NHL Trade News: 4 Teams That Could Get a Jump on the Deadline

With the second half of the season quickly approaching, teams will hope to start finalizing their rosters for the long haul. The more games current contenders have to establish continuity and line chemistry with their players, the better off they will be when the playoffs roll around. There are a few teams that may seek to get a jump on the trade deadline this year.

Here are four teams that will look to get an early jump on the trade deadline.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had bad luck when it comes to injured players this season. The Penguins, who are already without Sidney Crosby, will be without James Neal, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang and others for the foreseeable future.

Offensively, Evgeni Malkin can not carry the team alone. He will need some help and the Penguins could look to Edmonton for some help.

Ales Hemsky is an upcoming free agent at the end of the year. It appears his time in Edmonton could be coming to an end as the Oilers are building around their youth core of Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. These tenacious three youngsters form a formidable top unit.

Hemsky is a player that could be shipped off for a minor prospect and a draft pick. He could bring a veteran presence and some needed scoring to the Penguins. He may be an injury risk, but this is a low-risk proposition for the Penguins.

If the price is right, Ray Shero should pull the trigger. Hemsky's hit will be very diluted by that point, so it is a win-win.

2. Philadelphia Flyers

Chris Pronger is already sidelined for the rest of the season and possibly the rest of his career with concussion-like symptoms.

Pronger was arguably the Flyers' most important defender, as he brought a lot to their lineup. The Flyers may have a crop of capable defenders, but will they splurge to add a top-pairing minutes eater? Will they look to add a defenseman that enables them to balance out the defensive aspect of their game?

The Flyers are a team that scores a lot of goals, but they also give up a lot of goals as well. The Flyers could look into acquiring Tim Gleason or Bryan Allen from the Carolina Hurricanes or maybe look at blockbuster deal centered around Ryan Suter.

Either way, the Flyers could look to bulk up their defense.

3. Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes are another team with a crop of free agents set to test the market this offseason. They could get an early start on their fire sale.

Here is a report by SLAM! Sports that offers some insight on the situation.

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The season is pretty much over in Carolina and the belief is GM Jim Rutherford is getting ready to clean house. League sources say Rutherford will hold a fire sale before the NHL trade deadline.

Not only are the Hurricanes going to try and move potential UFAs Tuomo Ruutu, Bryan Allen, Jaroslav Spacek and Tim Gleason, they would also like to get rid of contracts that have term. Don’t be surprised if you hear the D Joni Pitkanen’s in trade talk. He has two years left with a cap hit of $4.5 million.

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Tuomo Ruutu, Tim Gleason and Bryan Allen are all players who could garner some interest. Gleason and Allen are capable defenseman that teams seeking depth could inquire about. Both can eat minutes and will provided a veteran presence. 

Ruutu is a young power forward who, when disciplined, can have an impact. Teams looking to add grit and jam could inquire about him.

There are a lot of teams who could sell at the deadline, but Carolina is probably one of teams that will make a lot of moves.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets

Scott Arniel was finally relieved of his duties by the Columbus Blue Jackets today. It was an inevitable decision, so now will the full-scale rebuild take effect? The 2012 NHL Entry Draft is going to be very deep.

This would be a great opportunity to deal some players for multiple first, second and third-round draft picks. A draft of this size could help the Blue Jackets right the ship.

The first order of business should be acquiring a goaltender. Would the Jackets trade Rick Nash for a big package full of prospects, picks and a solid goaltender?

Scott Howson admitted that moves could be coming soon.

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"At this point, we are anticipating that we will be trading away some of our players, particularly unrestricted ones ," Howson said. "But we will see what the next month and a half brings to see if there is any improved play."

Howson said he is "not close" on any player move right now. "Nothing is imminent," he said. "We will evaluate as we go day-by-day here."

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I'm sure there are a few teams that will be interested in Samuel Pahlsson, Vinny Proposal, Radek Martinek, Derek McKenzie, Aaron Johnson and Kristian Huselius.

Tom Urtz, Jr. is an NHL featured columnist. For NHL news, updates and alerts about players: