Captains on the move
With the NHL trade deadline looming, some teams are finding themselves in an awkward position. Whether it’s due to a disappointing regular season campaign, or management looking to jump start a rebuild, certain clubs may have to make the difficult decision to move on from their current captains.
While the situation in Vancouver has been well documented with captain Bo Horvat openly being shopped around the league, he may not be the only captain to be plying his trade in a different city come playoffs.
The Detroit Red Wings added veteran pieces this offseason and despite that leading to early season success, they’re currently a long shot to make the playoffs and could be inclined to make captain Dylan Larkin available.
In Chicago, success this season will be judged based on how early they will be drafting in this year’s entry draft and what assets they can acquire with long tenured captain Jonathan Toews playing on the final year of his contract.
They’ll have to convince him to waive his no movement clause, and while many believe he would prefer to be a lifelong Hawk, he’s also known for being a fierce competitor and could potentially want a shot at another Cup as his hall of fame career comes to a close.
Buffalo is a young up and coming squad that looks to be heading towards contender status over the next few seasons. Perhaps they decide to let the young core develop into leaders and move on from Kyle Okoposo.
Over in St. Louis, Ryan O’Reilly (currently on IR) would be a dream addition to any team looking for a proven Stanley Cup winner to bolster their lineup. The offers for O’Reilly this trade season may blow the Blues management out of the water and help them turn the roster over from their Stanley Cup winning team and embrace a youth movement.
With Boston’s dominating start to the season a prime display of the importance of having center ice depth in today’s NHL, those names become even more attractive with Okoposo being the only one included who plays on the wing.
Take the defending champion Colorado Avalanche for example. As with most successful teams, they lost key depth this past offseason due to cap constraints, and are now fighting for a wild card spot. Being able to add one of those impressive pieces moves players down the lineup into roles they are better suited for (as well as helps them navigate their injury concerns) and immediately makes the Avalanche a serious threat in the postseason.
Every year there are teams like the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning who seem to find ways around the cap constraints as the playoffs approach, which allows them to add to their rosters. Perhaps this season teams like the Seattle Kraken and NJ Devils, who both are surprisingly safely holding playoff spots in their respective conferences feel like they’re playing with found money and would like to add a veteran piece to help their young squads get a taste of a deep playoff run.
This season’s draft looks to have a talented crop of young forwards who could make immediate impacts at the NHL level. That also means that teams outside of the playoffs should be clamoring to acquire as many dart throws as they can to potentially set their franchises up for the future. If that means making the tough decision to move on from their current leadership group, then that’s the price of doing business.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: Resolute. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.