2024 Western Conference team-by-team Trade Deadline Objectives

Credit: Noah Hanifin (© Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)

With less than two months remaining until the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline, we’ve got you covered with one deadline-focused story each day at Daily Faceoff.

Today we’re going to key in on each team’s top objectives in the Western Conference:

2024 Trade Deadline Countdown: 53 Days

Let’s break the Western Conference down into categories by their expected deadline posture:

The Buyers

Colorado Avalanche
Top Objective: Second line center
Scoop: The Ryan Johansen Experiment was a worthy one, but it hasn’t worked out according to plan. Thankfully for the Avs, the risk was appropriate, and he has one season left on his deal at a $4 million cap hit. But Johansen hasn’t vaulted Colorado’s second line center role into a spot commensurate with expectations – which is a second Stanley Cup in three seasons. Keep an eye on that. Avs GM Chris MacFarland also acknowledged on Frankly Speaking that Alexandar Georgiev is playing too much, so getting a ‘1B’ option in net will also be high on his priority list.

Dallas Stars
Top Objective: Less may be more
Scoop: What do the last two Stanley Cup champions have in common? Neither the Golden Knights nor Avalanche gave up a first-round pick at the trade deadline that year to add to their team. Take a look a look at this Stars roster and find the hole. It’s tough to do. There is no apparent weakness. They’ve survived stretches without Jake Oettinger and now Miro Heiskanen and they’re right there near the top of the West. If you want to nitpick, you might say one additional right-shooting defenseman would make sense. Dallas is so well positioned for the future, with Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque and a well-stocked cupboard. Unlike a lot of teams, they’ve got future capital to spend if they want. Do they need to?

Edmonton Oilers
Top Objective: 3C or 2RW
Scoop: There is more than one way to skin a cat, which is to the Oilers’ advantage here. They can go out and acquire a third line center, which would allow them to keep Ryan McLeod on the wing – where he has really blossomed. Or they can keep McLeod at center, where he can utilize his speed, and add a right-shooting forward who can help feed Leon Draisaitl pucks. It would be particularly advantageous if Corey Perry could be that guy for the Oilers near league minimum, which would allow them to retain some assets to fill elsewhere, such as by adding another true defender, or providing a steady tandem partner for Stuart Skinner.

Los Angeles Kings
Top Objective: Goaltending insurance
Scoop: Cam Talbot has been one of the NHL’s best stories this season, a true Comeback Player of the Year award candidate. But on a team with depth, the Kings could certainly use some goaltending insurance behind Talbot. For one, Talbot will need a break down the stretch. Two, he has an injury history. And three, neither Pheonix Copley nor David Rittich appears up to the task to spell him. It doesn’t need to be an expensive or big addition, but someone that can ensure their season doesn’t crumble if Talbot somehow falters. If that is solved, adding a third pair, left-shooting defenseman would be nice if Brandt Clarke or Jordan Spence isn’t going to move to the left side.

Vancouver Canucks
Top Objective: Top six forward
Scoop: Those are Jim Rutherford’s exact words. That’s what the Canucks are in the market for over the next seven weeks. It feels like more specifically that if Vancouver intends to keep Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller together that a proper second line center would be ideal. That would allow for some real lineup flexibility. Although, it doesn’t appear that the Canucks are locked in to pursuing only a center, that they will also allow the market to dictate where they may be able to improve the most relative to cost. They don’t necessarily prefer to move him, but Andrei Kuzmenko is an available trade chip to create requisite cap space to pull something off.

Vegas Golden Knights
Top Objective: Health
Scoop: A knight never backs down, never retreats, a motto that’s been engrained in the Golden Knights since their inception. So we don’t expect the defending Stanley Cup champs to sit out the deadline, even with their recent slide in the standings. Vegas could desperately use a bit of good fortune in the health department. They are banged up and now holding their breath on Jack Eichel’s injury. They’ve sorely missed Shea Theodore, plus William Karlsson clearly hasn’t been right this year. Their potential trade deadline plan will be a bit of a moving target until there is more clarity with regard to the injury list and how much money the Golden Knights may have to play with.

Winnipeg Jets
Top Objective: Second line center
Scoop: Adam Lowry has filled in admirably with Mark Scheifele banged up, but in a perfect world, the Jets are likely looking at adding a second line center that would keep Lowry nicely slotted at 3C. The Jets will have competition in their own division to fill that role (see: Colorado). If there’s one area the Jets have struggled, it is winning faceoffs, where they rank in the bottom five in the league on win percentage. Someone that could execute on key draws and also potentially contribute to a bottom quartile power play would be huge. Chemistry and character will be a key part of the equation for the Jets, who have enjoyed their best locker room camaraderie in years this year. It shows.

Hold the Line

Seattle Kraken
Top Objective: Listen to everything
Scoop: Few teams have played better over the last month than the Kraken, who are back in the Wildcard hunt on the back of Joey Daccord finally giving the franchise some goaltending. Given how far apart they appear to be from the contenders in the conference, GM Ron Francis doesn’t figure to be a buyer. This has been a methodical build. The bigger question: Will he be persuaded to be a seller? You could make the argument that makes sense for Seattle. They got a taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but a couple of defensemen in their early 30s have real value now. It probably won’t ever be higher than it is right now for Adam Larsson or maybe Jamie Oleksiak. Will Francis be listening?

Trending Seller

Arizona Coyotes
Top Objective: Stick to the script
Scoop: The Coyotes have competed their asses off this season. In a year in which they wanted to take a step forward, the Yotes are right in the thick of the playoff chase, one win a way from being in by points percentage. But the odds aren’t in their favor. As much as they’d like to get in and generate market buzz, the Coyotes as a whole aren’t deep enough to spend assets on a hope and a prayer. So, if they continue in this current position, expect GM Bill Armstrong to move their short-term signings (Matt Dumba and Jason Zucker) and potentially pending free agents such as Josh Brown and Troy Stecher to continue to stockpile for the future.

Minnesota Wild
Top Objective: Start plotting for next year
Scoop: Sometimes, it just isn’t your year. Minnesota collected points in 13 out of their first 16 games (10-3-3) under John Hynes before being absolutely crippled by injuries. Not many teams can withstand the loss of core pieces Kirill Kaprizov, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Mats Zuccarello and starter Filip Gustavsson all at once. The final Wildcard spot is still a glimmer of hope, but it feels a long way off. Now what? GM Bill Guerin isn’t one to sit on his hands. If he can find a trade that makes sense to help, he’ll do that. But if the Wild – coming off back-to-back 100-point seasons – aren’t within striking distance, you’ll see him move some pieces.

Deadline Central

Calgary Flames
Top Objective: Maximize value for UFAs
Scoop: Calgary has scrapped and clawed this year, bouncing back from a 2-7-1 start to a respectable 20-18-5. They are still outside of the playoff picture, with numerous teams to jump for one spot, and even if they got in, few would consider them a threat. The answer appears clear and obvious: the Flames need to sell off their rental pieces and maximize a return. The rub is that not everyone can go (Noah Hanifin stays?) since the Flames have desires on rebooting and being competitive quickly again. And it can’t all be futures, as the Flames should look to also get closer-to-NHL ready prospects and/or roster players that they believe can be part of the future. Buckle up.

The Sellers

Anaheim Ducks
Top Objective: This could get interesting
Scoop: Pat Verbeek is making magic happen. After adding top-five prospect Cutter Gauthier to go along with Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger and Jackson LaCombe, the future is undoubtedly bright in Orange County. Meantime, the Ducks have a few more pieces to sell off, including pending UFAs Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg. Will Verbeek draw the line there? Or is now the perfect time, for instance, to entertain a trade for someone like All-Star representative Frank Vatrano, whose value is likely at an all-time high? He’s got options.

Nashville Predators
Top Objective: Stay the course
Scoop: It must be tempting for first-year GM Barry Trotz to reward a Predators team that has competed and exceeded expectations. But the overall health of the Nashville Predators is in the hands of the former coach, and he hasn’t pulled punches in saying that the Preds are going to need a couple seasons. He also acknowledged that their cap friendly pending free agents are likely to generate some interest. Trotz will also get calls on some players with term, like Colton Sissons, pending RFA Dante Fabbro, and maybe even his goaltenders in Juuse Saros and/or Yaroslav Askarov. Is everything on the table?

St. Louis Blues
Top Objective: Cap and roster flexibility
Scoop: The Blues are nearly as close to the top of the Draft Lottery odds chart as they are the Stanley Cup playoffs this season. That’s a cold truth. And unlike last year, when they moved Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O’Reilly and Ivan Barbashev for big prices, GM Doug Armstrong doesn’t have much to sell. Yes, a salary cap increase is coming, but what the Blues really need is some cap and roster flexibility. Four defensemen on the wrong side of 30 are locked in for three seasons at a total of nearly $24 million. We know Armstrong tried to move Torey Krug. There has to be someone else, if not Krug, who can break up the logjam and get some younger, fresher faces on the back end.

Mr. Grier, Tear Down This Wall

San Jose Sharks
Top Objective: Begin the rebuild
Scoop: If that objective sounds odd, consider the Sharks have averaged a 27th place finish over the previous four seasons, and are on track to finish dead last this year – yet they haven’t really even begun the teardown yet. Yes, they’ve moved Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns, but the Sharks spent most of last summer still trading for players as opposed to trading them away. San Jose has one additional first and second-round pick. Their prospect pool is average, certainly not flush. And they still have quite a few salary cap anchors dragging them down, with no end in near sight. The worst part? The Sharks have already chewed up two of their retained salary transactions for at least this season and next, leaving just one – meaning they could only retain on one of Tomas Hertl or Logan Couture if they could find takers.

Dear God, Please Allow Us to Ice A Lineup

Chicago Blackhawks
Top Objective: Continuity for next season
Scoop: This week, the Blackhawks are icing a roster that includes just four forwards from their opening night lineup in October and they’re spending $15 million total on 13 forwards. They’ve been decimated by injury. They dismissed Corey Perry. And their franchise centerpiece, Connor Bedard, might be out until the trade deadline with a fractured jaw. The best thing they can do is continue to fill holes ahead of next season. GM Kyle Davidson started with re-signing Nick Foligno. Then he got a new deal done with Jason Dickinson. Goaltender Petr Mrazek is likely to be next. So unless there’s an offer than knocks their socks off, don’t expect Chicago to be selling off much. They need capable and competent bodies.

_____

Discover Betano.ca – a premium Sports Betting and Online Casino experience. Offering numerous unique and dynamic betting options along with diverse digital and live casino games, Betano is where The Game Starts Now. 19+. Please play responsibly.