Seravalli: Trade Deadline War Room – Metropolitan Division Objectives

The NHL’s 32 War Rooms have been active in the early part of 2022. The initial high-level meetings have been conducted between executives and their pro and amateur scouting staffs, charting a path toward the March 21 trade deadline, which is now less than six weeks away.

Marching orders are being formulated. With insight from team and league sources, here is a look at the top deadline objectives for each of the eight Metropolitan Division teams:

Carolina Hurricanes

Primary Objective: Beef up the blue line
Briefing: There is no eye in this Hurricane, no glaringly obvious hole to fill. Carolina could enter the playoffs (currently as the top seed) as fare well. But GM Don Waddell stated the Stanley Cup is the goal, not just a deep run. To that end, the ‘Canes top four is well positioned, but with Ian Cole sitting out Tuesday as a healthy scratch, and up and down play from Ethan Bear, it is possible to improve. The thing is, Carolina doesn’t typically nibble around the edges. They swing big. They have been linked to John Klingberg. Jakob Chychrun makes sense. With their cap situation, any transaction would likely have to be dollar-in, dollar-out, and they have previously discussed the idea of moving Skjei. He could well be the odd-man out. Though Nieddereiter would also have value as a rental flip and Carolina could use those assets (and cap space) to find their difference maker in a year without their first-round pick to trade.
Pieces potentially in play: Brady Skjei, Nino Niederreiter, Jack Drury, Ryan Suzuki

Columbus Blue Jackets

Primary Objective: More hard working talent
Briefing: The Blue Jackets seem to have lost their indentity, lost their intensity, their character that has been a staple of the franchise for so many years. That doesn’t fall at the feet of coach Brad Larsen. They have been on the wrong end of too many lopsided losses this year and change seems to be in order. We’ve reported that Jack Roslovic, Max Domi and Joonas Korpisalo are in play. That the hometown boy Roslovic could be on the move in such short order after his trade from Winnipeg indicative of the larger problem; when Roslovic isn’t appearing on the scoresheet, he is often barely visible on the ice. Columbus had been one of the biggest pains to play against in the league and that simply isn’t the case any more. With a large qualifying offer due this summer for 12-goal scorer Patrik Laine, Roslovic might not be the only player from that trade who the Blue Jackets might be willing to move.
Pieces potentially in play: Joonas Korpisalo, Jack Roslovic, Max Domi, Patrik Laine

New Jersey Devils

Primary Objective: Overhaul the goaltending
Secondary Objective: More talent at all positions
Briefing: Two years ago, MacKenzie Blackwood seemed to be the Devils’ pillar, another young netminder who could carry the load for a long time in a franchise that has only really ever known stable goaltending. He simply hasn’t been good enough. In the two seasons since, he has an .899 save percentage over 57 starts, which ranks 33rd of 36th goalies who started at least 40 games. Perspective: Mikko Koskinen is a tick higher at .900. The Devils have tried to surround Blackwood with veteran help (first Corey Crawford, then Jonathan Bernier) and neither have worked out. They either need to fix Blackwood or find a new No. 1, because they can’t hope to make the playoffs with an .886 team save percentage. GM Tom Fitzgerald has his eye on adding talent at all positions, and he has quite a few moveable pieces (see below) if he’d like to shake things up at the deadline beyond New Jersey’s UFAs.
Pieces potentially in play: Damon Severson, Pavel Zacha, Andreas Johnsson, Tomas Tatar, P.K. Subban, Jimmy Vesey

New York Islanders

Primary Objective: Goals
Secondary Objective: Left-shooting defensemen
Briefing: How did this happen? Running back the same back-to-back Conference finalist roster, sans Jordan Eberle, the Islanders seemed poised to pace the Metro. Yes, yes, yes – they can’t score. The Isles averaged 2.8 goals per game the last two seasons, and they’ve lost half a goal off that this year, down to 30th in the league in scoring while their special teams remained unchanged. Is this an anomaly, a one-off, a wacky pandemic-related write-off? The trouble is GM Lou Lamoriello mostly has the Islanders locked in long-term, with 12 players signed for each of the next two seasons beyond this one. Will the Islanders simply run it back next season? Or are changes in order? With Adam Pelech as their only viable defender on the left side under 40, that would be a good place to start.
Pieces potentially in play: Scott Mayfield, Semyon Varlamov, Cal Clutterbuck

New York Rangers

Primary Objective: Top 6 right wing
Secondary Objective: Reliable checking line winger
Briefing: Here’s the imbalance on Broadway: Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider on the left side, Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko on the right side. Stanley Cup contender on the left; lottery balls on the right. Thankfully for GM Chris Drury, as he navigates his first trade deadline, his arsenal is the envy of the NHL. He has cap space, a full array of picks, and a bevy of prospects to deal. The primary target (by a long shot) is J.T. Miller, who has already played right wing in New York. Reilly Smith also played for Gerard Gallant and would be a fit with Vegas’ need to unload cap space. The Rangers have also talked about adding a responsible checking line winger (think Ryan Carpenter in Chicago) to help round out the lineup. But keep an eye on Miller, as the Rangers would like a reunion and they can afford to sign him to an extension, too.
Pieces potentially in play: 2022 1st Round Pick, Kaapo Kakko, Braden Schneider, Vitali Kravtsov, Alexandar Georgiev

Philadelphia Flyers

Primary Objective: Give Giroux the proper send-off
Secondary Objective: Recoup on Ristolainen
Briefing: Claude Giroux is projected to play in his 1,000th game as a Flyer on March 17 against Nashville, which would provide the perfect bow for the captain to cap his career in Philadelphia ahead of the March 21 deadline. Giroux holds the cards with a full no-move, and though he’s done just about everything the Flyers could have asked, it seems like a longshot that he’d be back after this disastrous season. He may be the best pure rental player available at the deadline and will command a pretty package. In the meantime, GM Chuck Fletcher could recoup assets for Rasmus Ristolainen – even if it’s 60 cents on the dollar – for what appears to be a summer miscalculation. After that, it is less clear on how Fletcher will remake a core with quite a few long-term contracts and next to no identity.
Pieces potentially in play: Claude Giroux, Rasmus Ristolainen, Justin Braun, Martin Jones, Derick Brassard

Pittsburgh Penguins

Primary Objective: Backup goaltender
Briefing: Sidney Crosby’s squad is solid down the middle, they have enough depth scoring, and they are well-built for playoff hockey on the backend. If there’s one position requiring an upgrade, though, its backup goaltender – where Casey DeSmith has left a lot to be desired with an .892 save percentage this season. All-Star Tristan Jarry has been lights out. But that backup spot could be incredibly important insurance, in case of injury – or if Jarry somehow hits a mental block and melts down again in May. While some Pens fans have clamored for a reunion with Marc-Andre Fleury, another Blackhawks netminder might be more their speed: Kevin Lankinen, or someone of his ilk, with a similar cap and acquisition cost. Other than that, don’t expect a whole lot from Pittsburgh, because the Penguins aren’t going to be swinging big this deadline to expend future assets to bolster an in-flux core for short-term gratification. And they don’t have the cap space to do it, anyway.
Pieces potentially in play: Zach Aston-Reese, Casey DeSmith, Late-round pick

Washington Capitals

Primary Objective: Cup-caliber goaltender
Secondary Objective: Versatile forward depth
Briefing: Sense a theme here? The Capitals are the third of eight Metro teams that are in the hunt for a goaltender. The difference is their need is urgent. They want a starting, Stanley Cup-caliber goaltender – someone allows coach Peter Laviolette to sleep soundly at night – and they wanted him yesterday. They put on the full court press for Marc-Andre Fleury, but it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen. The problem they run into now is the same one the Edmonton Oilers have struggled with debating the position internally this season: the list of available and dependable difference makers gets thin in a hurry. It sounds like the Caps will also be getting an own-trade addition of Anthony Mantha just in time for the playoffs. Short of that, the Capitals could potentially be on the chase for an upgrade at forward, a jack-of-all-trades type that could help insulate some of their younger players like Connor McMichael. A near perfect stylistic fit: Montreal’s Arturri Lehkonen. He won’t come cheap, though.
Pieces potentially in play: 2022 1st Round Pick, Vitek Vanecek, Michal Kempny