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Sports Editor: Tom Dunford

Email: tdunford@umassd.edu

It’s the best time of the year for hockey fans. 

The NHL trade deadline day, or trade deadline week, sees players of all talents and ages get shipped to a new city. Some teams accept their season as a defeat and offload talent for prospects and draft picks, while others get one last jab at acquiring that missing puzzle piece for a deep playoff run. 

In this edition of trade deadline monitoring, we will look at five players who should be traded on deadline day and what team they should go to. 

Juuse Saros – Carolina Hurricanes

It’s been a year of what-ifs for the Nashville Predators.

They have a record of 34-25-2, good enough for ninth in the Western Conference. Playoff chances still reign supreme, but this core is not good enough to get past top talented teams like the Vancouver Canucks or Dallas Stars, who they’d likely be facing in round one.

Instead of risking an early exit in the playoffs, the Predators will cut their losses and trade the Finish goaltender Juuse Saros. The former fourth-round pick has started in forty-four games for the Preds, posting a poor goal saved above expected (GSAx) of -4.8 and goals against average (GAA) of 3.02. In the final year of his contract, now is the best time for the Predators to get supreme assets for the Allstar netminder.

The perfect team is the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes are in a prime position to make a deep playoff run, as they are expected to be one of the favorites for the Stanley Cup; however, the issue resides in goaltending, which is the most critical position for a team come playoff time. 

The team has started five goalies this season, mainly Pyotr Kochetkov and Antii Raanta. Both have played well below early season expectations, and with the draft capital to burn, now is the time for the Canes to go out and get their netminder for the playoffs and potential future. 

Adam Henrique – Boston Bruins

It’s been a strange season for the Boston Bruins. 

This time last year, they were breaking records that were seen to be untouchable, running two Vezina-caliber goaltenders and a team that looked like the Avengers. This season? It’s been a year, that’s for sure.

The Bruins currently sit first in the Eastern Conference with a record of 34-12-11, but it still feels like the squad could be more satisfied. Some key players, such as Matt Grzelcyk and Jake DeBrusk, have misplayed in second-year head coach Jim Montgomery’s system, and with hopes of not having a repeat of last year, the team will look to add a physical, grit-grinder at the deadline.

Who better to go after than 6’0, 195-pound center Adam Henrique? Henrique has registered 36 points in fifty-five games with a bottom-tier offensive team in the Anaheim Ducks. He’s also capable of laying out the body, registering 52 hits and 48 shot-blocks. Henrique also has plenty of playoff experience, as he was able to help lead a young New Jersey Devil’s squad to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. 

He may be old, but Adam Henrique has experience and skills that Boston will look to acquire. 

Noah Hanafin – Dallas Stars

The Calgary Flames are in a challenging situation, being too good to tank but needing to be better to make a deep playoff run. Big names have been floating around in trade talks, and the Flames will look to trade the 6’3, 207-pound defenseman Noah Hanafin.

Hanafin is in the last year of a six-year deal he signed in 2018. He’s struggled offensively, scoring 30 points in fifty-seven games, but his defensive awareness is still one of the best. His versatility allows him to play in all three zones on the ice and log long minutes, and he is a certified game-changer. Calgary would miss his talent, but for the haul he could receive, it may be worth it.

Who better to deliver that trade haul than the Dallas Stars? 

The Stars have dealt with injuries all season, losing puck-blocking defenseman Jani Hakkanpa and Miro Heiskenan long-term. Gaining a top talent like Hanafin could bolster a solid defensive core and allow them to get that final piece to push them over the edge. 

Dallas has one of the best goaltenders in the game, Jake Oettinger, and giving him another big body in front will help Oettinger and the rest of the team gain confidence.

Calgary will demand a big-time package for the talent, and Dallas will be willing to pay. But Hanafin won’t be the only Flame traded this deadline.

Jacob Markstrom – New Jersey Devils

“When we get saves, it’s much easier to win.” Jack Hughes made this statement after a 3-1 victory against the Seattle Kraken, which remained valid until deadline day.

To put it bluntly, New Jersey’s goaltending has been a train wreck. 

They have started three goaltenders, and each one has failed to be the answer New Jersey has desperately been searching for in the net. Vitek Vanacek has posted an abysmal -11.2 GSAx, with a GAA of 3.18. Nico Dawes hasn’t been much better, posting a -1.2 GSAx and 3.32 GAA. This Devils team is too good not to be a cup contender, and one of the major problems comes in the net.

Who better to acquire than a former Vezina winner standing on his head in Jacob Markstrom?

Markstrom has been lights out this season, boasting an impressive 18.1 GSAx 2.58 GAA. He’s locked into a solid contract with a cap hit of six million dollars for the next two seasons. He can be the Devil’s answer for not just now but multiple seasons. 

A trade that involves hefty draft capital may seem risky, but winning heals all wounds, and Markstrom would be an essential part of the Devils’ team. 

Vladimir Tarasenko – Tampa Bay Lightning

This feels like deja vu. 

Just one year ago, Vladimir Tarasenko was seen as a solid playmaking winger who could help with playoff depth and experience for a deep-cup run. Flash forward a year later, and he’s in the same boat. 

The former Stanley Cup winner has notched 37 points in fifty-two games with a struggling Senators squad, and though his offensive production may seem down, someone is bound to bite due to his talent level and cheap cost.

The Tampa Bay Lightning feel like they are the team that could utilize Tarasenko’s strengths and give themselves one last chance at a deep cup run. The Lightning sits in the second wild card spot with a record of 30-23-5, but it feels very underwhelming for the club. This team has been perceived as a threat year in and year out, as they were able to win back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 and then lost in the final to the Colorado Avalanche in 2022; however, the past is in the past, and the team has been a shell of itself this past season. 

Getting a player like Tarasenko to plot next to the superstar in Nikita Kucherov will do wonders for the Lightning organization, especially since this feels like their last dance. The team will have to choose to resign 10-year captain Steven Stamkos, who will be a free agent this offseason. 

With players aging and a core hanging on by a thread, now is the time to go all in.