With the season reaching the halfway mark, NHL general managers have a general idea of what areas need to be addressed on their respective clubs.
Trades have been virtually non-existent (just 4 deals during the regular season) until a flurry of action on Tuesday. Deals have been tough to put together due to teams having limited salary cap room, but that will liklely loosen up as the trade deadline approaches and sellers peddle their pending unrestricted free agents as rentals and buyers look for that one piece that will improve their chances of making the playoffs or becoming a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
With that in mind, here is a look at what the posture of each of the 30 NHL clubs will be looking to do prior to February 29th, starting with the trade deadline 0utlook – Metropolitan Division.
Washington Capitals
Status – Buyer
Available Cap Space – $4.67 Million (per General Fanager)
Need – Defense
Analysis – It is a tough argument to make that a team that has given up a league-low 83 goals against is in need of defensive help, but the depth on Barry Trotz’s blueline is the only glaring weak spot on the club currently leading with the Eastern Conference’s best record.
Veteran Brooks Orpik has been out since early November with a lower body injury and is on LTIR. With the off-season departures of Mike Green and Tim Gleason, the depth after the core group of John Carlson, Karl Alzner, Matt Niskanen and Dmitri Orlov features an inexperienced Nate Schmidt and journeymen Taylor Chorney and Ryan Stanton.
Orpik’s uncertain status and the need for depth make adding at least one defenseman a necessity for GM Brian MacLellan. If he does not return, Washington will have nearly $5 Million in cap space to find a replacement.
If he does, then MacLellan will have to move out a salary (like pending RFA Marcus Johansson) or have another team retain significant money to make a deal work.
New York Islanders
Status – Buyer/Seller
Available Cap Space – $5.4 Million
Need – Defense, Scoring Winger
Analysis – Garth Snow may have the most difficult task leading up to the deadline than any other GM in the NHL. The Islanders are in a playoff position in the Metro and have one of the best players in the league in John Tavares, but have dilemmas to deal with in forward Kyle Okposo and defenseman Travis Hamonic.
Okposo leads the club with 31 points and would bring a big return of prospects and draft choices as a rental, but the Isles would likely want assets that could help them now in a deal for the pending UFA.
Hamonic requested a trade last summer to be closer to his family in Manitoba, but the Islanders lack of defensive depth and an injury to Johnny Boychuk makes a move next to impossible before February 29.
The Isles have the advantage of almost $5 Million in cap space and a well-stocked organization, but have already traded two of their 2016 draft choices, which means they may prefer to move prospects like Josh Ho-Sang, Michael Dal Colle or the underperforming Ryan Strome to fill holes.
What Snow does with Okposo will affect the Isles deadline strategy. If he moves the pending UFA for a player that addresses another area of need, then New York will have to find a top-six winger to play with Tavares.
New York Rangers
Status – Buyer
Available Cap Space – $350,500
Need – Defense
Analysis – The window for the Rangers may be closing and the defensive corps that has been central to their Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2014 and a Conference Final finish last season is beginning to show cracks. Veterans Dan Girardi and Marc Staal have slowed after years of wear and tear as shot blockers and 39-year-old Dan Boyle is on his last legs.
GM Jeff Gorton has little room to work with and might be able to create a small amount of cap space by demoting or trading Tanner Glass or Viktor Stalberg or move pending UFA defenseman Keith Yandle, who they will be unlikely to re-sign. Gorton’s options are likely limited to adding an inexpensive bottom pairing defenseman to the current group to make one more run at the Cup.
New Jersey Devils
Status – Buyer/Seller
Available Cap Space – $9.07 Million
Need – Scoring
Analysis – The New Jersey Devils were expected to be in the mix for the Auston Matthews sweepstakes with a patchwork offense and young defense, but currently are in the race for a Eastern Conference wild card spot thanks to another great year from goalie Cory Schnieder and better than expected production from Mike Cammalleri, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique and Lee Stempniak.
GM Ray Shero has over $9 Million in cap space, but is operating under a budget that may not allow him to use all of the available room. If New Jersey is still within range of a playoff spot in late February, they will be looking to add forwards to provide secondary offense. If they fall back, they will sell off a number of their 10 unrestricted free agents.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Status – Buyer/Seller
Available Cap Space – $1.97 Million
Need – Scoring, Defense
Analysis – The first half could not have gone any worse for the Penguins. They could not generate offense in spite of having Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel on the roster. Injuries to Kris Letang and Olli Maatta accentuating their blueline problems even more.
GM Jim Rutherford is all-in to win now with the Pens core group all in their late 20’s and will likely pull out all the stops to get into the playoffs and make a Cup run.
He has attempted to address the need for a puck rushing defenseman by swapping aging veteran Rob Scuderi for Trevor Daley and has almost $2 Million in cap space after the salary of Pascal Dupuis being placed on LTIR.
Pittsburgh really needs a top-four defenseman, but does not have the cap space or the assets to add a Dustin Byfuglien, so they may have to settle for a rental who can provide quality depth. Rutherford might be able to create more cap space by moving pending UFA David Perron, but he only has 15 points this season and has a $3.8 Million cap hit.
Carolina Hurricanes
Status – Seller
Available Cap Space – $7.33 Million
Need – Futures
Analysis – The Hurricanes are within range of a wild card spot, but the focus of GM Ron Francis is on a rebuild centered around young building blocks Justin Faulk, Elias Lindholm and 2015 top pick Noah Hanifin. Carolina has ample cap room to take back or retain salary in trades, which is what they will likely have to do to move the big contracts of pending UFA’s Cam Ward, Eric Staal or John-Michael Liles.
There has been no news of progress being made towards a new deal with Staal and Francis should be able to parlay the 31-year-old team captain into a package of draft picks and prospects.
Philadelphia Flyers
Status – Seller/Shake Up
Available Cap Space – $4.11 Million
Need – Forwards
Analysis – The Flyers offense has not lived up to expectations as the club has the second worst offense (79 goals) in the NHL and leading scorer Claude Giroux is the only player with more than 10 goals.
This season is one of transition for GM Ron Hextall and new coach Dave Hakstol and the goal prior to the deadline is to clear out some players with hefty cap hits or perhaps shake up the roster by dealing younger players like Brayden Schenn.
Hextall started making moves early, trading pending UFA Luke Schenn and veteran Vincent Lecavalier to former boss Dean Lombardi and the LA Kings for a 3rd round pick and forward Jordan Weal.
Philadelphia has a promising crop of young defenseman in their pipeline and will likely try to clear out the expiring contract Russian import Yevgeni Medvedev to clubs looking for blueline help. It may be harder to facilitate trades for veterans Sam Gagner, Mark Streit, Andrew McDonald or RJ Umberger, as Hextall no longer is able to retain salary as the final two spots were used up in the Lecavalier and Schenn trade.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Status – Seller/Shake Up
Available Cap Space – $3.857 Million
Need – Defense, Goaltending
Analysis – Possibly the most disappointing team in the NHL of the first half, the Blue Jackets went 0-9 out of the gate and cost Todd Richards his job. Under John Tortorella, the club has struggled to play a more accountable two-way brand of hockey and has run into injury problems with goalie Sergei Bobrovsky once again.
The Jackets are most definitely sellers, but they do not have many rental players on their roster, which means implementing a change of direction will be a challenge for GM Jarmo Kekalainen.
Center Ryan Johansen was a popular name in trade speculation after being benched and demoted by Tortorella and was finally moved to Nashville for defenseman Seth Jones on Tuesday.
Kakalainen will likely continue to follow through with changes, as the Jackets have underachieved the last two season. With a number of teams looking for defensive help, veteran Jack Johnson could be had and the chronic injuries to goalie Sergei Bobrovsky could have the club looking for goaltending help.
