Potential NHL Trade Candidates

Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addresses the crowd before the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL season has already passed the quarter pole and we are only three short months away from the trade deadline (March 2, 2015.) While there are plenty of games to be played between now and then, it’s never too early to begin thinking about what trades could occur in short order.

While it may seem premature, there are good odds that the teams that were in playoff position this past weekend will also be there come April:

Since the 2005-06 season, NHL teams in postseason position entering the American Thanksgiving holiday have gone on to make the Stanley Cup playoffs 77.3 percent of the time, according to STATS.  – USA Today

So what does this mean for everyone else? Well, you better start thinking about the future. And here at TMMOTS, we have done just that and looked around the league to take an in-depth peek at potential trade candidates to be moved between now and March 2^nd.  Note, some of these players may not be traded, but that just means the general managers aren’t making the best decision for their club.

(All figures are per capgeek.com and statistics through November 30th)

Oct 18, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes defenseman

(3) skates with the puck against the St. Louis Blues during the second period at Gila River Arena. The Blues won 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Trade Candidate: Keith Yandle

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a huge Yandle fan.  Calls about his defensive liabilities drive me nuts considering his offensive ability from the blue-line is not possessed by many in the league.  Will he ever be Zdeno Chara?  Of course not.  But to simply brush off his offensive prowess is foolish when his ability from the blue line is a massive weapon for any team.

Unfortunately for Yandle, for all of his individual success, the artist formerly known as the Phoenix Coyotes (or current day Arizona Coyotes, if you want to be vanilla) has not translated into significant team success.  His Coyotes have only advanced past round one of the playoffs once in his career, and have failed to qualify for the postseason the last two years (sporting a 9-12-3 record as of now, it’s heading towards three consecutive years.)

Yandle is still young at 28 years old, but is only signed through 2015/16 at a $5,250,000 cap hit.  The Coyotes could use immediate help up front where they’re scoring a paltry 2.29 goals a game, good for 25th in the league.  They have Max Domi on the horizon, but could use more punch up front to survive in the Western Conference.  The fact that Yandle has an additional year remaining on his contract beyond this season should only enchance his value as general managers tend to go ga-ga for defensemen at the deadline.

There have been rumblings that the Boston Bruins are high on Yandle, and being he is from the area, it makes sense (also because their need for, ya know, a NHL defenseman.)  However there are a dozen teams that would dip their toe in the water at the deadline to see what it would take to get Yandle, and because of that, expect him to return a huge haul for Arizona.

Oct 14, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Colorado Avalanche right wing

(12) against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Avalanche 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Trade Candidate: Jarome Iginla

Admit it: you knew his signing with the Avalanche would fail.  An up and coming team based on speed was bringing in a 37 year old winger past his prime, with a game that was never predicated on speed.  It took a three-year contract to lure Iginla to Colorado, but there’s little doubt he’s wishing he was somewhere else.

It’s tough to blame the Avalanche for diving in and signing Iginla.  They just came off a 112 point season and division title and were rightfully feeling good about themselves.  Sure, the advanced statistics pointed towards the team taking a step back, but how could the organization sell that to its fans coming off such a successful, albeit unexpected, season?

His numbers are respectable: four goals and 11 assists in 24 games, although no where near on pace to approach 30 goals, a feat he’s reached every full season since 1999/00.  He still is a tough hombre to deal with and is the kind of player you’d love to go to battle with.  However, something just doesn’t look right with him wearing the Avalanche purple.  And with the team in the cellar of the Central Division with 23 points, it’s time to see if the Avalanche can unload the future Hall-of-Famer for pieces that will help the club sustain success in the future.

The cost to acquire Iginla shouldn’t be significant as I believe this is one instance where the multi-years remaining on his contract actually hinder his values ($5,333,333 cap hit through 2016/17.)  Plus Colorado is at the cap limit and needs to think about shedding guaranteed contracts for next season in the hopes of re-tooling a young roster. If you’re the sentimental type you’d like to see him land on a Cup contender like Anaheim, Los Angeles, or Boston.  But if you’re Colorado you’re just trying to get out of the deal without sinking more cost into the season.

Nov 21, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing

(71) carries the puck as Boston Bruins center

(53) looks on during overtime at Nationwide Arena. Boston defeated Columbus 4-3 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports

Trade Candidate: Nick Foligno

It’s been a terrible season for Columbus with the injuries piling up.  What was supposed to be a big season carrying the momentum from last season has been a disaster.  While injuries are no one’s fault, that doesn’t mean the team should stand pat either.

Foligno is an interesting case.  Through 22 games he’s been one of the few Blue Jackets’ bright spots with 10 goals and 12 assists.  He’s only 27 years old, so the argument can be made he’s just now entering his prime and in the last year of his contract, is a must-sign for the Blue Jackets.  However, take a look at his career before this season: he has never cracked the 20 goal mark and only surpassed 40 points once in his career.  He’s a solid player, but how much is a career-year in a contract-year worth for Columbus?  Nikolai Kulemin signed a four-year deal last summer with the Islanders for a shade under $4,200,000 cap hit.  Ales Hemsky signed for $4,000,000 a year for three-years with the Dallas Stars last summer.  Neither was coming off a season that Foligno is projected to right now.  Could he get $5,000,000 on the open market?  It’s possible.

Sure, Foligno will most likely not maintain his current scoring pace.  But if he’s going to be a 30-goal scorer, there should be significant interest in his services at the deadline, especially since he’s currently carrying only a $3,083,333 cap hit.

The Blue Jackets are currently sitting in last in the Metropolitan Division with only 14 points so far.  They have some good long-term pieces in Ryan Johansen, Jack Johnson, Brandon Dubinsky, etc., which should help the team get back to being competetive when everyone is healthy.  But why not play for the future now?  With a top-heavy draft in June, wouldn’t moving Foligno also help the team’s chances of staying near the bottom of the league?  It’s not advocating tanking per se, but with so many big injuries and being so behind the playoff chase already, why not go for broke and hope to land one of the top two prizes in June’s draft?  Yes, no fan wants to endure losing, but if next October the Jackets are rolling a top two center combo of Johansen and Connor McDavid, do you think fans will care that they traded Foligno now?

And since these Jackets aren’t purposefully driving the tank machine (looking in your direction Edmonton), it’s a feel-good tanking story we can all get behind.

Apr 1, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; New Jersey Devils right wing

(68) during the game against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Trade Candidate: Jaromir Jagr

As a lifelong Jagr fan, I just want what’s best for number 68 and that doesn’t include being stuck on a dead-end team going nowhere fast (can you imagine the schmucks who thought this was going to be a good team…oops.)

Back to Jagr though.  There’s still some game left in those 42-year old legs and his ability to handle the puck is still elite and reminiscient of his younger, mullet days.  He’s only signed through this season at a modest $3,500,000 cap hit and is leading the Devils in scoring with 15 points.  Everything about this screams “rental” and that’s okay as long as it gets Jagr another crack at a Stanely Cup.

The price to acquire Jagr will almost assuredly be low, and it’s doubtful the Devils would move him somewhere he wasn’t completely on board with (even without a no-trade clause.)  He’s still able to provide scoring and control the puck when he gets into the offensive zone.  The man is built like a machine, so it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he decided to play several more seasons after this.  But for a contender looking to bolster its secondary scoring this season, you could do a lot worse than trading for Jagr.

So what contender in the Northeast could use another weapon in its top-six at a low cost?  Thinking…thinking.  Oh yeah.

Garth Snow, make the call.