Dedicated to the Boston Bruins Which Is More Likely? 2024 Playoffs + Trade Deadline Edition.
Less than two months remain until the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8th, which means it’s time to start thinking seriously about which teams might be making trades and purchases in the upcoming weeks.
There are now just a few teams that are obviously out of the postseason race, so it is still very much a seller’s market. As long as they have a chance to make the playoffs, no one will want to end their season too soon.
So let’s look at ten well-known teams from the league who fit into one of those two groups, as well as perhaps a few that are still undecided about their future course.
As their rebuild continues, the Blackhawks have lived up to predictions this season by being among the poorest teams in the league. They have lost most of their best players due to a cruel combination of an undermanned roster and a string of injuries, including rookie and first overall pick Connor Bedard.
Their track record together with the fact that they are a rebuilding squad will make them one of the front-runners come deadline day.
Chicago has one big obstacle to overcome: with all the injuries, it doesn’t have much to sell at this time.
The front staff views Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson as essential senior pieces who just inked short-term contracts, but their best veteran, Seth Jones, has a contract that is difficult to manage during the season.
With an ACL tear, Taylor Hall is gone for the season, making him perhaps the most desirable trade asset in this situation.
Given the number of contenders that require goaltending depth, the most sensible trade candidates are presumably defenseman Connor Murphy and veteran goalkeeper Petr Mrazek. Murphy is still under contract for two more years at a salary of $4.4 million annually, but Mrazek is set to become an unrestricted free agency this offseason.
Though those are the most apparent options, if the price is right, the Blackhawks should be open to trading for nearly any player on the roster, save for players like Bedard, Luksas Reichel, or Kevin Korchinski.
