NHL Trade Rumors: Likely Landing Spots for Hurricanes' Defenseman Tim Gleason

The season is all but over for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Sitting at 17-24-8 and fifth in their division, the team is looking to make moves now in order to prepare for the future.

As philly.com has noted, the team is considering trading defenseman Tim Gleason, whose contract expires this summer.

The former first-round pick has been in Carolina since 2006 after being traded away by the Los Angeles Kings. Now, at 29 years old and in the prime of his career, he could be heading elsewhere.

With the NHL trade deadline just a few weeks away, here are the three most likely landing spots for Gleason.

Ottawa Senators

Ottawa currently boasts one of the best offensive attacks in the league. Their defense, however, has struggled most of the season.

In fact, they rank 26th in the league.

The addition of a top-tier defenseman to go alongside the team's young star Erik Karlsson would do wonders for the team defensively.

This is the one missing piece of the puzzle for the Senators. They can go out and make a run for the title with this move.

Calgary Flames

The Flames already made one big trade this season to bring Michael Cammalleri to Calgary.

One more move could be enough to get this team a little stability for the remainder of the season.

The team needs to add some veteran leadership, and Gleason could help a defense that has allowed an unbelievably high amount of shots on goal this season.

His attitude on and off the ice is what the team really needs. The personality of Gleason may be the selling point here, not necessarily his talent.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers appear to be the front-runner for Gleason at the moment.

Philadelphia went out this offseason and made moves that absolutely baffled the fans in the city of brotherly love.

However, it appears those moves were the right ones. The team is not only competitive, they have a shot at bringing home the gold this season.

There have been rumors circling for months that Gleason could be headed to Philly. The team isn't in desperate need of a defenseman, but they have the room to do it and are open to adding depth.

They are the favorites, at least for the time being, to land Gleason.