NHL Power Rankings: A new (old) No. 1, plus each team’s perfect trade deadline
Hope is high for teams on both sides of the buyer/seller line. Let's look into each team’s best-case-scenario deadline.
www.nytimes.com
The NHL trade deadline is here, and this one might actually carry some excitement. All eyes are on Robert Thomas, Vincent Trocheck, Colton Parayko and a slew of others littering Chris Johnston’s latest trade board.
With some actual difference-makers available in a seller’s market, hope is high for teams on both sides of the buyer/seller line. And we’re here to stoke those flames by looking into each team’s best-case-scenario deadline.
Enjoy it while it lasts before everything we write becomes out of date, which will likely happen within the hour.
1. Colorado Avalanche, 41-10-9
Feb. 6: 2Sean: 1
Dom: 1
The perfect deadline: Defensive depth and a reliable bottom-six center
Colorado actually has enough cap space to keep on adding, should they so desire, but they checked their most pressing boxes ahead of the deadline. Nicolas Roy didn’t light the world on fire in his time with the Maple Leafs, but he’d been a sturdy, effective, third-line center with the Golden Knights. The Avs need a player like that, and they’ve got a staff in place that’ll know how to most effectively deploy him.
Brett Kulak, meanwhile, seems like a solid fit on the second pair, and Nick Blankenburg is a well-rounded, possibly ideal depth option. Mission accomplished. Time to chase a Cup.
2. Dallas Stars, 38-14-9
Feb. 6: 4Sean: 2
Dom: 2
The perfect deadline: A quiet day in Minnesota
The bad news for Dallas is that Tyler Seguin’s season is done, period. The good news is that his status freed up a nice chunk of deadline change for Jim Nill. Some of that was spent on Tyler Myers, their rental right-shot defenseman du jour, and some was spent on winger Michael Bunting, who will add some scoring punch to the middle six. Good as the Stars are, a third line of Adam Erne-Justin Hryckowian-Mavrik Bourque leaves something to be desired; Bourque’s 0.1 Net Rating is the best of the bunch.
Now, Nill’s work could largely be done, leaving the Stars to hope that the Wild, their likely first-round opponent, don’t make any particularly meaningful additions.
3. Carolina Hurricanes, 39-16-6
Feb. 6: 3Sean: 3
Dom: 3
The perfect deadline: A smooth 2C
As always, Carolina needs high-end talent. Is that Robert Thomas’ music?
Look, adding Thomas would be the perfect deadline for a lot of teams, but he seems to make especially good sense for the Hurricanes, who have a lot of trigger-happy wingers. On a team happy to create a lot of shots, Thomas’s ability to set up elite quality would be a blessing. That he’s got strong defensive upside only adds to how well he could fit with the Hurricanes, a team that probably has the pieces to make a deal happen.
Carolina is situated well enough that it doesn’t need to break the bank for a half measure like Vincent Trocheck. It’s big-game hunting or bust, and Thomas is the biggest on the board.
4. Buffalo Sabres, 37-19-6
Feb. 6: 7Sean: 4
Dom: 5
The perfect deadline: A trade with the correct Central Division team
OK, so Colton Parayko said no — that’s fine! He would’ve been a perfect fit. Buffalo could use a big shutdown defender who shoots right in the top four, but the Blues have other pieces that would fit great on the Sabres. A true top-line center in Robert Thomas? That would help! So too would speedy winger Jordan Kyrou. Justin Faulk as a Parayko consolation prize is OK, too.
Just keep calling Doug Armstrong, because he’s got the right pieces. Do not call Kevin Cheveldayoff. We repeat, do not call Kevin.
Editor’s note: They called Kevin.
5. Tampa Bay Lightning, 38-18-4
Feb. 6: 1Sean: 6
Dom: 4
The perfect deadline: A reunion
For how many weapons the Lightning have up front, their power play is shockingly mid. The problem there has been obvious since the moment Steven Stamkos left: The lack of a one-time threat on the half-wall opposite Nikita Kucherov. Brandon Hagel shoots the wrong way and Oliver Bjorkstrand just hasn’t worked. The easy fix: Bring Stamkos home. He’s been on a tear over the last few months and the vibe boost alone might carry the Lightning to another Cup. The money might be tough to figure out, but Tampa Bay always finds a way to make it work.
6. Minnesota Wild, 36-16-10
Feb. 6: 5Sean: 5
Dom: 6
The perfect deadline: American hero Vincent Trocheck
If the price for bottom six centers like Jason Dickinson and Nicolas Roy is a first with a little kicker, the price for a top six center like Trocheck is probably even more exorbitant. Especially with three more years of team control. Still, it’s hard not to view acquiring Trocheck as the perfect solution to Minnesota’s center woes. Trocheck may be overrated defensively, but his offensive upside is legit and he’s got a lot of experience playing with a dynamic Russian left winger in Artemi Panarin. He might be able to create the same magic with Kirill Kaprizov, and that’s worth the price of admission.
7. Montreal Canadiens, 33-18-7
Feb. 6: 6Sean: 6
Dom: 7
The perfect deadline: A 2C that doesn’t cost Michael Hage
Hage (45 points in 34 games with Michigan) certainly slots in as the second-line center of the future, but the Canadiens could use some help behind Nick Suzuki right now — Oliver Kapanen would be best-served dropping down the lineup. We know Montreal wouldn’t move Hage for Thomas, and the price tags on inferior players look to be out of control, so there’s no easy fit. There’s also no reason for the Canadiens to force anything. We will say, though, that Nazem Kadri would be interesting.
8. Columbus Blue Jackets, 32-21-8
Feb. 6: 10Sean: 9
Dom: 8
The perfect deadline: No half measures
Charlie Coyle, Boone Jenner and Mason Marchment are all on expiring contracts — and all would have real value on the market, especially Coyle, given his development into a great defensive option at 3C. If the Blue Jackets don’t believe they can make the postseason (or make noise when they get there) they’d be best served moving all three for the type of assets that’d help land a real difference-maker.
If that’s not where their collective heads are at, though, they should just go all-out, add elsewhere and hope everything falls into place between now and the postseason. Either swing big or focus on the future. Nothing in between. Adding Conor Garland is certainly a start.
9. Pittsburgh Penguins, 31-17-13
Feb. 6: 8Sean: 8
Dom: 11
The perfect deadline: More tidy business
It’s become borderline impossible to imagine Kyle Dubas subtracting from this roster without adding to it elsewhere. Anthony Mantha, in the midst of a career season on an expiring contract, would net a nice package of futures if the Penguins were sellers — but they’re not.
Dubas said Wednesday, though, that he’s interested in adding young NHL players with years of team control, and he’s already brought in guys (Egor Chinakhov, Sam Girard) who fit that mold. Perhaps there’s a pick/player combo that fits Pittsburgh’s short- and medium-term goals.
10. Vegas Golden Knights, 29-19-14
Feb. 6: 11Sean: 11
Dom: 9
The perfect deadline: A goalie that can make a save
Boy, would Logan Thompson look great in a Golden Knights uniform right now! Vegas made the wrong call in net and are paying the price dearly, with what projects to be the 26th best goaltending in the league. It hasn’t mattered who’s been between the pipes, they’ve all stunk, with starter Adin Hill being especially poor.
Now here’s a thought: What better way to make it out of the Pacific than a goalie hellbent on revenge? Is that Stuart Skinner’s music we’re hearing…