Top 20 Players To Keep An Eye On At The 2021-22 NHL Trade Deadline

5. Reilly Smith – Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights need to make room for Jack Eichel. One player they could trade is Reilly Smith who has a cap hit of five million for the remainder of this season. Trading Smith would help with the cap situation the Golden Knights find them in, but it won’t exactly end their problems either. Another player would have to be traded as well. Smith has almost 30 points on the year and he is a good top-six forward for a team looking to win now.

Knowing the Golden Knights need to make a trade to make the cap work on an Eichel deal means some team can really take advantage of the Golden Knights and add a nice piece to their contending roster in Smith.

6. J.T. Miller – Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks have bounced back with their new head coach Bruce Boudreau, but that doesn’t necessarily mean this team is in winnow mode. The core here is pretty young, and the Canucks need to do what is best for them in the future, not just this season.

Miller’s value is pretty high right now. He has been one of the team’s best forwards and is signed through the end of next season.

Moving Miller might put the Canucks in the best position to succeed. The team still does have a lot of talent to build around in Pettersson, Boeser, Horvat, Garland, and many others, plus it will allow them to add another young player or draft pick to add to the franchise down the line.