NHL Trade Deadline: 5 surprising names that could be on the move

The NHL trade deadline is set to become one of the most active in recent memory. Names like Tarasenko and Horvat are already gone. Patrick Kane, Thatcher Demko, Jakob Chychrun, and more have already been rumored about. But for every NHL trade deadline, there are trades for players that no one saw coming.

Teams are looking to skillfully upgrade by filling their desperate needs. That said, here are five players that could be on the move before the NHL trade deadline, which could be massive surprises.

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1- Jordan Greenway (Minnesota Wild)

The Minnesota Wild may be moving on from Jordan Greenway sooner rather than later. The Wild’s cap crunch has already caused tough decisions to be made in regard to roster building. Trading Greenway, who has cap certainty until 2025, could create room for the Wild to buy a bigger piece.

A change of scenery could also help the struggling Greenway, who still has potential but has been underperforming in 2023 since coming back from injury.

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2- Sammy Blais (St. Louis Blues)

The St. Louis Blues confirmed that they will be sellers at the NHL trade deadline when they acquired their former player Blais from the Rangers in the Tarasenko trade. Blais could be a helpful depth piece for a contending team, and the Blues will have to consider moving him again before the deadline to maximize their assets.

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3- Travis Hamonic (Ottawa Senators)

A team looking to improve on size and toughness could easily acquire the struggling bruiser from the Senators. Would a team look to acquire Hamonic if better defensemen weren’t available? Possibly. Hamonic has already surpassed his hits total from a year ago, along with his takeaway total. The problem is that he’s been turning the puck over left and right.

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4- Pius Suter (Detroit Red Wings)

Pius Suter was a key acquisition for the Detroit Red Wings in 2021. The former Blackhawks winger was sold off by Chicago for pennies on the dollar, and his career in Detroit started well last year but hasn’t lived up this year.

With a struggling Red Wings side and his contract expiring at the end of the season, there will definitely be teams looking for a player with a knack for scoring like Suter.

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5- Jake Allen (Montreal Canadiens)

The goalie market at the NHL trade deadline is going to be fascinating. More teams seem to be looking for goalies than there are goalies available. That means that the Canadiens’ Jake Allen could fetch much more than he is worth.

The AAV on his contract is good, but the term is set to go until 2025. A team looking to improve their goalie numbers may have to sacrifice their future for an instant upgrade in net by acquiring Allen.