Boston Bruins: 35-19-7, 77 points, 3rd in East, 1st in Northeast
Status: Buyers, but probably done at this point
The Bruins made their moves already, clearing space by sending Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler to Atlanta and picking up veteran puck-mover Tomas Kaberle from Toronto. They might be interested in adding another center to help replace the loss of Marc Savard, but other than that, the B’s look well-positioned to make what should be a successful playoff run this spring.
Buffalo Sabres: 29-25-7, 65 pts, 9th in East, 3rd in Northeast
Status: Sellers
Prior to the sale of the club being finalized with billionaire Terry Pegula taking over the club, the Sabres probably wouldn’t make many moves at the deadline. However, Pegula has made it clear he’s more than willing to spend money on making this team successful again. At this point, what the Sabres could use most would be draft picks, and they do have some pieces that other teams would see as valuable at this point. Veteran forwards like Tim Connolly, Mike Grier, Jochen Hecht and Rob Niedermayer come to mind as pieces that could have value to playoff-bound teams.
Montreal Canadiens: 33-23-7, 73 pts, 6th in East, 2nd in Northeast
Status: Buyers
The addition of Paul Mara takes care of one of the needs the Canadiens had this year, at least in part, as they desperately needed to get bigger in general. Surprisingly enough, Scott Gomez is rumored to be available for the right price, although it would probably be a hefty one at that. The Habs would probably be interested in some grit up front and maybe some additional help on the blueline.
