15 - Kris Letang
Kris Letang has struggled in Pittsburgh, and the Penguins are looking for forwards and cap space. A Letang trade would do both of those things for Pittsburgh. He has a big contract but with the type of defenseman he is, they could get some interest from team like the Detroit Red Wings, who still need a #1 defenseman. In the end, if the Penguins get an offer including 2 forwards and maybe a top prospect and/or 1st round pick for a guy who's struggling and has had injuries, they'll have to consider it.

14 - Anton Slepyshev
I can't tell you why the Oilers would trade Anton Slepyshev. I'm not saying it's a terrible idea, i just don't see why they'd do it. However, recent rumours say that an Anton Slepyshev trade is quite likely, and it seems like the Oilers may even be shopping him. So in the end, he's gotta at least be considered for this list, and also, the Oilers could get a pick for a guy they don't really need, as he has potential to be a top 9 forward for some team, whoever that may be.

13 - Ryan Spooner - Traded
The Boston Bruins have a lot of young players, and Ryan Spooner has a lot of potential on another team, but has kind of struggled in Boston. If they can get a good return for him, they will likely take it. Spooner was involved in a lot of trade rumours in the offseason, though that has quieted down a bit. But that's often when a player is traded. After all the rumours stop.

12 - Luca Sbisa
The Vegas Golden Knights have a pretty deep defence, and though they don't have a #1 defenseman, they have a deep defence, and could move out a bottom pairing guy like Sbisa. Sbisa is on the last year of his contract, and it would give them an extra lineup spot, and he is not really a huge part of their team right now. He likely won't be re-signed, so whether the Knights are in the playoffs or not at the deadline, they could look to move him. It doesn't even look like much of a deadline deal, it looks more like a deal made sooner if it happens. They could get a good return from a team looking to add another bottom pairing defenseman.

11 - Alex Galchenyuk
Alex Galchenyuk and the Montreal Canadiens have struggled recently. If the Habs can get a player that's a better fit for them in a Galchenyuk deal with a team where Galchenyuk plays really well, it would be a win-win for both teams.

10 - Max Pacioretty
Max Pacioretty, like Galchenyuk, has struggled in Montreal recently. If they can get a top defenseman like Kris Letang, they would have to consider trading Pacioretty. Though they'd likely have to add to that deal, they'd still have to consider it. It's not that i think the Canadiens will trade both Galchenyuk and Pacioretty, but at this point it looks like they'll probably trade at least one of them.

9 - Patrick Maroon - Traded
If the Oilers are out of the playoffs at the deadline, they could look to trade Maroon to a playoff team as they could get a pretty good return for him. The question is: do they think they can sign Maroon? If they think they can, they wouldn't need to trade him, but if they don't think they can and they're out of the playoffs at the deadline, a trade would be very likely.

8 - Niklas Hjalmarsson
Niklas Hjalmarsson has struggled with the Arizona Coyotes and they have struggled as a team overall. Hjalmarsson could get them a pretty good return, as he'd likely be more valuable to a lot of other teams than he is to the Coyotes now.

7 - Ian Cole - Traded
Ian Cole has struggled with the Penguins and the Pittsburgh Penguins could be looking for a forward. Ian Cole could be the guy to move. Though it all depends what they get offered. If they get a good enough offer, they'll move him.

6 - Aaron Dell
Many people say Aaron Dell could be the next Scott Darling, as a backup getting his rights traded after the season and then re-signing with the team who traded for him, and becoming the starter, except one change: he'd be traded at the deadline, not after the season.

5 - Evander Kane - Traded
The Buffalo Sabres might go into rebuilding mode if they finish near the bottom of the league or even just if they miss the playoffs this year as year after year many expect them to finally make it, when year after year they miss the playoffs. Evander Kane might not be re-signed by the Sabres and if a) they don't think they can re-sign him at the deadline and b) they don't look like a playoff team at the deadline, they could move him as they could get a very good return for him.

4 - Shawn Matthias
Shawn Matthias has struggled in Winnipeg and hasn't been playing much, so the Jets could look to move him. We know that he is available for trade, and we also know that he can play a big role with some teams, but likely only if he's traded to another team.

3 - Brad Richardson
Brad Richardson could be moved as a rental if the Coyotes are out of the playoffs at the deadline. Some playoff teams may be looking for scoring for the playoffs, but won't want to pay a big price, so they could trade for Richardson at not too high of a price, and they could get lucky with that deal.

2 - Erik Gudbranson
Recent rumours say that Erik Gudbranson's time with the Canucks is pretty much up. The Canucks have a lot of defensemen to fit into their lineup, and he may even fall out of the lineup if they re-sign him. So its unlikely he's re-signed, so why not try to trade him to get something for him?

1 - Mike Green
The Detroit Red Wings are in rebuilding mode, and Green is a UFA after the year. They likely won't re-sign him, meaning a deadline deal is likely as a playoff team could give them a package including a 1st round pick for Green, which would really help the Wings.

How many of these are Eklund rumors?

And do you actually know if Hjalmarsson has struggled? Since he’s only played in 17 games this year, it’s hard to say that he’s struggled.

Spooner has actually played quite well since Cassidy took over as the coach. In fact he has 21pt in 38 games under Cassidy and since returning from injury has 7pt in 7 games.

you then later say that Detroit is in a rebuild mode and who could the use to trade for him

Yep, RAIF logic.

Sorry but i'm not quite sure what you mean by 'and who could the use to trade for him'.

However, recent rumours say that an Anton Slepyshev trade is quite likely, and it seems like the Oilers may even be shopping him.


What's your source? A shady website?

Like, all over the place. I've found this in many places.

You said Detroit would want to trade for Kris Letang, but then went on to say that they are in a rebuild mode. Those two situations don't make sense together.

I don't mean a 5-year rebuild, i mean more of a shorter rebuild. Green doesn't fit in with their plans IMO, though Letang gives them a big team need and some experience for the younger d-men. In a few years he'll still be a top defenseman IMO and Detroit really needs that.

They're not in a position to go through a short rebuild, unless they make some drastic changes. Most of their players are in their prime, are on basically untradeable contracts, and they're not good enough to contend. Zetterberg, Nielsen, Kronwall, Ericsson, and Daley are all too old, while Abdelkader, Helm, and Glendening aren't pieces you build around. Tatar and Nyquist are decent, but they're at the win-now points in their careers. They don't have very many good prospects, which is why they need to start tanking. Athanasiou, Larkin, Mantha, and Rasmussen are decent enough to begin the rebuild, but they have hardly any good D prospects besides Cholowski. Their goaltending situation is also in bad shape. Howard is getting older, Mrazek is inconsistent, and they have no good goaltending prospects. This team isn't something that can just be turned around in a couple years, especially not with just the single addition of an aging, injury prone Kris Letang.

What about Svechnikov?

Oh wait you're right. That one additional prospect is enough to accelerate the rebuild. /s

Svechnikov only has 9 points in 30 AHL games, so he's likely not going to be an integral part of any Red Wings team in the next 2-3 seasons.

Bertuzzi? He's supposed to be pretty good, isn't he?

He's looking better than Svechnikov right now. But you can't rely on all of these young prospects to accelerate your rebuild for you. You would need a larger mix of good, veteran talent which Detroit doesn't have. And they don't have the assets to trade for them either. Trading for Letang would require them to get rid of at least one of the prospects we've mentioned in addition to draft picks, so that would just set back the rebuild even further.

don't forget guys like Oullett, Nyquist, and Tatar.

Tatar and Nyquist should've been gone long ago. I personally find Nyquist to be overrated, but he could still fetch a first round pick at the draft or TDL. Tatar could bring back more on the other hand, but they still don't have the assets to get Letang. Most importantly, they don't even have the cap space.

Pittsburgh could retain salary or take some cap.

Nyquist and Tatar shouldn't be around for a rebuild. They are in their late 20s and should be traded ASAP. Ouellet is decent, but again, he's a depth guy and not someone that can help accelerate a rebuild. The fact that this team has no cap space, is terrible, and is years away from contending just shows how much Ken Holland has screwed up the team.

have you heard of 'trading guys with big contracts to teams who want them with lots of cap space'? i'm sure you have.

You're not going to get anything of value for the guys Detroit has...at least not anything that is going to accelerate the rebuild. Just because teams have cap space doesn't mean they want to take on players that aren't worth their contracts. Especially when those contracts go on for 3-5 more years. Teams would much rather give big money to their own prospects or free agents that are actually worth it. For some of those players, Detroit would likely have to throw in a sweetener in order for another team to take on that money.

Salary dump trades only work if the player has 1-2 years left, and if they're not actually making that much relative to their cap hit, i.e. Pavel Datsyuk to the Coyotes.

For a team looking for experience, Ericsson could be useful. Maybe Nyquist or Tatar could be traded for someone younger.

I got 21 points (if 15 points for #1 on the list to be traded, 14 for #2, etc)

nice try, Lao Che, but that point system is incredibly arbitrary, and 4/15 isn't a very good record.

Bro, you went 4/15. That's terrible.