NHL GMs are certainly consistent when it comes to trade deadline day. The past three seasons there have been 25 trades on deadline day. Yup, that is correct; the same numbers of trades for each of the past three seasons. Well, I think this year will pass that number. In fact, I am expecting there to be at least 30 deals on Wednesday.
Players I expect to be traded:
- Derek Morris: Phoenix couldn’t re-sign him and now he’s going to sit out until dealt, so he doesn’t get hurt.
- Bill Guerin: See above.
- Jay Bouwmeester: The offers of current NHLers will be too good to pass up for Martin.
- Olli Jokinen: Why do the Coyotes need that contract around ($5.25 million this season and $5.5 million next season)? Especially considering his on-ice play.
- Travis Moen: The type of player playoff teams love to have on depth lines.
- Tomas Kaberle: Brian Burke is going to deal the affordable puck-moving defenseman for picks and prospects.
- Nikolai Antropov: Columbus has been rumored. Wherever he goes, I’d say there is little chance he ends up staying on the Burke-led Leafs.
- Mark Recchi: Somehow the old man has 45 points this season! Give him credit, he stays in terrific shape and has Cup experience. Would be a perfect fit on a young team needing veteran experience.
- Gary Roberts: Doesn’t have 45 points this season but there are teams that’d like a strong veteran presence on the fourth line.
- Niclas Havelid: Apparently the Bruins are very interested. No reason to stay in Atlanta.
- Jordin Leopold: He is a pending UFA who can’t really seem to stay healthy. I believe he’d be a perfect fit on Calgary’s back-end but watch for the Devils too.
- Jeff Halpern: The Lightning can probably get a nice return for Halpern. He would be a nice fit on the Sharks.
- Nick Boynton: Fighting with Panthers coaches and management is probably his way out of town. That said, unless the Cats get a defenseman in return for Bouwmeester, they cannot really trade Boynton.
- Dominic Moore: Burke will deal him when his value is high. Remember, this is a guy who played for Nashville, NYR and Minnesota over a short period of time.
Players who could move:
- Chris Pronger: Bob Murray is a smart GM, so he won’t deal Pronger just to trade him. If he doesn’t get the right offer, he’ll sit on it until the summer.
- Milan Hejduk: At $4 million, the Avalanche are in no hurry to deal the veteran right winger. He still has good hands and can take of his own end, so it is certainly possible a team offers just the right pieces to make Colorado say yes.
- Erik Cole: I don’t think it is a sure bet that the Oilers deal Cole. I’m sure they are getting a lot of low-ball offers right now, so unless a team ponies up equal value, I can see him staying put.
- Scottie Upshall: A pending RFA on a team that has cap problems. Expect the Flyers to guage interest in the gritty speedster.
- Marian Gaborik: The Wild certainly isn’t going to give him away. Their best value is probably in keeping him, but if an offer is there that helps for the future (more than low draft picks)–I think he’s gone.
Players I don’t expect to move:
- Michael Cammalleri: Pending UFA or not, he’s been too good to deal for the Flames.
- Alexandre Burrows: Another pending free agent, but he means much more to that team than many people realize.
- Ryan Smyth: With the cap expected to go down in the near future, I can’t see a team taking on that salary.
- Bryan Campbell: Rumors have it they are taking offers on Campbell but not actively seeking a trade. In any event, his contract is long and expensive–so don’t bet on any team biting on that.
- Martin Havlat: Apparently not available, as they work on getting his name on a contract extension.
- Martin St. Louis: You cannot predict what the folks in Tampa Bay will do, but he is affordable (contract becomes more favorable next two seasons), still produces and the move would piss off Vincent Lecavalier.
- Scott Niedermayer: Unless he asks to be moved.
- Daniel Briere: Too many years, too much money.
- Niklas Backstorm: No matter how comfortable they feel about Josh Harding’s future, the Wild cannot deal their number one netminder in the midst of a playoff race.
If I forgot any names (which I am sure I did) feel free to drop them in the comments section.
I will be blogging Trade Deadline day all Wednesday from 7am CST until 4pm CST. The night will wind up with a special two-hour edition of the IllegalCurve.com Radio Show from 8pm CST until 10pm CST.
