NHL Trade Rumors: Divisional Breakdown

Atlantic Division

Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings are leading the way in the Atlantic with 65 points, and it would seem they have gotten used to the Eastern Conference and have continued to dominate their opponents. Detroit will buy come deadline day, but the price they are willing to pay may not be what the sellers want to hear. teams like the Red Wings will have the chance to set the market as the NHL trade rumors heat up.

If Detroit is looking at add a top four defensemen like I think they want to they may need to give up Tomas Tatar to make that happen. Tatar has come up in a few rumors as of late. The Red Wings would then need to replace his 34 points; not an easy task. Any deal that the Red Wings look to make should be a long-term deal, as i don;t see many rental players coming to the motor city.

Going strictly off their NHL roster Drew Miller and Kyle Quincey could be part of a deal. Miller(30) and Quincey (29) are role players and while they would be missed I believe they can be replaced.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Things are sunny in Tampa. The Lightning are only one point behind the Red Wings with 64 points. Tampa is very strong offensively averaging 3.18 goals a game (leading the NHL). The down side in Tampa is they are sitting in 15th place in goals against with a 2.59 average. Like many teams in the NHL Tampa could use a stronger blueline, but adding a player like that is hard to do and as stated before would come at a heavy price. The question in Tampa will become one of Do we want the cup this year? If the answer is yes look for the Lightning to make a hard push at the deadline.

The Lightning may want to consider trading away Brian Boyl and Brett Connolly. Boyl is 30 years old and has played in 49 games this season, and while this is his first year in Tampa the center could draw some interest on the market. Contact status aside walking away from Boyl would send a strong message to the rest of the NHL that Tampa is going for it this year. When it comes to Connolly things get a little unclear. Connolly was the Lightnings first round pick in 2010 and he has not been able to lock up a regular roster spot in Tampa. With that in mind he has appeared in 36 games this year and has 9 points. Teams need young forwards with hope, and Connolly still has some hope attached to his name.

It would be a shame if the Lightning chose to sit tight and hope they can win with their current roster. They have done just fine so far this season, but the NHL

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playoffs are a completely different animal and the addition of a bigger defenseman could be the missing link.

Montreal Canadiens: Montreal is riding a three game win streak, and is only two points back of Detroit. That is in large part due to goaltender Carey Price; Price has put up great numbers and an even better record this season. His record of 25-10-2-2  is the main reason Canadien’s fans are thinking about bringing the Stanley Cup home. Looking at needs; Montreal is one of those teams that sits in an odd spot. They could use a big offensive player with an eye for the net, but their roster as it stands now has seven players with over 20 points, and four players with over 30 points.

I don’t see Montreal making a Cup run this season and for that reason I don’t expect many big moves in the coming month. In my eyes the Canadiens are about two years away from being a top Stanley Cup contender. With that being said one possible move I see is bringing in a younger defensemen for the future. I fully realize Montreal still has Sergei Gonchar and Andrei Markov, but Gonchar is already 40 years old and Markov is not too far behind at 36 years old. Montreal needs to get younger on the blueline.

Montreal’s biggest problem may be their own expectations. They are expected to compete for the Stanley Cup and their fans are tired of watching it slip away. But, as most teams learn it takes more than strong goaltending to win. The Canadiens are building and given time I think we will hear their name spoken with other contenders. It’s just not this year.

Boston Bruins: The Bruins are a bit of a mess this season. The have had trouble finding the net and Zdeno Chara is not playing like the Chara of old. Boston is only surviving on goaltending. Tuukka Rask has been able to keep the Bruins in most games, but at this pace I’d expect him to tire down the stretch. Boston needs a lot of help, and I’m not sure they are willing to pay the price this year.

It seems to me that the Bruins are entering a rebuilding window and while fans won’t like it; it is something that every teams will go through at some point. Boston is seven points up on the Florida Panthers for the final wild card spot, and with the Eastern Conferance playoff seeding looking more and more set they may control their playoff destiny.

It’s time for the Bruins to start moving some big name players in an attempt to set the franchise up for years to come. Names like Chara, and  Milan Lucic will start popping up in the next year or so. But, this year I think Boston needs to sell so mid range players. Maybe move Daniel Paille out to a real contender looking to add someone with heart. I’d also consider trying to move Chris Kelly. At 34 years old Kelly still has a few years of decent play left, and with a shortage of centers in the NHL there would be a team willing to make a deal for him.

Florida Panthers: The Panthers have been rumored to be one of two franchise that could be relocated. Their new ownership has made some changes, but they have yet to get the on ice product where it needs to be. Florida has a decent roster, but they don’t have that big time star. Sitting with 50 points and playoff hopes fading away Florida is in no man’s land.

The Panthers have the goaltending and a future star on their blue line in Aaron Ekblad, but they don’t have much else. Ekblad is second on the team in scoring only two points behind Nick Bjugstad. If the Panthers want to catch up with the top half of their division they will need to unload picks and prospects; something I done really see them doing.

In Florida it is all about the future; the team is banking on high draft picks over the next two or three years to build up what has mostly been a terrible NHL franchise.

Toronto Maple Leafs: If this was a pretender or contender article the Maple Leafs would sit on top my pretender board, but as this is about NHL trade rumors, and what is anything a team should do I’ll move on. Toronto’s biggest problem may very well it Toronto. The media pressure and fan pressure is out of control, and their front office is scrambling to find their footing.

With 47 points and a six game losing streak this season is over for the leafs and as a mid-level team I don’t think being active at the deadline is in the cards for Toronto.

I’ve said before moving JVR could bring back some very high draft picks, but as some Maple Leafs fans have said that will never happen. But looking the roster I’m not seeing many players that would bring a great return. So, it would seem that the Maple Leafs have created what will become a few more years of being stuck in the middle of the pack.

Overall Toronto should try to sell and attempt to build a stronger more balanced team, but as NHL fans know they do always think like most teams do.

Ottawa Senators: With 47 points the Senators are hopeful but will fall way short of the playoffs. They are what their record says; a .500 team and unless they find a way to add scoring and defense they will continue to be on the outside looking in.

The Senators are so average even their goal differential is near ever (-2). If I didn’t know any better I’d say trade everyone. A possible move would be to ship to Kyle Turris. I know, why trade away the Senators third leading scorer? Well, I think if you package a mid round pick with Turris you can tun his 29 points into a 20 goal scorer and maybe 35-40 points.

Ottawa has potential, the challenge will be to get the roster to live up to that potential.

Buffalo Sabres: Buffalo is riding an epic 12 game losing streak, and in what I can only call one of the most painful teams to watch in NHL history the Sabres will sell, and we could be talking a good old fashion fire sale. Buffalo may not be tanking,  but they are not a NHL team this season. They have some very interesting players that could be moved.

The problem as I see it is the Sabres have set the price very high on most of their players. With that being said there is not a player on the roster that can’t be had for the right price. Tyler Myers and Chris Stewart have been tossed around the NHL trade rumor mill a lot. Myers is going to require a team to open their vault and send Buffalo a ton. Something that I just don’t see happening this year.

With only 31 points and a two point “lead” for last place the Sabres are in full rebuild mode, and fans could be looking at one more year of crap play. It seems clear that the Sabres are willing to play let’s make a deal, but I’m not sure other teams are playing the same game. The Salary Cap questions may hurt Buffalo’s attempt to unload dead weight.