The NHL trade deadline is still a couple of weeks away, and there are no shortage of wild rumors of blockbuster trades. However, none of those have happened yet — whether that’s because there is no steam behind them, or because the returns just are not high enough yet, only time will tell.
That is not to say that moves have not been made, though. There has been roster activity nearly every day since the All-Star break ended, from trades to waiver movement. Most of those trades so far have focused on increasing a roster’s depth. Additionally, since many of these moves have been centered on low-budget players, there is also an aspect of keeping teams under the salary cap, and opening up more room for a potential bigger trade.
The most recent of these moves have been the acquisition of defenseman Tom Gilbert by the Washington Capitals, taking him off the hands of the Los Angeles Kings. Gilbert is fairly well-traveled by this point in his career, and has only played 18 games this season, the last being January 21.
As far as depth goes, he is a solid vet; the Kings will retain 20-percent of his contract, so there is really not much to lose for the Capitals in this situation. He is a pretty big guy, which fits in with the Caps’ team identity for a heavy-hitting lower-end lineup. If they match up with a rival in the playoffs, Gilbert may be useful in adding size and bulk on the back end.
If they want added speed, however, they should probably look elsewhere.
On the other side of the continent, the Calgary Flames have picked up Matt Bartkowski on a PTO with the expectation of signing him to a two-way contract. Okay, Bartkowski’s not great, but he is more insurance on the back end than anything else, and he can be exposed in the expansion draft if that contract does go through.
Obviously, the looming expansion throws a wrench into the usual trade deadline plans this season. Teams have to make decisions very early to decide who to protect with their limited number of protective clauses; those whose contracts are up or are on the way out with their team may be moved by the deadline so they become someone else’s problem and the team can protect someone who they expect to be there long-term.
For example, Kevin Shattenkirk and Marc-Andre Fleury.
But once again, no real big trades have happened yet. The most significant ones to this date, in my opinion, were Tommy Wingels to Ottawa (from San Jose) and Vern Fiddler to Nashville (from New Jersey). Both were depth moves – Wingels is a fourth-liner who was becoming expendable with the advent of younger players and Tomas Hertl’s return from injury. He has fit in well in Ottawa, adding more force than their top-line forwards but a little more offensive skill than someone like Chris Neil brings.
Fiddler began his career in Nashville, and returned after seven years away, leaving fans thrilled to have him back. He also seems pretty pleased to be back, reliably dropping the gloves for his new teammates in nearly every game so far, and providing a veteran presence on lower lines that consist of several young guns. With Mike Ribeiro sent down to the Milwaukee Admirals – since no one else in the league wants him — the Preds needed an older replacement, and in my opinion, Fiddler is more than an upgrade.
Don’t think depth moves will be the only thing to happen this season, though. There’s obviously tons of potential for earth-shattering moves from tanking teams and contenders alike. Many teams have had coaching shake-ups recently as well, which could lead to changes on the bench to get players who work well with particular coaches.
The Colorado Avalanche is clearly looking to sell: Jarome Iginla has requested a trade, and both captain Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene are rumored to be on the chopping block. It seems likely that if Landeskog moves, he’ll go to a team in the Eastern Conference; meanwhile, Iginla might be a fit with the Kings.
Alex Galchenyuk may be on his way out in Montreal too, as the Canadiens want a first-line center. They don’t seem to realize that Galchenyuk is a first-line center on nearly any other team; if only they would move him to his natural position instead of on the wing they might not need to make that transition. New coach Claude Julien might make that move, so as for that one… we’ll have to wait and see.
Marc-Andre Fleury and Ben Bishop may be on the move by the deadline, too. Teams like Dallas are in dire want of a good goalie, and both of those two have lost their starting jobs.
The rumor mill is never short on material, and this year it’s wilder than most. I have a feeling that the bomb is just going to drop one of these coming days and we’ll get one of those blockbuster trades. Who knows — it may also be something completely unexpected that no one’s even dared to speculate about yet.
The new Las Vegas team can start making moves on March 1, deadline day. They can’t pick up active players until the season is long over, but that’s not to say it won’t influence some astounding moves.
Keep an eye on the waiver wire, too. If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the second half of this season, there’s no shortage in demand for low-budget players who can move between the NHL and AHL.
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