With the NHL trade embargo ending Saturday, the general managers of Canada's six teams will be busy working the phones.
Come Saturday the National Hockey League's and even Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke's self-imposed holiday trade embargo comes to an end.
And even though trades are harder than ever to execute, it's likely someone besides Mats Sundin will be wearing a different sweater very soon.
Across Canada, most of the action should be in the Eastern Conference as Toronto is likely to restart its rebuilding process now that the new GM has had a look-see at his charges while Ottawa is reaching the desperate stage and Montreal should be looking to upgrade its power play in order to fulfill its mandate as a presumed Stanley Cup contender during its 100th anniversary season.
Out West one should assume that there will be at least one reasonably noteworthy player move before management takes a hard line on coach Craig MacTavish. Calgary has some holes in the role-player department but there doesn't appear to be any sense of urgency there prior to the buy and sell frenzy that accompanies trade deadline time. Vancouver likely will wait to see what it has in the soon-to-be-arriving Sundin package before making any other roster changes.
Focusing on the Leafs for starters, it's not that Burke needs to make a substantial move; it's just that his history when taking over a club indicates that is what he often does. Past practice indicates Burke likes to have a standout performer in goal, a game controlling defenceman at the point and a big, physical team up front.
Changing the goaltending is not a likely move at the moment in that teams that need goaltending for a playoff push (and the Leafs shouldn't consider themselves as a playoff focused team) usually like a netminder with reams of playoff experience and an expiring or near-expiring contract. A club might consider Vesa Toskala at or near the deadline if there's nothing better available, but given the status of the Leafs backup goaltending, the near finished Curtis Joseph and the still unproven Justin Pogge, a goalie move isn't likely now or perhaps not even at the deadline.
There might be a playoff also-ran or two who may be willing to give up a stud defenceman at the deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing come free agency, but the market isn't shaping up that way right now and so it's unlikely that there is a move to be made there. Right now there simply aren't any Chris Prongers available.
Burke could start adding size in the days after Christmas and he certainly has players and contracts he would like to move, but the view from here is that he'll stay in evaluation mode a bit longer, waiting to see which players are worth keeping by way of how they respond to head coach Ron Wilson. The ones who make an every-night effort likely will stay around awhile. The ones that don't or have contracts Burke no longer wants to accept, are destined to be packaged and shipped once teams come looking for role players and potential unrestricted free agents who just might fill a need between the deadline and April, May and perhaps even June. You can expect that Los Angeles will come sniffing around if Toskala is deemed expendable, but it would have to be for some high-end youth or a high draft pick to get Burke's attention. Jason Blake could be had for considerably less.
It's a totally different scenario on Ottawa, where there is intense speculation that the Senators, in dire need of a shakeup, will part with one of the big three - Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley or Daniel Alfredsson. Despite the speculation it's unlikely Alfredsson will move. He is a fan-favourite and the Senators need to keep their fans happy as the team continues its unrelenting slide. Heatley would undoubtedly command the biggest and best price, but the more likely candidate is Spezza who simply can't or won't play to his size, something that doesn't sit well with new coach Craig Hartsburg.
Lots of teams could use a big, play making center and Spezza would be a fine No.2 behind an already established team leader, but this would not be an easy deal to make. The Sens need to get a better player in return and no team with playoff hopes is likely to give one up. There may be something among the bottom clubs, especially if a franchise anticipates a signing problem with one of their high-end players, but that decision likely won't be made for several more weeks. Spezza has a no-movement clause that will kick in next season, but that's not the biggest obstacle to a deal. The biggest problem is that he's already highly paid and teams that are already against the cap have to move bodies to get him while those who don't have cap problems likely can't afford him.
The Canadiens could try to pry defenceman Jay Bouwmeester out of Florida and may get an ear from general manager Jacques Martin who, if forced to make a "get-something" deal, would certainly enjoy seeing Montreal get a player that Martin's former team, Ottawa, would covet. There are continued reports that the Panthers haven't given up on re-signing Bouwmeester, but the claims have the same hollow sound you heard out of Buffalo when puck-moving defenceman Brian Campbell was playing out a similar string.
Just about anything goes in Edmonton where there are persistent rumors that MacTavish could be replaced at just about any moment. That's true, but Edmonton in many ways is an old-school organization and MacTavish deserves at least one major roster move before he takes the fall for a team he didn't build and is clearly playing below expectations.
There are holes all over the Edmonton lineup especially in regards to hard-nosed, physical players. There are a fistful of veterans, headed by Erik Cole, who deserve to be moved along in the hopes that the team gets a bit more physical and find a wing for Ales Hemsky (a role Cole has failed to even try and fill).
Calgary has enough physicality and star power, but it too could improve via an upgrade in role players and/or one stay-at-home defenceman. In-season deals are not a hallmark of the management approach there so not much is expected until a deadline-day deal that makes financial sense comes to market.
Vancouver? See above. Sundin is said to have left money on the table so that the Canucks can get one more player before the deadline, but a more logical look at things would indicate that newbie general manager Mike Gillis has to be certain that Sundin is ready and able to contribute as a game-controlling center before he spends the last of his cash and given the history of other name players who take near half a year off, Sundin providing meaningful minutes and points is by no means a given.
