Demand for depth on defence is always high ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Aside from goalies – who are in a category all their own, always, for everything – no other position is more essential to the success of a team down the stretch and through the playoffs.
After all, a bad giveaway in those tight Stanley Cup playoff games can be a killer, the difference between losing in overtime and advancing to the next round.
We’ve already seen some movement with the trade of Josh Manson to the Avalanche, and injury fallout with other leading trade candidates. But as we barrel toward the 3 p.m. ET / noon PT trade deadline on Monday, here’s a group of defencemen we’re expecting to be in the conversation.
All contract information can be sourced to CapFriendly.com
Jakob Chychrun, Arizona Coyotes
Age: 23
Cap hit: $4.6 million (signed through 2024-25)
Even though he’s out for the next two to four weeks with a lower-body injury, Chychrun is still on this list because he’s not gone for the season and because of his reasonable contract with term. Either way, someone is going to pay too much for Chychrun, a heavy-minutes top-two D-man who has fallen back to a mediocre season after stunningly leading the NHL in scoring by defencemen last season. Before he went down with an injury, Marek said the asking price for Chychrun was high, but the Florida Panthers are the leading candidate because they have both the interest and the pieces to get a deal done (and Chychrun is from Florida).
Best fit for the Boca Raton, Fla., native is likely a team making a push that needs help on defence beyond this season because of that sweet cap contract. Yeah, you’re thinking Toronto Maple Leafs, too, right? Squeezing in that salary will be the biggest challenge for Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, but if money goes out, then it just might happen. The St. Louis Blues are also in the mix, as they are also looking for a top-two defenceman.
Marcus Pettersson, Pittsburgh Penguins
Age: 25
Cap hit: $4.025 million (signed through 2024-25)
He’s not going to get you many goals, but Pettersson has improved his stock with solid play this season. Marek says if the Penguins are going to make an anticipated move before the deadline, they’ll have to move money out to make it happen. Pettersson would qualify as money if the Pens find themselves in the Giordano derby.
Luke Schenn, Vancouver Canucks
Age: 32
Cap hit: $850,000 (signed through 2022-23)
A team-friendly deal makes Schenn attractive, so it’s a matter of whether Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin get an offer they can’t refuse to move him to a team that needs depth insurance down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Keith Yandle, Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 35
Cap hit: $900,000 (pending UFA)
His best years are behind him (he was bought out by the Panthers in the summer), so this would be a pure rental, but reigning iron man Yandle would be a find for a team looking for second-pairing power-play help and a steadying influence.
Jacob Middleton, San Jose Sharks
Age: 26
Cap hit: $725,000 (pending UFA)
Playing behind big-minutes, big-money defencemen Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns, Middleton has been crushing it for the Sharks, logging time on the left side on the second pairing. He’s not going to get you a lot of points, but he’s more likely to hold down the fort while your puck-moving defenceman joins the rush. And, at 6-foot-3, 219 pounds, he’s no wallflower when it comes to the dance. With a more than affordable salary, he could be a good fit for a team up against the cap (Maple Leafs) who could use some grit on the blueline (Maple Leafs) to push a previously underperforming playoff team (Maple Leafs) past the first round.
Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
Age: 36
Cap hit: $7.9 million (on LTIR, signed through 2025-26)
Sure, this sort of cheating because it’s highly unlikely Weber, who is on the long-term injury list, will ever play again, but his contract is attractive to teams at the bottom of the league (cough, Detroit, Buffalo, Ottawa?) looking to stay above the salary-cap floor next season.
Calvin de Haan, Chicago Blackhawks
Age: 30
Cap hit: $4.55 million (pending UFA)
De Haan is not exactly a big name but, hey, remember what we said in the intro? Depth defencemen are invaluable in the playoffs, and de Haan could very capably slide into a No. 6 role on any contending club, or even move up in case of injury emergency.
Jeff Petry, Montreal Canadiens
Age: 34
Cap hit: $6.25 million (signed through 2024-25)
Petry’s play has picked up since the arrival of interim coach Martin St. Louis, notably scoring four goals in two games March 8-10. Nonetheless, despite how it appeared for much of the season, Petry has offensive potential, as shown by his top-10 performance among defencemen scorers last season, which is hugely appealing to contending teams. If he can minimize the giveaways and other costly gaffes, he’d be a solid top-four blueliner for a contender, if said contender feels confident he’s worth $6.25 million for each of the next three seasons. (Did you see that part above where it says he’s 34?)
Nick Leddy, Detroit Red Wings
Age: 30
Cap hit: $5.5 million (pending UFA)
Who’s ready to take on Nick Leddy? (Sorry.) He’s not going to get you a tonne of goals like he used to and he’s a woeful minus-33 and falling, but he chews up big minutes and, on the right team and in the right role, he could be a stabilizing influence on a contender.
Colin Miller, Buffalo Sabres
Age: 29
Cap hit: $3.875 million (pending UFA)
Miller has been injured but teams will be looking to swipe a guy from the Sabres who not all that long ago was part of that Cinderella run the Golden Knights had in their inaugural season (when he scored 10 goals) and blocks a bunch of shots, so he knows what it takes in the playoffs.
P.K. Subban, New Jersey Devils
Age: 32
Cap hit: $9 million (pending UFA)
Hard to believe Subban is only 32, but there are a lot of miles on those tires. He didn’t have the best season this year, he’s in the last year of a massive deal signed back in the glory days with the Canadiens (the Devils would have to retain some of that to make a deal palatable), he was on a chronic slew-foot binge early in the season and he seems to be entering the stage of his career where he’ll bounce from team to team, but he still has smarts and, who knows, might find reignited passion with a contender and/or a city where the hockey spotlight shines brightly.
Justin Braun, Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 35
Cap hit: $1.8 million (pending UFA)
More depth for a contender, Braun wasn’t a minus while playing serious minutes on a bad team and provided decent offence as well, even killing penalties. He’s the kind of D-man who, on a good team, you won’t notice much and then the stats at the end of the game show he’s a plus-3 with three takeaways.
OFF THE BOARD – FOR NOW
John Klingberg, Dallas Stars
Age: 29
Cap hit: $4.25 million (UFA)
Speculation had it the puck-moving defenceman was highly sought-after and was as good as dealt … until fellow Stars blueliner Miro Heiskanen got a dose of mononucleosis that will keep him out of the lineup indefinitely, which is not the news you need when your team is chasing the last wild-card spot.
So, Klingberg is likely in Dallas through the end of the season, unless Stars GM Jim Nill feels it’s best for all parties to move on … or he gets an offer he can’t refuse. Either way, Klingberg, who was once touted as one of the best defencemen in the league, will be a UFA this summer.
Mark Giordano, Seattle Kraken
Age: 38
Cap hit: $6.75 million (pending UFA)
Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek says GM Ron Francis would love to get a first-round pick for Giordano, the 2018 Norris Trophy winner. Even though no longer in his prime and coming off a subpar season with expansion Seattle, for the right team – the Maple Leafs, the Rangers or even the Panthers – the left-shooting defenceman still has enough in the tank to provide the kind of sandpaper you need down the stretch and in those tight, gritty playoff games. Best fit would be for a team that hasn’t been able to get it done when it counts and needs an extra leadership boost to get there. Given his salary, even prorated, you might see a third team enter the picture to pick up some of that money.
Hampus Lindholm, Anaheim Ducks
Age: 28
Cap hit: $5.206 million (pending UFA)
The skinny on Lindholm is tricky. Sure, his Ducks are on the outside looking in, so assets are being shopped around on the GMs’ version of Kijiji. But new GM Pat Verbeek has already traded defenceman Josh Manson and the Ducks aren’t all that far off from contender status, so no rebuild. Enter conundrum: Sign Lindholm or trade him?
Either way, the well-rounded Lindholm is likely to get a big chunk of change in the off-season, a marked increase from his expiring six-year, $31.5-million deal. And you can line up the usual suspects who want the puck-moving, left-shooting blueliner for the stretch and playoffs: Maple Leafs, Rangers (Lindholm and Fox on the power play?), Blues and Panthers.
