B/R NHL Roundtable: NHL GMs That Must Make a Trade at the Deadline
And now the GMs take center stage.
With less than a month until the NHL Trade Deadline, the general managers of contending teams will scour the league for upgrades as they ready their squads for the stretch drive ahead of the 2022 postseason. From now until March 21, front offices will be active on their phones, looking to strike deals with the GMs on the other lines.
Will we see the Minnesota Wild find a way to give some support to Kirill Kaprizov? Can the Edmonton Oilers get some desperately needed reinforcements at defense and goalie? Our NHL staff got together for their weekly roundtable and look at the teams that should look to be buyers at the deadline.
Disagree with our takes? Send some of your thoughts and your own suggestions in the comments.
Ken Holland, Edmonton Oilers
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Not sure how things are going in Edmonton this season?
That's OK. Just wait a week or two, and it will change.
The Oilers had the league's best win percentage through 21 games (.762) before plummeting into an abyss that saw them out of a playoff position by the time the midway point arrived.
Things have started to return to positive territory lately—new coach Jay Woodcroft is 5-1 in six games since replacing Dave Tippett—but an ominous road trip awaits that will include visits to 2021-22 powerhouses Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina.
And if you think it's not keeping up Ken Holland at night, you're probably wrong.
Given that he's got the world's consensus best player and arguably another of its top five on the roster, let's just say the architect of a dynasty in Detroit has some pressure on him to replicate that—or at least make tangible progress—while McDavid and Draisaitl are still able and willing.
What that means in this discussion is that he's got to make a move.
And aside from the league's past two MVPs and scoring leaders, there are plenty of places to start.
Holland decided to stand pat with an iffy goaltending tandem of Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen heading into this season, so some want him to use the trade deadline to bring in a proven No. 1 commodity capable of stealing a series or two come late springtime.
Marc-Andre Fleury or Alex Georgiev, anyone?
Others insist the defense in front of the goalies is far more the issue, and they cry out for the addition of a minute-gobbling right-side blueliner who can bring stability and a nasty disposition to a group that's already got emerging youngers (Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard) and a pedigreed vet (Duncan Keith).
Ben Chiarot or Jeff Petry, perhaps?
And still others will lament the absence of offensive prowess aside from Nos. 97 and 29, though Holland did address that on the cheap recently when he signed unrestricted free agent Evander Kane to a one-year deal. Kane, whom the Sharks terminated for what they said was a breach of his player contract and a violation of AHL COVID-19 protocols, has produced five goals and nine points in 11 games.
Phil Kessel or Tomas Hertl, if you please?
The problem is Holland's hands are largely tied by salary issues—the Oilers have just $716,304 left in cap room—which means he'll have to work some telephone magic to convince a trade partner to retain their own obligations or take on some of his in order to make a worthwhile deal pass muster with the bean-counters.
But regardless of which direction he chooses, there's arguably no GM under more pressure to pull the trigger on something that at least gives the appearance of a game-changer given the precisely one playoff series his two stars have won since their respective arrivals.
Because if this spring ends with another first-round flameout or a tournament miss entirely, don't be surprised if the 66-year-old executive is the next one scanning the Help Wanted ads.
—Lyle Fitzsimmons
Brian MacLellan, Washington Capitals
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Sitting 13 points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings in the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot, the Washington Capitals appear in little danger of falling out of contention. Barring a stunning late-season collapse, they should easily qualify for the playoffs.
Nevertheless, there are a couple of concerning issues Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan must address to give his club the boost it needs for a deep postseason run.
Goaltending is the primary issue. On Feb. 10, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette told NBC Sports Washington's J.J. Regan he was still seeking consistency from netminders Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov. His colleague Matt Weyrich followed up by indicating the duo had a combined .897 save percentage and 3.16 goals-against average with a record of 8-9-2 since this calendar year began.
Weyrich suggested several goaltending options in the trade market, with the best being Marc-Andre Fleury of the Chicago Blackhawks. Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported the Capitals attempted to acquire the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, but it doesn't seem like it's going to happen. Perhaps MacLellan should consider bringing back former Capital Semyon Varlamov from the New York Islanders.
Seravalli also suggested the Capitals could benefit from an experienced "jack of all trades" forward to take some pressure off younger players like Connor McMichael. He felt the Montreal Canadiens' Artturi Lehkonen would be a good fit.
On Feb. 15, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported the Capitals could look to the Seattle Kraken or Vancouver Canucks for that versatile two-way forward. MacLellan could be eyeing someone like the Kraken's Calle Jarnkrok or the Canucks' Conor Garland.
Addressing either of those needs could cost MacLellan a draft pick or a prospect. Making the dollars fit, however, could be challenging, with the Capitals carrying only $1.9 million in trade deadline cap space.
MacLellan could include Samsonov ($2 million) or Vanecek ($716,667) as part of the return, though he could stick with Samsonov given he exposed and lost Vanecek in last summer's expansion draft. He could also shop pending free-agent defenseman Michal Kempny and the remainder of his $2.5 million cap hit for this season.
—Lyle Richardson
Bill Guerin, Minnesota Wild
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It's one of the most common tropes in professional sports: It's a championship or bust for this team this season. Usually, the expression concerns aging star players, as it is with what we're witnessing with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.
The Minnesota Wild are in a "Stanley Cup or bust" campaign for an entirely different reason. This past offseason, general manager Bill Guerin made the gutsy decision to buy out the contracts of longtime players, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. We can debate all day about whether or not this was the right move—their 31-14-3 record indicates that it was—but the action will put the Wild in cap hell for the next three years.
This season, the buyout penalty isn't too bad, sitting at $4.74 million, according to CapFriendly. That dead cap number takes a Superman-esque leap to $12.74 million in 2022-23 before going all the way up to $14.74 million for 2023-24 and 2024-25.
For context, if the Wild's dead cap space were a skater, he would be the highest-paid player in the NHL. That's a gnarly situation, one that Guerin willingly signed up for by clearing out his veterans. With the salary cap expected to rise by just $1 million this summer because of the pandemic, Minnesota will have a hard time signing any marquee free agents or adding someone like Jack Eichel should a player of that caliber become available again.
This offseason alone they need to figure out a way to re-sign Kevin Fiala, who is third on the team in points with 40 in 47 games played.
All of this means that the Wild need to push all their chips to the table now in the hopes of winning the first Stanley Cup in club history. They simply won't have the space to add high-end players like they do this year. CapFriendly projects that Minnesota will have around $11.7 million to play with at the March 21 trade deadline.
If they can acquire help while hanging on to Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi, then it's something that Guerin should take a long, hard look at.
- Franklin Steele
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