary Flames), for various reasons. PHR had a piece last year that addressed why teams are choosing a retool over a rebuild, but this piece will focus on why teams have shied away from ever starting over.
The reluctance to start over makes sense from the team’s perspective, even if it hinders the team’s long-term prospects of becoming competitive again. The Rangers are a perfect example, having invested a pile of past development years into players such as Igor Shesterkin and Alexis Lafreniere. This is common among NHL teams, who constantly fall into the sunk-cost fallacy of continuing to throw money and time at a player, even though he will never be what they were hoping for or effective enough to justify the costs they’ve paid.
Beyond past costs, teams are also trapped by future expenses from contract extensions given to players who are not performing up to their AAV. This is something the Rangers are arguably dealing with in the cases of Shesterkin and Lafreniere, another bitter pill for management to swallow, as they are now in a position where they feel as though they are throwing both past and future years away on a player they piled so many resources into.
Those extensions were signed by Rangers general manager Chris Drury, and his fingerprints are all over this team. Drury has invested everything into his current club, from draft picks to term to cap space to his public messaging. It’s part of the reason he has recently talked of pivoting to a retool. Walking away completely from this core would signal a massive failure on his part. Even if the pieces in place probably aren’t the ones you’d want to retool around, Drury will likely keep a lot of them, because he staked his reputation on acquiring them.
GMs who build a team and then have to blow it up are essentially admitting they were wrong in their roster construction. Few NHL GMs want to do that, and most front offices would rather be a consistent disappointment than openly admit they are wrong.
And therein lies a big problem in the NHL. Executives aren’t necessarily rewarded for championships; they are rewarded for not collapsing. Making the playoffs is safe; finishing just outside the playoffs shows stability, but tearing down a roster and rebuilding it is a considerable risk, one that can cost you your job. A full-scale rebuild requires several ugly seasons. It means fans with brown paper bags on their heads attending games, and it means an impatient owner circling the offices, wondering when the team will turn the corner. Rebuilding is brutal and ugly, and it requires patience. Retooling is more manageable, quicker, and often leads to immediate, albeit tepid, results.
Retools can also sell hope, and teams can see it in a retool. Owners prefer hope to being told they have to tear down their team, and hope sells more tickets than telling fans you are going to start over. That matters more to owners: a full building over a full draft-pick ledger. A middle-of-the-pack team with designs on limping into the playoffs is easier to market than a disciplined rebuild with zero guarantees.
So, NHL teams opt for the theatre of optimism over meaningful structural change, and it’s tough to fault them given the incentives at play. One of the most famous examples of this is the Toronto Maple Leafs of the late 2000s, who were managed by Brian Burke. The management group had assembled a promising prospect pool but grew impatient in September 2009 and made the trade with Boston to acquire Phil Kessel. The rest, of course, is history: Tyler Seguin was drafted in 2010 with the Maple Leafs’ first-round pick, and defenseman Dougie Hamilton was drafted a year later with Toronto’s 2011 first-round pick. Had Toronto simply been patient, there is no telling where that iteration of the Maple Leafs would have ended up.
Front offices dread wasting years, and in the early stages of a rebuild, there will be wasted years. It’s also why teams rush rebuilds and mess them up. That is effectively what Drury did. He became impatient and made bold moves to bolster his lineup, which ultimately blew up his prospect system and, eventually, his NHL roster. The Ottawa Senators are guilty of the same thing, taking wild swings early in their rebuild on Alex DeBrincat and Jakob Chychrun. Teams trade their future away and call it supporting the core. They extend players to justify their original bet on a player (see last week’s piece on this). They shift their own goals from winning the Stanley Cup one day to simply not having to start over.
Again, it’s hard to fault GMs for doing this. The NHL’s structure used to encourage full-scale rebuilds, but now the rules discourage them. The draft lottery has made it harder to build through top picks; the salary cap floor requires acquiring veteran players; and some high draft picks take longer to develop. All of that has made the retool, or stated differently, the half-rebuild, safer. Even if the retool leads nowhere, which it often does.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a prime example of this. In the 2022-23 season, it became clear the Penguins needed to get younger, but general manager Ron Hextall doubled down on his roster, trading for veterans such as Nick Bonino, Mikael Granlund, and others. He also sent Brock McGinn, Kasperi Kapanen, and Teddy Blueger out the door. It was a clear case of doing something now to change the furniture, hoping it would improve. It failed miserably. Hextall had stood still for most of his tenure in Pittsburgh, and while his flurry of moves that year showed urgency, he accomplished nothing and was fired at the end of the season.
The complex reality in the NHL is that teams can’t rebuild under current management, not in any meaningful way, because it would expose all of management’s mistakes. Bad drafting, poor development, bad signings, cultural rot in the dressing room, the list goes on. Starting over requires a top-down reset, from the president of hockey ops and general manager on down to the players, and most teams can’t stomach that kind of carnage or don’t have the humility to admit things aren’t working. This is why teams don’t rebuild until it’s five years too late, and the only choice they have is to start over and wait five to seven years for results.
The Maple Leafs are currently at that point. They can retool around Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly, or they could begin the painful teardown and build a whole new culture in Toronto. Given the incentives at play, it’s hard to believe they would choose the latter over the former, even if it might be the better choice for the franchise long term.
Trade Deadline Primer: Dallas Stars
With the Olympic break approaching, the trade deadline is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We begin our look around the league with teams that have clear plans at the extremes of the standings, next up with the Stars.
This season has been what you would expect from a roster as talented as Dallas’. Despite their success, they sit third in the very gifted Central Division and would face the Minnesota Wild in the first round if the season started today. That kind of series could be a coin flip and might be the kind of matchup that forces Dallas to add to an already talented roster. The Stars have only a few more kicks at the proverbial can in this contention window, and with a significant extension for Jason Robertson looming, this could be the year they go all in.
Record
33-14-9, 3rd in the Central
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$3.267MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 47/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: DAL 2nd, SEA 3rd, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, DAL 7th, TOR 7th
2027: DAL 1st, DAL 2nd, DAL 4th, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, DAL 7th
Trade Chips
Dallas doesn’t have a lot to work with in terms of prospects and picks, which is the cost of being a consistent Stanley Cup contender over the past half-decade. The Stars do have some young pieces they could move, though, if they go big-game hunting on the trade market. Defenseman Lian Bichsel was a first-round pick in 2022, and at 6’7”, he is the kind of hulking presence on the blue line that teams line up for. His transition to the NHL hasn’t been smooth, as the 21-year-old has dealt with injuries and inconsistency this season. Bichsel appeared ready to break out last season, but he hasn’t delivered this year and has struggled through 26 games, failing both the eye test and the analytics test. Bichsel has a lot of upsides, though, and could be the centrepiece of a much bigger deal if Dallas goes all in.
Another prospect Dallas could look to move is right winger Emil Hemming. The 19-year-old was selected in the first round (29th overall) of the 2024 draft and is having a strong offensive season with the Barrie Colts of the OHL. Hemming is a potential NHL power forward with a good shot and isn’t afraid to get dirty at the net. He also plays a solid two-way game, which should endear him to teams seeking well-rounded wingers. The Stars could pair Hemming with a second- or third-round pick if they are on the hunt for trade deadline candidates that aren’t in the upper tier of trade targets but are solid NHLers.
Another potential trade piece for the Stars is young WHL forward Cameron Schmidt of the Seattle Thunderbirds, who was recently involved in a significant trade in that league. The Stars took Schmidt in the third round of last year’s draft (94th overall) and might have gotten a steal given his performance in the WHL thus far this season. Schmidt is currently third in league scoring and likely would’ve been a first- or second-round pick had it not been for his size (5’8” and 161 lbs). Dallas had no problem rolling the dice with Schmidt after succeeding with small centre Logan Stankoven, who is now in Carolina, and they could go that route with Schmidt as well.
Now, the Stars might have a pretty barren prospect cupboard, but they do have another promising young player on the NHL roster in Mavrik Bourque, who, at 24, is far from a finished product. Bourque was a late first-round pick in 2020 (30th overall) and has blossomed into a depth scorer, but there is still untapped potential in his game. Bourque tore up the AHL in 2023-24 with 77 points in 71 games, but struggled through his rookie campaign last year, finishing with just 11 goals and 14 assists in 73 games.
This year, Bourque’s offensive numbers have ticked up slightly, a good sign, especially given that many of his underlying numbers are also moving in the right direction. It’s hard to say whether Dallas is willing to part with Bourque, as they have been patient with his development, but if they have a chance to acquire a player who pushes them over the top, one would have to believe they would part with him.
Team Needs
Right-Shot Top Four Defenseman: The Dallas Stars will be joined by several teams seeking a right-shot top four defenseman. The Stars are solid on the top pair, but Thomas Harley has had a tough year on the second pairing, paired with depth options, and the results have been underwhelming to say the least. Harley’s offensive numbers are only slightly off his usual pace from the past two years. Still, his underlying numbers and on-ice results have taken a steep drop, likely due to instability on the right side and playing with depth options such as Ilya Lyubushkin and Nils Lundkvist. A stable right-side partner, such as Dougie Hamilton, would go a long way toward alleviating some of the pressure on Harley. However, the math doesn’t exactly work with Hamilton unless Stars general manager Jim Nill gets extremely creative with the accounting, or forward Tyler Seguin is, in fact, done for the season and the playoffs.
A Top Nine Forward: The Stars would likely look to add a top-nine forward to improve depth up front, ideally on the left wing. Currently, the Stars are deploying Justin Hryckowian on the top line alongside centre Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen. Hryckowian is solid defensively and has some playmaking ability, but he is unlikely to be a top-six player for a team that fancies itself a Stanley Cup contender. There is some versatility with Hryckowian, as he can play centre, so the Stars have options to add a winger and shift the 24-year-old down the lineup and over to centre, depending on their configurations.
Dallas could also opt for a right winger on the trade market and bump Bourque down the lineup, if they want, or perhaps Sam Steel. Given the players currently in the lineup, there is significant shuffling that could occur, but Dallas likely wants to add one more piece to that group so it can place all of their remaining depth into roles that better suit their skill sets.
Photo by Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Assessing The Blues’ Direction
The Blues are in a strange spot. They’re 31st in the league with a record of 20-26-9 and a goal differential of -54, tied for the worst in the NHL.
They’re very close to having the best odds to win the draft lottery, and while they aren’t technically out of the playoff hunt, they’re 10 points back of the Kings for the final Wild Card spot, and Los Angeles has games in hand. The Blues are likely finished for this season, and despite that, they haven’t fully committed to a rebuild, though they’re clearly not close to contending at the moment.
They have some good young players and a mix of veterans, some on bad contracts and others they probably want to trade, especially as the playoffs grow further away with each game.
St. Louis’ roster construction has been disjointed over the last few years with a mixed bag of moves. They’re far from alone in that regard. But what has been missing is a clear direction on how to sell to Blues fans, who are hoping for some signal that the team has a plan.
Entering the season, it looked as though the Blues were hoping to compete for a playoff spot, as they did last season. Those hopes have been dashed by inconsistent play and the struggles of core players Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington. You either sell winning or you sell hope, and this season the Blues haven’t been able to sell either. That will need to change in short order, and a clear direction needs to be established.
Of the players listed above, Thomas is the only one who hasn’t been constantly linked to trade rumours this season, but that has changed as of late. Kyrou, Parayko and Binnington have all been fodder for trade board segments across the hockey media and have been joined by teammates Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk.
In a perfect world, St. Louis would have a clear choice about who to move and who to keep. Still, some of the team’s previous moves have left them in a precarious spot, with their only real option being to retool rather than bottom out. They aren’t anywhere close to being a contender and already have several talented players and a very skilled coach in place.
Therein lies a big problem for the Blues. How do you tell Jim Montgomery that the team plans to sell off its veterans and go with younger players who are still finding their way in the NHL? It probably wouldn’t be popular with the veteran head coach.
The alternative is to continue pushing an aging roster into the playoffs and finishing in the middle of the standings, outside the postseason. Montgomery doesn’t need to look far to find a coach who was stuck in that spot for several seasons: Mike Sullivan, formerly of the Penguins.
Sullivan’s final three seasons with the team saw him try to will an aging lineup over the finish line, only to fall just outside the cut when it came to playoff time. Interestingly enough, Sullivan left the Penguins last summer to pursue a better opportunity with the Rangers, only to end up in the same position he had been in with Pittsburgh.
At the end of the day, for general manager Doug Armstrong, his job isn’t to please his coach; it’s to put together the best roster for the team he can and put the players in a position to win. Adding to an old, slow roster does nothing to accomplish that, and the Blues can’t make that the direction they go.
If there is anything we’ve learned in the last half-decade, it is that teams can remain competitive and retool on the fly by surrounding older talent with fresh legs and young energy, brought in by calling up skilled, speedy prospects. The Washington Capitals proved it last season; the Penguins are showing the same thing this year; and the Blues have to look at that model and see how best to apply it to their own roster construction.
The Blues have some pieces in Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud, Jake Neighbours, and Dalibor Dvorsky. Now they need to figure out which veterans to keep around to guide them and which to let go to acquire more young talent to insulate the core.
It makes sense to move Binnington, given that Joel Hofer is waiting in the wings and probably deserves the bulk of the ice time. The issue for St. Louis is that they missed the best time to trade the 32-year-old: last March, before the trade deadline, or this past summer.
This year, Binnington’s game has fallen off a cliff, and he is dead last in the NHL with -24.4 goals saved above expected in 31 games (per MoneyPuck). Add to that the fact that he is counting $6MM against the salary cap and has a 14-team no-trade clause (per PuckPedia), and you have a player who is close to impossible to move.
Moving Faulk would also be a step in the right direction, as the 33-year-old makes $6.5MM this year and next and is having a reasonable offensive season with 11 goals and 13 assists in 52 games, while cleaning up the turnover issue that plagued him last year. The Blues are reportedly looking to strike while the iron is hot and are asking for a premium package to move the right-shot defenseman. If the Blues can move Faulk and get a return even remotely close to their ask, it would be good business and could set them on a path to retool sooner than later.
Outside of those two, Schenn, Thomas, and Parayko remain options to be moved, and it’s hard to say whether the Blues want to turn their roster over completely. The Penguins tried to move Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson last year but couldn’t find anyone willing to meet their asking price. Perhaps the Blues will chart a similar course and try to move those three veterans if they get the right price. If not, they’ll wait to see how their own roster shakes out over the next six to 12 months. In any event, St. Louis has to show direction sooner rather than later if it hopes to position the team for improvement in the near future.