What NHL Teams Should be Making Moves at this Year’s Deadline
The 2020 NHL trade deadline is quickly approaching. Teams will need to decide whether they’re buyers, sellers, or just letting it ride as we approach the quest for the Stanley Cup. Let’s take a look at a few teams who should be buying (or should’ve bought) at the deadline.
Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning are a team that is truly on fire right now. They struggled out of the gates, largely on the back of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s poor play. Now that Vasilevskiy has found his elite form again, the Lightning are shooting up in the standings. Recently acquired two-way forward Blake Coleman will provide some depth to the lineup, but I wonder if more moves could be coming. General Manager Julien BriseBois has stated that he’s always looking to improve his team, and their backend could see an additional upgrade. With the likes of Sami Vatanen and Jeff Petry being available, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tampa Bay bring one more defenceman to the Sunshine State to push the Lightning to a Cup.
New York Islanders
The Islanders are an interesting team. For all intents and purposes, I have no idea how this team actually got better when John Tavares left them two years ago. But, they still don’t have much in terms of scoring. New York is in an absolute battle to hold onto a playoff spot, with the Blue Jackets, Flyers, and Hurricanes all nipping at their tail. The acquisition of defenceman Andy Greene will continue to bolster their rock-solid backend, but I worry about their forwards come playoff time. While a hot ticket item, I could see them ponying up to get Chris Kreider in the blue and orange, as they really need to get some firepower if they want to contend.
Toronto Maple Leafs
What a year it has been for the Leafs. Moving on from head coach Mike Babcock could prove to be the best switch of the year, but I wouldn’t be satisfied with the current state of the team. Injuries continue to plague the young Leafs throughout their entire lineup. With scoring obviously not an issue and the backup goaltender issue corrected with the acquisition of the loveable Jack Campbell, that just leaves room for improvement on the defensive end. While the Leafs don’t have many draft picks to play with, I’d be thrilled to see them bring in a sturdy stay-at-home defenceman. But, based on some early trades, the price might be a bit too much.
Western Conference
Colorado Avalanche
Wow, what a glow up for the young Avalanche. After the years of Sakic, Forsberg, and Hejduk this team had been in a downward spiral until Nathan MacKinnon came along. Centering one of the most dangerous lines in hockey (with the help of Rantanen and Landeskog), along with a strong backend makes them a Cup-hopeful. The recent injury to Grubauer means Colorado might be in need of some goaltending help, but the market is thin. The Avalanche could also use some scoring depth and Chris Kreider would fit beautifully here, instantly slotting onto a line with Nazem Kadri. Another (cheaper) option could see Ilya Kovalchuk finding himself in Colorado to enjoy what promises to be an incredible run in the postseason.
Nashville Predators
Surely this has to be the year for the Predators who have danced with Lord Stanley’s Cup for many years in a row now. Currently sitting just outside the playoff picture, I’d love to see the Predators make a splash to help out their top line. Snatching someone like Mike Hoffman from the Panthers would make an incredible addition to the Preds. With a defensive core that is still touted as one of the best in the league, it may stand on Pekka Rinne’s 37-year-old shoulders to try to carry the load. Already having a career-worst season, Rinne will need to find his form from a few seasons ago if the Preds want to prove they can still be a formidable opponent in the West.
Edmonton Oilers
With Connor McDavid now out for a few weeks, this is make-or-break time for an Oilers squad that is getting dragged kicking and screaming to the playoffs by Leon Draisaitl. While their top line has yet to be stopped in the regular season, that’s not a sustainable path to success. This is a problem for the Oilers, who seriously lack any scoring depth beyond McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins. Perhaps they will attempt to trade disgruntled Jesse Puljujarvi (who is currently playing in Finland) to attain some help right now. Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the Senators instantly comes to mind to help them down the middle. With a little luck, the Oilers could finally be playing some postseason hockey for just the second time since 2006. Hey, it only took six top-five picks in the last ten years to do it!