Clearly the league’s general managers need a little assistance. Here it is, mid-February, and we still don’t have a trade to sink our teeth into. They’ve got the coach-firing thing down pat. No help needed there.

But trades? That is apparently asking too much.

“It’s the hardest market to read,” said one Eastern Conference GM this week.

So I'm here to help. Maybe spark an idea.

Here are eight trades that I think work well for both sides in some form. But let’s be clear, these are just suggestions. These aren’t rumors. These aren’t necessarily conversations being held. But there’s also an effort to make them realistic.

Let’s dive in:

1. Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene to the Nashville Predators for defenseman Mattias Ekholm, goalie Juuse Saros and a 2017 first-round pick.

This is a lot to give up for Duchene, but here’s the thought process if you’re Nashville: Trade for Duchene and you now have Ryan Johansen and Duchene down the middle; you have P.K. Subban and Roman Josi on defense; you have Pekka Rinne in goal and scoring wingers in James Neal and Filip Forsberg. That’s a great foundation. The Predators could backfill from there with depth.

I pitched this theory to one team executive and he shot it down.

“I don’t think Nashville does it, that’s a lot,” he said. “Is Duchene enough to get you to win the Cup?”

There’s also the expansion draft to consider for teams trading for Duchene. If you’re dealing a defenseman, especially a young one, now you’re adding another forward to protect in June. So if that means a good forward from your roster is going to be exposed, this trade now becomes whatever package you gave up for Duchene, plus the player who Vegas grabs.

But in the case of Nashville, I think it’s worth the risk if they can pull it off.

2. Arizona Coyotes center Martin Hanzal to the Chicago Blackhawks for prospect Nick Schmaltz and a draft pick.

GM Stan Bowman has been consistent in his stance that he’s not going to do anything crazy at the trade deadline. The Blackhawks want to keep their first-round pick as draft hosts. They want to keep their young forwards because that’s exactly what they need to surround expensive talent. I get all that.

I also see a Western Conference that is wide open. I see a window in Chicago to win a Stanley Cup that won’t be open forever. The addition of Hanzal would give the Blackhawks the deepest center group they’ve had in years to go with the deepest defense they’ve had in years. Factor in the long summer they enjoyed after a first-round exit at the hands of the Blues, and they’d be primed to go this spring.

A Hanzal deal would also prevent one of the Blackhawks' Western Conference rivals from adding him and having a big two-way center to send on the ice against Jonathan Toews’ line all series long.

3. Tampa Bay Lightning center Valtteri Filppula to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman Mike Reilly

OK, I’ll admit. I don’t have a great sense of what Filppula’s trade value is right now because of his contract. He’s expensive. He has another year remaining at $5 million.

He’s also available.

“He’s not a first-line center, but he can be on your power play and your penalty kill,” one NHL player evaluator said. “He’s never going to make a positional error.”

He has loads of playoff experience and would further strengthen the Wild at center to a point where it would be a strength after years of being a question mark.

Now, there would have to be salary cap gymnastics needed to pull a Filppula trade-off. Maybe Steve Yzerman and Chuck Fletcher would have to bring in a third team to retain salary to make it work. But this sure would make sense for the Wild in some form.

4. Detroit Red Wings send winger Thomas Vanek to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a second-round pick

The Blue Jackets are an interesting team at the trade deadline. They’re not really at the point where they’re going to win a Stanley Cup. They’re going to have to trade one of their young goalies before the expansion draft but that may be an offseason trade.

The best move might be to sit tight at the trade deadline, but on some level you want to reward the team for their strong season so far. Vanek would do that.

The dropoff between the Blue Jackets' first power play unit and their second is pretty dramatic. They need a boost there. Even with his defensive shortcomings, Vanek has elite offensive skill. He’d give the Blue Jackets an element of skill they don’t currently have on that roster.

The Red Wings would like to extend Vanek, but a deal with Columbus would just mean that would have to wait until July 1.

5. Dallas Stars winger Patrick Sharp to the San Jose Sharks for a second-round pick and a prospect.

You’re not hearing much from San Jose right now. The Sharks are in a good place with depth and skill up and down their lineup. But we know GM Doug Wilson is a dealer. He’s got a team that can win a Stanley Cup, with a window that’s closing, and it would be surprising if he sat on his hands over the next two weeks.

The belief from his colleagues is that he’d like to add both a defenseman and a winger, despite the silence right now in San Jose. Maybe there’s a bigger deal to be made with the Stars that accomplishes both, since Dallas also has a deep pool of defensemen GM Jim Nill could make available.

There’s a deal to be done between these two teams.

6. Arizona Coyotes send Radim Vrbata and defenseman Michael Stone to the Calgary Flames for goalie prospect Jon Gillies and a draft pick(s).

The Flames would like to add a winger who can add offense along with defensive depth. This trade accomplishes both.

Not only is Flames GM Brad Treliving familiar with the Coyotes' organization and these players as a former assistant GM in Arizona, the Flames also employ former Coyotes GM Don Maloney as a pro scout.

Maloney knows Vrbata well, and the veteran winger has been productive for the Coyotes with 38 points in 55 games.

The Flames would move one of their young goalies in the system for the right deal. Maybe this isn’t the one, but it’s an option for Treliving right now considering their depth at that position.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins send goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to Calgary Flames for goalie Brian Elliott

Perhaps Fleury gets more back in a trade, maybe not. It’s hard to say, since there aren’t too many teams that have a need in goal and can take on his salary.

This deal is less about the return for the Penguins -- although Elliott provides nice short-term insurance -- and more about the cap space it would free up, since Elliott is earning only $2.5 million this season. It would give the Penguins all kinds of salary-cap flexibility moving forward.

The Flames could then go with a tandem of Chad Johnson and Fleury moving forward while waiting for American hero Tyler Parsons to develop.

Fleury hasn’t been great this season, but this situation has been a lot to handle.

“He still has lots to give,” said one NHL source. “The big thing for him is getting a fresh start.”

8. Colorado Avalanche send Gabriel Landeskog to the Carolina Hurricanes for defenseman Jake Bean, another strong prospect and a protected first-round pick.

There’s been a lot of smoke around the Bruins making a deal with the Avalanche, and Boston definitely has the ammunition to acquire either Duchene or Landeskog. But it’s so hard to find good, young defensemen that it would be hard for me to recommend that Boston deals either Brando Carlo or Charlie McAvoy in a deal with the Avs. The better move would be to build their defense around those two rather than trade them.

Carolina, however, is loaded on defense. The Hurricanes have more organizational depth on defense than the Bruins and could get away with trading a guy like Bean without creating a hole moving forward.

I’ve been banging this drum for a long time, but the Hurricanes make the most sense and are the best fit for a blockbuster deal with the Avalanche. The question is whether the front office in Carolina has the appetite to make it happen.