Head coach Lindy Ruff (L) and general manager Kevyn Adams of the Buffalo Sabres (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The 4 Nations Face-Off presents a very rare occurrence in the NHL schedule; a two-week gap in the schedule for international play.
The last time the NHL paused for something this long in the middle of their season was during the last Olympic participation 11 years ago for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Whether one agrees with the set-up of this year’s NHL-backed tournament or not, it is forcing GMs to possibly move up their trade timelines. 28 out of 32 teams will be off from February 9 to the 22; leaving less than two weeks to prepare for the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.
This has teams around the league moving up their pro scouting meetings to begin narrowing down their trade boards.
“We already saw that teams are trying to get ahead of it with all the trades that went down before the Trade Freeze,” told RG a Western Conference source. “We saw some teams try to get their shopping done early last season; I think Lindholm and Monahan were traded in the first week of February? And they didn’t have the 4 Nations to deal with.”
But the issue with trying to identify early trade targets is that the NHL has some of the highest levels of parity it has ever seen, blurring the line between buyers and sellers like never before.
Parity Made More Complicated
Just to give you an idea, there are six points separating the Boston Bruins, who hold the first wild card spot, from the next seven teams behind them.
Four of the six teams behind the Bruins have at least two games in hand to play, meaning the Eastern Conference only really has one team that is looking like they’ll, once again, be sellers this season: the Buffalo Sabres.
In the Western Conference, things are a little more clear; with the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators firmly seen as sellers.
That’s not a huge pool of talent to choose from, and it’s already making things a little more difficult from a trade valuation perspective.
“It’s a unique year,” said a source from the Eastern Conference.
“Usually, teams will wait to see what happens in February before deciding to make moves. But, with the 4 Nations smack in the middle of the month, January looks like the most influential month this year. We’re going to have to change things up this year.”
With the shortened amount of apparent sellers at this point, due in large part to mid-season surges from the likes of the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings, the pickings are currently rather slim.
Bite The Bullet or Wait?
Some GMs, like Canadiens GM Kent Hughes, have indicated that they remain committed to their rebuilding plans, but other clubs that were previously seen as sellers, like Detroit or Ottawa, may now also become buyers themselves.
It’s created a sense of urgency across the league to start having serious conversations early.
That isn’t to say that there will be a whirlwind of trades before the 4-Nations Face-Off, but it has certainly changed the dynamic.
Some teams without a plentiful amount of trade assets and cap space, like the Florida Panthers or the Edmonton Oilers, may simply opt to wait it out until the return of the 4-Nations.
However, given the parity in the wild card races, one source believes that some mid-tier teams like the Boston Bruins or the Vancouver Canucks may look to make some adjustments to stop their slide down the standings.
“I’ve heard Boston and Vancouver are two teams that have been working the phones aggressively to try and change their fortunes,” said the Western Conference source. “Toronto, Washington and L.A. are already out there sniffing around for help on defense as well. They’re all receiving the same two answers; either it’s too early or the prices are high.”
Despite there being 10 clear buyers in the league at the moment, they woefully outnumber the list of available sellers. The next five weeks will be some of the more interesting; as some teams may not be able to afford to wait until the playoff picture clears up.
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Marco D'Amico
