Is Mikko Rantanen staying or going?
This one is up to the Carolina Hurricanes, who have reportedly been fielding offers for the pending unrestricted free agent forward they acquired from the Avalanche on Jan. 24. In fact, Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported early Friday that talks between Carolina and the Dallas Stars about Rantanen are heating up. Rantanen is not close to ready to sign a new contract with the Hurricanes, so the team has to make a decision if they try to contend for the Stanley Cup with him knowing he could walk July 1 or if they try to get the best deal possible and still try to contend for the Cup only without big No. 96. The Hurricanes could be holding up the trade market as teams interested in Rantanen and with offers on the table for him wait for them to decide what they’re doing. No doubt if a trade is made the teams that don’t get him will have to pivot. If the Hurricanes tell the rest of the League he’s not going anywhere then every team has to pivot.
Will Brad Marchand be traded?
The Boston Bruins captain is a pending UFA and he’s out week to week with an upper-body injury. The Bruins have to decide what is their next move with Marchand, who is the lone holdover from their 2011 Stanley Cup winning team. A trade could signify a culture change in Boston. Perhaps the Bruins are able to extend Marchand instead. Maybe they wait it out and work on a new contract in the offseason. Boston’s next move with Marchand will impact the rest of the trade market maybe not as significantly as Carolina’s with Rantanen, but enough to move the needle.
The Bruins made a move late Thursday, sending forward Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild for forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko, and a 2026 sixth-round draft pick, which was originally Boston’s. Lauko previously played for the Bruins.
Will Kyle Palmieri also be on his way out of Long Island?
Like Nelson, Palmieri is a pending UFA. The Islanders are on the outside fringe of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference. On one hand, it makes sense to trade Palmieri now that the Islanders already traded Nelson. Get more assets in return and re-tool for next season. If that’s the decision, you wonder if the Islanders are able to get a player along with a prospect or a pick back in the trade for Palmieri like they did Ritchie in the deal for Nelson. That should be the goal. But there’s also still the possibility of the Islanders holding onto Palmieri and extending him.
Will the Blue Jackets be buyers?
The Columbus Blue Jackets have played their way into the playoff race and are in a wild-card position going into deadline day. They certainly shouldn’t be sellers even though defenseman Ivan Provorov, a pending UFA, would be one of the most valuable targets on the rental market. But will they be buyers to bolster the roster for a stretch run and a possible playoff berth that months ago didn’t seem realistic? The Blue Jackets are also a tight-knit team, so any addition would have to be weighed heavily as to how he would fit into the room. They could stand pat too. They’re a team to watch.
What will the Canadiens do?
The Montreal Canadiens have played their way back into the playoff race and this week they re-signed forward Jake Evans to a four-year contract ($2.85 million AAV). They also have pending UFAs defenseman David Savard and forward Joel Armia. Do they trade those guys and send a message to the rest of the team that it’s still about the future? Do they keep them and show the team what it has done to this point means it’s about this season and then the future? It’s interesting times in Montreal for a team that had won five games in a row after a 1-7-1 stretch before a 3-2 overtime loss to the Oilers on Thursday.
Is Ryan O’Reilly in play?
It’s hard to determine this, but the Nashville Predators are no doubt getting calls on O’Reilly, the 34-year-old center who still has two years beyond this season left on his contract with a $4.5 million AAV. O’Reilly could be part of the solution in Nashville after a season that has gone off the rails in a way no one expected. But if the interest is high the Predators certainly have to be listening. One team reportedly interested is the New Jersey Devils. And boy does that make sense. They just lost center Jack Hughes to season-ending shoulder surgery. They arguably were in need of another center before Hughes’ injury. If the Devils can get O’Reilly, he’d fill Hughes’ spot for the rest of this season and then they’d have Nico Hischier, Hughes and O’Reilly down the middle next season. It would be among the best top three center depth in the NHL.
There’s plenty more questions and a lot more players who could be in play on deadline day.
The clock is ticking.
