NHL Trade Talk: One Player That Could Improve Each Team

The NHL season is fast approaching, and teams are all looking to find ways to make sure their roster is ready to go for opening day.

Most of the cream of the free agency crop has already been separated from the rest, and training camp hasn't really started to allow teams to see which of their prospects are going to be able to make an impact for the team this season.

So teams really only have one other route to explore in order to take the final steps towards solidifying their opening day roster: trading.

So here is a look at one player that could improve each team's roster.

I should make is clear that some of the players discussed here may not be a part of any trade rumors, but would still be good acquisitions for the teams mentioned.

I will also make an effort to say within the lines of reality. Everybody would love to be able to trade for Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin, but it would be incredibly unrealistic to believe that they would be traded.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks have had a relatively quiet offseason, and it's no real wonder as to why.

The core of their team is solidified with Corey Perry, Ryan Geztlaf, Bobby Ryan and Lubomir Visnovsky. Plus, they have some very good young talent that is led by Cam Fowler.

The only real issue that the Ducks had last year was in goal, when starter Jonas Hiller got injured.

The Ducks finally got involved in all the action when they acquired Andrew Cogliano from the Edmonton Oilers a couple of weeks back to add a bit of depth to their center position.

So where do the Ducks need to improve? Two thoughts come to mind.

The Ducks could be in the market for more goaltending as an insurance policy should Hiller get injured again.

Then, the Ducks are still waiting to see what is going to happen with Teemu Selanne and his recent knee surgery. It's possible that the Ducks might want to get some kind of insurance for Selanne, or to just try and add some depth on their wings.

A team that they might be able to find a deal with is the Buffalo Sabres, who definitely need to drop a bit of salary before opening day.

I'm thinking that a guy like Cody McCormick might match well with the Ducks, as he is a big body (6'3" and 215 pounds) that works hard.

McCormick is another center, but he works hard and could easily pick up his responsibilities on the wing. He's a character guy that adds good depth, and the Ducks wouldn't have to give up a lot in order to pick him up.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins may have lost Michael Ryder to free agency, but they are still among the most complete teams in the NHL.

They will once again be near the top of the league as far as five on five play is concerned, but will need to look to find some more help on the power play.

Chara is the big guy that is the quarterback for the first power play unit, obviously, and Kaberle was supposed to help out a lot more than he did.

With the departure of Kaberle through free agency, it's obvious that the Bruins wanted more out of him.

If the Bruins still are looking for a defender that can play well in their own zone but also quarterback their second unit, perhaps a guy like Sergei Gonchar might ring their bell.

Gonchar would take up a pretty decent chunk of their salary cap, but the Bruins do have enough room for him.

Gonchar could also benefit from being on an already very solid blue line, which cannot be said of Ottawa. His responsibilities would be lessened, and he could really make a big difference for a power play that struggled greatly during both the regular season and playoffs.

I don't know how realistic this is, especially because of the salary issues, but one never knows.

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo is a team that is going to need to continue to be pretty active in the trade market, as they are currently $3 million over the salary cap.

Buffalo has been incredibly active in both the trade market and in free agency acquiring Christian Ehrhoff, and then signing him to a long term deal, Robyn Regher and Ville Leino.

Buffalo made a strong run at signing Brad Richards, but came up short.

Buffalo is strong on the blue line, but is still in need of a No. 1 center that can play the set up role to Tomas Vanek, but with their team salary where it is, obtaining that might be incredibly difficult.

At the same time, the Sabres have been showing a great willingness to do what is needed in order to show their fans that they are serious about competing for the Stanley Cup, even if that means that they need to bury a contract in the minors this coming year or trade for big names.

Jason Spezza has been part of trade rumors for the past couple of years and could find himself on the move as the Ottawa Senators look to rebuild their team.

Spezza has proven that he can be a consistent producer for his teams and would really benefit by having a guy like Vanek on his wing.

Ottawa might not want to part ways with him, but their need to rebuild and head into a different direction might overrule their desire to keep him.

The big questions that come along with this is, who do the Sabres send back and how does Spezza's big cap hit affect the roster?

The fact of the matter is that those are questions that the Sabres are going to have to wrestle with regardless of who they trade because of how large their payroll has become.

Calgary Flames

Calgary needs defense, plain and simple.

They finished 19th in the league last year in goals against, which isn't going to help anybody get far in the league, and they have also traded some of their better defenders away.

The other problem they are facing at the moment is that they are pretty close to the salary cap and might not be able to acquire too much as far as really solid defensive talent is concerned without giving up some change in return.

The Flames are also probably pretty close to needing to rebuild their roster as they continue to get older and miss the playoffs, so some big moves may be happening in Calgary this season.

A defender that might bring some interest from the Flames because of his size and offensive ability is Washington's Mike Green, and there have been some reports of this.

Green is a big guy that could do great things for the Calgary power play, having tallied 31 goals just a couple of seasons ago.

Calgary would have to move some money the other way as well in order to make room for Green, but he could be appealing to the Flames.

Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina has done pretty well in free agency thus far, and still has a lot of cap room to play with should they decided to go and sign anybody else.

In a previous article, I had mentioned that Carolina needs to address their defense, which ranked toward the bottom 10 of the NHL, and they have taken some good steps to do so.

Still, I think they could go a bit farther.

In another article, I had mentioned that the Minnesota Wild might make a perfect trade partner for the Hurricanes, as the Wild have been very open to making trades.

Current Wild center Pierre-Marc Bouchard is a very solid penalty killer that also is a huge threat for shorthanded offense. His ability to kill penalties and to be an explosive threat at the exact same time would be something that the Hurricanes would benefit from greatly.

I still believe Bouchard would make a fantastic addition to the Hurricanes.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks have made some pretty good signings this offseason that bolster their grit and presence in front of the net.

The only real issue is that their signings were all veterans who are coming close to the ends of their careers.

If the Blackhawks want to continue making moves that will make them tougher physically, and therefore a whole lot more difficult to play against, why not take a look at Tuomo Ruutu?

Ruutu has played for Chicago before, and would fit quite well with the third line and provide the Blackhawks with some great depth on the wing.

He's very skilled, can play good defense, plays a great physical game and is a very underrated pest in the NHL.

He has all kinds of attributes that would improve the Blackhawks and move them one step closer to returning to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche have been very active in the offseason looking to address their many defensive needs and have done quite well, in my opinion.

Adding more "depth" really seems to be the only thing that the Avalanche should be considering at the moment, though the temptation is there to try and acquire a big name, which the Avalanche have plenty of space to accommodate.

Somewhere they might be interested in looking is out on the wing, where some truths need to be realized for the Avalanche.

First, Milan Hejduk is getting older and is not going to play forever. It might be prudent for the Avalanche to try and get somebody that will be able to take Hejduk's place when he is gone.

Second, Peter Mueller is fragile and could end up not fitting what the Avalanche need. If he gets another concussion, I highly doubt the Avalanche keep him around after his contract ends at the end of next season.

Third, David Jones also remains a bit of a question mark because of his health issues. Jones played great last year for the Avalanche and even tied for the team lead in goals with 27.

Nonetheless, if he can't stay healthy, the Avalanche will once again have scraps at the wing.

With all of that said, the Avalanche should have a look at Alex Semin of the Washington Capitals.

The Avalanche have a load of prospects that the Capitals could find appealing, as well as a player like David Jones who could find Washington to their liking.

Semin would be a great addition and could bring a sniper's presence that the Avalanche don't really have too much of right now.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus made a huge splash in the NHL offseason this year by trading for power forward Jeff Carter and acquiring offensive defenseman James Wisniewski in free agency.

Still, the Blue Jackets could be tempted to make some moves in order to add more depth, as they did lose Jan Hejda to free agency and still need a decent amount of scoring depth.

Another place the Jackets need some more help is in net.

Steve Mason had a great rookie year, but has struggled to find consistency since. Part of that could be because the entire team in front of him has lacked consistency as well, but the concept still holds.

Also, the Blue Jackets don't really have a reliable back up.

If the Blue Jackets wanted to, they could make a seriously interesting, but incredibly risky move.

Evgeni Nabokov has been a solid goalie his entire career and tried to get back into the NHL after the KHL apparently didn't live up to his expectations last season, but had to clear re-entry waivers.

Instead of being able to play for Detroit, who actually signed him, the New York Islanders snatched him up off of the waiver wire. This apparently didn't sit well with Nabokov, who refused to report to the team.

Columbus has made great moves this offseason that could really help in returning them to the playoffs, and those moves might tempt Nabokov to agree to actually play for them, and they probably wouldn't have to give the Islanders that much in return.

At the same time, he might kick and scream like a five-year-old again. As I said, interesting, but very risky for the Blue Jackets to try.

Also, he'll apparently have to clear waivers again if he was to be traded.

Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars were one of the biggest losers in the free agency market this year, losing their best offensive player Brad Richards to the New York Rangers.

While the Stars do still have some good talent, they are also now in need of somebody to fill that void, but do have a lot of salary cap space to throw around if they need to.

Zach Parise would be a great fit for them and finds himself in an interesting situation in New Jersey.

The fact that Parise was only able to get a one year deal from the Devils makes me wonder if he wanted something long term and the Devils weren't able to oblige, or if the Devils are simply being cautious to make sure his injury from last season doesn't come back to bite them all on the back side.

If the Stars were able to put together something attractive for the Devils, it's possible that Parise could get the long term deal that I'm sure he wants with the Stars.

Everybody wins. The Stars gets a legit scoring threat that can fill the void left by Richards, and Parise gets his long term home.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings have made some good moves in the offseason, and took steps to replace Brian Rafalski on the blue line by signing Mike Commodore.

Otherwise, the Red Wings are pretty much set for the season and likely won't make any more moves, according to GM Ken Holland, who seems to be looking ahead to the trade deadline already.

Nonetheless, let's put our let's pretend hats on and have a guess at what Detroit might want.

With the retirement of Chris Osgood, the Red Wings are in need of some kind of presence in net so that Jimmy Howard doesn't have to play 70-plus games this season.

A reasonable solution to this would be the guy they tried to sign last year but lost on re-entry waivers, Evgeni Nabokov.

Nabokov would most likely report to the Red Wings, as they are who he wanted to play with from the beginning, but his role might be a bit unclear.

Jimmy Howard has emerged as the Red Wings' number one goalie, and it would be a mistake just to plug Nabokov into the starting role. You talk about a way to really kill the confidence of a young guy; that would do it.

Nabokov would most likely have to accept the fact that he would be a back up, which he would likely do in exchange for a really solid chance to win the Stanley Cup.

The Red Wings could be tempted to make this move, as his salary wouldn't hurt their ability to make moves at the trade deadline, and they probably wouldn't have to give up a lot in order to get him.

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are another team that has been very active in the offseason in attempts to make their team better.

One thing that the Oilers have definitely done is make their team tougher. There is no doubt that the Oilers are going to be one of the hardest teams to play against because of all of the people on the team that love to bang bodies now.

One thing the Oilers still lack is a top level defender that can be on the ice for them in every single situation, but there aren't too many that are available for trade.

Drew Doughty is still without a contract with the L.A. Kings and might be up for trade if things get much closer to the start of the season and Doughty still doesn't have a deal.

Though Edmonton and L.A. aren't the best of friends right now when it comes to trades, Edmonton has a lot of really good talent that just might not have a place on their roster anymore (Ales Hemsky, for example).

Drew Doughty would add great leadership, toughness and hockey intelligence to a blue line that is in great need of a foundation to hold them all in place.

Doughty could really fill that role, but I'm not sure about how realistic this trade would be.

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers have been incredibly active in free agency and in trades during this offseason, acquiring several different players to address several needs: Tomas Fleischmann, Ed Jovanovski, Scottie Upshall and Jose Theodore, just to name a few.

The crazy part about this is that, even with all of the moves that they have made, the Panthers still have $14 million left in the salary cap. That is just plain craziness.

It's hard to think that the Panthers really have any more moves to make, but perhaps one thing that the Panthers might want to think about is a puck moving defender that can chip in offensively.

A willing trade partner for this particular void could be the Colorado Avalanche, who have a few prospects that could fit the bill, plus another player or two that could be used.

At the moment, the player that seems most likely to be on his way out of Denver is Kyle Cumiskey.

Cumiskey never really worked out for the Avalanche, but could benefit from playing on a team that has some larger and tougher defenders like Florida does right now.

Cumiskey can be a great change of pace defender because he is just so fast that he can catch people off guard. The only real issue is that Cumiskey isn't really all that good defensively, but if he has a very reliable partner, that issue can give him more confidence.

Plus, the Panthers won't have to give up a lot to get him.

Los Angeles Kings

The L.A. Kings were part of the biggest trade move to go down thus far in the offseason when they managed to acquire Mike Richards from the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Kings really are loaded with talent right now and might be able to add another guy that could bring a ton of talent to the team.

Ales Hemsky's name has been around in several trade rumors, and the L.A. Kings might be able to swing a deal to bring him to Hollywood.

There's even some folks on Bleacher Report who have the deal all figured out.

There are some serious road blocks in making this type of a deal happen, however, mostly because it seems that the Kings and the Oilers are not very happy with one another at the moment.

Still, if Hemsky were to end up in L.A., the Kings would have one of the most potent offenses in the league.

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild have been incredibly active and aggressive in the trade market so far, acquiring Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley from the San Jose Sharks.

In acquiring these guys, the Wild did have to give up a little bit and had to part ways with one of their better defenders, Brent Burns, in the process.

Having acquired their elite scorer in Dany Heatley, Minnesota should probably look towards their blue line to make certain they can deal with the loss of Burns.

Mike Komisarek's name has come up in trade talk around Toronto a lot, and he could provide the same type of size and toughness that Burns has.

Komisarek's contract is pretty big, but it's nothing that Minnesota can't fit in, especially depending on who they would send back to Toronto in return.

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal took steps to bolster their offense by signing Erik Cole during free agency, and may be interested in trying to unload Scott Gomez and his huge contract.

While that might not happen, the Canadiens do seem to still be in the market for another forward, according to the Montreal Gazette.

Montreal might also want to consider another defender after losing James Wisniewski to the free agent market.

If the Canadiens can find the right buyer for Scott Gomez, that would not only free up cap space for them, but would probably net them something pretty good in return.

Montreal probably could use some depth down the center, so it's possible that a team who has a lot of centers could be in the bidding.

The Colorado Avalanche have a ton of centers and, for the right price, could be willing to part with center Jay McClement.

McClement is a great defensive center that takes and wins important face-offs, and he's also a very solid penalty killer.

With some solid players on their first two lines, McClement could provide a lot of great depth and defensive skill on the bottom two lines.

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators are in the process of trying to sign their captain, Shea Weber, before his arbitration hearing comes up, so either way, Weber is going to be a Predator next year.

The big thing that Nashville is lacking is scoring. During last season, the Predators only had two players tally more than 50 points.

If the Predators want to get farther than the first or second round in the playoffs, they need more scoring.

Jason Spezza would be a good solution for them for a couple of reasons.

Other than Ottawa needing to create cap space for their soon anticipated rebuild, Spezza fits the mold of the Nashville team that likes to play physically. He's big and is strong on the puck.

Plus, he would already have a chemistry with Mike Fisher, whom the Senators traded to Nashville at the trade deadline last season.

Spezza and Fisher could really do a lot to take the Predators offense to another level.

New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are pretty much set with their skaters, and don't really have a lot of money to play with should they desire to bring anybody else in.

Signing Zach Parise probably represents the end of their free agent movement, but they have one other thing that they should be able to address through trades, or possibly another signing.

Martin Brodeur will almost certainly retire at the end of the 2012, meaning the Devils will have to figure out who their future starter is going to be, and there is no time like the present.

Two names come to mind, Tukka Rask and Jhonas Enroth. The one that makes the most sense to me is Jhonas Enroth.

Enroth has a small contract at the moment and won't hurt the Devils' bulging salary cap, and Rask will most likely be taking over in Boston in the next year or two when Tim Thomas eventually decides to hang up the pads.

Enroth could come in and take more games in preparation to be the starter and keep Brodeur, whose age is definitely a factor now, from starting 70-plus games.

Buffalo might not be inclined to trade their back-up goalie, but they will need to move somebody in order to get themselves back below the salary cap.

Another possibility for the Devils would be to package Parise for a more elite goalie, especially if they can't work out a long term extension with him by the time the trade deadline comes up.

New York Islanders

The Islanders have a lot of young stars that will be up and coming, but haven't made a ton of moves during free agency.

The Isles could use some help on the defensive side, and were rumored to have interest in Mike Komisarek.

Apparently, Komisarek hasn't wanted to play for the Islanders, as it would be added pressure of playing in the home town.

At the same time, it could also provide a giant boost of energy playing in front of your true home crowd for every home game. Lots of guys thrive on that.

I think that Komisarek to the Islanders would make a lot of sense.

New York Rangers

The New York Rangers were the winners of the Brad Richards sweepstakes and also managed to keep fan favorite Ryan Callahan around for a few more years.

The Rangers are most likely done with their activity, save for the possibility of a buyout or demotion to the AHL, things along those lines.

Something that they could still use is a good puck-moving defenseman, but they'll have to be creative about who they go and get because of how close they are to the salary cap ceiling.

An ideal player would be somebody like Sergei Gonchar, but his contract is way too big.

A player that is fast and can be good at moving the puck is Matt Hunwick, who has struggled to find his spot in Colorado. Plus, with the addition of Jan Hejda, Shane O'Brien and the return of Kyle Quincey, Hunwick will struggle greatly to earn a roster spot despite Joe Sacco's apparent soft spot for him.

Hunwick needs a very solid defensive partner, as he can be a bit soft in his own zone, but he can fly with the best of them and can really catch teams off guard.

He began to improve his play towards the end of the season in Colorado and might need a change of scenery to fully flourish.

Still, the Rangers are probably done making their moves.

Ottawa Senators

The Senators are very close to entering a rebuilding stage and could be looking to blow up the roster if things don't start out going their way in the new season.

Ottawa does believe that they have the goalie that they want, but they have to make sure to pander to Craig Anderson who managed to sulk his way out of Denver.

The Senators haven't really been very active in the free agent market, mostly re-signing their own players and making moves for some lesser known players.

Currently, Zenon Konopka tops their list of players signed.

If the Senators are looking to try and lure young talent to be part of a rebuilding franchise, then they should probably look towards some of the younger teams in the NHL looking to improve with the addition of some veterans.

Edmonton might be willing to part ways with Sam Gagne depending on how Ryan Nugent-Hopkins performs in camp. Gagne could become expendable, and, at age 22, his best years are definitely still ahead of him.

Philadelphia Flyers

Who haven't the Philadelphia Flyers traded during this offseason? Philly is undergoing a huge makeover that has drastically changed the look of this team.

The Flyers have a lot of good offensive talent, and I can't imagine them making anymore moves this summer, but I also couldn't imagine that the Flyers would trade Mike Richards!

The Flyers are set at goal, on the blue line, and for most of their forwards, so about the only thing that they would really need to consider is trying to find somebody to replace Ville Leino, a veteran player that could role play and put the puck in the net from time to time.

The Flyers are also right up against the ceiling of the salary cap, so they'd have to be pretty creative about acquiring somebody.

I'm sure that this one is going to ruffle a few feathers and get some interesting reactions, but think about Matt Cooke on the Flyers. He is a hard nosed player who plays on and frequently over the edge.

His toughness and ability to put up okay offensive numbers could make him attractive to the Flyers. Plus, the Penguins might be very happy to be rid of this guy, as he is frequently putting them on the penalty kill for long stretches of time and being suspended.

The Flyers might even give him a bonus for slew-footing Sidney Crosby!

Phoenix Coyotes

The Phoenix Coyotes has been possibly the biggest loser of the free agency period, thanks to the losses of Ilya Bryzgalov and Ed Jovanovski, two of their marquee players.

I know that the Coyotes signed Mike Smith to be their No. 1 goalie for the upcoming season, but I just don't see him being able to carry them for the long haul.

It would behoove the Coyotes to look at another goalie that would provide a solid competition for Smith should he not pan out, and I don't think that Jason Labarbera is going to provide that challenge.

Antero Nittymaki of the San Jose Sharks could provide that type of challenge and also provide a steady presence in net should Smith fail to live up to expectations.

At the same time, should Smith end up being everything the Coyotes wanted and more, Nittymaki could serve as trade bait later down the road for a team looking for depth at the goalie position.

This would be a good scenario for the Coyotes in my opinion.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are another team that hasn't really been terribly active in the offseason this year because they seem to be pretty content with the roster that they have.

Sidney Crosby continues to work towards his return, as does Evgeni Malkin.

James Neal provided great scoring for the Penguins after being traded to Pittsburgh at the deadline last season.

Goaltending is set for several years to come, and the blue line remains pretty well in tact.

So what do the Penguins really want? Perhaps a bit more secondary scoring and maybe a bit more depth on the blue line, as they were seriously affected by injuries last season.

A player that could add to the Penguins' depth and provide some quality veteran leadership and strong checking ability is Brendan Morrison.

Morrison has had a lot of success in his career and is getting a bit older. He has some offensive skill that earned him a spot on the top line in Vancouver, and he can even play center if he needs to.

Calgary has too many forwards and probably wouldn't want too much in return for Morrison; perhaps a draft pick in the third round at the absolute most.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks have also been quite active in trades, sending Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley on their merry way to the state of hockey, Minnesota.

In return, they obtained Martin Havlat and Brent Burns.

San Jose is looking for absolutely anything that will finally push them over the edge and into the Stanley Cup Finals, but I'm just not sure that it's going to happen.

The Sharks could probably use an agitator that can manage to give them more power plays, but could also put up some goals in the meantime.

There are a couple of players that could fit that bill, and I'm going to go out on a limb with this one and say the Sharks should give Minnesota another call and try to get Cal Clutterbuck.

Clutterbuck has lead the league in hits for the past few seasons and also has a great ability to put the puck in the net when his team needs something.

He's not a guy that many people like unless he plays for your team, and he could really help get the Sharks' lethal power play out on the ice a few more times this coming season.

A long shot? Sure, but Minnesota is open to trading pretty much anybody, as they have shown.

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues are a team that I always find very difficult to analyze because they seem like they should be in a better place than they are.

Injuries hurt the Blues last year, but they were also able to improve their roster by acquiring Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk from the Colorado Avalanche.

If I were going to pick one thing that the Blues could use to improve their roster, it would be a high skill forward that can play opposite of Chris Stewart.

The skill player gets into scoring position, gets an opportunity and the power forward cleans up the leftovers. It is a formula that works pretty well.

Doing my best not to repeat too many players, but I really can't help it on this one. Alex Semin seems like that absolute perfect piece to the puzzle that I just described.

He is a high skill player that can score and pass, really is good at getting the puck to the net and Stewart can clean up whatever he can't put home.

Plus, St. Louis still has $11 million in cap money to play with, so affording Semin won't be an issue; it will be trying to find the right package of players to trade back.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay is really set for a long time in almost all of their positions on the ice. The only place where the future isn't so certain is in net.

Dwayne Roloson is old; there is no denying that, and his age could catch up with him at any point. Once it does, then you're stuck with Mathieu Garon as your starter, not something you really want.

A great target for the Tampa Bay Lightning would be current L.A. back-up Jonathan Bernier.

Not only would he be an able back-up and create a lot of stability, but he could even beat out Roloson for the starting job because of his ability.

Bernier will likely be a starter in the league in the next couple of years, and he will be an asset to whomever is able to sign him.

Toronto Maples Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs were my dark horse pick to steal Brad Richards away from the Rangers.

Having lost out on him, the Leafs still find themselves in the market for a number one center who can really play set up man for Phil Kessel.

Goalie is also another place the Maples Leafs aren't really all that certain about, though there is a lot of promise for James Reimer.

If Toronto could get that elite No. 1 forward, they could easily become serious threats in the East.

We all know that Brian Burke is able to find ways to pull of gigantic trades, so here's another doozy for us all.

Depending on how the Calgary Flames start the season, we may witness a roster explosion which could send ripples throughout the National Hockey League.

Watch out for Brian Burke to find some way to bring Jarome Iginla to the Maple Leafs.

This is a huge stretch, but Burke will do what he has to in order to get the man that he wants, and Iginla seems to almost always have his name involved in some kind of trade talks.

Plus, Toronto has made big deals with Calgary before when they managed to pull work horse defender Dion Phaneuf away from the Saddle Dome. It could happen.

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver managed to retain several of their key ingredients this offseason while only letting Christian Ehrhoff go.

Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo are both still a part of the team after signing hometown friendly contracts.

About the only real loss, other than Ehrhoff, that Vancouver suffered was losing Raffi Torres to the Phoenix Coyotes.

Something that the Canucks should be looking for, that really cost them the Stanley Cup, is a lot of toughness. Vancouver is filled to the brim with skill, but there aren't really any players whose job it is to go out and just beat somebody up.

Max Lapierre is a talented pest, but he's not a guy that you send out to send a message. He's the guy that goes out to draw a penalty and forecheck hard.

Vancouver needs to go get a guy like Dan Carcillo, who can be a pest, an enforcer and even a scorer on occasion.

It would take some very interesting dealing in order to get Carcillo, who just signed with the Blackhawks, but Carcillo would give the Canucks that shot in the arm they just never got in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals got the biggest bargain of the postseason thus far, acquiring Tomas Vokoun, widely considered to be the best goalie on the free agent market, for only one year and $1.5 million. Can we say steal?

Elsewhere, the Capitals have made a couple of other moves that will hopefully add depth to their roster.

Unfortunately, Tom Poti's status for the beginning of the season is murky at best. It doesn't seem like anybody knows whether or not Poti will be able to play, though he is working hard.

As per usual, there are a lot of trade rumors surrounding Alexander Semin, who could be used to free up cap space and also acquire a defender that could fill in for Poti's absence.

The Capitals are saying that they don't want to move Semin and that they don't have any more moves planned, but their proximity to the salary cap ceiling could entice them to move somebody.

I think Filip Kuba might be a good veteran choice to bring into a team that needs a guy who can just step in and contribute.

Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg's biggest weakness is at the center position. They just don't have that number one guy that can put up lots of points.

At the same time, the Jets are in desperate need of defense after giving up the second most goals in the NHL last season.

The Jets have made a lot of moves in the offseason, many of them re-signing their own players, but the importance of that cannot be underplayed.

Jets ownership wants to show that they are able to draw big names and therefore big crowds.

I think the Jets will do two things. First, I think they should sign Scott Hannan to help anchor their defense.

Then they need to try and trade for a top line center that can make plays.

Again, not to repeat, but Jason Spezza could fit this mold for them. He is a solid center that could easily upgrade their offense and could be acquired for prospects that might not fit with the team's new direction.