Trade Deadline Will Allow These GMs to Get off the Hot Seat

With the NHL trade deadline set to pass this coming Monday at 3 p.m. EST, GMs around the league are exploring various avenues to upgrade their team, but some are feeling the pinch more than others. 

Pressure comes from within each organization and out. Fans want the best for their teams, but also crave the thrill of big trades.

Mistakes are aplenty this time of year, which makes the deadline season all the more interesting.

What follows is a list of five GMs, in no particular order, who are on the hot seat.

Can your GM stand the heat and cook a deadline deal?

You be the judge. 

Scott Howson

The most significant team-overhaul this trade deadline season seems to be taking place in Columbus.

After acquiring the services of center Jeff Carter from the Philadelphia Flyers, as well as signing big-name defenceman James Wisniewski, the Blue Jackets entered the 2011-12 NHL season with extremely high expectations.

Suffice it to say, things have not gone as planned for GM Scott Howson and his team this season. 

With the trade of Carter to LA on Thursday, the fire sale has already begun. But the biggest fish of the season remains on the trade market. 

Howson was able to secure an excellent return for Carter, and relieve vital cap space, too.

Should he also be able to net a major package for All-Star forward Rick Nash, Howson will have gone a long way to rebuild his team in just a matters of days and give fans in Columbus a reason to be excited for the future.

Jay Feaster

Jay Feaster found a great deal of success in Tampa Bay, which culminated in 2004 with a Stanley Cup Championship.

As a result of this history, fans in Calgary had reason to smile when Feaster was brought in to lead their team.

As GM, Feaster was quick to put his stamp on the organization, opting to retain longtime-serving captain Jarome Iginla rather than trading him to begin a rebuild process.

The Flames currently sit on the outside of the playoffs looking in. In 66 games thus far, they have amassed only 146 goals, which is third-least in the Western Conference.

The cornerstone pieces of the franchise, namely Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff, are not getting any younger. So, should Calgary fail to make the playoffs, Feaster's decision to pursue short-term success will be highly ridiculed.

Fans in Calgary are getting impatient, and if the future seems bleak, Feaster will be forced to shoulder all the blame. 

George McPhee

To say the Washington Capitals entered the 2011-12 NHL season with high expectations would be an understatement.

Fans were overjoyed with certain offseason gains made by their team, but perhaps none more so than with the signing of the biggest free-agent goalie name to hit to market in years, Tomas Vokoun.

Unfortunately, for the organization and its fans, the season has yet to go as planned. Goaltending has been inconsistent, and due in large part to the ongoing struggles of Alexander Ovechkin, Washington's offense has significantly diminished.

GM George McPhee already made a coaching change, replacing Bruce Boudreau with Dale Hunter, but what good did that do?

For a team that should rank amongst the Eastern Conference leaders, the Capitals are on the verge on missing the playoffs.

It goes without saying that, if there is one team in need of a deadline jolt from its GM, it is the Washington Capitals.

Dean Lombardi

The Los Angeles Kings made a big splash Thursday night, acquiring center Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for 25-year-old defenceman Jack Johnson and a conditional first-round pick.

GM Dean Lombardi is most likely hoping that reuniting Carter with former teammate Mike Richards will be enough to rekindle the offensive magic shared between the two star forwards from their playing days together in Philadelphia.

Considering the hefty price paid to snare Carter out of Columbus, he best be right. Regardless, Lombardi is attempting to fix his club's offensive woes.

Currently, LA sits last in the NHL in goals scored, having only put the puck in the back of the net 129 times in 61 outings this season.

Compare those numbers to the ones put up by the current goal-leading Philadelphia Flyers, who have scored 198 times in just 59 games thus far, and it goes without saying that the Kings desperately needed to address their offensive woes via the trade market.

Whether or not the Carter deal will be enough to turn LA's offense around remains to be seen. Lombardi sure hopes it work, though.

As GM, pressure has drastically been increasing on Lombardi over the past few seasons. He has pulled the trigger on numerous trades, but the results have yet to show in playoff success.

Tread carefully, Lombardi. The trade deadline is a ruthless beast, capable of taking futures for little return.

Brian Burke

As arguably the center of the hockey universe, the city of Toronto is constantly abuzz with talk of its beloved Maple Leafs.

Consequently, both players and management are treated to a media-enthralled spectacle on a regular basis.

If you don't believe me, I suggest you ask GM Brian Burke—but perhaps not at this moment. As of late, his team has had trouble finding consistency at any position, which has resulted in only one win in the last eight games.

To make matters worse, the team is suffering through a six-year playoff drought, having not tasted playoff hockey in the current post-lockout era.

To say that Burke, in his fourth year with the organization, is feeling immense pressure, would be a severe understatement. 

Regardless of whether his team makes the playoffs or not, Burke's job looks to be secure for at least one more year. However, the same cannot be said of coach Ron Wilson, who is also in his fourth campaign with Toronto and was surprisingly signed to a contract extension just a few months ago.

Burke is a stingy GM, who refuses to overpay in trades. However, with Toronto fans clamoring for a taste of the playoffs, he may need to go against his better intentions to make a move that will get his club over the hump.

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