What to expect from Canadian-based franchises ahead of trade deadline

State of the team

Surprisingly sprightly. The East features a motley assortment of flawed contenders, the Habs chief among them. It’s hard to imagine a club with David Desharnais as its top centre winning the Stanley Cup this year, but with Carey Price in net, the rules don’t apply. They remain on the fringes of the elite but would get downright scary by adding a good right-sided defenceman and a scoring right winger.

So far

GM Marc Bergevin pulled off a surprise predeadline trade last week, sending zippy third-line winger Jiri Sekac to Anaheim for the stouter Devante Smith-Pelly, who provides more heft along the boards and angrier defence.

Likely scenarios

The Habs end up paying a below-market price for a defenceman and/or a character winger that no rumour linked them to.

Wild cards

Perhaps they’ll move a veteran contract with term left on it (Alexei Emelin, P.A. Parenteau, Tomas Plekanec) in exchange for a younger player. Bergevin is adamant about not parting with young assets, but packaging Lars Eller with one of his shinier prospects, like Jarred Tinordi or Zach Fucale, and a pick might yield a temptingly high return. He is adept at pulling rabbits out of hats (see the case of Vanek, T.), so what if he did something crazy like acquire Phil Kessel? Or a young stud defenceman like Oliver Ekman-Larsson?

Some advice

A pro scout from a rival team said this is what he would do as GM of the Habs: “nothing big.” This is not a time for rash decisions or big bets, the Canadiens’ Cup window isn’t about to slam shut, and it doesn’t make sense to overpay on deadline day. Of course, Bergevin already knows this.

Sean Gordon

State of the team

It’s bad. The Leafs tailspin at its worst involved winning only four times in 28 games, one of the deepest slides – for any team – in recent NHL history. The only silver lining is they will now get a good draft pick: They’re expected to finish between fourth and seventh last and have a decent shot (between six and 10 per cent) at winning the Connor McDavid lottery.

So far

Toronto made one of the bigger moves around the league to date in shipping out rentals Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli to Nashville for a late first-round pick, prospect Brendan Leipsic and the rights to what’s left of Olli Jokinen. They also dealt Dan Winnik to Pittsburgh for picks and found a taker for David Clarkson in Columbus. They also claimed defenceman Tim Erixon off waivers on Sunday. They’ve been busy.

Likely scenarios

There are a lot of balls in the air. With president Brendan Shanahan selling the MLSE board on a lengthy rebuild, he’ll need to move a lot of bodies, but there’s no urgency until summer. The Leafs are guaranteed to try to dump their few remaining rentals – David Booth, Jokinen, Korbinian Holzer et al – for late round picks.

Wild cards

Most of the rest of the roster fits here. What happens with captain Dion Phaneuf? Or Phil Kessel? Can the Leafs get something of consequence for Tyler Bozak or Joffrey Lupul? Those are the biggest unknowns for the organization, as they’ll all be 28 to 32 years old by next season and all have partial no-trade clauses. It’s also possible a goaltender is in play. At least a dozen Leafs can be considered on the block if the right deal comes together.

Some advice

“It’s not like we’re trying to move out our whole roster,” Nonis said. “That’s not the case. But if there are deals that will help move the team forward, then we’ll look to do them.”

James Mirtle

State of the team

Vaguely forlorn. They are well-stocked with enticing young prospects, but the Sens have regressed since the lockout-shortened 2013 season. A recent five-game win streak has drawn them to within seven points of a playoff berth, but with 22 games to play, the post-season is a long shot. This is the point in the development cycle where savvy GMs start dumping veteran contracts.

So far

Ottawa GM Bryan Murray has been quiet and will likely continue to be unless he gets a good offer for a character player like defenceman Chris Phillips or injured winger Chris Neil. The Sens’ most attractive trade piece, defenceman Marc Methot, signed a new long-term contract two weeks ago.

Likely scenarios

Ottawa decides to move one of their defencemen (Phillips, Eric Gryba and Patrick Wiercioch are the names most frequently mentioned) and tries to drive up the market for veteran forwards David Legwand and Milan Michalek.

Wild cards

Several teams are looking for goaltending, does Murray decide to move Craig Anderson? The stated preference has been to hold off deciding whether to go with Anderson or the injured Robin Lehner but perhaps another team forces his hand. Minor-leaguer Andrew Hammond has been a minor revelation, and if Anderson goes, Ottawa could up their ante for sought-after college free-agent goalie Matt O’Connor. The more remote possibility is Murray decides to take a run at persuading a capped-out contender to part with a top-line centre prospect in exchange for short-term help and absorbing some cap space.

Some advice

Murray told TSN last week “I’m not going to trade for an unrestricted free agent” and added, “I think there’s going to be a fair amount of activity … but I don’t know how busy we’ll be in Ottawa.” He should heed his own advice.

Sean Gordon

State of the team

The Jets, last-place finishers in the tough Central Division a year ago, have been a pleasant surprise, dramatically improving their overall defensive game season-over-season and playing the sort of hard-edged playoff style hockey that can produce unexpected post-season results – if they can hold on to one of the eight playoff spots the West.

So far

GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has been the busiest GM in the runup to the trade deadline, engineering that massive seven-player deal with the Buffalo Sabres that landed him forward Drew Stafford, defenceman Tyler Myers, plus two prospects and a No. 1 draft choice. More recently, he added forward Jiri Tlusty as a rental from Carolina, where he previously crossed paths with coach Paul Maurice; and then acquired forward Lee Stempniak from the New York Rangers.

Likely scenarios

The Jets are almost certainly done; any additional reinforcements will come when their lengthy injury list, which includes forward Mathieu Perreault and defenceman Ben Chiarot clears up. Blake Wheeler, who was on IR last week, returned Sunday.

Wild cards

Since taking over as Jets’ GM, Cheveldayoff has taken a clear, conservative path, and built the organization from within. There’s little to suggest he’ll veer from that strategy, for any reason. Short-term, high-risk fixes are not part of his managerial DNA.

Some advice

The only two matters to sort out are: 1. Who starts in goal, if the Jets do qualify for the playoffs?; and 2. Where does the versatile Dustin Byfuglien end up playing, forward or defence? The likely answers: Rookie Michael Hutchinson, because the numbers don’t lie; and defence, because that’s where Byfuglien is happiest and a happy Buff is a productive Buff.

Eric Duhatschek

State of the team

Team captain Mark Giordano was placed on injured reserve Sunday as a result of an upper-body injury suffered last Wednesday, but even before he was hurt, the Flames were looking to shore up their blueline because of Ladislav Smid’s ongoing absence.

So far

The Flames traded pending unrestricted free agent Curtis Glencross to the Washington Capitals for second- and third-round 2015 draft choices. Additionally, they claimed defenceman David Schlemko off waivers from the Dallas Stars. Schlemko played most of his NHL career with the Arizona Coyotes, where current Flames’ GM Brad Treliving was assistant GM for seven years.

Likely scenarios

With their key trading piece gone, the club is unlikely to sacrifice long-term goals for short-term solutions.

Wild cards

For years, the Flames have promised NHL teams that they will take a bad contract back in a trade, if a team is willing to give them an incentive to do so. Might a scenario involving the Philadelphia Flyers, who are trying to dump Vincent Lecavalier’s contract, work? Flyers defenceman Luke Schenn, who played for years in Toronto under Flames’ president of hockey operations Brian Burke, might be available and perhaps could benefit from a fresh start.

Some advice

Every year, Burke goes on a riff about how NHL GMs make more mistakes on trading-deadline day than at any other point in the season. If anything, the Flames will try to take advantage of an opponent’s desperation.

Eric Duhatschek

State of the team

Improving, barely, but still far closer to the bottom of the NHL barrel than they should be after eight consecutive years out of the playoffs. They’ve been marginally better since the coaching change – Todd Nelson in for Dallas Eakins – which has tightened the race at the bottom of the West standings for the coveted 15th-place finish that would enhance their odds of landing Connor McDavid.

So far

GM Craig MacTavish landed a first-round draft choice from Pittsburgh in exchange for David Perron and then nicely upgraded the centre-ice position by acquiring Derek Roy for Mark Arcobello in the recommended lateral deal. Roy’s presence in the lineup has helped the disappointing Nail Yakupov’s overall production to improve.

Likely scenarios

The Oilers have been dangling potential unrestricted free-agent defenceman Jeff Petry as trade bait, and he may be the most talented option out there after Andrej Sekera was traded last week to the Los Angeles Kings. Detroit and Anaheim are seen as two possible destinations for Petry, and the hope is they can pry loose either a first-round pick or a decent prospect in exchange.

Wild cards

There has been speculation Edmonton might deal either Jordan Eberle, their leading scorer, or Andrew Ference, their team captain, but rationally, until the Oilers know what sort of player will shake loose at the top of this year’s draft – a high-end forward or a defenceman – it makes no sense to pull off a blockbuster deal Monday.

Some advice

The Oilers have targeted Kings backup Martin Jones as the latest in a long line of goaltending prospects they’d like to get their hands on, but more than likely, it will happen later rather than sooner. The realization has set in; the turnaround isn’t going to happen until they can stabilize the goaltending position, and they’re looking for a long-term solution.

Eric Duhatschek

State of the team

Battered by injuries, but resilient. The Canucks are looking at finishing sixth to eighth in the West. After last season’s implosion, this year’s mantra was make the playoffs. But new management wants to create a contender over several years. The Canucks couldn’t/wouldn’t offer enough for Evander Kane, and the scenario at the deadline is the same.

So far

On a five-game road trip out east where the Canucks could have spun out of the playoff picture, the team managed three big wins, though they lost to Buffalo.

Likely scenarios

They can’t afford to be buyers at the expense of the long term. Vancouver has shopped Zack Kassian for a long while now and has recently showcased him with the Sedins – and he’s popped in goals. He likely figures in a trade. Winger Chris Higgins or pending free agent Shawn Matthias could also be moved.

Wild cards

A trade of the Sedins? Probably not. Defenceman Chris Tanev could figure in a surprise deal, if one emerged.

Some advice

GM Jim Benning has said the team will not trade prospects. Last week, asked about the trade deadline, he highlighted returning players from injury as the equivalent of a deal: “We’ll get some energy off of that and that’ll give us a bump.”

David Ebner