The Leafs locked up their “Big Four” with the thought in mind that these seasons right now would be their Cup contention years.
A second line winger would be a luxury add, but they actually need a bottom-six forward who forechecks and plays with energy, given the lacklustre results from Simmonds-Spezza and whoever they’ve been with of late.
What likely happens: The forward that comes over likely depends on which defenceman they can add, given that’s priority 1A .
They will add a defenceman as mentioned, the quality of which is going to come down to the final buzzer, as teams hold their assets and play off the desperation of someone like the Leafs to drum up prices at the last minute.
But with the clearly defined mission to sell, they should have an easier – not better, but easier – deadline than most.
Best case scenario: I think Chiarot fetches a first-rounder, and it’s possible Artturi Lehkonen does too.
The Canucks are kind of caught in the middle, where you can say “they aren’t Cup contenders, so they should sell.” But they’ve got real talent on the team and a chance to make the playoffs coming off a red-hot second half of the season.
They don’t have to make any decisions right away, so if the Canucks aren’t wowed by anything – and it seems like they won’t be with a quiet market right now – they should wait until the draft and revisit the conversations on their bigger-name players.
They have a new management group, and while Jim Rutherford likes to make a splash, there’s just no rush to move any of their guys that are still under contract.
The Oilers seem caught in the middle this year, a team with enough talent to make the playoffs that doesn’t quite believe this is an “all-in” year.
Needs: The major issue is that the Oilers need help in the crease, but Mikko Koskinen has generally been better there lately, which is the type of thing that confuses teams. He’s probably not “fixed’ though, and you can see how much more effective the Oilers are when they do get saves.
Our own Mark Spector did a good job looking at their realistic options here , but the word coming out of Edmonton right now doesn’t sound overly aggressive or desperate.
They like their six, but if they have to reach into the seven hole or beyond, things start to thin out quick.
On the back-end, the Flames seem like a natural fit for someone like Braun, a legit NHLer who doesn’t make you feel terrible if one of your bottom-four D-men have to come out of the line-up.
The Jets are in that uncomfortable position where you don’t want to admit that you don’t think you have much of a chance and sell , but they have to be honest with themselves too and plan for the good of the franchise going forward.
What likely happens: I bet they flip Copp and hang on to Statsny for the playoff push, wanting to reward their group for getting back into the fight.
The Sens and Pierre Dorion likely regret declaring the rebuild “over,” as they seem primed to add another top-three pick in this year’s NHL draft.
If Paul and Forsberg don’t want to be a part of the solution in Ottawa, it’s likely they’ll have to move those guys while they have peak value, and not risk losing them for nothing.
