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Will all be quiet on the Western front?
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The National Hockey League’s trade activity before the two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break has dissipated and general managers have headed their separate ways with the deadline set for March 7.
While the plan for some league executives to head out scouting junior games or the American Hockey League, others will be heading to a beach for a rare chance to get some in-season relaxation with their families before the schedule resumes on Feb. 22.
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But their phones will be charged and never out of reach.
“My guess is it will slow down a bit now until the deadline,” a league executive told Postmedia on Monday.
It feels like there are two trade deadlines for NHL GMs this season.
The first came before the NHL started its much-anticipated break for the inaugural 4 Nations that gets underway here Wednesday night with Team Canada facing Sweden at the Bell Centre.
There was no shortage of activity in the days leading up to the break:
- The trade that started the ball rolling was on Jan. 25 when the Carolina Hurricanes acquired forwards Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche and Taylor Hall from Chicago in a three-team deal. Colorado received forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas, along with a second-round pick in 2025 and a fourth-round pick in 2026 from Carolina.
- The Philadelphia Flyers acquired forwards Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, a second-round pick in 2025, and a seventh-round pick in 2028 from the Calgary Flames for forwards Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee on Jan. 31.
- On the same day, the New York Rangers acquired forward J.T. Miller and defencemen Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington from the Vancouver Canucks for forward Filip Chytil, defenceman Victor Mancini and a first-round pick in 2025.
- Not to be outdone, the Vancouver Canucks picked up Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Danton Heinen, defenceman Vincent Desharnais, prospect Melvin Fernstrom and a first-round pick in 2025.
- That prompted Dallas GM Jim Nill to get into the action by picking up Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks for a first-round pick and a third-round pick in 2025.
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League executives say the talks were blazing hot in the week before the break when all the action was taking place, but they quieted significantly once all those deals were completed.
The break made some teams want to get out of the gate early because, when hockey resumes later this month, it will be a race for the playoffs and even some teams that are seven points back believe they can make a push.
The official trade deadline is only 24 days away. It should be noted that there is no formal roster freeze while the 4 Nations Face-Off is taking place, but commissioner Gary Bettman and the league’s head office don’t like deals that distract from a league event.
But if Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, who is in charge of Team Canada here, and Senators GM Steve Staios can pull off a blockbuster like they did involving goaltender Linus Ullmark less than 30 minutes before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final, anything can happen.
“If I’ve got traction on a deal and I’m ready to do it, I’m not going to let this tournament stop me from doing it,” a league executive speaking on the condition of anonymity told Postmedia. “This isn’t an obstacle, there’s not a roster freeze and it’s kind of like an extended all-star break.”
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The list of sellers is short at the moment while other teams have yet to accept the reality that they won’t make the playoffs and need to do what’s right for the future by acquiring assets instead of letting players simply walk away in free agency.
The Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Utah Hockey Club, Hawks and Sharks are ready to sell off assets.
The Predators, Sabres and Penguins were supposed to be contenders this year, but we’re told they’ve let GMs across the league know that they’re open for business except for some untouchables.
Players on those rosters can assist a contender to various degrees, but a league executive said the asking prices remain high.
That’s because the sellers still have to put bums in seats with about 25 games left on the schedule before the season wraps up in mid-April.
“The sellers like to wait before they dismantle their teams,” the league executive said.
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Most teams doing the shopping are either at or near the salary cap and need to wait as long as they can before they can add to the roster.
“Teams with cap issues have to wait until the last second,” the executive said.
The chatter won’t stop and we may see some action during this break. Making a trade now would allow the player time to get comfortable in a new city and give them time to make an impact down the stretch.
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