To Trade or Not To trade, That’s the Question

BY GREG BUCHANAN

The 2023 NHL trade deadline came and went, but no matter where your team is in the standings, you’re probably wondering something. Is what they did or didn’t do helping or hurting the team? Maybe you wanted your team’s GM to buy aggressively and look for that impact player that can put the team over the top. Maybe your team is near the bottom of the standings and needs to start looking ahead to next season and beyond. Or maybe you simply do not trust your general manager and want him to sit back and do nothing. No matter the situation, you have a vision for your team.

But what if that vision goes all wrong? We are going to take a look at the potential nightmare scenario for every team at the deadline. That could be anything from your team not getting the player or addressing the position it needs, a rival improving its roster by stealing the player you want, or perhaps a trade already made that ends up going poorly. The Toronto Maple Leafs already made their big pre-deadline move by getting Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues. In theory, it looks like a great deal for the Maple Leafs to get a center that has been one of the league’s best two-way players with a proven track record of playoff success for a championship team. Toronto desperately needs to find playoff success, and by adding somebody like O’Reilly that could be a significant addition. But O’Reilly has had an extremely down year (by his standards) and is a pending unrestricted free agent after this season. The nightmare scenario here is that O’Reilly is simply cooked, and Toronto fizzles out in the first round again against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It would be hard to imagine GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe getting another chance if that happens.

The Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland, has mostly sat on his hands at the NHL trade deadline and not given Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl the additional help they need. He cannot be patient. He cannot sit back. He has the two best offensive players in the world in their prime and playing at an obscenely high level. If he does not make a big splash at the deadline to help secure a definite playoff spot that will give them a chance to win the Stanley Cup, he will have failed miserably. He has to make a big move.

The Calgary Flames have been one of the league’s biggest disappointments this season and are now suddenly in danger of missing the playoffs. Is it a roster problem or a coach problem? The nightmare scenario here would be selling off players that are not the problem and sticking with a coach who is holding things back.

So now we wait as the stretch drive to the playoffs will determine what worked and what didn’t work.