Players to keep an eye on as NHL trade deadline approaches

There’s less than 24 hours until the 2024 NHL trade deadline, and plenty of players are already on the move.

Adam Henrique going from the Anaheim Ducks to the Edmonton Oilers, Noah Hanifin getting traded from the Calgary Flames to the Vegas Golden Knights, Alex Wennberg moving from the Seattle Kraken to the New York Rangers and the Casey Mittelstadt-for-Bowen Byram swap highlighted a flurry of trades from Wednesday.

On top of Jake Guentzel being dealt from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Carolina Hurricanes, some smaller deals including Yakov Trenin going from the Nashville Predators to the Colorado Avalanche and Joel Edmundson moving from the Washington Capitals to the Toronto Maple Leafs happened on Thursday, leaving plenty of big-name players left to be dealt on Friday.

Below are four of the top players to keep an eye on before Friday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

1. Jordan Eberle, RW, Seattle Kraken

While Eberle’s best hockey is likely behind him, he’s still a desirable commodity for a playoff team looking to add some more scoring. The 33-year-old has scored double-digit goals in each of his 14 seasons, including 20 or more in the last two years with the Kraken. 

Seattle tried extending Eberle, but the two sides couldn’t agree on the term, so whichever team acquires him will have to be OK with the possibility he’s just a rental.

2. Tyler Toffoli, RW, New Jersey Devils

The Devils season hasn’t gone according to plan, and after failing to upgrade in goal, the team could be looking to start selling off a few pieces to load up for next year. He’s got 26 goals and 44 points and he would make a solid addition to a contending team’s second line. 

He’s also an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so New Jersey may not want to risk losing him for nothing.

3. Jakob Chychrun, D, Ottawa Senators

Chychrun is appealing for a few reasons, primarily because he’s 25 and a top-pairing defenseman capable of playing shutdown minutes against other team’s top two lines. His 31 points this season is the second-most of his career, so he can also help provide a little bit of an offensive boost as well as everything he brings to the table defensively. 

If Ottawa pulls the trigger on trading him, he’s sure to have several suitors.

4. Jake Allen, G, Montreal Canadiens

It appears Nashville’s Juuse Saros and Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom, the top two goalies rumored to be available, are staying put, leaving Allen as perhaps the best remaining goaltender on the trade market. 

His 6-12-3 record doesn’t look pretty, but he has a track record of being dependable and he has plenty of starting experience that could come in handy for a playoff team that isn’t quite sure about what it has between the pipes heading into a playoff series.