Hockey!

Trying to keep this blog mostly about health care and medical school, but hey, I'm Canadian, I have to talk about hockey sometimes!

The NHL's trade deadline is approaching with a lot of speculation and, aside from a blockbuster between Winnipeg and Buffalo, there hasn't been much movement. This year has been touted as a potentially active trade deadline as there are number of mid-to-high profile free agents coming up as well as more than a few teams trying to do a top-to-bottom rebuild. Buffalo, Carolina, Ottawa, Arizona, and Toronto are all doing an overhaul. Edmonton and New Jersey should be as well, though they seem less eager to make the necessary changes.

Yet, the fact that there's high interest in selling doesn't mean there's a high interest in buying to match. Some playoff teams are limited by the salary cap (Boston, Chicago). Several are in the midst of a rebuild and unwilling to give up anything major for a rental player or another team's rejects (Winnipeg, Calgary). A few teams are skeptical about their playoff chances with their current core and probably won't make any real sacrifice to go deeper in the postseason (Vancouver, San Jose).

Right now, I see Detroit, Montreal, Tampa, Nashville, and Anaheim as the major potential buyers, and none of them seem overly eager to spend much. They're all well set up for the next half-decade and they don't want to risk those bright futures. It's a buyers market.

For teams looking to unload assets, they may have to be prepared for a low return. Not a great position to be in for rebuilding teams.