Nick and Connor discuss the hullabaloo regarding the fallout of the Ottawa Senators and whether or not they should trade Erik Karlsson (thereby tanking and rebuilding). A quick look around California reveals contenders and pretenders, while All-Star talent and rookies are also reviewed.
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Nick, Connor and Cap’n recap the Matt Duchene trade and pick a winnner(s). The crew also discussed how good the Tampa Bay Lightning are and how the Montreal Canadiens haven’t been smart with asset management in recent years and where they could go from here.
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Breakups are hard.
Joe Sakic was one of Matt Duchene‘s all-time heroes growing up– right up there with golden age era Colorado Avalanche counterpart, Peter Forsberg. Now, Sakic has traded away the player that was meant to carry the torch as Colorado transitioned from their franchise’s greatest player of all-time to the 3rd overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Last year’s Colorado Avalanche sealed the deal for Duchene. He had waited long enough for a franchise that has only made the playoffs twice in his career to rebuild.
His days were numbered and had been rumored to be on his way out since things really began to go south last season, but Avalanche general manager, Joe Sakic, held on until the very last minute– demanding quite the return in hopes of making up for the lost time in talent acquisition and development after the Ryan O’Reilly trade with the Buffalo Sabres at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Nikita Zadorov hasn’t lived up to the hype– though he is on their roster, J.T. Compher isn’t as prolific as O’Reilly, Mikhail Grigorenko‘s now playing in the KHL and the 31st overall pick was flipped by the Avs at the draft to the San Jose Sharks. The O’Reilly deal had a clear winner (Buffalo) and setback Colorado further than they expected to have been in the post-O’Reilly Era, already depleted at center a season after losing Paul Stastny to the St. Louis Blues in free agency.
For Duchene, the drama’s over.
No more questions about who’s going to step up, when thing’s are going to turn around or how long things will last.
The deal is done.
Sunday night, while playing at Barclays Center against the New York Islanders, Matt Duchene was pulled off the ice during a stoppage to assist now former teammate, Blake Comeau, out of the rink with an injury. Duchene had been traded– mid-game. The first in recent memory since Janurary 12, 2012, when the Montreal Canadiens sent Mike Cammalleri to the Calgary Flames during a matchup with the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Duchene will be closer to home, bringing his 4-6-10 totals in 14 games with Colorado so far this season to Canada’s capital. His Senators debut will be against his former team later this week as Ottawa takes on Colorado in the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series this Friday and Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden.
The 26-year-old center had 428 points (178 goals, 250 assists) in 586 games played with the Avalanche since being drafted in 2009 and is moving on to greener pastures with the Ottawa Senators after a career worst minus-34 in 77 games last season.
Ottawa is going through a little breakup of their own as part of this three-team trade, sending the other largest part of the deal, Kyle Turris, to the Nashville Predators, while dealing Andrew Hammond, Shane Bowers, a 2018 1st round pick (with top-ten protection) and a 2019 3rd round pick to Colorado.
In perhaps the biggest underrated pickup from this trade, Turris brings his 3-6-9 totals in 11 games with the Sens this season to the Nashville Predators. The 28-year-old center is coming off of a career best 27 goals last season and finished the 2016-17 campaign with 27-28-55 totals in 78 games played.
A strong, two-way player, Turris’s current contract expires at the end of the season, but fear not, Preds fans, he’s already signed a six-year extension that’ll keep him in Nashville through the 2022-23 season at a $6.000 million cap hit (beginning next season).
Predators GM David Poile knows he’ll need plenty of depth down the middle for a long playoff run. Nashville has their sights set on a Cup run and given their last Stanley Cup Final appearance, they’ll need one of the best group of centers down the middle, in the event of injury (a la Ryan Johansen).
Luckily, that’s where Kyle Turris fits the bill. In 544 career NHL games with Ottawa and the Phoenix Coyotes, he’s had 136 goals and 184 assists (320 points). The 3rd overall pick by the Coyotes in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft seeks to win it all with his third team in the NHL.
To complete the deal, the Predators sent Samuel Girard, Vladislav Kamenev and a 2018 2nd round pick to the Avalanche. Girard is a highly touted prospect once log-jammed in Nashville’s immense depth on the blue line, now free to flourish with Colorado and was the 46th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Kamenev was the 42nd overall choice by the Predators in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
While Sakic kept his demands high throughout the entire process of trading Duchene, he may reap the rewards of a plethora of picks, prospects and much needed depth in goal that is all-too-often overlooked (but becomes quite apparent when goalies are injured, let alone one of them– hello, Vegas).
Whether or not Sakic will flip the assets he attained for more remains to be seen– if he’s even the one to do so (there’s no guarantees in the midst of a rebuild, even if the draft picks are one or two calendar years away).
tl:dr The Colorado Avalanche finally traded Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators in a three-team trade in which Kyle Turris got shipped from the Sens to the Nashville Predators. In all, Colorado acquired Shane Bowers, Andrew Hammond, Samuel Girard, Vladislav Kamenev, a 2018 1st round pick (OTT), a 2018 2nd round pick (NSH) and a 2019 3rd round pick (OTT).
Colorado makes off with the most assets that could pay off if they draft the right guys or flip for more roster components at a later date, Ottawa got a center that they won’t have to worry about giving a raise this offseason (though they’ll still have to re-sign other large components in the next year or two) and Nashville got Turris locked up to a six-year extension going into effect next season, while also legitimizing themselves as a contender for the Cup this season with a solid core down the middle.
Some fun facts:
Duchene’s contract expires at the end of the 2018-19 season. His current cap hit is $6.000 million. Ottawa has about $3.700 million in cap space currently, according to CapFriendly and will need to re-sign players like Mark Stone and Cody Ceci next July (2018), as well as Erik Karlsson in 2019.
Nashville’s current cap hit of about $70.270 million, with Turris signed to a 6-year, $6.000 million per extension going into effect next season, will be even tighter heading into July 2018, which means they could be the new Washington Capitals in terms of everyone’s “Cup or bust” team this season.
Colorado’s cap hit is now about $66.741 million with a little over $8.000 million in cap space with more to offer throughout the season in terms of potential transactions and expendable rental players come this year’s trade deadline.
30 of the NHL’s 31 teams submitted their protected lists on Saturday by 5 p.m. ET. The protected lists were made public at 10:30 a.m. ET (originally scheduled for 10 a.m.) on Sunday. Additionally, the available lists of players to choose from were released.
The Vegas Golden Knights will now spend the next few days constructing their roster, with the full reveal set for Wednesday night during the NHL Awards Ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Vegas can choose from the following available players:
Anaheim Ducks
Forwards: Spencer Abott, Jared Boll, Sam Carrick, Patrick Eaves, Emerson Etem, Ryan Garbutt, Max Gortz, Nicolas Kerdiles, Andre Petersson, Logan Shaw, Nick Sorensen, Nate Thompson, Corey Tropp, Chris Wagner
Defensemen: Nate Guenin, Korbinian Holzer, Josh Manson, Jaycob Megna, Jeff Schultz, Clayton Stoner, Sami Vatanen
Goalies: Jonathan Bernier, Jhonas Enroth, Ryan Faragher, Matt Hackett, Dustin Tokarski
Arizona Coyotes
Forwards: Alexander Burmistrov, Shane Doan, Tyler Gaudet, Peter Holland, Josh Jooris, Jamie McGinn, Jeremy Morin, Mitchell Moroz, Chris Mueller, Teemu Pulkkinen, Brad Richardson, Garret Ross, Branden Troock, Radim Vrbata, Joe Whitney
Defensemen: Kevin Connauton, Jamie McBain, Zbynek Michalek, Jarred Tinordi
Goalies: Louis Domingue
Boston Bruins
Forwards: Matt Beleskey, Brian Ferlin, Jimmy Hayes, Alex Khokhlachev, Dominic Moore, Tyler Randell, Zac Rinaldo, Tim Schaller, Drew Stafford
Defensemen: Linus Arnesson, Chris Casto, Tommy Cross, Alex Grant, John-Michael Liles, Adam McQuaid, Colin Miller, Joe Morrow
Goalies: Anton Khudobin, Malcolm Subban
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards: William Carrier, Nicolas Deslauriers, Brian Gionta, Derek Grant, Justin Kea, Matt Moulson, Cal O’Reilly, Cole Schneider
Defensemen: Brady Austin, Mathew Bodie, Zach Bogosian, Justin Falk, Taylor Fedun, Cody Franson, Josh Gorges, Dmitry Kulikov
Goalies: Anders Nilsson, Linus Ullmark
Calgary Flames
Forwards: Brandon Bollig, Lance Bouma, Troy Brouwer, Alex Chiasson, Freddie Hamilton, Emile Poirier, Hunter Shinkaruk, Matt Stajan, Kris Versteeg, Linden Vey
Defensemen: Matt Bartkowski, Ryan Culkin, Deryk Engelland, Michael Kostka, Brett Kulak, Ladislav Smid, Michael Stone, Dennis Wideman, Tyler Wotherspoon
Goalies: Brian Elliott, Tom McCollum
Carolina Hurricanes
Forwards: Bryan Bickell, Connor Brickley, Patrick Brown, Erik Karlsson, Danny Kristo, Jay McClement, Andrew Miller, Andrej Nestrasil, Joakim Nordstrom, Lee Stempniak, Brendan Woods
Defensemen: Klas Dahlbeck, Dennis Robertson, Philip Samuelsson, Matt Tennyson
Goalies: Daniel Altshuller, Eddie Lack, Michael Leighton, Cam Ward
Chicago Blackhawks
Forwards: Kyle Baun, Andrew Desjardins, Marcus Kruger, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Michael Latta, Brandon Mashinter, Dennis Rasmussen, Jordin Tootoo
Defensemen: Brian Campbell, Dillon Fournier, Shawn Lalonde, Johnny Oduya, Ville Pokka, Michal Rozsival, Viktor Svedberg, Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalies: Mac Carruth, Jeff Glass
Colorado Avalanche
Forwards: Troy Bourke, Gabriel Bourque, Rene Bourque, Joe Colborne, Turner Elson, Felix Girard, Mikhail Grigorenko, Samuel Henley, John Mitchell, Jim O’Brien, Brendan Ranford, Mike Sislo, Carl Soderberg
Defensemen: Mark Barberio, Mat Clark, Eric Gelinas, Cody Goloubef, Duncan Siemens, Fedor Tyutin, Patrick Wiercioch
Goalies: Joe Cannata, Calvin Pickard, Jeremy Smith
Columbus Blue Jackets
Forwards: Josh Anderson, Alex Broadhurst, Matt Calvert, Zac Dalpe, Sam Gagner, Brett Gallant, William Karlsson, Lauri Korpikoski, Lukas Sedlak, T.J. Tynan, Daniel Zaar
Defensemen: Marc-Andre Bergeron, Scott Harrington, Jack Johnson, Kyle Quincey, John Ramage, Jaime Sifers, Ryan Stanton
Goalies: Oscar Dansk, Anton Forsberg, Joonas Korpisalo
Dallas Stars
Forwards: Adam Cracknell, Justin Dowling, Cody Eakin, Ales Hemsky, Jiri Hudler, Curtis McKenzie, Mark McNeill, Travis Morin, Patrick Sharp, Gemel Smith, Matej Stransky
Defensemen: Mattias Backman, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Ludwig Bystrom, Nick Ebert, Justin Hache, Dan Hamhuis, Patrik Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak, Greg Pateryn, Dustin Stevenson
Goalies: Henri Kiviaho, Maxime Lagace, Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi, Justin Peters
Detroit Red Wings
Forwards: Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitch Callahan, Colin Campbell, Martin Frk, Luke Glendening, Darren Helm, Drew Miller, Tomas Nosek, Riley Sheahan, Ben Street, Eric Tangradi
Defensemen: Adam Almquist, Jonathan Ericsson, Niklas Kronwall, Brian Lashoff, Dylan McIlrath, Xavier Ouellet, Ryan Sproul
Goalies: Jared Coreau, Petr Mrazek, Edward Pasquale, Jake Paterson
Edmonton Oilers
Forwards: David Desharnais, Justin Fontaine, Matt Hendricks, Roman Horak, Jujhar Khaira, Anton Lander, Iiro Pakarinen, Tyler Pitlick, Zach Pochiro, Benoit Pouliot, Henrik Samuelsson, Bogdan Yakimov
Defensemen: Mark Fayne, Andrew Ference, Mark Fraser, Eric Gryba, David Musil, Jordan Oesterle, Griffin Reinhart, Kris Russell, Dillon Simpson
Goalies: Laurent Brossoit, Jonas Gustavsson
Florida Panthers
Forwards: Graham Black, Tim Bozon, Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen, Derek MacKenzie, Jonathan Marchessault, Colton Sceviour, Michael Sgarbossa, Reilly Smith, Brody Sutter, Paul Thompson, Shawn Thornton, Thomas Vanek
Defensemen: Jason Demers, Jakub Kindl, Brent Regner, Reece Scarlett, MacKenzie Weegar
Goalies: Reto Berra, Sam Brittain, Roberto Luongo
Los Angeles Kings
Forwards: Andy Andreoff, Justin Auger, Dustin Brown, Kyle Clifford, Andrew Crescenzi, Nic Dowd, Marian Gaborik, Jarome Iginla, Trevor Lewis, Michael Mersch, Jordan Nolan, Teddy Purcell, Devin Setoguchi, Nick Shore
Defensemen: Matt Greene, Vincent Loverde, Brayden McNabb, Cameron Schilling, Rob Scuderi, Zach Trotman
Goalies: Jack Campbell, Jeff Zatkoff
Minnesota Wild
Forwards: Brady Brassart, Patrick Cannone, Ryan Carter, Kurtis Gabriel, Martin Hanzal, Erik Haula, Zack Mitchell, Jordan Schroeder, Eric Staal, Chris Stewart, Ryan White
Defensemen: Victor Bartley, Matt Dumba, Christian Folin, Guillaume Gelinas, Alexander Gudbranson, Gustav Olofsson, Nate Prosser, Marco Scandella, Mike Weber
Goalies: Johan Gustafsson, Darcy Kuemper, Alex Stalock
Montreal Canadiens
Forwards: Daniel Carr, Connor Crisp, Jacob De La Rose, Bobby Farnham, Brian Flynn, Max Friberg, Charles Hudon, Dwight King, Stefan Matteau, Torrey Mitchell, Joonas Nattinen, Steve Ott, Tomas Plekanec, Alexander Radulov, Chris Terry
Defensemen: Brandon Davidson, Alexei Emelin, Keegan Lowe, Andrei Markov, Nikita Nesterov, Zach Redmond, Dalton Thrower
Goalies: Al Montoya
Nashville Predators
Forwards: Pontus Aberg, Cody Bass, Vernon Fiddler, Mike Fisher, Cody McLeod, James Neal, P.A. Parenteau, Adam Payerl, Mike Ribeiro, Miikka Salomaki, Colton Sissons, Craig Smith, Trevor Smith, Austin Watson, Colin Wilson, Harry Zolnierczyk
Defensemen: Taylor Aronson, Anthony Bitetto, Stefan Elliott, Petter Granberg, Brad Hunt, Matt Irwin, Andrew O’Brien, Adam Pardy, Jaynen Rissling, Scott Valentine, Yannick Weber
Goalies: Marek Mazanec
New Jersey Devils
Forwards: Beau Bennett, Michael Cammalleri, Carter Camper, Luke Gazdic, Shane Harper, Jacob Josefson, Ivan Khomutov, Stefan Noesen, Marc Savard, Devante Smith-Pelly, Petr Straka, Mattias Tedenby, Ben Thomson, David Wohlberg
Defensemen: Seth Helgeson, Viktor Loov, Ben Lovejoy, Andrew MacWilliam, Jon Merrill, Dalton Prout, Karl Stollery, Alexander Urbom
Goalies: Keith Kinkaid, Scott Wedgewood
New York Islanders
Forwards: Josh Bailey, Steve Bernier, Eric Boulton, Jason Chimera, Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck, Stephen Gionta, Ben Holmstrom, Bracken Kearns, Nikolay Kulemin, Brock Nelson, Shane Prince, Alan Quine, Ryan Strome, Johan Sundstrom
Defensemen: Calvin de Haan, Matthew Finn, Jesse Graham, Thomas Hickey, Loic Leduc, Scott Mayfield, Dennis Seidenberg
Goalies: Jean-Francois Berube, Christopher Gibson, Jaroslav Halak
New York Rangers
Forwards: Taylor Beck, Chris Brown, Daniel Catenacci, Jesper Fast, Tanner Glass, Michael Grabner, Marek Hrivik, Nicklas Jensen, Carl Klingberg, Oscar Lindberg, Brandon Pirri, Matt Puempel
Defensemen: Adam Clendening, Tommy Hughes, Steven Kampfer, Kevin Klein, Michael Paliotta, Brendan Smith, Chris Summers
Goalies: Magnus Hellberg, Antti Raanta, Mackenzie Skapski
Ottawa Senators
Forwards: Casey Bailey, Mike Blunden, Alexandre Burrows, Stephane Da Costa, Christopher DiDomenico, Nikita Filatov, Chris Kelly, Clarke MacArthur, Max McCormick, Chris Neil, Tom Pyatt, Ryan Rupert, Bobby Ryan, Viktor Stalberg, Phil Varone, Tommy Wingels
Defensemen: Mark Borowiecki, Fredrik Claesson, Brandon Gormley, Jyrki Jokipakka, Marc Methot, Patrick Sieloff, Chris Wideman, Mikael Wikstrand
Goalies: Mike Condon, Chris Driedger, Andrew Hammond
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Greg Carey, Chris Conner, Boyd Gordon, Taylor Leier, Colin McDonald, Andy Miele, Michael Raffl, Matt Read, Chris VandeVelde, Jordan Weal, Dale Weise, Eric Wellwood
Defensemen: Mark Alt, T.J. Brennan, Michael Del Zotto, Andrew MacDonald, Will O’Neill, Jesper Pettersson, Nick Schultz
Goalies: Steve Mason, Michal Neuvirth
Pittsburgh Penguins
Forwards: Josh Archibald, Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Carl Hagelin, Tom Kuhnhackl, Chris Kunitz, Kevin Porter, Bryan Rust, Tom Sestito, Oskar Sundqvist, Dominik Uher, Garrett Wilson, Scott Wilson
Defensemen: Ian Cole, Frank Corrado, Trevor Daley, Tim Erixon, Cameron Gaunce, Ron Hainsey, Stuart Percy, Derrick Pouliot, Chad Ruhwedel, Mark Streit, David Warsofsky
Goalies: Marc-Andre Fleury
San Jose Sharks
Forwards: Mikkel Boedker, Barclay Goodrow, Micheal Haley, Patrick Marleau, Buddy Robinson, Zack Stortini, Joe Thornton, Joel Ward
Defensemen: Dylan DeMelo, Brenden Dillon, Dan Kelly, Paul Martin, David Schlemko
Goalies: Aaron Dell, Troy Grosenick, Harri Sateri
St. Louis Blues
Forwards: Kenny Agostino, Andrew Agozzino, Kyle Brodziak, Jordan Caron, Jacob Doty, Landon Ferraro, Alex Friesen, Evgeny Grachev, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jori Lehtera, Brad Malone, Magnus Paajarvi, David Perron, Ty Rattie, Scottie Upshall, Nail Yakupov
Defensemen: Robert Bortuzzo, Chris Butler, Morgan Ellis, Carl Gunnarsson, Jani Hakanpaa, Petteri Lindbohm, Reid McNeill
Goalies: Jordan Binnington, Carter Hutton
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards: Carter Ashton, Michael Bournival, J.T. Brown, Cory Conacher, Erik Condra, Gabriel Dumont, Stefan Fournier, Byron Froese, Yanni Gourde, Mike Halmo, Henri Ikonen, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Tye McGinn, Greg McKegg, Cedric Paquette, Tanner Richard, Joel Vermin
Defensemen: Dylan Blujus, Jake Dotchin, Jason Garrison, Slater Koekkoek, Jonathan Racine, Andrej Sustr, Matt Taormina, Luke Witkowski
Goalies: Peter Budaj, Kristers Gudlevskis, Jaroslav Janus, Mike McKenna
Toronto Maple Leafs
Forwards: Brian Boyle, Eric Fehr, Colin Greening, Seth Griffith, Teemu Hartikainen, Brooks Laich, Brendan Leipsic, Joffrey Lupul, Milan Michalek, Kerby Rychel, Ben Smith
Defensemen: Andrew Campbell, Matt Hunwick, Alexey Marchenko, Martin Marincin, Steve Oleksy, Roman Polak
Goalies: Antoine Bibeau, Curtis McElhinney, Garret Sparks
Vancouver Canucks
Forwards: Reid Boucher, Michael Chaput, Joseph Cramarossa, Derek Dorsett, Brendan Gaunce, Alexandre Grenier, Jayson Megna, Borna Rendulic, Anton Rodin, Drew Shore, Jack Skille, Michael Zalewski
Defensemen: Alex Biega, Philip Larsen, Tom Nilsson, Andrey Pedan, Luca Sbisa
Goalies: Richard Bachman, Ryan Miller
Washington Capitals
Forwards: Jay Beagle, Chris Bourque, Paul Carey, Brett Connolly, Stanislav Galiev, Tyler Graovac, Liam O’Brien, T.J. Oshie, Zach Sill, Chandler Stephenson, Chrisitan Thomas, Nathan Walker, Justin Williams, Daniel Winnik
Defensemen: Karl Alzner, Taylor Chorney, Cody Corbett, Darren Dietz, Christian Djoos, Tom Gilbert, Aaron Ness, Brooks Orpik, Nate Schmidt, Kevin Shattenkirk
Goalies: Pheonix Copley, Philipp Grubauer
Winnipeg Jets
Forwards: Marko Dano, Quinton Howden, Scott Kosmachuk, Tomas Kubalik, J.C. Lipon, Shawn Matthias, Ryan Olsen, Anthony Peluso, Chris Thorburn
Defensemen: Ben Chiarot, Toby Enstrom, Brenden Kichton, Julian Melchiori, Paul Postma, Brian Strait, Mark Stuart
Goalies: Michael Hutchinson, Ondrej Pavelec
1. Washington Capitals– 39-12-7 (85 points, 58 GP)
Don’t let the sluggish return from their bye week fool you, the Washington Capitals are the league’s best team, as is customary in the regular season. The competition for this year’s President’s Trophy remains fierce between the Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington, but the Capitals will more than likely pull away with yet another President’s Trophy, unless they want to let the Wild take it this year and deal with the President’s Trophy curse in the playoffs.
Washington is tight on the salary cap as they approach the trade deadline, though it would be unwise to unload salary at this point, with plenty of pending free agents to re-sign, as well as the expansion draft in June. If anything, the Capitals could make a move to acquire some depth or replenish some draft picks, should they decide it’s time to do a little restocking of prospects in Hershey.
Potential assets to trade: F Daniel Winnik, D Brooks Orpik
Potential assets to acquire: F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Joe Morrow (BOS), D Taylor Fedun (BUF), F Jarome Iginla (COL), D Johnny Oduya (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), D Nick Jensen (DET), D Adam Pardy (NSH), D Yannick Weber (NSH), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL)
2. Pittsburgh Penguins– 36-14-8 (80 points, 58 GP)
The defending Stanley Cup champions are right where they want to be this time of year. The Pittsburgh Penguins are well on their way to returning to the playoffs comfortably with much of the roster from last season still intact. Of course, there’s always the pressing question of when will they trade Marc-Andre Fleury?
With the Vegas Golden Knights joining the league and the expansion draft coming up in June, the Penguins are bound to lose an exceptional player. It could be one of their goaltenders– Matt Murray, since Fleury would have to automatically be protected– or Pittsburgh could save their future in goal by moving Fleury ahead of time. Plenty of teams are in the market for a solidified starting goaltender.
Other than that, the Pens won’t be active on March 1st. They’ll be buying some depth in the form of a rental player or two, but they won’t be moving much to attain someone they’ll likely pass on come July 1st (unless they’re replacing Chris Kunitz and/or Matt Cullen– both of whom are pending unrestricted free agents).
Potential assets to trade: F Eric Fehr, D Cameron Gaunce, D Steve Oleksy, G Marc-Andre Fleury
Potential assets to acquire: F Shane Doan (ARI), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), G Anders Nilsson (BUF), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), D Johnny Oduya (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL), G Carter Hutton (STL), F Brian Boyle (TB), G Ryan Miller (VAN), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)
3. Columbus Blue Jackets– 37-16-5 (79 points, 58 GP)
The Columbus Blue Jackets are next to impossible to figure out. They went on an insane 16-game winning streak earlier this season and followed it up with a bit of a decline as of late, but it appears as though head coach, John Tortorella, has righted the ship again.
Taking a look at the Blue Jackets roster, there’s a lot of youth and not that much that you’d want to give up (unless a deal that was too good to pass up presented itself, a la the Brandon Saad trade with the Chicago Blackhawks after Chicago’s 2015 Stanley Cup championship). Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen would certainly love to add to his roster without subtracting, if he can. It seems like it would never happen, but the Blue Jackets are buyers on March 1st.
Potential assets to trade: F Matt Calvert, umm, draft picks, I guess…
Potential assets to acquire: F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Michael Stone (ARI), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Patrick Eaves (DAL), F Patrick Sharp (DAL), D Dennis Seidenberg (NYI), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Patrik Berglund (STL)
4. New York Rangers– 38-19-1 (77 points, 58 GP)- currently the first Wild Card in the Eastern Conference
The New York Rangers are in a bit of a predicament thanks to the current qualifying format for the Stanley Cup Playoffs (someone should probably fix that– and it’s an easy fix, just go back to the 1-8 seeding).
But for all of the nonsense that is the playoff format, the Rangers really don’t have that much to worry about at the end of the day. They should try to add if they can, but they’re neither huge buyers nor are they sellers on March 1st and well, given how past years have gone, that still doesn’t do too much to help Henrik Lundqvist, but it’s a sensible strategy this season.
While New York’s defense is aging, there really aren’t that many solid options they could utilize in a top-4 position. Although, adding a depth defenseman usually isn’t a bad idea in the long run (to the Stanley Cup Final, that is). The Rangers should be really active in the offseason, if we’re being honest.
Potential assets to trade: F Tanner Glass, D Steven Kampfer, D Kevin Klein
Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Kevan Miller (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), D Michael Stone (ARI), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL)
5. New York Islanders– 27-21-10 (64 points, 58 GP)
Something’s in the water in New York, and I’m not just talking about the usual suspect– the Hudson River. No, I’m talking about whatever it is assistant GM– turned interim head coach– Doug Weight has been feeding his players.
The New York Islanders have been on the rise since they looked dead in the water. They’re bound to make some marginal moves on March 1st, but nothing like whatever move they might end up having to make because of the looming pressure of being kicked out of Barclays Center/ wanting out on their own/ the eventual “mutual agreement” that will probably come by 2019.
If they can add without subtracting too much, the Islanders will be looking for as much as they can get to offset some of the awful contracts they signed in the offseason (most notably the Andrew Ladd deal).
Potential assets to trade: F Josh Bailey, F Ryan Strome, D Thomas Hickey, D Dennis Seidenberg, G Jaroslav Halak
Potential assets to acquire: F Radim Vrbata (ARI), F Ryan Spooner (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Andrew Desjardins (CHI), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Jiri Hudler (DAL), D Johnny Oduya (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), D Jonas Brodin (MIN), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL), F Brian Boyle (TB), F Valtteri Filppula (TB), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)
6. Philadelphia Flyers– 28-24-7 (63 points, 59 GP)
With the way things work in the new NHL, nobody’s really out of the playoff picture, except for the Colorado Avalanche. The Philadelphia Flyers have a plethora of youth and could be the team that just might be on the verge of making a serious run in another year or two. Until then, they’re a little cap strapped.
But this season it’s a mixed bag at the trade deadline for the Flyers.
They should use the chance to dump some bad contracts on the blue line and do a little retooling with their group of forwards. They have a team that’s built for the future, but they’re lacking the right glue guys currently. Besides, it might do them good to finally commit to a goaltender.
Potential assets to trade: F Boyd Gordon, F Matt Read, F Jordan Weal, D T.J. Brennan, D Andrew MacDonald, D Nick Schultz, D Mark Streit, G Steve Mason
Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Michael Stone (ARI), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), G Andrew Hammond (OTT), F Patrik Berglund (STL), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), F Ondrej Palat (TB), G Ben Bishop (TB), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)
7. New Jersey Devils– 25-24-10 (60 points, 59 GP)
After acquiring Taylor Hall in the offseason from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Adam Larsson, the New Jersey Devils have found themselves on the outside looking in, despite perhaps making a steal of a trade from the 2016 offseason. Of course, one player does not make up an entire team.
New Jersey took on the contract of Marc Savard’s to help get them to the cap floor and that’ll be coming off the books on July 1st, unless they look to trade his contract to a team that’s selling and selling everything (like the Colorado Avalanche, for example). The Devils are by no means out of the playoff hunt and are likely to be dark horses at the trade deadline this year as buyers who are willing to part with some components in order to land bigger components.
General manager, Ray Shero, is destined to replenish New Jersey’s talent pool a lot sooner rather than later, at least compared to how the previous GM ran the team.
Potential assets to trade: F Jacob Josefson, D Ben Lovejoy, D John Moore, G Keith Kinkaid
Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Tomas Plekanec (MTL), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG), G Ondrej Pavelec (WPG)
8. Carolina Hurricanes– 24-23-8 (56 points, 55 GP)
After playing a game of money puck, the Carolina Hurricanes find themselves in dead last in the Metropolitan Division so far this season, despite being nine points out of a wild card spot in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now, there’s nothing wrong with taking the money puck approach, provided you have the right mix of players and, well, aren’t trying to do so in the most dominant division in the league. Oh, wait.
The Hurricanes are a young team that should be getting better with time, only time will tell. Things haven’t looked so good since the 2009 Eastern Conference Final and especially with the decline in attendance, maybe we’re better off talking about potential cities to relocate to instead of potential transactions to be made by March 1st?
Potential assets to trade: F Jay McClement, F Andrej Nestrasil, F Jeff Skinner, F Viktor Stalberg, F Lee Stempniak, F Derek Ryan, D Justin Faulk
Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), D Shea Theodore (ANA), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Brandon Pirri (NYR), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL)
1. Montreal Canadiens– 30-16-8 (68 points- 54 GP)
The Montreal Canadiens are quietly dominating and that’s concerning for the rest of the league. Of course, dominating is a relative term, considering some of their counterparts in the Eastern Conference (namely the Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins who are ahead of Montreal in the East standings by 10 points, three points and three points respectively). The Habs have been in first place in the Atlantic Division for quite some time now, despite only holding an eight point lead over the 2nd place Ottawa Senators.
For all intents and purposes, the Canadiens don’t have to do that much by March 1st. They shouldn’t sit back, especially if the right deal presents itself, but they don’t have to go out and do extremely necessary shopping at the deadline. Their forwards are in their prime and their defense got a little younger with the addition of Nikita Nesterov from a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. And obviously goaltending is not something to worry about, because hello, Carey Price exists.
If anything, Montreal could move someone expendable, like Tomas Plekanec, in advance of the looming expansion draft in June and at least try to get something in return now as opposed to nothing later. Maybe they’ll add a rental for depth.
Potential assets to trade: F Tomas Plekanec, F David Desharnais
Potential targets to acquire: F Shane Doan (ARI), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), F Patrick Sharp (DAL), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Patrik Berglund (STL)
2. Ottawa Senators– 27-17-6 (60 points, 50 GP)
In a similar sense, the Ottawa Senators are like the Montreal Canadiens in that nobody expected them to be where they are for this long into the season, given how normally injuries occur. Then again, no one really knows how long the Senators can pull off this divisional standing given 1) how tight standings are in the current divisional alignment and parity of the league and 2) they’re a young team.
If anything, the Sens need to add without subtracting. There’s just one problem. Look at their roster. Who would you trade to add something substantial? Putting chemistry aside, who would you choose? Ottawa seems set on their defense that’s built as though every defenseman is really just a rover in disguise (you know, the position that doesn’t exist anymore). By some miracle the Senators could bolster their goaltending, but the reality of any transactions resides in their forwards.
Potential assets to trade: F Curtis Lazar, F Jean-Gabriel Pageau, F Zack Smith, G Andrew Hammond, G Mike Condon
Potential targets to acquire: F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Michael Stone (ARI), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Thomas Vanek (DET), G Petr Mrazek (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI), G Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), F Patrik Berglund (STL), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), G Ben Bishop (TB), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)
3. Toronto Maple Leafs– 24-17-10 (58 points, 51 GP)
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a scary good team at times. Sure they’ve experienced growing pains here and there this season, but they’ve been biggest (and best) surprise of the season in terms of an organization that has really emerged as a solidified playoff contender. Head coach, Mike Babcock, provides a tremendous foundation of experience on the bench that he is somehow able to transfer into the playing styles of his players and their performances night after night.
Like every team on the cusp of the playoffs, the Maple Leafs need to add without subtracting. They could avoid making any moves and live with the results and still prosper from the experience gained in the long run, but the Leafs do have a few pieces to offer, should they look to float any trade ideas to other teams. Center, Nazem Kadri is 26, and has six years left on his current contract with a cap hit of $4.500 million.
Toronto has tried to move Kadri before, but remained committed to his on-the-edge playing style. Given the plethora of youths in Toronto, the Leafs could explore their package options including Kadri and more and/or just what it might take to land a solidified top-4 defenseman that won’t have to be exposed to the Vegas Golden Knights come June.
Potential assets to trade: F Nazem Kadri, D Matt Hunwick, D Martin Marincin, D Roman Polak, G Curtis McElhinney
Potential targets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Michael Stone (ARI), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), D Tyson Barrie (COL), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Thomas Vanek (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI), G Mike Condon (OTT), G Andrew Hammond (OTT), F Patrik Berglund (STL), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)
4. Boston Bruins– 26-23-6 (58 points, 55 GP) – one point behind Philadelphia in the Wild Card hunt
According to some website somewhere on the Internet the Boston Bruins do/don’t have a chance at making the playoffs this season. The answer to the question “will they be buyers or sellers at this year’s trade deadline?” seems obvious. The Bruins will more than likely be buyers, but at what cost and for how much? The organization would be wise to invest in something, but one question remains– how committed are the Bruins to making the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Boston could benefit from a playoff run to give their young players some playoff atmosphere experience, but bouncing out in the first round and obtaining a mid-first round draft pick might be unwise if there’s a chance the Bruins could really benefit from another season of ho-hum hockey and no playoffs. Boston could bolster holes in their roster now (at the deadline) or later (at the draft or through free agency) and still be better off for the 2017-2018 season. The ball, as they say, is in general manager, Don Sweeney’s court.
As for potential trade targets, well, depending on what direction Sweeney intends to bring the team, the Bruins have plenty of options for rental players and/or potential long time stands in Boston.
Potential assets to trade: F Ryan Spooner, F Jimmy Hayes, D Kevan Miller, D Joe Morrow, G Anton Khudobin, G Malcolm Subban, draft picks
Potential targets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Michael Stone (ARI), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Matt Duchene (COL), D Tyson Barrie (COL), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Thomas Vanek (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL)
5. Florida Panthers– 23-19-10 (56 points, 52 GP)
Despite a dismal start to the season, the Florida Panthers are still technically in the hunt for the playoffs with a few games in hand on the team directly above them in the standings (the Boston Bruins, for those of you that might have skimmed over everything I just wrote a couple of paragraphs ago).
Aside from several key injuries, a coaching change and a rogue GM some changes that were made in the offseason that have, well, yet to pan out, the Panthers don’t appear to be major sellers at the deadline on the grounds that they’re looking to add and further develop their youth. Could they move a defenseman? Certainly. Should they move a forward for anyone? Probably not. Could they acquire something with a draft pick or two? Absolutely.
It’s hit or miss for Florida at this point. They’ve got some resting up to do and if they’re smart this offseason, they’ll be right back in the hunt next year.
Potential assets to trade: D Jakub Kindl, G Reto Berra
Potential targets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Matt Duchene (COL), D Tyson Barrie (COL), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Ryan Strome (NYI)
6. Detroit Red Wings– 22-21-9 (53 points, 52 GP)
It doesn’t appear to be the year for the Detroit Red Wings, but still 25 consecutive years of making the playoffs is something to be proud of, Detroit fans. This is more than a transition year, for sure, for the Red Wings. Why? Take a look at the roster. Gone are the days of Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom and friends– actually those days have been gone for quite some time now. Henrik Zetterberg is leading Detroit’s forwards into the future, while the organization is left playing catch up on the blue line.
Their youngest defenseman is 23 while their oldest defenseman is 36. Additionally, three defensemen are 31 or older. While all of this plays out, there’s the looming question of who will be the Red Wings goaltender next season and beyond? Jimmy Howard, Petr Mrazek or Jared Coreau could be on the move or staying put, but then again the Vegas Golden Knights could have a say otherwise, regardless of the trade deadline on March 1st at the expansion draft in June.
If things are going to get worse before they get better, then maybe it’s time to think of some big moves too. Like dumping large contracts (in term or salary).
Potential assets to trade: F Darren Helm, F Steve Ott, F Tomas Jurco, F Thomas Vanek, D Mike Green, D Nick Jensen, D Brendan Smith, G Jimmy Howard (if he’s healthy in time), G Petr Mrazek
Potential targets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), D Michael Stone (ARI), D Kevan Miller (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Ryan Strome (NYI), G Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), F Patrik Berglund (STL), G Ben Bishop (TB), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)
7. Buffalo Sabres– 21-21-10 (52 points, 52 GP)
While their current standing in the Atlantic Division might seem disappointing, the Buffalo Sabres have made tremendous strides with their core group of skaters and could legitimately compete for a playoff spot next season in the highly competitive– though not always high quality– Atlantic Division. If they truly are about a year behind the Toronto Maple Leafs in this whole “rebuild” thing, then there’s a good chance they should seriously consider selling their expendables and buying in on a tank for Nolan Patrick.
Though it’s pretty hard to beat the Colorado Avalanche at this point. Looks like the luck of the lottery may be all yours, Colorado (and/or the Vegas Golden Knights, if you’re into conspiracy theories *ahem Colby*).
Buy low, sell high on the expendables, then work your magic in the offseason, Tim Murray.
Potential assets to trade: F Hudson Fasching, F Brian Gionta, D Taylor Fedun, D Cody Franson, D Dmitry Kulikov, G Jason Kasdorf, G Linus Ullmark, G Anders Nilsson
Potential targets to acquire: F Matt Duchene (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), D Tyson Barrie (COL), G Jimmy Howard (DET), G Petr Mrazek (DET), G Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)
8. Tampa Bay Lightning– 23-24-6 (52 points, 53 GP)
Despite their injuries and current standing in the Atlantic Division, the Tampa Bay Lightning are actually in the best place they could be. One way or another, Tampa could lose a valuable young player to the Vegas Golden Knights in June. There is no better opportunity to sell some of the guys you fear you won’t be able to keep this offseason at a premium on March 1st. Are you listening, Steve Yzerman?
The Lightning did not expect to be where they are two years removed from a Stanley Cup Final run and one season after an Eastern Conference Finals loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion, Pittsburgh Penguins. But here they are. Two key players are still out of their lineup (Ryan Callahan and Steven Stamkos) and they could not be in a better spot to have a chance at saving their own future. Seriously, if they falter any more, they’ll line themselves up with a decent draft pick and they’ll move interchangeable parts like it’s nothing.
But there’s a catch and that’s the tremendous pressure that will be felt on the young guys left on the roster to perform (or else) next season.
Potential assets to trade: F Brian Boyle, F Erik Condra, F Gabriel Dumont, F Valtteri Filppula, F Tyler Johnson, F Ondrej Palat, D Braydon Coburn, D Jason Garrison, G Ben Bishop
Potential targets to acquire: F Cam Fowler (ANA), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), G Anders Nilsson (BUF), G Kari Lehtonen (DAL), G Antti Niemi (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), G Mike Condon (OTT), G Andrew Hammond (OTT), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG), G Ondrej Pavelec (WPG)
At the midway point of the season, a lot of people want to give out grades. Well, due to our busy schedules and the fact that we skipped a podcast, I am going to discuss the teams I think deserve an incomplete and why. So, while all of you are handing out grades, consider these teams for incompletes.
First up
The Ottawa Senators 
The Ottawa Senators are 11th in the Eastern conference with 50 points. This is a team who had a strong run at the end of last season, and with help from goalie Andrew Hammond, snuck into the playoffs. The team is currently only three points out of a wildcard playoff spot again.
The Senators are a streaky team and I personally don’t think you can insult the team with a C rating. Obviously, Ottawa’s biggest player is defenseman Erik Karlsson and he is living up to it as he leads the team in points with 51 in 48 games played. This man is a beast, and they play him like it too. There have been a few games this season where Karlsson has played over 30 minutes in a game; that’s more than half the game! From a coach’s perspective, it has to be great to have a player who can play at all times.
However, if you look closer, this could be part of the issue. A stat that scares me for this team is Erik Karlsson’s plus-minus rating: it’s only even. This man is responsible for about 40% of Ottawa’s goals, and he’s been on the ice for 51 goals against average. To me this means his partner on D isn’t correct. Now, people will argue that if he would stay home and not play so offensively, or if he would play less, maybe his plus minus would be better. This may be true, but he is also without a doubt their best player. You play the best player as much as possible as long as he can handle it, which Karlsson can.
Now, with the trade deadline around the corner, you have to wonder what trades the Senators might be considering. If I were them, I would be looking for some defensive help, and, more specifically, a partner for Karlsson. Some big names out there for D help would be Kevin Shattenkirk and Travis Hamonic.
To finish with Ottawa, I would tell people not to write them off yet, by any means. They have a lot of winnable games coming up, including my Buffalo Sabres at the end of the month. If their coach can figure out his D-pairs, I would say Ottawa has the ability to go on a run similar to Florida and jump into the division spots.
Next up
The Vancouver Canucks
Not going to lie to you, I have never been a fan of the Canucks, but this team has surprised me a little bit this year. I felt the Canucks would have a rough year, but they are currently 8th in the Western conference with 51 points. They are in the 3rd division spot in the Pacific. Now, we all know the Pacific division is the weakest in the league, but I think it would be wrong to give Vancouver a grade when they have 2 players who have played in all 49 games this season. This stat tells you that nothing is set in Vancouver, and they have had many injury problems this season.
The Sedin twins are leading the way in points, like usual, as Daniel has 43 and Henrik has 37. It seems the twins have started using their twin powers again, and thus have this team in a playoff position. Ryan Miller, the current #1 goalie in Vancouver, just missed 10 games with an injury, and that may not be a lot, but when Jacob Markstrom is your backup, it doesn’t help in the winnable games.
Another advantage Vancouver might have going down the line is their young kids. Bo Horvat and Jake Virtanen are kids who will get better with the more games they play. If both of these kids can continue to improve, I feel the Canucks will be in the playoffs, and if Miller can stay healthy, they might be looking at the second division spot.
If I were the GM of Vancouver, I would not be big sellers, but I would be looking for a veteran center to help them in the final push for the playoffs. A name that could come up could be Patrick Marleau, who at the start of the season requested a trade.
Other teams who don’t deserve grades would be the Edmonton oilers, Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs.
These teams all knew they would have a rough year before the midway point. Edmonton lost Connor McDavid early and had the same team as last year. The Sabres weren’t going to go from last to playoffs this soon, as many as some hoped. Toronto fans should know by now the rebuild is in full effect. Toronto should be hoping for Auston Mathews and hope for a Stamkos miracle, but that’s for another post.
Bold Predictions will be a two-part series where I, Colby, will discuss who I think will and won’t make the playoffs this season and why. The first part will be the teams who will make the playoffs and the order I think we will see them in. Now remember, these are my opinions. If you disagree, feel free to leave a comment; we always appreciate feedback.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Metropolitan Wild Cards
Western Conference
Pacific Central Wild Cards
The major surprises I feel in my Western predictions are Dallas at the top of the Central and Colorado getting a wild card spot.
Dallas to the top- Dallas is at the top because of one word: OFFSEASON. The additions of two multiple Stanley Cup champions—Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya—not to mention another Stanley Cup champion in Antti Niemi between the posts, leaves Dallas with an advantage. So with two number one goalies with experience paired with the young talent of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, there is no way Dallas doesn’t make the playoffs. If Dallas tops their division, I know that GM will be getting a raise, and he’s got an A in my book.
Colorado as a wild card- I like Colorado and I like how they have built up their organization. This offseason they knew an upgrade was needed at the blue line and they got this with young kids Nikita Zadorov and Brandon Gormely along with veteran defenseman Francois Beauchemin. I think with these additions they will be able to protect Semyon Varlamov better and get the puck to bounce in the right direction, giving them a chance at the playoffs again.
By: Nick Lanciani
The Wild Card spots are pivotal in determining first round Stanley Cup Playoffs matchups. As things are right now, we’re in for a special treat. All standings are as they were at the time of when this was written at approximately 1 PM on Saturday.
Eastern Conference Standings
Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division
Wild Card
The Eastern Conference divisional standings are pretty much set with roughly ten games to go across the league. In the Atlantic Division a raging battle for first place continues for the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Detroit Red Wings sit comfortably in third place.
The red hot New York Rangers sit atop the Metropolitan Division lead with the New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins battling for second, while the Washington Capitals are in control of the first Eastern Conference wild card spot and tied with the Penguins at 88 points.
Realistically, the Capitals are a shoe in for making the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season given that their wild card status could become a divisional spot earned in the playoffs, meanwhile the battle for the second wild card position is anybody’s guess.
Last year’s President’s Trophy winners, the Boston Bruins, find themselves in a bit of a predicament. Jekyll and Hyde hockey certainly isn’t Eddie Shore hockey. With 83 points on the season, the Bruins sit two points ahead of the Ottawa Senators who have 81 points and a game at hand on the Boston.
The Sens hot streak is just as fiery red as their jerseys currently. With Andrew Hammond stealing games and Curtis Lazar stealing burgers off the ice, the Senators look to be a point eating machine.
At one point in the year, the Florida Panthers looked like they were capable of the seemingly impossible- making the playoffs. After both Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya were injured at the same time, creating a desperation situation in net for the Panthers, at least Luongo is back in the lineup as Florida maintains a shred of hope.
The Bruins take on the Panthers Saturday night in what should be one of Boston’s biggest tests in the month of March. If the Bruins cannot beat the Panthers, then not only are the Senators that much more of a legitimate playoff contender, but they become that much more of a threat to thwarting Boston’s playoff run.
We know Boston is coming off of a loss to Ottawa heading into the game with Florida, however one loss to the Senators in an otherwise dominating month of March for the Bruins isn’t enough to knock them off of their game entirely. The Bruins effort was questionable, but if they are able to come out playing like a team that wants to win and ensure a win against the Panthers, then there’s a chance they can hold off the rallying Senators.
Past Boston, Ottawa, and Florida in the standings the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers still have a chance at pulling themselves up in the standings and stealing the last wild card spot. However, realistically the Devils haven’t been a contender all season (or for that matter, since the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals), while the Flyers have plenty to do to make their franchise better before taking on a playoff run in the next couple of seasons.
Ultimately for Bruins fans, they hope their team decides to make a choice and stick with it- either win and be in, or be ready to do some restructuring in the offseason, without any playoff hopes for 2015. For Senators fans, streaking at the right time with a youthful and energetic roster just might make them the unlikely heroes of this season, similar in fashion to the Los Angeles Kings recent playoff success.
And if Florida, New Jersey, or Philadelphia somehow remarkably made the playoffs at this point, then perhaps it is time to head to the bunkers.
Western Conference Standings
Central Division
Pacific Division
Wild Card
The Western Conference has been the more dominant conference for the last five or six years. The top three teams in the Central Division are comfortably perched with enough points spread between them and the first wild card spot. The St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, and the Chicago Blackhawks all make great choices for potential deep runs in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In the Pacific Division, the Anaheim Ducks are much further than the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames- so much so in fact, that Anaheim’s 99 points currently hails them as first in the league standings and the race for the President’s Trophy.
All season long, the Minnesota Wild and the Winnipeg Jets have looked like teams that could make a playoff run and be surprised by what happens. While the Wild look like a much better team than they were earlier in the season, the Jets are beginning to trend the other way.
The Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche, and even the Dallas Stars look hungry enough to try to take one of the current Western Conference wild card teams out of contention. While the Kings and Sharks could certainly pressure the Flames and Canucks and bump them out of their current divisional tickets to the playoffs, both teams are just as capable of obtaining a wild card position.
While earlier in the season the Avalanche and Stars looked like they would be immensely distanced from playoff hopes, they find themselves in position to strike as long as they win and their divisional, conference, and current wild card holding foes lose. Colorado now has 78 points on the season, which is exactly what San Jose has.
Whereas the Sharks have been trending away from playoff hopes, the Avalanche have been quietly stepping towards a potential playoff run. Intriguingly the defending Stanley Cup champion, Los Angeles Kings, are on the outside of the playoffs looking in. While there’s a chance they’ll miss out on being able to defend their 2014 title, the Kings still are the Kings.
It is unimaginable to count out Los Angeles at this point of the season. Both of their Stanley Cup championship runs began with a late season surge that continued well into and all the way through the playoffs. Would the Kings like to be a bit more comfortable at this point than they are now? Certainly. But at the end of the day, they have risen above the pressure they’ve felt before and could make a statement to do that again.
Although the Stars have a mathematical chance, their realistic playoff hopes are just about as doomed as the Edmonton Oilers and Arizona Coyotes seasons have been. So for Calgary fans and Canucks fans, maintaining ground in the divisional standings is everything right now. The Wild look to continue to improve and solidify their wild card position, as the Jets look to start turning things around and distancing themselves from potential organizations that could overtake them.
San Jose fans simply look for a redeeming horizon from last year’s playoff exit that has them as the current annual playoff joke, as Avalanche fans simply look for pulling the goalie with five minutes left to actually work in their favor. The Sharks season is a bit of an embarrassment, considering the occasional lack of drive in their roster. At least Colorado can say that they’ve had the kind of season that they’ve had based on the fact that injuries have plagued their goaltending all year long.
In any case, the race is on for Western Conference wild card teams to make the playoffs. And like I said, we’re in for a treat as hockey fans that can’t get enough of watching every waking minute of game action and the playoff atmosphere that is just about to come around this time of year.
Down the Frozen River 
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