From the Press Box: Trade Deadline Talk

The trades, they are a comin'…Three weeks in advance of the trade deadline, two large deals have already been completed…what does this mean for those teams and players who were moved…who are the other players that we should expect to see trading places in the coming weeks?

Two Significant Trades Are Already Done

The trade deadline for this season is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST on March 2, but as we have seen in recent years, some teams are interested and able to make their big moves well in advance.

In the first large deal, the Jets were able to rid themselves of some dressing room politics that caused a rift around Evander Kane. They shipped the 23-year old, 2009 fourth-overall draft pick, with defenseman Zach Bogosian (himself, the third-overall choice in 2008) and goalie Jason Kasdorf (sixth-rounder in 2011) to Buffalo for Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, forward prospects Joel Armia (16th-overall in 2011) and Brendan Lemieux (second round last year), along with a mid-first round pick in the upcoming 2015 Amateur Draft.

The Jets not only cleaned up their dressing room dynamic, but received immediate help and more future assets that can further help them build around a core of players who are engineering the club's current exciting run toward a playoff spot. Myers, particularly, gets a new lease on life after languishing on a terrible Buffalo team that is clearly in a rebuilding mode. Now he can look at the remaining five years (including the balance of this season) and forecast that he is now in a better situation with a team that will be competitive while he is in his prime. While the Jets absorb his $5.5M annual cap hit, they will be paying $5M, $4M, $3.5M and $3M on the balance of his front-loaded pact.

Similarly, Stafford should feel re-energized, because he's only 28 years old and is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He has topped the 20-goal mark three times in his career, but has been dragged down because he wasn't a part of the rebuild in Buffalo. He should be motivated to put his best foot forward on the second scoring line in Winnipeg, alongside Mark Scheifele and Mathieu Perreault, while playing for his next contract.

From Buffalo's vantage point, they acquire Kane, who needs to mature and accept the opportunity to be a team leader here. He is also poised to play on a line with one of the two jewels of the next draft, Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, both regarded as franchise-type centers. Kane is certainly capable of continuing a career path toward establishing himself as one of the premier power forwards in the league over the next 5-to-7 years, during which time he will see the talent level rise dramatically around him.

Bogosian is another key ingredient in the Buffalo blueprint as a physical shutdown defender who can log a lot of minutes and is noted as a difficult opponent to face on a nightly basis.

The remaining prospects and draft pick may skew this deal in favor of one team or another, but at the moment, it looks like a deal that really benefits both teams, in the short and long terms.

The second big deal involved teams with very different trajectories. The Predators received Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli from Toronto, in exchange for the expiring contract of Olli Jokinen, prospect Brendan Leipsic and the Preds' first-round pick in this upcoming draft (projected to be a late first-rounder, at the moment).

Clearly, the Preds are in "win-now" mode, as the can slot Franson into an imposing second pairing role next to Seth Jones, who is playing a dominant game of late, at both ends of the ice. For his part, Franson is an excellent first because he broke in with Nashville in 2009, playing two seasons in the NHL and parts of three years with their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. In Toronto this season, he led all Leafs blueliners with 32 points in 55 games, playing top-pair minutes and first-unit power-play time. His playing time may drop a bit, and he is likely locked into second paring minutes in Nashville, but he's on a much better team, so his numbers could remain consistent.

Santorelli played all over for the Leafs, but almost remarkably posted a plus-7 rating, to go along with a respectable 29 points in 55 games. His blazing speed, high hockey IQ and experience make him an ideal candidate for a third-line role between veterans Craig Smith and Gabriel Bourque. That's the kind of line that has been central to extended playoff runs for a number of clubs in recent years.

From the Leafs' standpoint, this deal smacks of an admission that a rebuild is in order. To affect that change, they shipped out two players who are scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. Undoubtedly, the Leafs also decided to pull the trigger on this deal only after preliminary contract talks were held with each of these players. The Leafs have to be pleased that they now have a second first-round pick in this deep 2015 draft. Besides which, they also acquired winger Brendan Leipsic, a 2012 third-round pick, who is best described in the mold of Brendan Gallagher and Brad Marchand, a swift-skating pesky player with a deft scoring touch around the net. They also hope to flip Jokinen before the March 2 deadline. In the interim, they plan to play him a lot to maximize his exposure and the possible return that should correspond.

Most Significant Names Expected to be Traded

While a host of names are being tossed around in trade rumors, I note a handful that might really be impactful and should be among the players who will be changing their address.

Daniel Winnik – The big, hard-working winger has distinguished himself among the wreckage of the Maple Leafs' turbulent season. He has also been moved throughout the lineup to plug gaps or improve the fortunes of each of the club's four forward lines. In addition, he has taken on more penalty-killing minutes than any other forward in the league, playing the lead role in the league's seventh-best penalty-killing unit. Further underscoring his overall value is a team-high plus-14 rating to go along with 23 points in 55 games.

Chris Stewart – This 6-2, 230-pound right winger has been a 28-goal scorer twice in his first six NHL seasons, which also saw him produce 18 goals and 36 points in the strike-shortened 2012-13 season. He's now 27 years old and headed for unrestricted free agency at the end of this season, during which time he has produced only 22 points in 54 games.

This is a player who looks like he has been worn down by playing in Buffalo's losing environment. He should be challenging himself to impress prospective suitors in the coming weeks. It is very likely that the Sabres management team feels that by the time they are further along in their rebuild, he will not be a good fit there in his 30s.

Andrej Sekera - The Hurricanes may be of a similar mindset when they consider their options relating to this veteran puck-moving defenseman. Last year he was among the league leaders, with 44 points, but he has not been as productive this year, with a more modest 19 points in 53 games for this offensively-challenged club. Still, he leads Carolina with an average of 22 minutes per game. Contending clubs can't afford to ignore a veteran workhorse with his profile. He's also a player who could be rejuvenated in a more competitive environment.

Jaromir Jagr – The 43 year old, wily veteran is still playing top-line minutes, averaging over 17 minutes per game for another offensively-starved club in New Jersey. Despite the extra attention that entails, he has been able to score 11 goals and 18 assists in 52 games, thanks largely to his devotion to physical fitness. He still shows magical offensive skills, though he has surely slowed a step or two. Even so, he has been a warrior in the post-season, still has a flair for the dramatic and remains very difficult to knock off a puck possession. Some team with hopes to go far in the post-season could snag him, with the lure and their own desire for an appropriate sendoff for this certain Hall of Famer.

Antoine Vermette – At 32 years old, this soon-to-be UFA center has had yet another prolific campaign, with 35 points in 53 games for the low-scoring Coyotes. A lot of playoff teams are going to be seeking offensive depth in advance of the attrition that is always a part of the two-month long playoff derby for the Stanley Cup. He is far and away the top-scoring player who is likely to be moved, and no doubt the Coyotes' management has put his name out in the hopes of a deadline bidding war between contending clubs.

With a number of teams poised to go in both directions, up toward a long playoff run, or down toward a partial retool or full-on rebuild, player movement will heat up in the coming weeks, with another spike in activity ahead of us this summer.

Paul Bruno has been writing about the fantasy sports scene for several years and is an accredited member of the sports media in Toronto for over 20 years. You are invited to send your feedback and you can follow him on Twitter (@statsman22) or catch him on 120 Sports.