Teams that should buy, sell, and watch at the NHL Trade Deadline
Who should buy, who should sell and who might be in the middle at the NHL Trade Deadline?
We are a day away from the NHL Trade Deadline, and things are beginning to heat up. While decisions that will be finalized in the next day or so will impact the sort-term, the long-term is also on the line as the Deadline approaches.
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Before I dive into teams that should be buyers, teams that should be sellers, and teams that should let the Trade Deadline come and go, let’s recap the major moves that have occurred already.
The first is Eric Staal‘s move to the Montreal Canadiens as he was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres for Third and Fifth Round picks in the 2021 NHL Draft. This move is a great start for Buffalo in terms of a rebuild (more on that in a moment), and it is a solid low-risk, high-reward move by the Habs, who seem destined for the Stanley Cup Playoffs
The other major move was the New York Islanders’ acquisition of Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils for a First-Round pick in 2021, a conditional Fourth-Round pick in 2021, and two players. The Isles play a terrific brand of defensive hockey, and that’s great, but what happens if the defense has a bad game? New York can only win one way with any consistency, and that is why this is a great move for the team.
With captain Anders Lee out of the lineup for the year, it felt like the Islanders needed to not only replace him, but bring in another scorer on top of that in order to compete this year. New York still has some cap flexibility, and I think it would be wise to make another move to bolster the offense, perhaps one that is more long-term than the players added from New Jersey.
Then, before we move on, we saw some real movement on Saturday as the Tampa Bay Lightning swung a huge deal for Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard in a three-team trade that also involved the Detroit Red Wings, the Florida Panthers acquired blueliner Brandon Montour from the Sabres and the Colorado Avalanche traded for veteran netminder Devan Dubnyk from the San Jose Sharks in order to add some goalie insurance.
With some big names still available, including Buffalo Sabres forward Taylor Hall, let’s take a look at the teams who will be active over the next couple of days, and those who should probably stand pat for now…
Teams that should and should not be active at the NHL Trade Deadline
With the Trade Deadline now only a few days away, teams will have to make decisions on several players. For some teams, the Deadline could bring a minor trade or two, but for others, this can be the time of year where a decision is made regarding the future of the team.
Making a big move is not and should not be on the cards for all 31 franchises, but between now and Monday we will watch some organizations decide to be buyers and go for a championship in 2021, while others will be sellers, setting their sights on the future. Here are some of the teams that should be big buyers, big sellers, and non-factors as the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline approaches.
Boston Bruins
The talent at the top of the lineup for the Bruins is undeniable. Unfortunately, the points don’t exactly stream in from the rest of the team. Only four players have tallied double digit goals on the year for Boston, and only nine have posted double digit points. As currently constructed, I don’t think the B’s have enough depth to win the Stanley Cup.
With that said, this team needs to do everything in its power to bring in pieces that do allow for a Stanley Cup run. The championship window will only be open for so long in Boston. Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, and Tuukka Rask are all at least 32 years of age, so the time to act is now. The Bruins are certainly good enough to qualify for the postseason with the current roster, but if they want to compete in one of the best divisions in hockey, this Deadline will be very important.