The NHL Trade Deadline is right around the corner, and although Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion called it the “quietest” deadline in his six years at the helm, transactions are heating up.
On Monday, the Colorado Avalanche officially kicked off trade season by acquiring defenceman Josh Manson from the Anaheim Ducks, and the floodgates opened even further when the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames added Ben Chiarot and Calle Jarnkrok, respectively.
In a run through the gruelling playoffs, having depth down the middle is never something you can have too much of, which may be part of what the Flames are addressing with Jarnkrok, but there’s still a stacked list of players circulating in rumours left for Stanley Cup contenders to bolster their offence at centre.
Here are 10 to keep an eye on before Monday’s 3 p.m. ET / noon PT deadline.
J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks
Age: 29
Cap Hit: $5.25 million (under contract for 2022-23)
Is J.T. Miller playing so well that the Canucks need to keep him? Or does that make it the perfect time to sell?
In the face of endless trade speculation, the 28-year-old is putting together a season to remember in Vancouver. He's coming off a 13-game point streak and on pace for 97 points – the highest total of any Canuck since Daniel Sedin had 104 in 2010-11 and tied for the seventh-most productive individual season in franchise history. As the eighth leading scorer in the NHL, there may not be a bigger fish ahead of the deadline.
But is he available? Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said in a recent interview with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre that the current group deserves “the chance to keep going and hopefully that's the way it works out,” and Friedman wrote he sees Miller's situation as a "postseason conversation," but Rutherford’s history suggests he’s rarely afraid of making a move. The thing is, the Canucks have time to wait, and they're surging under coach Bruce Boudreau with a puncher’s chance at making the playoffs.
Will Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin sell high at the deadline? Or will they wait until the off-season to make a more calculated move and perhaps sign him to an extension?
Andrew Copp, Paul Stastny, Winnipeg Jets
Age: Copp (27), Stastny (36)
Cap hit: Copp: ($3.64 million, pending UFA), Stastny ($3.75 million, pending UFA)
The Jets looked like they’d be big sellers heading into the deadline, but their sudden surge and Vegas' subsequent downfall has the team in the heat of the playoff race – just four points out of the final wild-card spot.
Still, Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will have to take a hard look at his team by the end of the weekend to determine whether it’s worth hanging on to two of the club’s unrestricted free agents.
Copp is a big, versatile forward who can slot on the wing or at centre, kill penalties and contribute offensively – in the last two seasons, he’s produced 71 points in 109 games. The Jets had a scare when he left last week’s game against the Blues, but he appears not to have suffered a concussion. Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe notes the Bruins as front-runners, the Avalanche as a stealth option and the Rangers, Lightning and Panthers as “in the mix.”
Stastny is 36, yet it looks like he’ll be able to produce until he’s 40. This season he has 31 points in 50 games and should break the 20-goal plateau for the first time since 2013-14, his last season with the Avalanche. Wiebe notes the Rangers have been watching closely.
Read the Jets trade deadline primer here.
Max Domi, Jack Roslovic, Columbus Blue Jackets
Age: Domi (27), Roslovic (25)
Cap hit: Domi ($5.3 million, pending UFA), Roslovic ($1.838 million, pending RFA)
Max Domi might be on the move to his fourth team in five seasons. Columbus is just one spot shy of a playoff spot, but it’s a 13-point margin, the eight Eastern Conference playoff teams are all but set in stone. Domi’s a pending unrestricted free agent who’s been on the team for only parts of two seasons, and the Blue Jackets have room to retain some of his salary – making him a prime trade candidate.
Though he hasn’t come close to matching his 72-point season with the Canadiens in 2018-19, Domi can still produce (32 points in 52 games this season) and offers the grit and tenacity to slot in as a depth forward on a contender.
Friedman notes Washington as a team to watch, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek says to keep an eye on Boston and Colorado.
Roslovic, who arrived in his hometown in the Laine-Dubois trade, proved to be far more than a “throw-in” last season, registering 34 points in 48 games. This season, he has regressed to 29 points in 61 games. As a pending restricted free agent, Columbus could be looking for suitors.
Christian Dvorak, Montreal Canadiens
Age: 26
Cap hit: $4.45 million (under contract until 2024-25)
The Jesperi Kotkaniemi gift keeps on giving.
Let’s recap:
• July 2019: Montreal offer sheets Sebastian Aho, Carolina matches.
• August-September 2021: Carolina offer sheets Kotaniemi in a ruthless payback, Montreal declines to match, takes a first- and third-round pick in compensation.
• September 2021: Montreal trades a first and a second to Arizona for Christian Dvorak.
Well, it hasn’t exactly worked out for the best in Montreal. Dvorak has 16 points in 35 games this season and the Canadiens are not likely to recoup the value they gave up – not that the whole fiasco is of the new regime’s doing.
Clearly, there’s no rush for Montreal to make a deal here, but Friedman says teams are calling – albeit mostly from the Western Conference, where teams have seen Dvorak play better than his current form.
Read the Canadiens deadline primer here.
Jack McBain, Minnesota Wild (Boston College NCAA)
Age: 22
Cap hit: Not signed
Meet this season’s Jimmy Vesey.
The Wild have been unable to sign McBain amid his breakout senior season at Boston College, and will likely deal his rights (they selected him 63rd overall in 2018). The six-foot-four centreman from Toronto has 19 goals and 14 assists through 24 games in the Hockey East conference, so naturally several teams are interested in the 22-year-old. He also produced one goal and one assist for Canada at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Friedman notes Minnesota is looking for a second-round pick, making Montreal and Arizona potential suitors.
Jack McBain, @BC_MHockey #HockeyEast | #WhereChampionsPlay pic.twitter.com/5Ud4HB7vYI
— Hockey East (@hockey_east) March 14, 2022
Pavel Zacha, New Jersey Devils
Age: 24
Cap hit: $2.25 million (pending RFA)
Zacha is a sixth-overall pick, but unlike so many of his peers from the absolutely stacked 2015 draft class (McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Rantanen, Barzal, Connor et al.) his stardom hasn't exactly come to fruition, and the upcoming restricted free agent may be due for a change of scenery as he falls out of Devils’ core.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have anything to give, though, especially for team thinking it can tap into some of his potential – he’s big, quick, skilled, has a great shot and is still under 25. Friedman says the Canadiens have looked at Zacha, and Marek reported last month the Canucks had interest. He's currently out with an upper-body injury after falling into the boards Tuesday against Vancouver; the severity of the injury is not clear.
Johan Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
Age: 29
Cap hit: $1.4 million (pending UFA)
Flying a little under the radar in the desert, Larsson may not be anyone's No. 1 option for a trade, but he's a versatile and defensively responsible forward who could bring depth to any lineup. He's also viable on both the penalty kill and power play.
The 29-year-old had 15 points in 29 games before undergoing a sports hernia injury in February. He’s due back in early April.
1. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 34
Cap hit: $8.275 million (pending UFA)
When Giroux took the ice at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night, it was both a celebration of his 1,000th NHL game and an emotional potential farewell to the captain who's played his entire career in Philadelphia.
The Flyers are mired in back-to-back seasons missing the playoffs, despite clear efforts to build a contending team, and trading Giroux could add assets to the team as it looks to retool for next season. In return, Giroux is awarded the opportunity to chase the Stanley Cup.
At 34, Giroux’s not the player from four seasons ago who can break 100 points, but make no mistake, he’s a top-tier rental – both because of his leadership and his play on the ice.
He can slot on the wing or at centre on any team’s top six, he’s perhaps the league’s best right-shot faceoff man not named Patrice Bergeron, and he’s still producing, with 42 points through 57 games, despite Philadelphia’s woeful third-worst power play (13.5 per cent).
In his latest 32 Thoughts blog, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote: "Colorado is interested, but there’s a preference for the Panthers, although it doesn’t look like anything is close," adding the Flyers have not been impressed with what's on the table.
Trade chatter on a move to Florida heated up after he reached his milestone on Thursday night. Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported Giroux would not join the Flyers for their game in Ottawa Friday, but added: "sources within both (the Flyers and Panthers) organizations say tonight no deal is in place."
It's only a matter of time.
