Where every Canadian NHL team stands ahead of the trade deadline

Mike Gould
Mike Gould
Where every Canadian NHL team stands ahead of the trade deadline
Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

We continue to provide at least one Trade Deadline focused story on Daily Faceoff every day leading up to the March 8 deadline. Today: checking in on the status of each Canadian NHL franchise.

2024 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 5 days

Calgary Flames

Status: Sellers

The only problem with designating the Flames as ‘sellers’ is that they don’t actually have much selling left to do. Out of their much-discussed group of seven pending UFAs, the Flames have already traded four and re-signed one. That leaves Noah Hanifin and Oliver Kylington, the latter of whom is extremely unlikely to move before the March 8 deadline.

Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, and Chris Tanev are gone. Hanifin will soon be, too, although everything thus far indicates that he isn’t giving the Flames much leeway in trade discussions. The Flames won’t let him go for nothing in July but they might not get top dollar for him at this point. You can read more about that here.

It’s also worth considering the curious case of Jacob Markstrom, who is very much not a pending free agent but has reportedly still drawn interest from teams in need of a goaltender. The New Jersey Devils are an obvious fit for a goaltender of Markstrom’s ability and track record, although his $6 million cap hit might prove unwieldy without retention (he also has a full no-movement clause). Nothing all that meaningful has materialized on the Markstrom front — yet — and those discussions might be more productive in the summer. But the Devils haven’t given up their pursuit, and Markstrom has publicly expressed his discontent with the situation. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Edmonton Oilers

Status: Buyers

The Oilers will be in a Stanley Cup window for as long as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remain with them, but they have a few more holes to fill than your typical Stanley Cup contender. Although their forward depth is OK, their defense is iffy and their goaltending tandem is pretty underwhelming.

Even so, most of the speculation around the Oilers leading up to the deadline has centered around an array of forwards, including Nic Dowd, Sam Carrick, and even Pavel Buchnevich. It’s downright terrifying to imagine Buchnevich on a line with McDavid or Draisaitl, or on a power play unit with both. The Blues have Buchnevich for another year after this one at a reasonable $5.8 million cap hit.

Another option could be Jordan Eberle, a pending UFA with the Kraken who spent the first seven years of his career with the Oilers. Eberle remains popular with Oilers fans and has been productive since arriving in Seattle, scoring 142 points in 216 games. Would Eberle cost much more than the Oilers’ own 2024 second-round pick?

It’s worth noting that the Oilers were believed to be one of the teams heavily involved in the Tanev trade talks with the Flames. Cody Ceci has struggled at times this year on the Oilers’ second pairing and would probably fare better on the third, but the options are becoming more limited with Tanev and Ilya Lyubushkin off the market. The best right-handed defenders available are believed to be Sean Walker and Matt Dumba.

Montreal Canadiens

Status: Sellers

Montreal is another seller that has gotten some of its work done early. They wasted little time in trading Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets and were handsomely compensated with a 2024 first-round pick. It really can pay to beat the rush.

Monahan was Montreal’s best trade chip, but Canadiens GM Kent Hughes still has plenty of pieces he could move this coming week. David Savard might be the most interesting one. The Tanev-like shutdown defender has another year after this one at a $3.5 million cap hit, so the Canadiens don’t need to hurry. The same goes for winger Josh Anderson, who reportedly drew significant interest last year but likely won’t now in the midst of an underwhelming season. He’s signed through 2027 at a $5.5 million cap hit.

The Habs could try to flip pending UFAs Tanner Pearson and Chris Wideman for low picks. They could also look at moving goaltender Jake Allen, who might be one of the top goaltending options available if the Flames end up holding onto Markstrom. But, once again, with Allen signed through next year at a $3.85 million AAV, they don’t have to make that move now.

Ottawa Senators

Status: Sellers

Who isn’t on the block in Ottawa? The Sens are on track to miss the playoffs yet again, this time under the watch of new owner Michael Andlauer and rookie GM Steve Staios. They have yet to make a single trade under this regime, which has a lot of work to do in the wake of Pierre Dorion’s blundering tenure in the big seat. It’s now been seven years without playoff hockey in Canada’s capital.

The main name to follow is Vladimir Tarasenko, who has been just fine in his first (and perhaps only) year in Ottawa. It seemed possible Tarasenko would be on the move this March from the moment he signed that one-year, $5 million deal with the Sens back in July. It appears downright likely at this point, although he may not command a first-rounder like he did last year.

There’s been some chatter around Jakob Chychrun but one would imagine an offer would have to blow the Sens away for it to even be considered, given that they parted with the No. 12 overall pick and two additional second-rounders to acquire him last year. Dominik Kubalik, with his 12 points in 53 games, has been a bust in Ottawa and could be traded for a low pick (if anything). But for now, all eyes are on Tarasenko — who, it’s worth noting, has a full no-trade clause in his contract.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Status: Buyers

The Leafs fired a shot across the bow on Thursday night when they traded for Ilya Lyubushkin from the Anaheim Ducks. It marked the second time in the last three seasons that they’ve given up a top-90 pick in the 2025 draft to acquire the Russian defender (Kyle Dubas parted with Nick Ritchie and a 2025 second-rounder to get Lyubushkin from Arizona in 2021–22).

In many ways, Lyubushkin feels a bit like a consolation prize for the Leafs after they struck out on both Tanev and Zadorov from the Flames. His underlying numbers with the Ducks have been brutal, but he’s familiar with Sheldon Keefe’s system and many of the other defenders on the roster (especially Morgan Rielly). It is what it is: a depth move.

First-year Leafs GM Brad Treliving loves tinkering with the bottom of his roster at the trade deadline. He did it constantly during his tenure with the Flames — sometimes in lieu of actually making meaningful upgrades to his team. Sometimes, you need more than just Nick Shore or Derek Forbort.

Treliving finally proved himself capable of making bigger in-season splashes in 2022 when he went out and got Tyler Toffoli and Calle Jarnkrok for his first-place Flames. Now, it remains to be seen what kind of moves he’ll make in his first go-round in Toronto. Even with Lyubushkin in the fold (albeit immediately hurt), the Leafs could probably use another depth defenseman to push one of Simon Benoit and William Lagesson out of the lineup, or a depth forward to use in place of Ryan Reaves. But how can you justify not going bigger, or even all-in, when Auston Matthews is pushing for a 70-goal season?

Vancouver Canucks

Status: Buyers

Under the management of Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin, the Canucks have developed a reputation as one of the most active teams in the National Hockey League. To put it bluntly, these guys make a ton of trades. This year has been no different.

Since the beginning of training camp, the Canucks have made seven deals with six different teams. They’ve sent players away and brought different ones back. It can be extremely difficult to make trades in the modern NHL, but the Canucks have cemented themselves as a clear-cut exception to that rule. They aren’t scared of making an impression.

That said, the biggest Canucks trade this season might be the one they didn’t make. Just on Thursday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the team engaged in trade talks with the Carolina Hurricanes about Elias Pettersson amidst a contract stalemate with the 25-year-old center. Friedman also confirmed Daily Faceoff hockey insider Frank Seravalli’s report that the Canucks then resumed negotiations with Pettersson ahead of the trade deadline, and voila, by Saturday he’d inked an eight-year extension with an $11.6 million AAV.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Pettersson’s extension ends up being Vancouver’s big deadline move. After all, they’ve already parted with plenty of assets to acquire Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Sam Lafferty, and Casey DeSmith. That’s a lot of buying for one team.

Winnipeg Jets

Status: Buyers

Sean Monahan has been terrific since being traded to Winnipeg on Groundhog Day, scoring six goals in his first 10 games with his new team. It’s early, and the playoffs will tell the full story, but the Jets have to like what they’ve seen after parting with their 2024 first-round pick to acquire the former Flames and Canadiens center. He’s come exactly as advertised.

But does that mean the Jets are done? They certainly don’t need any help in net: Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit have more than lived up to expectations there. They’re reasonably well-equipped on defense, with Josh Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo leading a group that also includes Brenden Dillon, Neal Pionk, and Nate Schmidt. And with Kyle Connor at full health, the Jets’ forward group is among the deepest in the entire league.

We’re designating the Jets as ‘buyers’ because, well, you never know. They certainly aren’t going to sell after giving up their top pick. But … what more do they need to buy? They can run four good lines, three solid pairings, and two strong goaltenders (one of whom will probably win the Vezina Trophy). If anything, they might stand to add another defender for insurance purposes, but, barring injury, this team doesn’t really need much else at this point. Management has done its job. It’s now up to the players to show they can carry this team deep into the playoffs.

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