The 2023 NHL trade deadline has already been one of the best in recent memory, led by an arms race in the East and a collection of high-profile names already traded that would be good enough to create a playoff-caliber squad.
Considering the quality and quantity of trades already made, you may wonder what’s left. These names aren’t as flashy but there are a number of players that can help teams. Here are five to keep an eye on.
There are potentially a number of good, useful players that can be scooped up from the Washington Capitals. While there are bigger names, and guys having better seasons, Lars Eller remains interesting for a number of reasons.
Marc Bergevin always famously said, “some players get you in and some players get you through [the playoffs].” Eller was one player he referenced that gets you through. He is in the rare category of player whose production actually goes up in the postseason. His 0.39 points per game in the regular season is up to 0.51 come playoff time. He’s having the least productive season of his career since his rookie campaign, playing primarily with Anthony Mantha and Marcus Johansson (also traded). In fact, in the 2023 calendar year he has one point in 22 games.
He also has the highest defensive zone starts of his career and is still logging over 15 minutes per game. There is some gas left in the tank and he plays a premium position — Eller is even winning a career-high 54.6 percent of his faceoffs. He has been a play-driving center pretty much his whole career. You can never be too deep down the middle and the prospects of adding one with legitimate playoff pedigree that has consistently shown he can elevate his game should be enticing for any team.
This has been a nightmare season for John Klingberg. After overplaying his hand in free agency, he ended up signing a one-year deal on a young but skilled Ducks team. The thinking was clear: he would have all the opportunity on a team rebuilding, and be surrounded with skill players where he could rack up the points and turn that into a lucrative contract offer somewhere in 2023.
Instead, Klingberg is on pace for a career-low in points per game, time on ice and shot share. He’s on pace for a career-worst PDO as well.
This is where it gets interesting. Anaheim is one of the worst teams in the league. Arguably the worst. He’s having a career-worst season and is a pending UFA yet again. Players are always motivated to get paid but in this situation you have a player who should really have something to prove and will come in motivated and boosted by simply leaving Anaheim.
Much like Patrick Kane with Chicago, he is trying to show that by picking up his production lately, with nine points in his last nine games. He hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to run a power play and he can shoot the puck (his eight goals so far are actually his highest total since the 2018-19 season). If you need some offense from the point, especially a power-play quarterback, you can get some value here.
Jordan Greenway is potentially a very interesting name. He is a massive player at 6-foot-6, 231 pounds. Only 10 forwards in the league are listed at that height and only one is listed as taller. Greenway is also only 26 years old. So why is he even available? He has six points through 43 games and he’s signed for two more seasons at $3 million per.
The production has never really come together for Greenway. He scored 12 goals as a rookie and has never hit that mark since, though he did technically score at a slightly higher rate last season in fewer games. Greenway plays on a checking, tough-matchup line alongside Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno and that can’t be discounted. They have a lot of defensive responsibility and that is the focus of their shifts. Foligno only has 15 points and 11 of Eriksson Ek’s 21 goals have come on the power play.
It’s fair to wonder how much Greenway’s production could jump in a role with more offensive opportunity. In the COVID bubble season, he had a career-best 0.57 points per game, so he has flashed before.
When he gets the puck down low, you can’t take it off of him. Look at Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren bounce off in the clip below. Greenway can create space with the puck and hold onto it for long stretches in the offensive zone. He takes up space in the defensive zone and is strong enough to win battles. There is a useful player here.
On the theme of big and useful is Carson Soucy. The 6-foot-5 defenseman can do a bit of everything and would be a welcome addition to any blue line. Of particular use is that he has experience playing both the left and right side. Last season, he even had a career-high 10 goals.
The Kraken do shelter him, so he’s more of a third-pairing defenseman, playing just 16:16 per game. He’s at a career-high in offensive zone starts and he’s nowhere near their shutdown, matchup pairing. There is some jam to his game and the Kraken have sometimes used him to close out contests. He is a second-unit penalty killer on Seattle.
What Soucy offers is depth. He isn’t going to move the needle for anyone but the old adage, “you can never have enough defensemen,” rings particularly true in the playoffs. Having a big blueliner that has at least some puck skills, can play either side and has some penalty-killing ability is a nice option to have at your disposal.
Mikael Granlund is the best player on this list and can be a needle-mover of sorts. He’s a player that can actively produce, elevate a line and play towards the top of a playoff lineup. He has 32 points in 59 career postseason games, as well.
He is a pass-first winger that can also play some center if need be, and can really do a little bit of everything. He’s on the top power-play unit, he’s a secondary penalty killer and he is second among all Predators forwards in even-strength time on ice per game. Granlund had the second-most productive season of his career last year but has come back to reality in 2022-23. What will intrigue teams is the speed and versatility he brings.
Look at how he rips right down the ice here and drives the net, leading to an easy goal. He flies right down the middle.
The speed is still there and having players with it, along with talent, to back off defenders and create offense is a weapon.
Granlund is signed for two more seasons beyond this at $5 million per, which is fair market value for the 31-year-old, though not necessarily palatable for most contenders that would be looking to add. If a buyer can get someone (Nashville or other) to retain, there’s a lot of value to be had for potentially three playoff runs. He’s a player you can move around your lineup and ask to do a bit of everything.
