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

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

Anaheim Ducks

Buyer/Seller – Seller??

Cap Space – $11.125 million

Salary retention slots – 3

Rentals available

D Hampus Lindholm
D Josh Manson
F Rickard Rakell
F Nicolas Deslauriers

The Ducks have been one of the pleasant surprises this season, as youngsters Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, Isac Lundestrom, and Jamie Drysdale have all exceeded expectations and the goaltending of John Gibson and support of veterans like Ryan Getzlaf have kept Anaheim in the playoff mix. The dilemma for GM Pat Verbeek is what to do if they stay within a few points of a wildcard spot when March 21st rolls around. With a trio of prominent pending UFA’s in Lindholm, Manson, and Rakell, the Ducks may try to get one or more of them locked before the deadline, but if they fall back in the next few weeks, Verbeek could put all of his players on the market and get a bounty in return.

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Calgary Flames

Buyer/Seller – Buyer

Cap Space – $600,517

Need – Depth defenseman

Assets to trade

F Connor Zary
F Jakob Pelletier
G Dustin Wolf
2022 draft choices round 2(2), 5 & 7
2023 draft choices round 1 – 4, 6 – 7

The Flames made their move preemptively last month, swapping prospect Emil Heineman and a package of draft picks to Montreal for Toffoli, but GM Brad Treliving may look to make one more addition to bolster their blueline. There have been rumors of interest in bringing former captain Mark Giordano back after losing him in the expansion draft, but it is hard to see how that is possible with his near $7 million salary and Calgary up against the cap. It is more likely that they will get another body near the veteran minimum on defense.

Edmonton Oilers

Buyer/Seller – Buyer

Cap Space – $2.93 million

Need – Goaltending, depth defenseman

Assets to trade

D Philip Broberg
D Dylan Holloway
G Stuart Skinner
2022 draft choices round 1, 2, 5 – 7
2023 draft choices round 1 – 7

The Oilers continue to be a puzzlement, failing to upgrade their goaltending the last few years and wasting the prime years of superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. GM Ken Holland has shown signs of desperation with the signing of Evander Kane and firing head coach Dave Tippett, but to lock up a playoff spot he may finally have to pull the trigger on either a veteran rental or a netminder with term left on his contract. The additions of Cody Ceci and Duncan Keith in the offseason have not plugged all the leaks in a porous Edmonton defense, which may force Holland to look for a short-term blueline fix.

Los Angeles Kings

Buyer/Seller – Buyer

Cap Space – $7.89 million

Need – Forward, top-four defenseman

Assets to trade

F Tyler Madden
F Gabriel Vilardi
F Alex Turcotte
F Rasmus Kupari
2022 draft choices round 1 – 7
2023 draft choices round 1 – 7

The Kings have been surging in the second half with Drew Doughty returning from a knee injury, the key additions of Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault contributing and Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe having career offensive years. LA GM Rob Blake has a bevy of prospects, all of his draft picks and available cap space to make deals to help solidify his playoff footing. With defensemen Sean Walker and Alex Edler on LTIR and youngsters like Sean Durzi and Tobias Bjornfot playing significant minutes, Blake may look to convert some of his young assets into help on the blueline (but for more than a short-term fix) and some scoring depth.