Which players' stock has changed the most in the last week and why?
Craig Custance: An interesting player to watch is Detroit Red Wings winger Thomas Vanek. His stock has increased while he has been piling up goals, with five in his past six games. The Red Wings' win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday followed a nice win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, so they're showing signs of life. Vanek hopes it continues. "I like it here," he said when I asked him Monday about the trade deadline. "I enjoy my time here. I like the guys, my family likes it here. I'm hoping to put a good streak together to get ourselves back in the picture so I can be here. I understand the business side of it."
If Detroit falls out of the playoff race before the deadline, general manager Ken Holland has to move his unrestricted free agents, including Vanek. A great fit would be in Chicago, where the Blackhawks could use some veteran help on the wing.
Pierre LeBrun: The best trade chip for young GM John Chayka of the Arizona Coyotes as he continues the rebuild is veteran center Martin Hanzal, 29, a pending unrestricted free agent. A beast of a two-way center, Hanzal is a prime playoff pickup. He's not going to light it up, but his physical presence in the grind of a playoff run would be a nice addition for a Cup contender. It's believed the St. Louis Blues are among the teams that have shown interest. The Coyotes, I think, would like to get a young player they can insert into their lineup as part of any Hanzal trade, which is a bit of a departure from the traditional rental player return, normally a draft pick or prospect.
Scott Burnside: It has been a pretty messy season for the Buffalo Sabres. It's clear this team, currently 15th in the Eastern Conference, isn't anywhere near as good as many of us believed it might be. Which leads us to Evander Kane. The 25-year-old has played only 32 games but is second on the team with 11 goals, so teams will be interested if Kane's in play. His off-ice issues have been well-documented, but could the Sabres afford to part with the skilled forward if there was a blue-chip defensive prospect in return? GM Tim Murray isn't afraid of the big deal and this might be the time to revisit dealing Kane, who would be a nice fit in his hometown of Vancouver.
Joe McDonald: With the exception of forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, every player on the Colorado Avalanche is available. Matt Duchene's name has come up in the rumor mill the past two seasons and a change of scenery could be what he needs. The 26-year-old forward has 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points in 37 games, but carries a $6 million cap hit and won't become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2018-19 season. He has only one goal in the past 13 games.
Matthew Coller: There were reports this week that Coyotes veteran winger Shane Doan would be interested in another location if it gave him one last swing at winning a Stanley Cup. While there's no doubt somebody would take him, Arizona shouldn't expect to get much in return, based on his recent play. Doan hasn't scored a goal since Dec. 23 and has just four on the season. It would have been better if the 'Yotes had convinced him to move last season, when he scored 28 goals and had 17 power-play points. Doan probably has been the victim of a little bad luck. His shooting percentage is just 4.4 percent, which would suggest the Coyotes should wait until a few more of his shots find the back of the net before testing the trade waters.