Help
Its tough to tell in the western conference, only 7 points separate 8th (final play-off spot) and last place. It doesn't look like we'll see any "fire sales", though things can change in a week.
In the east, NY Islanders, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Ottawa and Toronto could all be sellers with a couple of losses this week.
The salary cap makes things a bit interesting, teams that want to "rent-a-player" for the play-offs (there is a sizeable crop of quality UFA's hitting the market this summer) need to make sure they have enough cap space.
A good site that has all this info: http://www.hockeybuz...ntral/index.php
---------------
As a Habs fan, I'd like to see them be a player at the deadline, but if they are going to make a play for a top line center, power forward or #1 defenseman, they will have to move some bodies since they have no cap space right now.
The Habs have no less than 11 UFA's after this season, including: Koivu, Kovalev, Tanguay, Komisarek, Lang and Schneider. Bob Gainey has a policy of not negotiating contracts during the season, so the Habs risk losing any or all of these guys at seasons end.
Gainey may well move some of these guys to a) free up cap space and
get some assets back for guys he knows he can't sign in the off-season. So the Habs may be after any of the following: Lecavalier, Jokinen, Pronger, Cole, Kaberle, Gaborik...but its tough to tell with Gainey, he could just as well make only a minor deal and/or stand pat.
What's going down with your favorite team(s)?
