Buyers and Sellers Guide For The NHL Trade Deadline – Pacific Division – Pt II

The trade that sent winger Tyler Toffoli from Montreal to Calgary last month is the first of what is expected to be many deals in the NHL leading up to the March 21st trade deadline. The race for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference is virtually non-existent with half of the regular season remaining, while only three clubs are realistically out of the race in the West.

The market leading up to the deadline will mostly be made up of rentals; players with expiring contracts that teams not battling for the postseason will want to get something in return for before they become free agents this summer. With most of the contenders right up against the $81.5 million salary cap, teams with available cap space and the ability to retain salary will also be in a position to acquire assets for the future.

Here is a look at teams from the Pacific Division and how they are situated leading up to the deadline:

San Jose Sharks

Buyer/Seller – Seller

Cap Space – $4.33 million

Salary retention slots – 3

Rentals available

F Tomas Hertl
F Ryan Dzingel
F Andrew Cogliano
F Alexander Barabanov

The Sharks contract termination of Evander Kane in January was in part to get out of the final three years of his seven-year contract, but the other reason was to open up cap space to re-sign Hertl (who is young enough to be a contributor when San Jose is ready to contend again), but if they are not able to get the 28-year-old center to agree to a new deal before March 21, the bidding war from contenders looking for a scoring center will be brisk. Cogliano and Dzingel are experienced depth forwards with low salaries that could bring back mid-round picks.

Seattle Kraken

Buyer/Seller – Seller

Cap Space – $7.33 million

Salary retention slots – 3

Rentals available

D Mark Giordano
F Calle Jarnkrok
F Marcus Johansson
F Riley Sheahan

Kraken GM Ron Francis has received some criticism for not doing the best job at extracting assets from teams before the expansion draft and signing players to long-term deals when his club is years away from competing, but Seattle can make up for that at the deadline by being the middle man in three-way deals. Even at 38 years old, Giordano is coveted by a number of playoff teams looking for depth on defense and could garner a first-round pick in return, while depth forwards like Jarnkrok could bring back a prospect or mid-round pick.

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Vancouver Canucks

Buyer/Seller – ???????

Cap Space – $3.15 million

Salary retention slots – 3

Rentals available

G Jaroslav Halak
F Alex Chiasson
F Tyler Motte

Players available

F J.T. Miller
F Brock Boeser
D Luke Schenn

The Canucks uncertain status is due to them remaining on the outskirts of the race for a Western Conference wildcard spot. New Team President Jim Rutherford has never been shy of making bold moves during or after the season, but rumors of potentially moving one of their best forwards in Miller with a year left on his deal do not seem likely. Boeser on the other hand has a high qualifying offer due this summer and is one year away from unrestricted free agency. Halak, Motte, and Chiasson could attract interest from clubs looking for depth.

Vegas Golden Knights

Buyer/Seller – Buyer

Cap Space – $4.37 million

Need – Depth defenseman

Assets to trade

F Zach Dean
2022 draft choices round 2, 3, 5 – 7
2023 draft choices round 1, 3 – 7

The Knights have moved all of their chips into the center of the table with the trade for Jack Eichel and are operating in the long-term injury world with veteran Mark Stone likely being held out for the balance of the regular season. Depending on the status of Alec Martinez (also on LTIR), GM Kelly McCrimmon might look for a veteran blueliner on a low salary to provide some depth for a potential long playoff run, but Vegas does not have much room to work with.