Aside from Rick Nash, this trade deadline is more likely to be about quantity than blockbusters.
"There's probably going to be between 20 moves between now and Monday and most are going to be depth players traded for a fourth-round pick," said one NHL GM before this weekend.
Maybe all GMs need is a little inspiration. And frankly, on a quiet Sunday that is hopefully the calm before the storm, I'm more than happy to help out.
There's probably a good reason I'm not running my own NHL team right now and the likelihood of any of these happening is slim but here are 10 trades I think would help everyone involved:
1. Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf to the Maple Leafs for Matt Frattin, Luke Schenn and a first-round pick -- Toronto kicked the tires on Rick Nash but its bigger need at forward is a franchise center and Getzlaf would be that guy. This is a deal that would help Toronto now and down the road while injecting the Ducks with more young talent. Frattin, a former standout at North Dakota, has 12 goals in 21 games in the AHL this season and five goals this year with Toronto.
To read more on 10 trades we'd like to see and get all the rumors on what could happen next, sign up for Insider today.
- Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
- Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Wrote for The Sporting News
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Craig Custance
Craig Custance joined ESPN in September 2011 as an NHL reporter for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN Insider and ESPN.com. A graduate of Michigan State University, he lived for nearly a decade in Georgia working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he spent time covering the late Atlanta Thrashers. He was the only Thrashers beat writer to get the team to the playoffs.
From 2008-11 he was the national hockey writer for the Sporting News, writing regularly in print and online. A member of the PHWA, he's a proud voter for the major NHL awards and can occasionally defend his selections.
Like hockey, he left Atlanta to return north where he currently lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife Cassie and their three kids.
Follow Craig on Twitter: @CraigCustance
And fire off a few probing questions for his weekly mailbag while you're at it.
