The new NHL landscape has left no player impervious to trade, as teams look to do what is necessary to get the right pieces that can fill out a potential Stanley Cup roster. Regardless of how a team finished or how many points a player put up, general managers can’t afford to wait to figure out whether or not they have the right pieces as they look to make the immediate changes necessary to ice a winner. The Philadelphia Flyers proved that when Paul Holmgren moved both Jeff Carter and captain Mike Richards from a team that won the Eastern conference finals just two years ago, making sure that he brought in a couple of young centers, a goaltender, and fixed a team chemistry that was rumored to be lacking.

The San Jose Sharks followed suit by moving Danny Heatley to the Minnesota Wild for Martin Havlat. By all accounts Heatley has been the better player in terms of scoring during the regular season, but after fading away during the Sharks’ last two postseason runs a change was needed. The Washington Capitals could follow suit if they elect to move one of their big name underachievers, and the most likely candidate is Alex Semin. The Russian sniper has been tremendous during the regular season, but has consistently failed to elevate his game in the playoffs. Another player that could be moved is Edmonton Oilers’ winger Ales Hemsky, who is in the final year of his contract and is unlikely to re-sign. Hemsky has had shoulder problems the past couple of years but that hasn’t stopped teams from calling, and while Edmonton isn’t actively shopping him they have fielded a ton of sports betting interest.