Buyers And Sellers Guide For The NHL Trade Deadline – Metropolitan Division – Pt I

The trade that sent winger Tyler Toffoli from Montreal to Calgary last 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 Metropolitan Division and how they are situated leading up to the deadline:

Carolina Hurricanes

Buyer/Seller – Buyer

Cap Space – $1,801,500

Need – Defenseman

Assets to trade

F Seth Jarvis
F Ryan Suzuki
F Jack Drury
2022 draft choices round 2 – 7
2023 draft choices round 1 – 7

The Hurricanes are in a tight battle for top spot in the Metro with Pittsburgh and New York. GM Don Waddell solidified his goaltending with the signings of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, and the club is loaded with depth up front, but with the departure of Dougie Hamilton and the long-term injury to Jake Gardiner, Carolina is likely looking for some blueline help. The addition of Anthony DeAngelo has replaced much of the offense lost when Hamilton signed with New Jersey, but the Canes have the assets to bring in a top-four defenseman like Ben Chiarot or John Klingberg to improve their Stanley Cup odds.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Buyer/Seller – Seller

Cap Space – $30.6 million

Salary retention slots – 3

Rentals available

G Joonas Korpisalo
D Dean Kukan
F Max Domi

Players Available

F Patrik Laine

The Blue Jackets are a longshot to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff race and GM Jarmo Kekalainen will likely follow the same pattern he did last deadline, selling off rentals for futures. Korpisalo will be an attractive get for clubs looking for a goalie with playoff experience, while Domi’s $5.3 million cap hit will necessitate Columbus retaining 50% of his salary. The most intriguing trade chip may be Laine, who is one year away from unrestricted free agency.

New Jersey Devils

Buyer/Seller – Seller

Cap Space – $21.445 million

Salary retention slots – 2

Rentals available
F Jimmy Vesey
D PK Subban

Players Available
F Pavel Zacha
D Damon Severson

As with many clubs, the Devils could be a player at the deadline as a middle man retaining salary for a contender in exchange for future draft picks. Subban’s $9 million salary (even with half of it retained) may prevent any team looking for defensive help from having interest, but there have been rumors of Vancouver having an interest in Zacha, with one year left to go before unrestricted free agency.

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New York Islanders

Buyer/Seller – Seller

Cap Space – $8.213 million

Salary retention slots – 3

Rentals available
F Cal Clutterbuck
F Zach Parise
F Zdeno Chara
F Andy Greene

Players Available
G Semyon Varlamov

This was not how this season was supposed to turn out for the Islanders after consecutive Final Four finishes, but starting the season with 13 road games because of the UBS Arena not being available dug a hole too deep to recover from. GM Lou Lamoriello has a few attractive veteran rental assets in Clutterbuck and Chara to shop, which will enable him to recoup some draft capital expended in previous deals, but with a number of clubs looking to upgrade between the pipes, Varlamov with one year remaining might be on the market for a possible deal.