The National Hockey League is about to hit the ice for its all-star game.
Yes, I am aware that the game might be the silliest all-star format in the entire world of sports, and is hardly worth the ink of this line in terms of news.
But the break does herald that the league is nearing its trade deadline on Feb. 26, and that event is far more interesting in terms of the league, or at least it holds the potential to be interesting.
Thanks in large part to the restrictions of a salary cap -- which means elite teams will face a tear down at some point when salary demands bump up against the cap necessitating trades -- there is a great deal of parity.
Parity tends to be a good thing in terms of games most nights being competitive. Only three teams have less than 40-points in the standings, and only one has more than 60 (as I write this on Jan 16), so the variance is rather low meaning teams are rather evenly matched.
But as the NHL rolls toward the trade deadline, it does leave me to wonder what teams are going to give up the chase this year in order to makes some deals toward building a better team down the road?
Of course to make a trade you not only need sellers, but buyers as well.
Among the Canadian teams, who those buyers will be is an interesting question.
The Winnipeg Jets are the top team among the Canadian contingent in the NHL. Since the Jets are my favourite team I am rather happy that the Jets are rolling, thanks largely to Connor Hellebuyck emerging as one of the premier goaltenders in the league.
Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele are also among the best in the game up front these days, and the team will only get better once Scheifele returns from injury the team essentially gets a trade benefit late in the season.
Analyzing what the Jets might want to add at the deadline, past Scheifele’s return doesn’t come up with a lot of holes to fill.
Calgary is sitting second in terms of points for Canadian teams. The Flames have surged of late, and are a nice blend of blueline depth, high end top line scoring, and now steady goaltending. However, a bit of added up front depth would be a bonus if they want to achieve a better playoff performance than last spring.
Next up are my Maple Leafs. Toronto has holes, the biggest being a need for a top-two blueliner, and if they want to compete in the east come playoff time they must find that player.
The remaining four Canadian teams are also-rans this season.
The Canucks started off strong in Vancouver but injuries showed their lack of depth. They have some vets that should move, but whether they make more than a cosmetic move is unclear.
Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal are all just a huge dumpster fire, and all should be lining up to toss veterans onto the trade roster, and that could make an interesting trade deadline for their fans, the only excitement fans of those teams will have this season.
In the meantime, enjoy the season, as it has been entertaining so far.
