The NHL trade deadline on Feb. 26 could be the perfect opportunity for teams to get an edge in the ultra-competitive playoff races of the Eastern Conference. Based on their previous track records, the East could be quite unpredictable, with prominent GMs like Tampa Bay's Steve Yzerman and Columbus' Jarmo Kekalainen wheeling and dealing in some years and remaining silent in others.
Since 2005, there has been an average of 40.6 trades in the month leading up to the deadline, 21.3 of which occur on the final day and 7.3 in the two days previous, based on the raw data made available at Pro Sports Transactions.
Looking ahead to this season, we have ranked the GMs in the Eastern Conference based on which ones are most likely to make some trades based on past behavior, and we identified whether they are likely to be buyers, sellers or still on the bubble. The Western Conference GMs are ranked here.
1. Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Number of trade deadlines: Seven
Final-month trades: 26, 3.71 per season
Final-day trades: 10, 1.43 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2014, Tampa Bay traded Martin St. Louis and a conditional second-round pick to the New York Rangers for Ryan Callahan, a first-round pick, a conditional first-round pick and a conditional seventh-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Buyers
He might be first on the list, but you never really know what to expect from Yzerman. He made no trades leading up to the 2016 deadline, and then locked down five in 2017. Keep an eye on Tampa Bay's goaltending situation because Yzerman has moved an average of one goalie per season at the deadline.
2. Jarmo Kekalainen, Columbus Blue Jackets
Number of trade deadlines: Five
Final-month trades: 17, 3.4 per season
Final-day trades: 11, 2.2 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2013, Columbus acquired Marian Gaborik, Steven Delisle and Blake Parlett from the Rangers for Derek Dorsett, John Moore, Derick Brassard and a sixth-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Bubble team
It's also difficult to set expectations for Kekalainen, who was very active at the deadline in his first three seasons but has made only two trades in the past two years combined.
3. Marc Bergevin, Montreal Canadiens
Number of trade deadlines: Five
Final-month trades: 18, 3.6 per season
Final-day trades: Nine, 1.8 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2015, Montreal acquired Jeff Petry from the Edmonton Oilers for a second-round pick and a conditional third-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Sellers
Whether buying or selling, the Canadiens generally stick to trading relatively high volumes of secondary players at the deadline. As buyers in 2017, they acquired Keegan Lowe, Jordie Benn, Brandon Davidson, Andreas Martinsen, Steve Ott and Dwight King. Then, as sellers in 2016, they dealt away Tomas Fleischmann, Dale Weise and Devante Smith-Pelly.
4. Dale Tallon, Florida Panthers
Number of trade deadlines: Nine total, including five with Florida between 2011 and 2015
Final-month trades: 32, 3.56 per season
Final-day trades: 14, 1.56 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2014, the Panthers acquired Roberto Luongo and Steven Anthony from the Vancouver Canucks for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Sellers
Tallon presided over Florida's 2011 fire sale, trading away Michael Frolik, Alexander Salak, Cory Stillman, Bryan McCabe, Bryan Allen, Chris Higgins, Dennis Wideman and Radek Dvorak as part of the eight transactions he made that year. Will we see a repeat in 2018?
5. Pierre Dorion, Ottawa Senators
Number of trade deadlines: One
Final-month trades: Four
Final-day trades: One
Biggest final-month trade: In 2017, the Senators acquired Alex Burrows from the Canucks for Jonathan Dahlen.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Sellers
Dorion has only one trade deadline under his belt, but it was an active one that involved acquiring key depth that helped the Senators advance to within a double-overtime goal of reaching the Stanley Cup Final. We can only speculate how active he might be this year with the team outside playoff contention.
6. Ray Shero, New Jersey Devils
Number of trade deadlines: 10, including two with New Jersey
Final-month trades: 32, 3.2 per season
Final-day trades: 20, 2.0 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2008, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Shero acquired Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from the Atlanta Thrashers for Angelo Esposito, Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen and a first-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Buyers
As buyers, the Devils might tap into Shero's former deadline disposition with Pittsburgh, where he made a key veteran acquisition almost every year, including Gary Roberts in 2007, Hossa in 2008, Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin in 2009, James Neal and Matt Niskanen in 2011 and Jarome Iginla in 2013.
7. Jim Rutherford, Pittsburgh Penguins
Number of trade deadlines: 12, including three with Pittsburgh
Final-month trades: 32, 2.67 per season
Final-day trades: 18, 1.5 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2009, with the Carolina Hurricanes, Rutherford was involved in a three-way deal with the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings that involved acquiring Erik Cole and a fifth-round pick for Justin Williams.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Bubble team
Whether with the Hurricanes or the Penguins, Rutherford's trade volumes have been fairly typical but tend to involve only complementary players. However, it might take an uncharacteristically big move to boost the defending Stanley Cup champions into the playoffs in the Metropolitan Division.
8. Ron Francis, Carolina Hurricanes
Number of trade deadlines: Three
Final-month trades: 10, 3.33 per season
Final-day trades: Two, 0.67 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2016, the Hurricanes traded Eric Staal to the Rangers for Aleksi Saarela and two second-round picks.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Bubble team
In three seasons as Carolina's GM, Francis has always been in seller's mode at the deadline. In that time, he rarely waited until the last day to trade away veterans like Jiri Tlusty, Andrej Sekera, Tim Gleason, Staal, Kris Versteeg, John-Michael Liles, Ron Hainsey and Viktor Stalberg. This year, it will be interesting to evaluate the organization's moves as a team on the playoff bubble.
9. Brian MacLellan, Washington Capitals
Number of trade deadlines: Three
Final-month trades: Nine, 3.0 per season
Final-day trades: One, 0.33 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2017, Washington acquired Kevin Shattenkirk from the St. Louis Blues for Zach Sanford, a first-round pick, a conditional second-round pick and a conditional seventh-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Buyers
Washington will probably make a couple of moves but don't expect any late ones. In three seasons as the team's GM, MacLellan has made only one trade on the final day, and it was the almost inconsequential acquisition of Cody Corbett for Joe Cannata.
10. Jeff Gorton, New York Rangers
Number of trade deadlines: Two
Final-month trades: Five, 2.5 per season
Final-day trades: Two, 0.5 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2016, the Rangers acquired Eric Staal from the Hurricanes for Aleksi Saarela and two second-round picks.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Bubble team
Gorton first broke onto the scene with the Boston Bruins, famously drafting Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand, trading Andrew Raycroft for Tuukka Rask and signing Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard in his four-month tenure as GM. However, all of this took place after the trade deadline, so his track record is based only on the past two seasons with the Rangers, which were relatively quiet.
11. Lou Lamoriello, Toronto Maple Leafs
Number of trade deadlines: 12, including two with Toronto
Final-month trades: 28, 2.33 per season
Final-day trades: 11, 0.92 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2010, with the Devils, Lamoriello acquired Ilya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela and a second-round pick from the Atlanta Thrashers for Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, a first-round pick and a second-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Buyers.
In New Jersey, Lamoriello wasn't known for making a lot of moves at the deadline, but things have changed. In two seasons as Toronto's GM, he has made six trades on the final day, which is the same combined total that were made in his last eight seasons in New Jersey. In all, a whopping 25 players and nine draft picks have changed hands leading up to the deadline over the past two seasons.
12. Garth Snow, New York Islanders
Number of trade deadlines: 11
Final-month trades: 22, 2.0 per season
Final-day trades: 13, 1.18 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2007, the Islanders acquired Ryan Smyth from the Oilers for Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Marra and a first-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Bubble team
Recently, Snow has been among the least active GMs at the trade deadline. The Islanders made no moves in 2017 and only two minor transactions in 2016. However, the Isles have had big trade deadlines in the past, and the tight Metropolitan Division playoff race and the pending free agency of John Tavares could trigger another one this year.
13. Don Sweeney, Boston Bruins
Number of trade deadlines: Two
Final-month trades: Three, 1.5 per season
Final-day trades: Three, 1.5 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2016, Boston acquired Lee Stempniak from the Devils for a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Buyers
Given that the optimistic Sweeney was prepared to part with a prospect and four draft picks to acquire John-Michael Liles and Stempniak on the far less competitive 2016 edition of the Bruins, it's possible that he might pull out all the stops this year, as the Bruins are actually a legitimate playoff team.
14. Ken Holland, Detroit Red Wings
Number of trade deadlines: 12
Final-month trades: 20, 1.67 per season
Final-day trades: 11, 0.92 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2014, Detroit acquired David Legwand from the Nashville Predators for Patrick Eaves, Calle Jarnkrok and a conditional second-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Sellers
Since 2005, no team has completed fewer transactions leading up to the trade deadline than the Red Wings. However, that could be based on a reluctance to buy, not to sell. The tone might have been set in 2017, their first season positioned as sellers, in which the Wings traded Tomas Jurco, Brendan Smith, Steve Ott and Thomas Vanek.
15. Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers
Number of trade deadlines: Three
Final-month trades: Three, 1.0 per season
Final-day trades: Two, 0.67 per season
Biggest final-month trade: In 2015, Philadelphia traded Braydon Coburn to the Lightning for Radko Gudas, a first-rond pick and a third-round pick.
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Bubble team
Even though a bold transaction might tilt the balance of the playoff race in the Metropolitan Division for the right organization, expectations for such a move are quite low for Philadelphia, which has made only one trade leading up to the deadline over the past two seasons combined.
N/A. Jason Botterill, Buffalo Sabres
Number of trade deadlines: Zero
Final-month trades: N/A
Final-day trades: N/A
Biggest final-month trade: N/A
Team's role in 2017-18 market: Sellers
Without a track record beyond his extended tenure as an assistant GM with Pittsburgh, it would normally be difficult to set expectations for Botterill at this year's trade deadline. However, the Sabres are clearly in sell mode, which means that he probably will be shopping every veteran who doesn't figure into the team's long-term plans.