B/R NHL Roundtable: 3 Trades That Could Be Cup-Winning Deals at the Deadline

Every Stanley Cup contender shops for that final piece of the puzzle at the trade deadline.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have done it two years in a row with great success. In 2020, they added Barclay Goodrow to the fold for a first-round pick, solidifying their collection of forwards with a gritty bottom-six depth player. They did it again last year by acquiring defenseman David Savard from the Columbus Blue Jackets to round out their roster with a valuable bottom-pair defenseman.

As we inch closer to the March 21 trade deadline, the B/R NHL writers got together and pondered what deal might be the one that puts a prospective contender over the top.

Tomas Hertl to the Boston Bruins

Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press

Whether the San Jose Sharks decide to trade Tomas Hertl or not, one thing is clear: Adding Hertl would be borderline unfair for the Boston Bruins.

The 28-year-old center has been rumored to be on the trading block for months now and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. With the Sharks falling out of the playoff race in the Western Conference, it makes sense for San Jose to cash in on the Czech star.

Boston is an ideal destination. They already have the most dominant first unit in all of hockey. Among the 228 forward lines that have spent more than 150 minutes together, the unit of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Craig Smith have the highest expected goals-for percentage (xGoals%) in the NHL at 71.9 percent. The "Perfection Line," which features David Pastrnak on the right wing instead of Smith, ranks in the top five as well.

Boston also has the most prevalent defensive pairing, at least through the lens of xGoals%, with Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy badly outchancing the opposition on a nightly basis to the tune of a staggering 70.3 percent.

What the Bruins have been searching for all season is depth, and boy, oh, boy, would Hertl give them that, especially when you consider the emergence of Jake DeBrusk as a potential top-line threat. But we get the feeling that anyone who skates with Marchand and Bergeron will look pretty good.

With the forward core picking up steam over the last few weeks, slotting Hertl in as the second-line center would give Boston one of the most formidable top-six groups in the Eastern Conference. He'd be skating with Taylor Hall and Pastrnak based on how head coach Bruce Cassidy has been rolling out his lines lately. It's safe to assume that his impact would be massive there.

More than 400 forwards have more than 300 minutes of ice time to their names in 2021-22. Among those players, Hertl's expected goals of 19.7 ranks 33rd, in the same neighborhood as Nathan MacKinnon and Bergeron.

Slot a play-driving finisher like Hertl onto a team that already tends to own the puck, and you've got the perfect trade deadline acquisition for Boston. As an added bonus, Hertl could also help insulate the Bruins against the possibility of losing Bergeron as an undrafted free agent this summer.

The Bruins are projected to have around $13 million in cap space to play with during the offseason, opening the door for a situation similar to the one Hall experienced.

Claude Giroux to the Colorado Avalanche

Derik Hamilton/Associated Press

The Colorado Avalanche are already a darn good hockey team.

They are first overall in the league by four points following Tuesday's games. They are 16 points up on their nearest pursuers in the Central Division. And their players are prominently featured on lists of the league's leaders across multiple statistical categories.

So if you were to suggest they could get through the trade deadline without a single move and still be among the favorites to hoist the Stanley Cup this summer, you'd be correct.

But recent history suggests they shouldn't take that risk.

Lest anyone forget, the Avalanche were tied for the league's No. 1 overall position after the 2020-21 season. They tied for third overall in 2019-20, too. And unless there's an epic collapse in the final few months, this will be the third straight season in which they've finished first or second in division play.

Yet, in spite of all that regular-season success, it's still been 21 years since the last parade.

The aforementioned 2019-20 season ended with a second-round loss in seven games to the third-seeded Dallas Stars (Colorado was No. 2) and the post-Presidents' Trophy run in 2020-21 was snuffed out in six games by the second-seeded Vegas Golden Knights (Colorado was No. 1).

Which means that as much as GM Joe Sakic might enjoy perusing the standings in March, he's got at least a mild level of heat on him to turn springtime dominance into a summertime banner raise.

Claude Giroux gets that done. Period.

The Flyers captain is nearing the twilight of his career, and trade speculation continues to circulate about the 34-year-old center. With the Flyers' season in tatters as they sit well outside of the playoff picture, a deal to the Avs would make a lot of sense for both sides. Giroux will be a free agent at the end of the season, and he won't get many more shots at the Cup.

Adding him to a talent-sopped lineup might not tick the goals-per-game average much past a 3.93 clip that's already second in the league, but it would allow head coach Jared Bednar to trot out an almost unfairly skilled one-two-three punch at center that'd include Giroux, Nathan MacKinnon and Nazem Kadri.

He's also strong in the faceoff circle, addressing one of the few issues the Avs have, and his status as captain in Philadelphia is ample evidence of his credibility as a leader.

Add to it the hunger that surely burns within a talented 34-year-old who's been past the second round just once in 15 seasons, and it makes perfect sense that he'd check off all the boxes to get Sakic to do a deal, regardless of asking price.

Because the cost of finishing with just another Presidents' Trophy would be far higher.

J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

The New York Rangers have made considerable improvement this season. A rebuilding club with promise a year ago, they are now a legitimate playoff contender jockeying with the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Metropolitan Division.

With a potential Vezina Trophy finalist in goaltender Igor Shesterkin, the defending James Norris Memorial Trophy winner Adam Fox on defense and high-scoring stars Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider up front, the Rangers have the components to stage a run for the Stanley Cup this season.

A lack of experienced depth at right wing, however, has been an ongoing issue this season. That's why trade rumors have linked the Rangers to Vancouver Canucks forward (and former Ranger) J.T. Miller for much of this season.

The Canucks' leading scorer with 63 points in 55 games, the 6'1", 218-pound Miller is a talented two-way forward who can play center or on the wing. Turning 29 on March 14, he's signed through 2022-23 with an affordable $5.3 million annual cap hit and lacks no-trade protection.

On Feb. 28, the New York Post's Larry Brooks sang Miller's praises after watching him lead the Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Rangers.

"He is big, is strong on the forecheck, he wins his one-on-ones, has become extremely responsible in his own end and is an elite passer," noted Brooks, who went on to say he'd love to see Miller skating at right wing on the Rangers' second line alongside Panarin and center Ryan Strome.

Miller wouldn't just make the Rangers a better team; he'd also improve their chances of winning the Cup. He'd provide an extra measure of firepower to their already-solid offense, improve their play in their own zone and provide the intensity necessary to win big games. His versatility would provide much-needed flexibility to their top six if adjustments are required due to injury.

However, acquiring Miller won't be easy. On March 3, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported the Canucks are willing to entertain offers, but a club will have to put forth an impressive package to pry Miller away.

Rangers general manager Chris Drury, however, is in an excellent position to make a significant offer. He has $31.2 million in projected trade-deadline cap space, plus he's carrying plenty of promising young players and prospects to draw upon for trade bait. That depth also allows him to include his 2022 first-round pick in a package offer to the Canucks.

Acquiring Miller will be expensive. The package could consist of the Rangers' 2022 first-rounder, a young defenseman such as Nils Lundkvist or Braden Schneider and perhaps a young forward such as Kaapo Kakko or Vitaly Kravtsov.

However, it would be worthwhile for the Rangers to use their cap space and young trade assets this season to acquire an impact player who could turn them into a serious contender. The extra year on Miller's contract give them a chance to stage two runs at a championship with him in the lineup.

Unless otherwise noted, advanced stats courtesy of MoneyPuck.com.