Countdown to TradeCentre: Spotting the sellers
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The NHL's March 7 Trade Deadline is approaching, and teams are making decisions on whether to buy or sell, and on which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out today's trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.
Sellers start to emerge
A two-week sprint to the trade deadline will await teams after the 4 Nations break and it appears some teams have already identified themselves as sellers ahead of the rush.
Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia points to the Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Utah Hockey Club, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks as teams who "are ready to sell off assets."
Garrioch notes that the Predators, Sabres and Penguins came into the season with higher expectations, but have let it be known they are open for business, save for some untouchables.
The Penguins and Sharks showed their hand ahead of the deadline, with Pittsburgh trading Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor to the Vancouver Canucks and the Sharks sending Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars before the 4 Nations break.
The Predators were the stars of free agency, bringing in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei after making the playoffs last season, but the team sits third-last in the Western Conference this season, 22 points back of the final wild-card spot.
Blue Jackets setting course as buyers
The Columbus Blue Jackets were projected by most to be a seller by the deadline when this season began, but a strong run of play has led president Don Waddell to look to boost his roster for a playoff push.
The Blue Jackets sit one point back of the final wild-card spot with the league on pause and are focusing their search on forward help while keeping a long-term vision in mind.
“I think right now, short term, I’m looking to see - and this has probably changed in the last week and a half - if we can add something up front to help this group right now because of the (Kirill) Marchenko and (Sean) Monahan losses," Waddell told the team's website. "Are we going to pay a high price for a rent-a-player? No, but if we get somebody that has some term left or a player that we think would fit well into our roster that we don’t have to give up assets that I'm not willing to give up – I think if we can do that, it would be something that would send a message not only to the players and the coaches but our 5th Line support, saying that we’re trying to do something.
“Saying that, a lot of teams are trying to do that. So as far as trading players away, I’m interested in hockey deals. We have a lot of draft capital. I don’t need third- and fourth- and fifth-round picks. We have a lot of those. We have to make good decisions, though, if we get offered something that is going to make us better in the future. My job is to manage today but watch out for the future, obviously.
“...I anticipate there could be some in and out for sure.”
Columbus has eight pending unrestricted free agents on their roster, but it doesn't appear to the team is in a rush to part with any of them, barring a significant offer.
"Getting mid-round picks for players and stuff like that, these players are too important for us as we go down the stretch regardless of where we’re at," Waddell said. "They’ve helped us get this far. I think we owe it to everybody to try to keep this group together. If there’s something that blows our mind away, some kind of offer we can’t refuse, we have to look at that. But where we’re at, you look at the trade deadline. The guys that maybe you thought if you were out of it, you were going to move, they’re almost like your deadline day acquisitions because you haven’t moved them.
"...We know what we have with some of these guys. If we can make this team better, that’s my job to try to do that, but I’m not looking to move guys out for mid-round picks.”
Defenceman Ivan Provorov leads the list of pending UFAs in Columbus, with the blueliner playing out the final season of his deal at a cap hit of $4.725 million.
Lindgren on the block in New York?
The New York Rangers continue to fight for a playoff spot amid a tumultuous season filled with trade rumours and major moves.
Arthur Staple and Peter Baugh of The Athletic believe general manager Chris Drury will have a market for three of the team's pending unrestricted free agents, should he elect to move them over keeping them as "own rental."
Staple and Baugh believe veteran forwards Reilly Smith and Jimmy Vesey could draw mid-round picks back on the trade market, while the Rangers could really load up on draft capital by moving defenceman Ryan Lindgren.
The Rangers are without a first-round pick this year (barring it landing in the top 13 slots) and don't have a second-round pick until 2028.
Lindgren, 27, has two goals and 15 points in 50 games this season while carrying a cap hit of $3.5 million. He has spent his entire career in New York, having been traded to the Rangers after being selected by the Boston Bruins in the second round of the 2016 draft.
The Rangers sit three points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card spot with the Bruins and Blue Jackets both sitting ahead of them with more games played.