Four NHL Teams That Could Be Surprise Buyers By The Trade Deadline

The San Jose Sharks went from being last in the NHL for two seasons to becoming a surprise buyer this week.

When they acquired right winger Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, they moved forward in their rebuilding process, which already saw them add veterans Jeff Skinner, John Klingberg, Alex Nedeljkovic, Dmitry Orlov, Adam Gaudette and more last summer.

As San Jose sits in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, they could take advantage of this opportunity and buy even more.

But this team isn't a buyer in the same way the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights are buyers. The Sharks, along with potentially three other NHL teams, could be teams that weren't expected to be buyers at the beginning of the season but have had a strong enough campaign so far that they could look to upgrade.

Here are our educated guesses as to who those surprise buyers will be before the March 6 NHL trade deadline.

Thanks in large part to superstar center Macklin Celebrini, the Sharks are battling for a playoff spot.

San Jose GM Mike Grier has just less than $8 million in cap space to play with after the Sherwood trade, and he's got two first-round draft picks if he wants to take a big swing in the trade market.

Would New Jersey Devils defenseman Hamilton be an option for the Sharks? He reportedly shot down a San Jose trade last summer, but now that the Sharks have shown they can be in the mix for a post-season spot, Hamilton may reconsider.

San Jose has a slew of pending UFAs, and Grier could package some of them to acquire a younger veteran who will be part of the group in the long haul. The Sharks no doubt want to end their six-year playoff drought, and landing another difference-maker could be just what the doctor ordered for this franchise.

The Bruins were major sellers last year, dealing captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers and moving veteran defenseman Brandon Carlo to the Maple Leafs.

But this season, Boston has been one of the biggest positive surprises in the league. They occupy the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.

Bruins GM Don Sweeney is prepared to swoop in and add a veteran or two to bolster his team's chances at (a) getting into the Stanley Cup playoffs and (b) doing damage once they get there.

A Sportsnet report last Saturday had the Bruins as the front-runner to acquire Calgary Flames blueliner Rasmus Andersson, who ended up being moved to the Golden Knights instead. But Sweeney has likely not given up on finding upgrades who could help the team retool and be competitive.

Boston has only about $1 million in cap space at the moment, but that number could rise to just over $2 million by the deadline, according to PuckPedia. Taking a run at acquiring an experienced forward with grit – say, perhaps Nashville Predators winger Michael Bunting – would make a lot of sense for the Bruins.

The Sabres' terrible start to the season nearly snuffed out their playoff hopes, but a strong surge has put them back in the playoff conversation. They're in the first wild-card spot in the East, and long-suffering Buffalo fans want new GM Jarmo Kekalainen to strengthen the team in advance of a playoff push.

The Sabres have about $3.1 million in cap space, but that could increase to $6.53 million at the deadline.

While the Sabres do have the future of pending UFA right winger Alex Tuch to address, they could make a play for an experienced hand, such as Vancouver Canucks right winger Jake DeBrusk.

Standing pat won't make Sabres fans happy, so a surprise big move could be in the cards for Buffalo.

The Preds started the season poorly, but they've since rebounded and are now just three points out of a playoff spot. And Nashville GM Barry Trotz likely wants to atone for his team's brutal 2024-25 season.

He may still deal Bunting, right winger Steven Stamkos and center Ryan O'Reilly with an eye toward the future, which could mean stepping up and making a bigger move that improves the Predators' core for the long term.

With captain Roman Josi now in his mid-thirties, does Trotz want to go out and add a veteran defenseman – say, Hamilton? Nashville has more than $14 million in cap space right now, so it could absorb Hamilton's full $9-million cap hit. That would make a Hamilton trade more palatable for the Devils.

In any case, the Predators could surprise the league by being buyers by the deadline and making a playoff push the rest of the way.

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