At the trade deadline, teams are usually divided into buyers — those looking to add to a championship-contending roster — and sellers — those looking ahead to the future and trying to get future assets in return for players on expiring contracts or just not fitting in the system. Today’s column is a guide for selling NHL teams at the trade deadline. We’ll take a look at the true buyers, as determined by The Athletic colleague Pierre LeBrun last week for the Western and Eastern conferences, and see what prospects they could offer teams looking to offload rentals.
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The Bruins have a lot of young pieces in their system at various levels they can negotiate with. Ryan Donato, who is currently playing forward at the Olympics, and first-round defender Urho Vaakanainen are the two immediate names suitors will likely ask about. On their farm team in Providence, Boston has quite a lot of talent at all positions but nobody who stands out as an elite player. Throughout the amateur ranks — whether it be centers Jack Studnicka in the O or Trent Frederic at Wisconsin, defender Ryan Lindgren at Minnesota or goalie Jeremy Swayman at Maine — there are a lot of options for sellers to go after, and Boston can take a blow to its system without leaving it dry. Swayman and Studnicka stand out as the two most interesting names for them in the amateur ranks.
The Flames’ system begins and ends on the back end. They are stocked in high-quality young defensemen. Rasmus Andersson was an AHL All-Star and is arguably NHL ready. His AHL teammate Oliver Kylington is a little more dynamic and almost ready as well. Their first-round pick in 2017, Juuso Valimaki, is a desirable two-way player who is close to the NHL as well, and Adam Fox in Harvard is arguably the best prospect of the four. With the Flames having five defensemen (four of which are useful) signed through 2020, they are a prime trading partner for a team looking to add some top young defensemen. That’s not to say they don’t have other interesting pieces. Forwards Dillon Dube, Matthew Phillips and Andrew Mangiapane are all interesting, with the latter getting NHL time this season. LeBrun has reported goalie Jon Gillies could be moved too, as the Flames’ minor system has three high picks in net between him, Mason McDonald and Tyler Parsons to decide between.
Nashville Predators
Nashville’s options have dwindled after they made a midseason splash for Kyle Turris, moving two high-end pieces in Samuel Girard and Vladislav Kamenev. I’m sure trade partners will ask for elite prospect Eeli Tolvanen, but you’d have a better chance at getting Filip Forsberg from them for a middling veteran player who will eventually collapse and become a punch line. First-round pick Dante Fabbro, who is still in college, is a nice player and could be a target, but his star has faded a bit from his draft season. College forwards Grant Mismash, Rem Pitlick and, especially, Patrick Harper are reasonable targets. In the AHL, 24-year-old Emil Pettersson has an NHL chance, and they have a few decent D prospects there for depth as well, like Trevor Murphy, Fred Allard and Alexandre Carrier.
The Penguins’ system isn’t incredibly deep. They have a couple of good forwards though. I’m a huge Daniel Sprong fan, and while he’s their best trade piece, I can’t imagine Pittsburgh is going to want to be rid of him quickly. In limited time this season, 2017 fifth-round pick Jan Drozg has shown signs he could be an intriguing NHL prospect. I’m unsure about Dominik Simon and Zach Aston-Reese being impact NHL guys, but they’re at the least worth a mention for interested clubs. The one place they can trade from a position of strength is in net. Despite his poor season in 2017-18, Matt Murray remains highly touted, Tristan Jarry has been great as a pro and Filip Gustavsson in Sweden is one of the better NHL goalie prospects. A player like Gustavsson could be trade bait.
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Tampa is in an interesting spot. They have a deep system of solid prospects but don’t have one true high-end guy outside the NHL. Teams looking to their system will have plenty of options and different kinds of players. Want a skilled playmaker with size? Alexander Volkov is your man and is the top guy in their system for me right now. Want a hard-worker with some touch? Boris Katchouk. A reliable two-way center? Brett Howden, Mitchell Stephens and Anthony Cirelli. A winger with great speed and solid skill? Mathieu Joseph. A big winger with good sense and goal-scoring ability? Taylor Raddysh. A big puck-moving defenseman? Cal Foote. A solid two-way defender? Libor Hajek. Connor Ingram is a nice goalie too. There were others I didn’t mention as well, but the point is selling teams have a lot to pick from here depending on what they value and/or need.
The Blues’ system is rich in highly talented forwards. Robert Thomas is likely off limits in any deal barring an elite player being moved, but there’s still a lot after him. Jordan Kyrou and Klim Kostin are two other highly talented teenagers, Tage Thompson is a talented big man who has seen NHL time this season, and 2014 sixth-rounder Samuel Blais has skyrocketed in his development and is now a top prospect. Ville Husso is one of the top goalies outside the NHL. Their system isn’t incredibly deep, but all those players named are high-end prospects. Their 2012 first-round pick Jordan Schmaltz has yet to turn the corner and could benefit from a change of scenery.
The Jets’ system is deep with a lot of their top guys being NHL ready or nearly ready, as their AHL club Manitoba has run teams over this season. Center Jack Roslovic, now up with the Jets, and winger Kristian Vesalainen over in Finland are their top prospects and would likely command a ton. After them, though, winger Mason Appleton and defenseman Sami Niku are close to the second tier of NHL top prospects. They have a few other interesting pieces in Manitoba too, like forwards Michael Spacek, Jansen Harkins and Chase de Leo, but they’re not as high-end. Former top prospect Nic Petan might benefit from a change of scenery, as he’s been a quad-A player for the Jets. Goalie Eric Comrie is also having a very good season in the A and is on the cusp of NHL time. Defenseman Dylan Samberg is trending up but is quite young and a few years away. The development of former first-round pick Logan Stanley hasn’t gone as planned and would be a serious gamble as a prime trade chip.
Most of Toronto’s top young talent is on their farm team or just called up and contributing to the team — such as Travis Dermott and Kasperi Kapanen — so they are likely not trade bait. Defenseman and first-round pick Timothy Liljegren’s high skill level and transition to the AHL at 18 likely keeps his price out of range for suitors. That leaves forwards Andreas Johnsson and Jeremy Bracco, as well as defensemen Andreas Borgman, Calle Rosen and Rinat Valiev as intriguing options for teams. Carl Grundstrom in Sweden and goalie Joe Woll in college are also interesting options. I know a lot of scouts have been buzzing about big defenseman Fedor Gordeev as well out in the OHL.
(Top photo credit: Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports)
