Past just providing fans with the return of best-on-best hockey, the introduction of the 4 Nations Face-Off could have some added intrigue for an ever-changing trade market around the NHL.
Though the league's official final day for trades comes on March 7, teams may view the inaugural international tournament as something of a trade deadline before the trade deadline, opting to make moves in advance of what could be an intense competition.
Sportsnet's Kyle Bukaskas and Elliotte Friedman discussed the potential ramifications of the tournament to the trade deadline in Friday's episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.
With the puck dropping on the 4 Nations Face-Off on Feb. 12 and running until Feb. 20, only weeks before the trade deadline, the high-stakes hockey tourney could come with injury risk, one that teams will possibly choose to avoid by cutting deals ahead of the competition, particularly for players that were selected to play for their respective countries.
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"Remember the 2014 Olympics where Canada won gold? John Tavares broke his leg and missed the rest of the year for the Islanders, there are teams who are thinking about that," Friedman said, in reference to how squads may conduct business with 4 Nations in mind.
"That's gonna be hard hockey, it's gonna be great hockey, those players are going to go at each other hard. If there's anybody on any of those rosters that might get dealt, I think there are teams that are going to consider trading them beforehand. Because you don't want to risk the injury."
So it begs the question, what teams or players could be the most active ahead of the pre-trade, trade deadline?
Well, that remains up in the air. Midway through the season, the playoff races in both conferences remain tight, particularly for the wild card spots, and the proposition of becoming a seller while still only 10 or fewer points behind the final playoff spot is a tough pill to swallow.
Even a team like the Sabres, who sit last in the Eastern Conference, only find themselves 10 points back of the Boston Bruins in the second wild-card spot.
"One of the teams we've been talking a lot about is Buffalo, but they keep winning," Friedman said about the Sabres, who have won six of their last 10. "So as long as Buffalo keeps winning, people keep thinking they're not gonna do anything too much. They're gonna wait until that falls apart a little bit."
The Nashville Predators are also an interesting proposition, with the team hoping to give veteran centre Ryan O'Reilly his due and treat him as though he has a no-trade clause, allowing him to stake a claim in his own market.
Instead, attention could shift toward the buyers, who feel assured about their standing from now until the playoffs.
"Look, I think this is what we're [waiting for]. Edmonton, maybe two defencemen. When do they do it? Toronto, a centre, maybe a defenceman. When do they do it?" Friedman asked.
But for now, the biggest hold-up in the trade market might come down to a team still trying to figure out whether or not they're a buyer or a seller, and a flurry of noise that just can't seem to be silenced: The Vancouver Canucks.
ARE THE DEVILS KEEPING TABS ON J.T. MILLER AND ELIAS PETTERSSON?
A year after their breakout run to the Western Conference semifinals, the Canucks find themselves in a precarious situation, teetering on the edge of volatility.
"The two teams everyone is kind of watching are the Rangers, although things have kind of calmed down a little bit there. And I think everybody is watching Vancouver," Friedman said.
Noise around the fraught relationship between forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller has seemingly come to a head, and the timing of the 4 Nations Face-Off might expedite talks of a deal for either one of the stars.
Pettersson and Miller were selected to the rosters of the Swedish and American teams, respectively, and as Friedman alluded to, the possibility of injury at the tournament may push teams to make moves ahead of the de facto pre-trade deadline when the puck drops on Feb. 12.
"Before we started today, we were watching J.T. Miller's comments to the media — Vancouver was going into Winnipeg, they were feeling really good after that win over Toronto, and they got their butts kicked," Friedman said, referencing Tuesday's 6-1 loss to the Jets. "Miller looked today like he wanted nothing to do with talking to anybody."
Things went from bad to worse against the L.A. Kings on Thursday, as the 31-year-old saw one of his lowest ice-time marks of the season, clocking in only 14:34 in a 5-1 loss. Additionally, he and head coach Rick Tocchet were seen on the bench having a talk after a turnover led to a goal.
With the Canucks having lost eight of their last 10 games, the situation on the West Coast doesn't seem close to improving, and the vultures are starting to circle.
The New Jersey Devils are a team to keep an eye on, as Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos alluded to in his most recent Trade Board article. The Devils, according to PuckPedia, are on track to have about $7.469 million in cap space on deadline day and have assets that Vancouver could be interested in should a deal be discussed.
"So I just think in Vancouver, as they said, Jim Rutherford can do anything," Friedman said, referencing the Canucks president of hockey operations' willingness to make. moves when things might be spiralling. "So we just kind of have to wait to see what they're going to decide to do as they continue to look at it."
With only eight goals and 21 assists this season — a far cry from his 37 goals and 66 helpers last year — a change in scenery for Miller might be closer than expected with the incoming ramifications of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
COULD THE DEVILS MOVE SIMON NEMEC IN A DEAL FOR A STAR?
If the Devils are serious about acquiring one of Miller or Pettersson, could moving a guy like Simon Nemec be in the cards?
The defenceman recently made some comments to Tomas Prokop of Slovakian news outlet Dennik Sport, expressing frustration with being stuck playing for the AHL's Utica Comets for three seasons.
However, Friedman quieted some of the noise around the Slovakian blueliner, saying that he expects the Devils to not do anything drastic when it comes to the future of their former second-overall pick from 2022.
"Put it this way, if it ever gets to a point where there is an availability [in the lineup], I guarantee you the Devils will be patient," Friedman said in an appearance on The Fan Hockey Show on Sportsnet 590. "They're like 'We took you No. 2 overall for a reason.'"
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Nemec has had a solid year in the AHL so far, racking up five goals and 11 assists in 23 games after starting the year on the Devils' blue line. He had a star showing against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday, tallying two goals and three assists in the team's 7-3 blowout.
According to Friedman, his recent string of play has given the Devils even less incentive to trade him. However, the decision from Nemec to vent his frustrations could have added a wrinkle to how the 26-15-6 squad may want to conduct their business moving forward, particularly if they're in the market for some star power.
"The one thing Nemec may have accomplished here is the Devils might learn what the market is," Friedman said.
The 2022 NHL draft class has already seen a few guys change places, with guys like Rutger McGroarty, Cutter Gauthier, Matthew Savoie and Connor Geekie all already finding homes on new teams.
David Jiricek is also an example, as the defenceman was dealt from the Columbus Blue Jackets — the team that drafted him sixth overall — to the Minnesota Wild earlier this season. Friedman, however, doesn't see the deal as comparable to what may go down with Nemec.
"I'd say Jiricek's case is a little bit different. Because Jiricek had been up in the NHL and it was clear that his time was coming to an end in Columbus. There is no evidence of that with Nemec," he said. "There's no evidence that they're at the end of their rope with him, or that they're unhappy with him, or they don't think he can play. That's different."
If the Devils are serious about cutting a deal for either one of the Canucks' star forward, they've got a load of prospects that they could put on the table, from defenceman Seamus Casey and goaltender Nico Daws to forward Adam Beckman. They also have more day-one contributors like centres Dawson Mercer and Paul Cotter. But could Nemec be the sweetener needed to push something over the line?
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