With the hockey world’s eyes on the 2015 All-Star weekend, some find their minds pivoting to the next all-encompassing date on the hockey calendar: March 2, aka the trade deadline.
TSN’s Darren Dreger fans those flames, trotting out an intriguing “trade bait list.”
There are certainly some interesting names on that list.
Some would seem to be there because they may simply end up being too expensive to re-sign, possibly included Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Paul Martin. Others include players who are on fading teams, such as Jaromir Jagr of the New Jersey Devils. There are also examples of combinations of both, maybe most fittingly Cody Franson of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jagr is no stranger to trade deadline tumult, as he joined the Boston Bruins during their run to the 2013 Stanley Cup Final after the Dallas Stars recognized that they were a few strides behind the Western Conference playoff pack.
Dreger runs down the Canadian NHL teams’ likely trade deadline perspectives here, indicating that contenders will take a look but maybe not being super-aggressive. On the other hand, the Leafs and Edmonton Oilers are expected to pursue deals to work toward the future.
The Canadian dollar could hang over the heads of GMs of those teams, not to mention cap-conscious franchises in general. Read more about those concerns here.