Ideal Trade Target for Each Current Eastern Conference Playoff Team
The NHL trade deadline is March 21, and while that gives each team plenty of time to execute trades, preparations must begin now. Once the first domino falls, everything quickly ascends, with the final few days becoming total chaos.
However, the playoff picture is stunningly clear given that there's still roughly half of a season remaining. The eight Eastern Conference slots are all but locked up, while there are only a few teams in the West unsure of where they stand. To varying degrees, these teams will be looking to make additions.
Every team would love to make a huge splash, but many face obstacles such as the salary cap and trade acquisition cost. And teams have to make moves that reflect how likely they are to actually make a run for the Stanley Cup.
With those conditions weighed, here are ideal trade targets for the eight Eastern Conference teams expected to make the playoffs. Western Conference teams will be published next week.
Florida Panthers
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This is the best Florida Panthers team ever assembled, even including their 1995-96 team that made a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final. After a hard-fought first-round exit against the Lightning last season, they are on their way to winning a loaded Atlantic Division and are legitimate contenders. The Panthers will need some help finagling the salary cap but have the assets necessary to make a big move.
While the roster is well-rounded, the one area that could use an upgrade is left defense. Righty MacKenzie Weegar is currently soaking up minutes on his off-side. Behind him, Gustav Forsling is having a good season offensively but has been just OK defensively. The third-pair spot has been filled by a rotation of replacement-level depth players. The Panthers also need an upgrade on the penalty kill.
The best and most obvious option for them is Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun. He hasn't had the best season for a team in total rebuild mode—who can blame him—but he's shown before that he can be a No. 1 defenseman. While he is capable offensively, he really shines on the defensive side of the puck. Chychrun, who has been linked to the Panthers, is signed to an affordable $4.6 million cap hit through 2025 and could be the difference-making piece Florida needs not just this season but for multiple seasons ahead.
Ideal Deadline Target: Jakob Chychrun, Arizona Coyotes
Toronto Maple Leafs
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The Maple Leafs are 7-3-0 in their last 10 and sit fourth overall in the NHL by points percentage. It's a team with both star power and a deep depth chart. This is a great team as is, but the Atlantic Division is a gauntlet, and a sixth straight first-round exit would be unacceptable.
There's nowhere the Leafs are sorely lacking, but their right defense behind TJ Brodie has been lukewarm at best. Justin Holl is fine and a team can do worse than Travis Dermott on the third pairing, but with their forward group so loaded this is the best bet for them to make a move.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Colin Miller, an unrestricted free agent this summer, is not a flashy player and doesn't put up many points, but he is capable of preventing zone entries and defends well in his own end. He could be a fit on Toronto's second defensive unit alongside the more offensively proficient Jake Muzzin.
For the cost of a second- or third-round pick, Toronto could make a solid addition without depleting a prospect pool it will need to lean on to fill its roster when the impending cap crunch comes for some of its depth.
Ideal Deadline Target: Colin Miller, Buffalo Sabres
Tampa Bay Lightning
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The salary cap plus the Seattle expansion cost the Lightning Yanni Gourde, Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman, among others. They did keep all of their key players and have done a nice job filling the gaps with cheap depth.
While general manager Julien BriseBois would probably love to make a big move or two to boost his team's chances of a three-peat, the team has almost no available cap space, and the prospect cupboard is starved of talent. Making big swings every season isn't possible, and the Lightning could very well move forward with the roster as currently constructed.
If any move is made, it's going to have to be a player with a low cap hit. Although Tampa Bay's defense is strong overall, they're an injury away from some problems. Andrej Sustr, Fredrik Claesson and Zach Bogosian have all struggled when filling in this season, and the Lightning would be better off with an improved seventh defenseman.
There are a lot of available players who could do the job, but let's go with Montreal's Chris Wideman, who has held his own during a disastrous season for the Habs, has a $750,000 cap hit and probably would only cost a fifth- or sixth-round draft pick.
Ideal Deadline Target: Chris Wideman, Montreal Canadiens
Boston Bruins
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The Bruins are having, at least by their standards, a subpar season. They're a virtual lock to make the playoffs, but their 100-point pace in the standings makes them a distant fourth in the Atlantic Division and seemingly destined for a wild-card spot. If GM Don Sweeney insists on making a major move, he technically does have the pieces. Fabian Lysell is an A-level prospect, and the Bruins do have their first- and second-round picks in 2022 and 2023. However, he'd be stripping bare an already depleted prospect pool.
Yet the Bruins have to do something. While David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy can be foundational pieces for years to come, Patrice Bergeron (36), Brad Marchand (33) and Taylor Hall (30) only have so many kicks of the can left. There's turbulence in the Bruins' future, so they have to go for it now.
How does a team make a major addition without harming its future? The Bruins might be in a rare position to do just that. Center David Krejci returned to the Czech Republic over the summer for personal reasons and has shown in the Czech Extraliga that he's still got it. Currently at the Olympics, Krejci hasn't ruled out a return to Boston this season and would of course seamlessly fit with the team with which he spent his entire NHL career.
Ideal Deadline Target: David Krejci, HC Olomouc (Czech Republic)
Carolina Hurricanes
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The Hurricanes lack a 2022 first-round pick and have little cap space to work with. However, they are arguably the top team in the Eastern Conference and have one of the deepest prospect pools in the league. After back-to-back early exits, they'll be champing at the bit to make a big move to get over the hump. If they can successfully incentivize a team to take a player with salary—likely defenseman Brady Skjei ($5.25 million)—then they'll almost certainly make a move to upgrade on defense.
The name they've been repeatedly linked to is John Klingberg of the Dallas Stars. The free-agent-to-be has struggled to find common ground in negotiations with Dallas and appears likely to be moved ahead of the deadline, with the Hurricanes reportedly showing interest, according to Jeff Marek of Hockey Night in Canada. Klingberg is borderline elite on the power play and would give the Hurricanes some needed offense from the blueline.
Ideal Deadline Target: John Klingberg, Dallas Stars
Pittsburgh Penguins
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They have little cap space available and an empty prospect pool, but the Penguins don't have much choice except to do something. Every year is a contending year as long as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are around, and while Pittsburgh may not be in the top tier with Colorado or Toronto, head coach Mike Sullivan once again has his team performing above its means. The Penguins are second in the Metropolitan Division and are playing brilliantly at five-on-five.
They need depth at all positions, goaltender included, but their bottom-six forward group in particular could use an upgrade, especially with how many injuries the team seems to always deal with at forward.
A smart acquisition would be Detroit's Vladislav Namestnikov. The Russian forward struggled for a few seasons in New York and Ottawa but has rediscovered his game in Detroit. He's a perfect utility player who is diligent on the defensive side of the puck, chips in offensively (23 points in 48 games) and can play all three forward positions. He's the type of smart workhorse that Sullivan has often turned into overachievers.
Namestnikov has a $2 million cap hit, but Detroit could eat 50 percent of that amount, and he'd likely cost Pittsburgh a mid-round draft pick.
Ideal Trade Target: Vladislav Namestnikov, Detroit Red Wings
New York Rangers
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The Rangers are in a precarious position. Their 30-13-4 record is phenomenal, but they've largely been carried by Vezina favorite Igor Shesterkin in net, 2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox and a phenomenal top power-play unit. They have struggled immensely at five-on-five, where they rank 26th by expected goals, per Evolving Hockey. The Rangers are a good team, but Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic's model ranks them as only the seventh-likeliest team in the East to make the Stanley Cup Final.
They need to make a sizable move, but they're not in a position to push all their chips in for a run this season. Perhaps the way to thread this needle is by acquiring an impact player who is signed beyond 2022. The Rangers badly need a top-six right-winger, and they've been linked to Vancouver's J.T. Miller, according to Daily Faceoff's Cam Lewis. Yet teammate Conor Garland might be an even better fit. Signed to an affordable $4.95 million cap hit through 2026, he has scored at a pace of 53 points per 82 games the last three seasons.
What's more, Garland is a major driver of possession at even strength, which would address the Rangers' biggest weakness. There's no room for him on the Rangers' top power-play unit, but he mainly produces at even strength anyway. They can justify moving top prospects and draft picks for Garland because he'd help the team win both now and in the future when they might be more primed for true contention.
Ideal Deadline Target: Conor Garland, Vancouver Canucks
Washington Capitals
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The situation for Washington is similar to that of Boston and Pittsburgh. Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson aren't getting any younger, but they are comfortably in a playoff position despite Backstrom and T.J. Oshie having missed more than half of the season because of injuries. Are they a top contender? No. Is there enough talent on the roster to make a run regardless? Absolutely. When everyone is healthy, that power play can completely change a seven-game series.
Some forward depth would be helpful, but what the Capitals really need is a goaltender. Vitek Vanecek has been OK at best, while former top prospect Ilya Samsonov is once again struggling this season. It could be worse (ask Edmonton), but this is not a duo any team with serious Stanley Cup ambitions would be eager to ride. The Capitals reportedly inquired about Chicago's Marc-Andre Fleury, per Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli, but were rebuffed.
The pickings otherwise are slim, so let's speculate about a familiar face. Braden Holtby is no longer the starting-caliber goaltender he was when he won the Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018, but he's proved in Dallas this season that he can still play.
He would of course fit into the locker room and, if nothing else, he has a proven ability to deal with the immense pressure of playoff hockey, which would go a long way for a team that doesn't have much faith in the current young duo. The Stars might be hesitant to part with Holtby, but a losing streak that takes them out of the playoff hunt might lead to them calling it quits on the season. Remember, these are ideal targets.
Ideal Deadline Target: Braden Holtby, Dallas Stars
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