Trade Deadline Madness...Hopefully Part 4

The next series of possible players on the move during this year's trade deadline was going to focus on Tampa Bay's Dan Boyle and Vaclav Prospal, but the Lightning saw to it that those players were dealt with quickly. As of a few hours ago, Dan Boyle was signed to a six-year, $40 million contract extension and Prospal was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for young defenseman Alexandre Picard and a conditional 2nd or 3rd round pick. Both moves are great for the Lightning, as Picard has a great deal of potential, Prospal was highly unlikely to re-sign during the summer, and Boyle has been solid both offensively and defensively on the blue line.

That being said, we're right around the corner from all hockey madness breaking out and there are still plenty of players to go around.

6. John-Michael Liles, Colorado Avalanche

Since the lockout, the Avalanche have seemingly been a vehicle leaking oil all over the pavement with no way to clog the broken, leaky line. Casualties of the situation have been Adam Foote, Rob Blake, and Peter Forsberg to name a few and, as of tomorrow, you can add John-Michael Liles to that list. Unlike the other three players though, the Avs don't seem interested in retaining Liles' service when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Over the past few years, Liles has proven to be an undersized, but highly mobile puck moving defenseman. Such a player is in high demand on quite a few teams, so the Avs shouldn't have any problem trading Liles by tomorrow while obtaining quality players and/or picks in the process.

Possible destinations for Liles range from the Rangers, Hurricanes, Canadiens, Sharks, and Canucks. All five of these teams are in the market for a player of Liles quality, and all five have the assets to offer that would interest the Avalanche. The least likely team of the five to acquire Liles is the Hurricanes due to their acquisition of offensively minded defenseman Joe Corvo last week.

Any of the other four would be a fine fit for Liles and, possibly due to the fact that Liles is American, the Rangers just seem to be the perfect match.

Prediction: Liles to the Rangers for Marek Malik and Nigel Dawes.

7. Brad Stuart, Ladislav Nagy, Any Los Angeles Kings Veterans

With the exception of Rob Blake, every veteran on the Kings is up for grabs for the right price. Though rumors are still in circulation about Blake waiving his no-trade clause, it has already been made quite clear by Blake that he wants to retire in L.A. Of course, last year I was adamant that former Kings' captain Mattias Norstrom would not be traded so there is always the chance that I'm mistaken, but the rumors of Blake being willing to waive his no-trade clause to go back to Colorado strike me as nothing more than talk.

In the case of veterans Brad Stuart, Ladislav Nagy, Tom Preissing, Kyle Calder, and Brian Willsie, there is no controversy involving no-trade clauses.

Given Stuart's recent play, it's likely the Kings would attempt to sign him to an extension. However, there may not be time enough to get Stuart signed and, unless Kings' GM Dean Lombardi is extremely trusting of the player which he drafted while in San Jose, Stuart could be moved to any number of teams. The teams looking to enlist Stuart's services are likely to overlook Stuart's failure as a rental player with Calgary last season due to the fact that Stuart was injured during much of his time with the Flames. Said interested teams will include San Jose, New Jersey, Montreal, Dallas, and Vancouver. In any of these situations, it's likely Lombardi would be seeking picks and prospects.

As for Nagy, Lombardi may have much more trouble moving him than any of his other veterans. For a month, Nagy has been on the shelf with an unspecified neck injury, a fact which could cause most teams to turn away from any deals for the forward. Nagy signed a one-year deal with the Kings this past summer, so don't count on Lombardi allowing Nagy to walk without anything in return, even a low draft pick.

Brian Willsie is the next likely player to be moved as he has struggled to find his place on the Kings since his arrival last season. Willsie could be an excellent pick up for a playoff team looking to add scoring depth on their third or fourth lines and, once again, Lombardi could easily acquire a draft pick for the veteran.

The two wild card veterans for the Kings are Preissing and Calder. Considering the contracts that each of these players signed with the Kings during the off-season, it would appear that the team planned to have each of them in their current and long-term plans. Unfortunately, neither player seems to fit into the teams plans of building around a solid core of young talent. Preissing, a defensive stalwart in San Jose and Ottawa, has appeared to be more of an accessory for coach Marc Crawford than the dependable defenseman that he was brought on board to be.

In Calder's case, a three-year deal and hard nosed play in front of the net and in the corners seemed to have placed Calder in the good graces of the Kings. Lack of production and a need for draft picks have put Calder on the long list of players that the Kings are willing to part with. Though it's unlikely that either Calder or Preissing will be dealt due to their hefty contracts, Lombardi has made it clear that he is ready and willing to listen to offers for all of his veterans.

Predictions: Stuart signs a contract extension, Nagy is dealt to New Jersey for a fourth round pick, Willsie is dealt to Washington for a fifth round pick, Preissing and Calder remain Kings.