NHL: Which Western Conference teams should stay, buy, and sell?

Trade

1. Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes got a jumpstart on the Trade Deadline when they acquired Taylor Hall back in December. What was supposed to be a groundbreaking move actually lead to a spiral in the standings, but it’s not entirely Hall’s fault. The biggest reason was their star goaltender, Darcy Kuemper had to miss time with an injury which was a huge blow, especially because the Coyotes struggle to score.

This has been a problem with this team for the past few years and in the offseason, John Chayka attempted to fix it with a trade for Phil Kessel. When that didn’t pan out, he acquired Hall. Now, the team still has issues finding the back of the net and averages just 2.8 goals a game.

With all the moves Chayka has made up until this point, he can’t give up now. The Coyotes have put too much on this season to just go halfway. They will need to trade for more scoring help and perhaps they need just one more player like Ilya Kovalchuk or Jean-Gabriel Pageau to complete their puzzle.

2. Dallas Stars

In the offseason, the Dallas Stars made a huge move in signing the former captain of the San Jose Sharks, Joe Pavelski. He was brought in to beef up the Stars’ offense and push them over the top. Well, the Stars have played very well this season, but it’s all thanks to the stellar goaltending of Ben Bishop, not the lights-out offense Dallas was supposed to have.

The team has just one player with more than 30 points (Tyler Seguin with 36) and Pavelski has yet to hit the 20-point mark in 48 games played. Luckily for the Stars, their goaltenders have been incredible. Both Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin have a .927 save percentage and the team has the best goals-against average in the league (2.29). If this team can get more goalscoring, it will make them even more dangerous.

Dallas’ power play has a 19.7% success rate and if they need to get a boost on the man advantage if they want to have success in the playoffs. When the postseason rolls around, specialty teams are key and the Stars will want to improve those numbers if they want a legitimate shot at the Cup.

3. Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are two cheat codes that have torn up the league this season and adding depth scoring to this team will make them a real threat. While Ken Holland has shown to be very careful with his situation in Edmonton, this team has exceeded expectations and deserves a shot to see how far they can go.

The Edmonton Oilers have a pretty solid defense, Mikko Koskinen has been solid, and if the Oilers can add secondary scoring, Edmonton suddenly becomes a very well-rounded threat. Perhaps a player like Chris Kreider is a good fit as he has 31 points this season and can bring a physical edge that fits well in the Oilers’ style of play.