Craig Custance of ESPN: Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill leading up to the trade deadline.
“If it looks like we’re out of it in two weeks, we’re probably looking to move ,” Nill told ESPN.com. And if the Stars are still in the playoff race? “Probably nothing,” he said.
The Stars are seven points out and will likely be sellers at the deadline.
Available: Erik Cole will likely be available and it won’t take a lot to get him. The Stars and Canadiens have made deals in the recent past, and it might make sense for GM Marc Bergevin to bring Cole back to Montreal. Shawn Horcoff could also be available.
Finances: The Stars have the cap room, but they are a budget team. They do have some big salaries on their current roster and likely won’t want to take on a lot of salary at the deadline.
Scouting the GM: Will be Nill’s second deadline for the Stars. He’s a draft and develop guy, so they won’t hold onto pending free agents over adding more draft picks if they are out of it.
Katie Strang of ESPN: The Flyers aren’t completely out of the playoff race, but they are 11 points out with 30 games left. They will likely be sellers.
Available: Defensemen Nick Schultz and Michael Del Zotto would get some interest, but sources are saying the Flyers may want to extend them. GM Ron Hextall may want to move out some salary in Braydon Coburn, Nicklas Grossmann or Luke Schenn (all have a year left on their contracts). Kimmo Timonen is attempting to return from blood clots, but that might scare away teams. Pending UFA Ray Emery could be available, but he holds a 3.38 GAA and .887 save percentage.
Finances: The Flyers have some bad contracts, and with the uncertainty of next season salary cap, it might it difficult to move the likes of Coburn ($4.5 million), Schenn ($3.5 million) and Grossmann ($3.35 million)
Scouting the GM: A Flyers source said that GM Hextall will take pragmatic, long-term outlook leading up the trade deadline. It would be best for Hextall if he’s able to unload some salaries, but not do a complete teardown.
Joe McDonald of ESPN: The Bruins are back on track and will be buyers leading up to the deadline. They could use another scoring forward and some veteran depth on the blueline.
Available: Potential options for the Bruins include: Chris Stewart, Drew Stafford, Jordan Eberle, Antoine Vermette and Martin Erat. They could trade Matt Bartkowski and Jordan Caron.
Finances: The Bruins don’t have a lot of cap space available and will have to re-sign Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Reilly Smith in the offseason.
Scouting the GM: Peter Chiarelli hasn’t been afraid to make deadline deals in the past, and if they remain in contention, it will be interesting to see what they do.