SAN JOSE, CA - DECEMBER 27: San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau (12) and Joe Thornton (19) ... [+]
On Friday night, the Detroit Red Wings became the first NHL team officially eliminated from playoff contention when they dropped a 4-1 decision to the New York Islanders for their 44th loss of the year.
According to Sportsnet Stats, the Wings are the first team to seal their fate before the trade deadline since the 2003-04 Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sitting 15 points behind the 30th-place Los Angeles Kings as Monday’s deadline draws near, first-year Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has all-but-guaranteed his team top odds in this year’s draft lottery draw.
But for many of his peers, the outcome of this season is still very much up in the air.
With just over six weeks remaining in the NHL’s 2019-20 regular season, 23 teams were no more than six points out of a playoff spot as of games completed Friday, February 21 — 11 of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference, including seven of eight in the Metropolitan Division, and 12 of 15 in the West, including all seven in the Central.
Last year, we saw stars like Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello change clubs in deadline deals. In the leadup to this year’s deadline, it looked like impending unrestricted free agent Chris Kreider could be the biggest name to move — and he may still end up staying with the New York Rangers.
But even without top-level talent on the market, we’ve seen teams pay some steep prices in pre-deadline deals over the last week — whether they’re looking to contend for a Stanley Cup or just to get a ticket to the dance.
With so many young players dominating the league so early in their careers, high draft choices have never before paid such immediate dividends. And yet, on February 16, we saw the Tampa Bay Lightning deal two big pieces to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for two-way winger Blake Coleman — a promising prospect in Nolan Foote, drafted 27th overall last June, and the first round-pick in either 2020 or 2021 that they acquired from Vancouver in the J.T. Miller trade at last year’s draft.
Another true Stanley Cup contender, the Boston Bruins, dealt away their first-round pick on Friday — as part of a package that brought in utility winger Ondrej Kase from the Anaheim Ducks, but also rid the Bruins of most of the contract of David Backes. They’ll retain $1.5 million against the cap for the remainder of this season and next.
Will more high picks and quality prospects be dealt away for immediate help? And with returns so high for selling teams, could we see some new names make their way into the mix before Monday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline?
From a fan’s perch, the turbulent waters are always fascinating to watch. Here are five teams that could make headlines this year.
San Jose Sharks
On Saturday, Joe Thornton opened the door just a crack by admitting that “it is” tempting to consider a move to a Cup contender after his San Jose Sharks failed to meet expectations this season.
Media pundits are salivating at the idea of 40-year-old Thornton returning to the Boston Bruins, who drafted him first overall in 1997, then dealt him to San Jose in a 2005 blockbuster. But even though his production has dropped significantly this season, the Sharks’ former captain and all-time assists leader told Kevin Kurz of The Athletic that “It’s not like I feel like this is my last year. I feel like I’m healthy, I feel like I still have a lot in the tank left. It’s not like a last-hurrah-type thing.”
That suggests he stays in San Jose.
What about Thornton’s long-time running mate, Patrick Marleau? Seems he’s also on the radar of some contending teams.
Last Tuesday, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson moved impending free-agent defenseman Brenden Dillon to Washington in exchange for two draft picks. Along with Thornton and Marleau, two other players up for unrestricted free agency who could be moved out of San Jose include forward Melker Karlsson and goaltender Aaron Dell.
Over the years, Wilson has been a perennial buyer; the Sharks have only missed the playoffs once since he took over as general manager in 2003. As a result, the prospect pipeline is sparse — and the first-rounder that Wilson sent to Ottawa when acquiring Erik Karlsson in 2018 now looks like it’s going to be a lottery pick.
Wilson should not limit himself to his free agents. If the price is right, he should also look to bring back picks and prospects in exchange for players of value wherever possible.
Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames
The Battle of Alberta rivals are both going to need to get creative if they don’t want to get left behind in the very tight five-team Pacific Division playoff race.
Heading into Saturday’s games, just four points separate the first-place Vegas Golden Knights (72 points) from the Flames and the Arizona Coyotes (68 points).
Vegas made a huge move last month, firing coach Gerard Gallant. Since former Sharks coach Peter DeBoer took over, the Golden Knights have gone 8-3-2, climbing from fifth to first in the Pacific. After acquiring steady defenseman Alec Martinez from the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, Vegas won its fourth-straight game by snapping the Lightning’s 11-game winning streak on Thursday.
Sitting third in the Pacific, the Vancouver Canucks announced themselves as trade-deadline buyers when the acquired winger Tyler Toffoli from the Kings on Monday — and are rumored to be looking for more deals to boost their club through the stretch run. And while the Coyotes are just 8-10-4 since New Year’s, they made their big deal back in November, when they gave up a first-rounder and other assets to acquire Taylor Hall from New Jersey. They could also be getting Vezina-caliber goaltender Darcy Kuemper back in the lineup as early as next Tuesday after he completes an AHL conditioning assignment to wrap up his recovery from the lower-body injury that has kept him out of action since just before Christmas.
Meanwhile, the second-place Oilers and fourth-place Flames haven’t made any meaningful moves to keep up with the Joneses — and salary-cap constraints limit both clubs’ options.
Calgary general manager Brad Treliving offloaded Michael Frolik’s $4.3 million cap hit to the Buffalo Sabres in early January, but hasn’t yet found a way to use that space. And Edmonton GM Ken Holland may have to be content with the impressive boost his team has received from its call-up of 2017 first-rounder Kailer Yamamoto, who has 20 points in 20 games since being summoned from the Bakersfield Condors in late December.
Chicago Blackhawks
EDMONTON, AB - FEBRUARY 11: Goaltender Robin Lehner #40 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates against the ... [+]
The Blackhawks have gone 3-5-2 in their last 10 games and sit last in the Central Division. But even though they’d have three teams to pass, they’re still just six points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot, and they boast the elite Patrick Kane, workhorse Duncan Keith, super-rookie Dominik Kubalik and a strong goaltending tandem with Robin Lehner and the resurgent Corey Crawford.
After two first-round playoff losses and two years out of the postseason since their last championship in 2015, the Blackhawks are pining to get back to the dance — especially with the clock ticking on the careers of now-in-their-30s stars Kane and Jonathan Toews.
General manager Stan Bowman has given his group every opportunity to push back into contention. If he decides to pulls the pin before Monday, he could improve his team’s future prospects with nice returns for impending UFA defenseman Erik Gustafsson or either of his goalies — or if he’s able to get out from under next season’s $6 million commitment to Brandon Saad.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers signalled that they’d had enough of their draft-and-develop approach when they sent former general manager Ron Hextall packing in November of 2018 and hired turnaround artist Alain Vigneault as their new head coach last summer.
It’s working. A solid 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday was the Flyers’ third straight, and gives them a record of 13-7-2 since January 1.
Philadelphia hasn’t won a playoff round since 2012, so general manager Chuck Fletcher is not just looking to get his team into the postseason — he’d like to make some noise.
The Flyers have been mentioned in the same breath as potential scoring help like Toronto’s Kasperi Kapanen and Nashville’s Mikael Granlund. Like many teams, they’re short on cap space, but expect Fletcher to find a way add one or more pieces that can give his group a boost down the stretch.
