NHL Trade Deadline: Best Trades for Atlantic Division

NHL Trade Deadline: Examining 8 Hypothetical Deals for Teams in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division

With the NHL Trade Deadline now just 17 days away, fans are gearing up for what can only be described as a second Christmas.  It’s obviously not what it used to be prior to the salary cap era, but it still tends to provide plenty of excitement.

This year, in particular, should be interesting given the state of the league.  Because of so much parity, we’ve got an overabundance of teams still in the playoff mix.  We obviously expect a few more teams to declare themselves sellers over the next couple of weeks and we’ve still got an expansion draft on the horizon, so fans have their fingers crossed that we could still see an uptick in activity closer to the NHL Trade Deadline.

Atlantic At a Glance

The Atlantic Division is the lesser in the Eastern conference. Not because the Atlantic is inherently bad, though this is a down year, but just that the Metropolitan has become the best division in hockey.

The Atlantic has to compete in the East with the Metro, and this year they’ve not been as successful. There are really only three spots the Atlantic has access to because it seems the Metro has both wild card spots firmly locked up.

So the three spots reserved for the Atlantic are going to be hotly contested.

Montreal Canadiens

The Habs are the current leaders in the Atlantic division. It seems that whenever Carey Price is healthy, the team simply wins. Which makes sense, as even with Price’s cold start to 2017, he’s still the greatest goaltender in the NHL right now.

But the Habs need to continue building a team in front of Price. Right now, it seems like Montreal could be a contender for the Eastern Conference Finals, but not a true Stanley Cup threat. The Habs need to figure out why that reason is (coaching) and fix it.

But they also need to address the team itself. Here’s a way how:

Canadiens Give Up: David Desharnais, C; 2nd Round Pick

Canadiens Get: Johnny Oduya, D

This is basically trading an expiring contract and a pick for another expiring contract, but here’s the thing: Montreal needs to move on from Desharnais. The fit wasn’t there, and Montreal needs to get deeper on the blue line. Johnny Oduya is worth it, and he will bring more ability to the Habs, including the ability to score in the playoffs. Oduya exhibited that ability in two Blackhawks cup runs.

Oduya’s been on IR for two weeks with an injury that was supposed to last 2-4 weeks, so he will be coming back soon. Plus, it means Dallas is less likely to mind giving him up.

The Canadiens need to load up for a Cup run, and adding someone who’s been in the Finals before could be crucial.