While some deadlines lack the pizzazz to drum up real fan excitement, every so often a blockbuster emerges late in the game like Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to Tampa in 2018, Tomas Hertl to Vegas in 2023 and Brad Marchand to Florida last season. These were trades that hit the wire in the final minutes before the deadline that made fans point at the screen like Rick Dalton in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Here are five players that, if dealt, will make the deadline (March 6, 3 p.m.) truly fun.
The two-time 80-point scorer is only 26 years old and has five years remaining on his deal after this season. For long suffering fans in Buffalo, not only would it be a sign that the Sabres have finally returned to relevance, but it would be a bit of poetic justice after trading Ryan O’Reilly to St. Louis in 2018 only to watch him immediately win a Cup.