Three Players Who MUST Go at the Deadline
The NHL trade deadline is a little over a month away. Between this weekend’s All-Star Game in Los Angeles and the deadline on March 1, teams will be wheeling and dealing to get ready for the stretch run. There have been rumors galore, but which players are definitely on the move?
Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning
While Ben Bishop has had some of his best years in Tampa Bay, rumors suggest that the Lightning may be ready to part ways with their top netminder. It seems strange that he would be traded given that he was an All-Star last year and was nominated for the Vezina Trophy, but a few things are key to this discussion. First, Bishop is going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Second, he is still worth top value. Trading Bishop would bring in top flight talent at any position and helps Tampa avoid losing him for nothing via free agency. Third, Bishop has been dealing with chronic injury problems which has led to a sharp rise in production from backup goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning have the talent in place to take over once Bishop is gone, so there may be no time like the present.
Three places come to mind as Bishop’s landing spot. First the St. Louis Blues who are interested in trading some players of their own and have expressed interest in Bishop. Second is the Dallas Stars who seem ready to move on from Kari Lehtonen and have ample defensive talent to trade. Finally, and perhaps least likely, is the New York Islanders. While there have been plenty of rumors surrounding multiple deals involving Travis Hamonic or Nick Leddy and New York is in dire need of a goalie, it is unlikely that Tampa GM Steve Yzerman would pull the trigger on a deal without a huge return.
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
Another team that has been thrown around the rumor mill is the Colorado Avalanche. With the team backsliding over the past few seasons, changes seem to be imminent. The names Jarome Iginla and Gabriel Landeskog have been mentioned, but the most likely player to move has to be Matt Duchene. Duchene has been the team’s leading scorer and would fetch the best value of the three. With issues at defense, goalie, and in their farm system, Colorado should be poised to deal this young center and could bring in a huge return.
Since Colorado has a wide array of needs to address, they could have a number of potential trading partners. One is the New York Islanders who are reported to be floating Hamonic and Leddy, as mentioned earlier. Additionally, they would love to have Duchene and move him to the wing to play with John Tavares. Even if it’s not his normal position, he would become the best option to fill that top line role. Second would be the Ottawa Senators, who reportedly are interested in Duchene and could move valuable prospects to get him.
Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues
Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is another player who is a free agent at the end of the year and could be moved to bring value back to the club. Reports have indicated that a huge number of teams are interested in dealing for Shattenkirk and suggest that GM Doug Armstrong could be swayed if the price is right. Opening up cap space ahead of a season that will feature an expansion draft is very attractive to general managers around the league. On a team that is still alive — barely — the price will need to be right for the Blues to consider moving Shattenkirk, but they risk losing him for nothing if they refuse.
There are a ton of options for the Blues in this scenario. The most popular right now seems to be Tampa Bay. Rumors have surfaced suggesting that St. Louis could trade Shattenkirk for the aforementioned Ben Bishop, freeing up enough cap space to sign him into the future as well. Currently goalie Jake Allen has struggled, and Bishop’s upside would offer a great alternative. A second report recently surfaced suggesting the Detroit Red Wings may be in play. They could absolutely use an athletic defenseman, but the price might be too steep. Finally, there have been rumblings about a trade involving Cory Schneider of the New Jersey Devils, which would also address goaltending issues in St. Louis and give the Devils a player they need.
Honorable Mention: Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
Rumors began circulating about Marc-Andre Fleury almost immediately after the Stanley Cup Finals were over. The team had been led in net by Matt Murray, who seemed poised to take Fleury’s job once and for all. While the goalies have platooned for the most part this year, rumors continue to swirl. Rumors do not make for legitimate reports, however, and it seems the Penguins are only casually shopping Fleury for now. Still, with the goalie market booming and a title to defend, Pittsburgh could entertain a deal for the right offer.
As fans everywhere hold on with bated breath, the deadline quickly approaches. While so many rumors turn out to be untrue, it seems that the teams mentioned above are frantically shopping their players hoping for a return and perhaps a brighter future with new talent in tow.