NHL games and practices resume Friday after a three-day break, and starting at 12:01 a.m. local time on Saturday, the league’s annual holiday roster freeze comes to an end.
That means teams are free to make deals again as they prepare for the March 7 trade deadline.
The team that could benefit the most from a trade is one that has already made two.
The New York Rangers recently traded captain Jacob Trouba and former No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko, but it hasn’t stopped the team’s lengthy slide.
‘We’ve got to show more heart,’ center Vincent Trocheck told reporters after a 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils in the final game before the break. ‘We should be embarrassed.’
Here are teams that could benefit from a trade once the NHL opens up for business again:
RED WINGS: Coach Derek Lalonde fired; Todd McLellan is replacement
New York Rangers
Last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winner and Eastern Conference finalists have lost 13 of 17 to drop to seventh place in the Metropolitan Division.
The two trades netted the Rangers a third defense pairing of Will Borgen and Urho Vaakanainen, but their problems extend beyond that.
They are often outshot and rely too much on goalie Igor Shesterkin. Their power play has two goals in the past 10 games and none in the past six. They brought up Matt Rempe to add grit, but he was suspended for eight games for a hit in his first game back. They made Chris Kreider a healthy scratch in their last game but were limited to 12 shots against the Devils.
Could the Rangers consider trading Kreider or another core player in a bid to further shake things up?
Buffalo Sabres
Their 13-game winless streak ended Wednesday, but the eighth-place team has a lot of ground to make up to avoid a 14th consecutive season out of the playoffs. Buffalo had brought back Lindy Ruff, the last coach to take the team to the postseason, and veteran Jason Zucker has helped. But the Sabres seemed to need another top-six winger heading into the season. That still holds true. A right-shot defenseman and another veteran could help the NHL’s youngest team.
New York Islanders
The Sabres ended their losing streak by routing the eighth-place Islanders. New York is last in both power play and penalty kill. They have been hurt by the long absences of Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair. Both are back, but Barzal has one point in his four games. Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, who has double figures in goals, are pending unrestricted free agents. General manager Lou Lamoriello has decisions to make.
Nashville Predators
They have been this season’s most disappointing team, sitting 29th in the league and having the worst offense despite adding 40-goal scorers Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos. Those two are starting to produce after slow starts, but the Predators, who created some cap space with earlier trades, could use more depth at center.
Carolina Hurricanes
Goalie Frederik Andersen is out until at least February, has a history of injury/illness and is a pending unrestricted free agent. Pyotr Kochetkov is filling in well, but if there’s any sign that Andersen needs more time before returning, it might help to add another goaltender.