Top 20 trade targets in play as market heats up

Hertl has emerged as the likely most in-demand player as we hurdle toward the deadline. With teams beginning to conduct midseason scouting meetings this week, Hertl’s name has already been a big topic of conversation. He is unsigned after this year, having a fantastic season – he’s on pace for a career-high 39 goals and leads San Jose with 16 strikes – and would provide a significant return for the Sharks’ future. The Sharks have fallen out of the race over the last month, and their playoff chances are looking slim (16 percent ). One team to keep an eye on in the Hertl sweepstakes: the New York Rangers.

2. Ben Chiarot
Left Defense, Montreal Canadiens
Age: 30
Contract: Pending UFA, $3.5 million AAV

There is no shortage of interest in Chiarot, one of the prime pieces who will almost definitely be plucked from the floundering Habs’ roster. St. Louis and Florida have already been linked to Chiarot. There will be others. That’s because there is hardly a Cup-contending team Chiarot would not improve: Vegas, Colorado, Washington or the Rangers. He is a minute-chewing, dependable defenseman who is also incredibly well-liked in locker rooms. Think about how hard the Winnipeg Jets fought to keep him – and how long it took the Jets to adequately replace him. Chiarot will have some modicum of control with both a 10-team “no trade list” and the ability to influence a deal with his interest in an extension.

3. Jakob Chychrun
Left Defense, Arizona Coyotes
Age: 23
Contract: 3 more seasons, $4.6 million AAV

With Chychrun on the list, the entire Coyotes roster might as well be. He was GM Bill Armstrong’s only "untouchable" last season, coming off an 18-goal campaign as a defenseman in a shortened season. Not surprisingly, Chychrun’s production has regressed as Arizona significantly pared down its roster in the race for Shane Wright. It’s easy to understand why teams would be circling around Chychrun, particularly with three more seasons of cost certainty for a young blue-liner at an inexpensive price. It’s more difficult to put together what Arizona would have to build around in future years if Chychrun is elsewhere. That’s also why the reported ask from Arizona has also been high.

4. Lawson Crouse
Left Wing, Arizona Coyotes
Age: 24
Contract: Pending RFA, $1.53 million AAV ($2.25 mil. minimum qualifying offer)

We swear we’re not going to list everyone on the Coyotes. In addition to Chychrun, there has been interest in Crouse, dating back to before the holiday roster freeze. The big, rangy winger has already bested last season’s production, and teams think he can easily be a plug-and-play 20-goal guy consistently with more support and situational deployment. One team that’s talked about Crouse is the Philadelphia Flyers.

5. Alexandar Georgiev
Goaltender, New York Rangers
Age: 25
Contract: Pending RFA, $2.425 million AAV

This is Georgiev’s first in-season appearance on the trade targets board, but he was a staple last summer after placing what we’d call a "soft" trade request with the Rangers. He let the team know he was open to a change of scenery, ready for a starter’s workload elsewhere. He’s not wrong: Over five NHL seasons, Georgiev has a career save percentage of .911. The league average is .905 this season. Igor Shesterkin is already one of the best goaltenders in the league. Yes, it’s more important than ever to have two trustworthy ‘tenders, but Georgiev seems to be an unnecessary luxury in New York at a time when other teams are dying for help in goal.

6. Joonas Korpisalo
Goaltender, Columbus Blue Jackets
Age: 27
Contract: Pending UFA, $2.8 million AAV

It’s the Elvis Merzlikins show in Columbus, now and for the foreseeable future. Merzlikins has carried the Blue Jackets – and next year begins a fresh five-year, $27 million deal. Plus, the Blue Jackets have Daniil Tarasov eventually waiting in the wings. Korpisalo has not put in a formal trade request, but GM Jarmo Kekalainen is aware that Korpisalo would be open to an opportunity to play elsewhere. Teams have engaged with Columbus on Korpisalo recently. He’s struggled these last two seasons – and carries an .881 save percentage over 10 appearances this season – but made a believer of many with his play in the bubble in 2019-20.

7. Jake DeBrusk
Left Wing, Boston Bruins
Age: 25
Contract: Pending RFA, $3.675 million AAV ($4.41 mil. minimum qualifying offer)

DeBrusk’s December trade request has been well-publicized, grabbing headlines and generating interest. More than a month ago, as many 12 teams were reportedly interested – and though he’s been needed in the lineup, Bruins GM Don Sweeney has been active in attempting to facilitate a deal and diffuse the situation. Sweeney went around team to team offering DeBrusk for another (mostly) maligned or imperfect player on that team’s roster, but to this point, he hasn’t found a deal that’s worked for the Bruins. So far, DeBrusk has five goals and four assists for nine points in 27 games.

8. Jack Roslovic
Center, Columbus Blue Jackets
Age: 24
Contract: Pending RFA, $1.838 million AAV ($2.21 mil. minimum qualifying offer)

Roslovic is a name that may surprise some. The Blue Jackets brought the Columbus kid home as part of the Patrik Laine for Pierre-Luc Dubois swap. Dubois has flourished in Winnipeg this season. Laine missed nearly two months and has four goals in 12 games. Roslovic started hot last season, with 29 points in his first 35 games as a Jacket, but he’s cooled off since then. This year, he has 14 points in 30 games. We’re told Roslovic is available in Columbus. Perhaps the biggest tell-tale sign is his ice time. It’s down nearly five minutes per game this season – a huge drop – from 16:54 to 12:19. Stay tuned.

9. Max Domi
Left Wing, Columbus Blue Jackets
Age: 26
Contract: Pending UFA, $5.3 million

Ah, yes, a third Blue Jacket inside the top 10. There’s no doubt the Blue Jackets are interested in moving Domi to a suitor before the deadline as an expiring contract. Properly slotted, he could be a fantastic addition for a playoff team in a middle-six role. Domi is three years removed from a 28-goal and 72-point campaign in Montreal. He’s undoubtedly been underwhelming in Columbus. If there is a silver lining, it’s that Domi has remained productive this season – with 15 points in 21 games – and he’s done it all at even strength with relatively limited ice time (13:37).

10. Reilly Smith
Right Wing, Vegas Golden Knights
Age: 30
Contract: Pending UFA, $5 million AAV

It’s still a little early to forecast what the Golden Knights might do to become cap-compliant once Jack Eichel is ready to return. Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon hinted at the time of the trade: “Sometimes you never return to full health …” While it’s true the Golden Knights may not return to full health – Max Pacioretty out indefinitely now – Smith is at the top of the list of the options Vegas has to deal. His contract is expiring. If Nick Foligno fetched one first- and two fourth-round picks, Smith should net a better return.

11. Nick Leddy
Left Defense, Detroit Red Wings
Age: 30
Contract: Pending UFA, $5.5 million AAV

At the right price, there will be considerable interest in Leddy, who has won a Stanley Cup and skated in four Conference Finals. He’s still only 30 and has already logged 808 career games. It’d be interesting to ask Barry Trotz if the Islanders miss him. He was a salary cap casualty on the Island, but he’s been just about exactly as advertised in Detroit. Leddy is dependable, steady and can chip in the odd point from the point as a capable second-unit power-play guy. Leddy has missed only a small handful of games in his career, and he’d be a solid option on the rental defense market.

12. Patric Hornqvist
Right Wing, Florida Panthers
Age: 34
Contract: 1 more season at $5.3 million AAV

It feels odd to have the third-highest-paid forward on one of the best teams as a trade target, but that’s actually why Hornqvist made the list. He was a great pickup for GM Bill Zito last year. This year, Hornqvist has fallen back to the least productive season (0.45 points per game) of his career. His minutes have been significantly reduced, down three minutes per game from last season, often whittled down to a fourth-line even-strength role with power-play time. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Zito, it’s that he finds a way to move out salary (Brett Connolly, Anton Stralman) to make room – and the Cats are going to need it with their dead cap buyout money doubling next season.

13. Rickard Rakell
Right Wing, Anaheim Ducks
Age: 28
Contract: Pending UFA, $3.789 million AAV

So many teams are curious about what the Anaheim Ducks will do at the deadline. They’ve hung tough in the playoff race, holding down the second wild-card spot based on points percentage. The Ducks are taking a methodical approach to replacing GM Bob Murray, so it may be interim GM Jeff Solomon (and assistant GMs Dave Nonis and Martin Madden Jr.) at the controls when making important deadline decisions on Rakell and pending free agent defensemen Josh Manson and Hampus Lindholm. Of those three potentially on the move, the smart money is on Rakell, who has eight points in 13 games to start this season. Teams are also wondering if Jakob Silfverberg may be available as well.

14. Phil Kessel
Right Wing, Arizona Coyotes
Age: 34
Contract: Pending UFA, $6.8 million AAV

Kessel has received praise from Armstrong for his work ethic, but it’s been a grind in the desert. He’s on pace for the lowest goal output of his career (13) outside of his rookie season. Could a trade potentially rekindle some of the Kessel playoff magic that nearly netted him a Conn Smythe Trophy? Arizona is stockpiling picks. There’s no way the Coyotes will hang on to him, and he’ll cost mere pennies in actual dollars, since his salary this season due by the Coyotes is just $850,000 ($150,000 paid by Leafs) – it could cost somewhere around $250,000 in cash plus acquisition cost to roll the dice on Phil the Thrill, depending on when the trigger is pulled.

15. Vitali Kravtsov
Right Wing, New York Rangers
Age: 21
Contract: Pending RFA, $925,000 AAV

The No. 9 overall pick from the 2018 NHL Draft has been on loan with KHL Chelyabinsk after refusing an assignment to the AHL in October. Kravtsov has six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 19 games since returning to Russia. New agent Dan Milstein has permission to find a new home for Kravtsov, but it hasn’t been easy.

16. Calvin de Haan
Left Defense, Chicago Blackhawks
Age: 30
Contract: Pending UFA, $4.55 million AAV

You can add de Haan to the list of rental defensemen who will be in play at the deadline. He’s struggled at times this season, like most of Chicago’s blue line, but would be an ideal third-pair option on a contending team. He is 20th in the NHL in blocked shots (1,005) since the start of the 2013-14 season.

17. Mark Giordano
Left Defense, Seattle Kraken
Age: 38
Contract: Pending UFA, $6.75 million AAV

Kraken GM Ron Francis notoriously plays his cards close to the vest, so there’s no telling how an expansion Seattle franchise might handle trading its captain at the deadline of its inaugural season. Francis is all class, so you can bet that if Giordano is moved, it will be somewhere he’s comfortable and could help in the Stanley Cup chase. Officially, Giordano has input by submitting 19 teams to which he’d accept a trade.

18. Dylan Strome
Center, Chicago Blackhawks
Age: 24
Contract: Pending RFA, $3 million AAV ($3.6 mil. minimum qualifying offer)

It’s been a tough haul for Strome this season, who has been trying to find his game after a season-opening healthy scratch. We reported then the Blackhawks, under GM Stan Bowman at the time, were working to try and find Strome a new home. Interim GM Kyle Davidson has continued the effort. Strome has three goals and five assists for eight points in 23 games. He’s two seasons removed from a 38-point campaign in 58 games during the COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 season.

19. Henrik Borgstrom
Center/Left Wing, Chicago Blackhawks
Age: 24
Contract: 1 more season at $1 million AAV

Like Strome, the Blackhawks are open to moving Borgstrom, whom then-GM Bowman took on Connolly’s contract from Florida just to get in a Blackhawks uniform. It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Borgstrom, who was in the COVID-19 protocol and then missed time with a non-COVID illness this season. He’s played mostly a third-line role with some second-unit power-play time – but has collected just two goals and three assists for five points in 20 games.

20. Evander Kane
Left Wing, San Jose Barracuda (AHL)
Age: 30
Contract: 3 more seasons at $7 million AAV

No shortage of ink has been spilled on Kane this season, who cleared waivers and was sent to the AHL by the Sharks in November after serving his 21-game suspension for submitting a fake vaccination card. So far, Kane has eight points in five AHL games with the Barracuda but has only played games in California. The Sharks have recalled eight forwards from the AHL since Kane was assigned there. Even with the Sharks being willing to engage a third-party broker to reduce his cap hit to one quarter of what it is now, there is a toxic stench following Kane as he tries to resurrect his NHL career, with the feeling his contract is destined for a summer buyout if a deal does not materialize.