Buyers And Sellers Guide For The NHL Trade Deadline – Atlantic Division – Pt II

The trade that sent winger Tyler Toffoli from Montreal to Calgary earlier this week is the first of what is expected to be many deals in the NHL leading up to the March 21st trade deadline. The race for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference is virtually non-existent with half of the regular season remaining, while only three clubs are realistically out of the race in the West.

The market leading up to the deadline will mostly be made up of rentals; players with expiring contracts that teams not battling for the postseason will want to get something in return for before they become free agents this summer. With most of the contenders right up against the $81.5 million salary cap, teams with available cap space and the ability to retain salary will also be in a position to acquire assets for the future.

Here is a look at teams from the Atlantic Division and how they are situated leading up to the deadline:

Montreal Canadiens

Buyer/Seller – Seller

Cap Space – $9.414 million

Salary retention slots – 3

Rentals available

D Ben Chiarot
F Mathieu Perreault

Players Available

F Jonathan Drouin
D David Savard
D Jeff Petry
F Arturi Lehkonen
F Christian Dvorak

The Habs have a completely new management team after the departure of Marc Bergevin and with team president Jeff Gorton and GM Kent Hughes in place, the teardown of the club that made the Stanley Cup Final last season began with the trading of Toffoli to Calgary.

Hughes indicated that Chiarot (currently on IR) will be traded and the veteran blueliner could be the most sought-after player on the trade market, but it is possible that the changes will be more far-reaching before March 21. Petry has reportedly requested a trade, but moving the 34-year-old with three years left at $6.25 million AAV before the summer will be a difficult proposition. Other players with term remaining (Savard, Dvorak) could be moved for the right price.

Ottawa Senators

Buyer/Seller – Seller

Cap Space – $28.864 million

Salary retention slots – 3

Rentals available

G Anton Forsberg
D Josh Brown
F Tyler Ennis
F Nick Paul
F Zach Sanford
F Chris Tierney

Players Available

D Victor Mete
D Erik Brannstrom

Sens GM Pierre Dorion indicated this week that he hopes that this deadline will be the last his club will be a seller for the foreseeable future, but that may be wishful thinking in spite of Ottawa’s talented young core.

Paul is the gem of their rental group, as the type of physical forward that playoff-bound clubs are looking for with an economical $1.35 million cap hit. Brown, Sanford, Forsberg, and Ennis would all garner mid-to-high round draft picks as depth players, while young defensemen Mete and Brannstrom could be had in hockey deals.

Ottawa is one of the best-positioned clubs to be the middle man in three-way deals if they get a good return for doing it since that does not entail a long-term investment.

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Tampa Bay Lightning

Buyer/Seller – Buyer

Cap Space – $850,000

Need – Depth forward, depth defenseman

Assets to trade

F Jack Finley
F Boris Katchouk
F Taylor Raddysh
2022 first-round draft pick

The Lightning has the core group that has won consecutive Stanley Cups but will likely look to bolster their depth after losing Yanni Gourde to the expansion draft, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow to free agency, and being forced to trade Tyler Johnson to Chicago for cap reasons. That will be challenging for GM Julien BriseBois, with nearly no cap space, but it is possible that they will use another team like Detroit to filter salary off a potential trade target.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Buyer/Seller – Buyer

Cap Space – $1.47 million

Need – Top four defenseman

Assets to trade

D Travis Dermott
D Timothy Liljegren
F Rodion Amirov
F Joey Anderson
F Nick Robertson
2022 first and second round
2023 draft choices round 1 – 6

The Leafs once again are looking for a blueliner who can play in their top four, but it is a question whether GM Kyle Dubas is willing to pay the price of at least a first-round pick and something for prominent rentals like Chiarot, Josh Manson, Rasmus Ristolainen or Mark Giordano.

TSN’s Chris Johnston reported on Thursday that Toronto may also be looking for a forward before March 21, and if that is the case, they may have to shift their focus to a lower-salaried blueliner like Justin Braun.