NHL Trade Rumors: Philadelphia Flyers and Teams Who Have to Make a Move

The Philadelphia Flyers' 6-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday showed that they badly need to make a move to remain a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

With the division races beginning to take shape, teams must consider some possible trades in order to remain in the hunt for the playoffs.

Let's look at three contending teams who need to make a move before the trading deadline.

1. Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are just 20th in the NHL with 2.55 goals scored per game this season, and with injuries to Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez and Travis Moen, the team needs another forward.

With the trouble they have had on defense, as well as the injuries on their blue line, the Canadiens could also look to acquire a defenseman despite recently trading for Tomas Kaberle from the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Canadiens could possibly acquire Jarret Stoll from the Los Angeles Kings, who could add depth at center.

Montreal is just two points out of second in the Northeast division, so there is no need to panic yet, but they need to make a move to compete in the East.

2. Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a good team, and they could be one player away from really making a run in the Eastern Conference this season

Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes could be a player they target to improve their offense. The Hurricanes have struggled this season and could be persuaded to deal Staal or star goaltender Cam Ward if they receive the right deal.

Staal is a top scorer who is under appreciated due to the lack of national attention the Hurricanes receive, but he would really make the Maple Leafs a much more dangerous team offensively. 

3. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers really need an elite defenseman with the recent news that captain Chris Pronger will miss the remainder of the season.

Philadelphia needs to make a push for defenseman such as Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators to contend this season.

The Predators really need offensive depth, and the Flyers are a team that is strong in that aspect, and they could offer Nashville some quality scoring players.

Philly certainly has enough pieces to make the Predators seriously consider an offer for either of their star defenseman, but Weber would likely be the first choice for Philly over Ryan Suter.

The Flyers are a quality team, but without an imposing defenseman, they are much easier to beat. Pronger's absence in their brutal loss to the Bruins on Saturday was obvious.

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Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.