Which Western Conference seller teams should blow it up at the 2024 Trade Deadline?

We’re bringing you at least one NHL Trade Deadline story every day at Daily Faceoff between now and March 8. Today, we look at the projected seller teams in the West and whether they should commit to full rebuilds.

2024 Trade Deadline Countdown: 54 days

On Sunday I examined the Eastern Conference teams outside playoff spots or on the bubble and whether each should go all-in on a rebuild posture. Today, we look at the West. Thankfully, we’ve already had plenty of storylines for some of the weaker teams this season, so that’s created even more different scenarios and game plans for this edition.

Anaheim Ducks

Trade Target(s): Trevor Zegras (C), Adam Henrique (C)
What’s the Game Plan?: Just, uh, keep doing what you’re doing, I guess

The Ducks briefly threatened as a playoff contender this season, but that was relatively short-lived, and now they’ve settled into the basement of the league and will look to sell off some expiring deals. But wait, what’s this? They’ve taken advantage of their deep defense prospect pool and moved on from Jamie Drysdale to add another elite forward prospect? Suddenly, that changes things in Orange County, as Trevor Zegras is now also on the trade block. He and Drysdale were arguably Anaheim’s top prospects three years ago, and now both players may be gone by the summer, and yet it makes sense. Zegras still has plenty of potential, which should give the Ducks a big return if they want to move on from him, and they still have the likes of Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, and Mason MacTavish down the middle. It’s a weird time to be a Ducks fan, but it also just goes to show how good they have been at drafting and developing.

And hey, they can keep adding to that pool as well. They have four pending unrestricted free agents they could move on from in Adam Henrique, Jakob Silfverberg, Ilya Lyubushkin and Robert Hagg, with Henrique looking like he’ll fetch the biggest return. They might even sell high on Frank Vatrano as well, which would be a smart thing to do considering the start he had. And it’s not like moving all those players will prevent the Ducks from taking that next step either, as they still have plenty of veterans to build around the young guys and can add a couple more in free agency if they want. It’s safe to say that the Ducks are sitting pretty right now and could be looking like a supermodel by the trade deadline.

Arizona Coyotes

Trade Target(s): N/A
What’s the Game Plan?: See what’s out there but keep competing

For the first time in a long time, the Coyotes are trying to be competitive and succeeding at doing so. They’re only three points out of a playoff spot and could still legitimately sneak in, all the while doing so with some solid young pieces leading the way. When talking about going too far with selling at the deadline, this is the kind of team that may hurt themselves more than help themselves by shopping all of their UFAs at the deadline.

Now, Bill Armstrong shouldn’t just turn off his phone for the next two months. He does have a few UFAs that could maybe get decent returns, especially if it means they can get some help on the blueline. Maybe you even want to sell high on someone like Connor Ingram if you don’t think he’s legit. But unless the return is well worth it, I wouldn’t actively shop players because then it just keeps the Coyotes stuck in mediocrity. They might not be at the point where they need to buy either unless it’s for a long-term option, but let this team try and take that next step.

Calgary Flames

Trade Target(s): Elias Lindholm (C), Chris Tanev (RD), Noah Hanifin (LD)
What’s the Game Plan?: Start selling off pieces and look to tank down the road

The Flames continue to be an enigma in the NHL. After looking like one of the best teams in the league in 2021-22, and despite managing to salvage the disastrous 2022 offseason that saw Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk leave, they fell off the map completely in 2022-23. While many attributed that to the toxic environment created by then-head coach Darryl Sutter, Calgary continues to be mediocre in 2023-24. Sure, they’re only two points out of a playoff spot, but they’ve played more games than everyone except the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Wildcard race, and if the Flames aren’t winning now with this core, what’s the point in keeping them around?

That’s why the Flames need to just take the loss with this group and start moving on, and this season is the perfect opportunity to reboot the team. They have their best center and two of their best defensemen on expiring deals, and while you could bring them all back, none of their age windows really fits in with where this team is going. You’ll likely get a haul for each player considering the value that he brings, and Lindholm and Hanifin in particular will likely come at hefty prices on their next contracts, and that’s not something that they want to commit to when they already have Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, and MacKenzie Weegar locked up long term for a lot of money.

It also doesn’t meant that you just have to tear down the team and only get prospects and picks. After all, they got Yegor Sharangovich in return for Tyler Toffoli over the summer, and he’s on pace to have his best season yet with the Flames. But that said, this team just doesn’t look like it’s going to make much noise anymore, so committing to a rebuild might be the best plan going forward. They’re already in position for a top 10 pick this season, so the sooner they sell, the higher up they can get this year and start bringing in future stars for this team to build around, instead of the underwhelming group they have right now.

Chicago Blackhawks

Trade Target(s): Petr Mrazek (G)
What’s the Game Plan?: You’re already this far, might as well go all the way

Never in my wildest dreams would I have predicted at this time last year that the Blackhawks would get Connor Bedard and still end up in a worse spot than last season. Don’t get me wrong, Bedard has been phenomenal, but he is very much on an island in Chicago and it’s shown how much work they need to do still. Even when they were healthy, there wasn’t much to work with, but their injuries have at least put them in the position that they should get a high pick.

It is unfortunate that the Blackhawks have lost out on some prospect/draft capital in the past year due to circumstances out of their control in Jonathan Toews’ health and Corey Perry’s contract termination, but they’ve still managed to secure a decent amount from last year’s deadline. That’s good news because it’s looking like Chicago may only get anything significant out of Petr Mrazek this year and maybe Jason Dickinson out of their pending UFAs, and maybe you jump on moving Philipp Kurashev after his production bump from playing with Bedard.

But, the Blackhawks have shown the issue with going too far when you tank, because suddenly you have the best young player in the game and nothing else to really work with. At least Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews had other elite young talent when they stepped into the league. It doesn’t help that a lot of their prospects haven’t quite taken the next step outside of Frank Nazar’s play at the World Juniors. The good news is that there’s a pretty decent free agency pool next season, so if you manage to snag Macklin Celebrini this year, you may be able to draw some big names like Jake Guentzel, Sam Reinhart, or Steven Stamkos to play beside them, and they’ll have a lot of cap space to do so. So there’s still some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of not completely draining this team of veteran presence down the road, even if you decide to do that this season.

Minnesota Wild

Trade Target(s): N/A
What’s the Game Plan?: See what’s out there but keep competing/try again next year

Look, we all know why the Wild haven’t quite gotten back into the playoff race yet. They had bad goaltending to start the season, and they’ve been dealing with a ton of injuries all year, so it’s been difficult to really get some momentum going. But, they are under .500, which at this stage of the season isn’t ideal.

Personally, I wouldn’t get too caught up in moving pieces this season unless the price tag is good if I was the Wild. This is still a playoff team when healthy and getting not-horrendous goaltending, so even if you just punt this year and prepare for next year, it isn’t going to cost you too much. And while they shouldn’t lean on the Parise/Suter buyout penalty excuse too much, that is a massive obstacle that leaves little margin for error, so they were bound to have a year where it just didn’t work. But certainly don’t do anything crazy like trade Joel Eriksson Ek just to react to this season.

Nashville Predators

Trade Target(s): Alexandre Carrier (RD)
What’s the Game Plan?: Sell off some expiring contracts and keep rebuilding

The Preds appeared to be starting a rebuild once Barry Trotz took over the team with some of the moves they made in the offseason, and yet they’ve managed to stick around in the playoffs and remain in mediocrity. There is still a bit more of a future in sight compared to last season, but they’re still a ways off from being a Cup contender again.

Nashville also just doesn’t have a ton of pieces to sell off that would bring in the kind of haul that they’d want to commit to a rebuild. Carrier and Tyson Barrie might be their biggest pieces, and the latter’s value has sunk pretty low after a series of healthy scratches and the team basically waving the white flag and admitting that they want to trade him. Maybe they move on from other slightly younger pieces that are pending free agents like Dante Fabbro or Tommy Novak, but this deadline doesn’t really have a lot of potential for big moves for the Preds (unless the Tampa Bay Lightning want to trade all of their draft picks again). Considering that the Preds are also competitive and there’s some legitimacy to their play, there really isn’t a wrong strategy for them this deadline, or at least not one that will alter the franchise.

San Jose Sharks

Trade Target(s): Mike Hoffman (LW), Kevin Labanc (RW)
What’s the Game Plan?: You’re already this far, might as well go all the way

I’ve mentioned that rebuilding teams need to try and not cross the line when tanking where they strip away so much that it creates a toxic environment for their young players as they enter and develop with the team. The Sharks crossed that line and haven’t looked back this season, so much to the point that they admitted that it hasn’t been great for their mental health.

It’s also created the problem where the environment has spoiled a lot of the Sharks’ possible trade assets. Sure, people know that Mike Hoffman has the potential to be a power play specialist or that Kevin Labanc may just be a fresh start away from regaining some of his past form. But do you think they’re going to pay for that type of player with how they’ve been for the Sharks this season? Of course not. Even Anthony Duclair looks like a shell of his former self on this team, and he had 11 points in 20 playoff games last year. Unless you try to sell high on Mikael Granlund, you’d be better off running this roster back next year and hoping for a slightly less cursed season to recoup decent assets for them.

But at the same time, it can’t get much worse than this. So while the Sharks have crossed the point of no return for tanking, they also probably won’t cause any more damage by selling what they can. The only reason they shouldn’t is because they should try their best to make sure that none of their top prospects get anywhere close to this team.

Seattle Kraken

Trade Target(s): N/A
What’s the Game Plan?: See what’s out there but keep competing

After a rough start, the Kraken are back in the thick of the playoff race despite the fact that most of their insane scoring depth from last season has vanished. A lot of it has come in the wake of Joey Daccord’s recent success, although it hasn’t exactly been a PDO bender either since their underlying numbers do look decent.

It is an interesting point in the Kraken’s season, and maybe even in their road to consistently being a competitive team for the next several seasons, because this is a team that can make some noise if their offense gets going again. But there’s also a lot of ifs, and a deep draft could mean that they get another really talented prospect to join Matty Beniers and Shane Wright as the core to build around.

Ultimately, it might be the best idea for the Kraken to look at what they can get for some players, but not completely clean house, especially since they don’t exactly have a ton of pending UFAs that jump off the page this year, whether that’s because of their play this season or their cap hits. If you make the playoffs, perfect. If you don’t, it is a deep enough draft that you’ll still get a good prospect in that top half of the draft. It all just depends on how much Ron Francis and management believe in this group, especially the surprises.

St. Louis Blues

Trade Target(s): Kevin Hayes (C)
What’s the Game Plan?: Sell off some expiring contracts and keep rebuilding/retooling

Like the Kraken, the Blues are a team that, after a slow start, has snuck back into the playoff picture. However, unlike the Kraken, the Blues are more of a paper tiger. Outside of their top line of Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich, St. Louis has struggled and have generally been caved in their own zone defensively throughout the season.

Last season, I said that the Blues should sell off their expiring contracts, and they did just that and ended up with three first-round picks. But surprisingly, they actually used all three at the draft instead of using them to add some pieces for the purpose of competing in 2023-24, and Doug Armstrong even mentioned that he doesn’t think the Blues are quite there yet on Frankly Speaking.

Hopefully, this means that Armstrong and the Blues are ready to start rebuilding, or at least are open to a retool. They need a lot more pieces to reach a consistently competitive level, especially on their back end. Kevin Hayes is a good start in terms of dealing assets, and you also might be able to get some interest in a Kasperi Kapanen, Jakub Vrana, or Marco Scandella if you retain salary, and you can get more picks and prospects to add to your future group. There’s no Ryan O’Reilly or Vladimir Tarasenko this season to give St. Louis a big haul, but overall it’s still better than trying to commit to this group as a playoff team when they just haven’t shown they can be one.