NHL trade deadline 2017: Forwards contenders should target or avoid

Hello, 2017 NHL trade deadline news hounds.

Yesterday we brought you our collection of defensemen and goalies that contenders should put in their crosshairs at the March 1 deadline.

And one of them went off the board before we even published.

So here’s the final half of this little series: the forwards.

Need a depth guy? There’s one available. Need someone who can bang around along the boards? There’s one available. Need a guy who can change the entire dynamic of your team? There’s one available.

And for every role, there’s one you should avoid.

Remember: some of these players won’t be available at all. It doesn’t hurt to inquire, though. Or dream. Or both. You do you.

We can’t wait for all of these players to get traded ten minutes after we publish. Or get re-signed.

Who they should be targeting: Matt Duchene, Martin Hanzal, Brian Boyle

I wish I could remember who said this yesterday on Twitter, but I loved it: NHL teams value their prospects too much this time of year. The price for acquiring Matt Duchene from Colorado is super-high.

But it’s worth it. Duchene is 26 years old with two years left on his deal and at least a full decade of top-six hockey ahead of him. That top prospect you give up for him is an investment, not a price.

Hanzal and Boyle are older, but no less valuable. Hanzal can play a top six role better than Boyle, but both are big bodies down the middle who can kill penalties and chip in offensively. The kind of players that turn into real assets come playoff time.

Who they should avoid: hahahaha

Never avoid acquiring an impact center.

Who they should be targeting: Patrick Eaves

Two reasons.

First, that salary. Goodness. $1 million on an expiring deal is so enticing, especially considering how tight the cap is for most teams right now.

Second, you’d be capitalizing on his best season. Eaves’ 21 goals is a career high, as are his 16 power play points. Anyone thriving on a power play with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn is worth placing beside your PP’s best players, too. He’s also a 200-foot player and gets in the dirty areas. Two phrases you’re tired of hearing but GMs love.

Who they should avoid: Drew Stafford

This is no knock on Stafford, a reliable winger who can play top six or bottom six minutes and kill penalties. He’s also pretty good if you’re looking for rentals, since his expensive contract comes off the books after the playoffs.

But whoever trades for him should do homework on the injury that’s plagued him all season. He’s good when he’s on the ice, but there’s a risk whatever ails him flares up again during the playoffs.

If that seems like a flimsy argument (injuries are nothing you can plan for), well ... it’s a good market for rental depth forwards. Not much downside.

Who they should be targeting: Patrick Sharp

He struggled with a concussion earlier this season but re-joined Dallas with decent impact. Ten points in 13 games in January ain’t bad. But he’s disappeared with the rest of the team in February: just two points in nine games.

That doesn’t mean Sharp isn’t valuable anymore. Given another chance somewhere else, Sharp could provide excellent value as a depth forward for a playoff team. He can kill penalties, perform on the power play and play up and down the lineup. And then his contract comes off the books this summer.

(He’s going back to Chicago. Let’s be real.)

Who they should avoid: Curtis Lazar, Matt Read

Avoid Lazar because ... well, I still hold hope he can figure it out with Ottawa. And I bet the Senators do, too. Besides, the Senators’ owner told his GM to buy at the deadline. Don’t bother reaching out for Lazar yet.

And Read is both A) struggling this year (four points since December) and B) under contract for another season. A trade could always jump-start his year, but ... nah.

Who they should be targeting: Thomas Vanek

It feels like Vanek has been around forever, but the 32-year-old proved this year he’s still a capable scorer. Think of him along the lines of Marian Gaborik joining the Kings for their Stanley Cup win in 2014. Give up a similar price (a second-round pick and a conditional third) and you could reap similar benefits.

Who they should avoid: Radim Vrbata

I like Vrbata, personally. He’s a threat with the puck on his stick and as accurate a shooter as they come. And a rental!

The issue is one that’s dogged him his whole career: he’s streaky as hell. He can go weeks without scoring before emptying the clip in a few days and going cold again. That’s a risk for a playoff run.

Who they should be targeting: Alex Burrows, Gabriel Landeskog

The “ideal” concept of a hockey power forward has changed: these days, you want your hard-nosed wingers to be defensively responsible, with decent speed and skill.

Both Burrows and Landeskog fit that description, but neither are cheap: Burrows comes with a (expiring) $4.5 million cap hit and Landeskog will cost his new team at least a first-round pick and top prospects.

But they’re the power forwards you want in this trade market. Landeskog is a younger, heavier and version of Burrows: he’ll hit, he can score and he’s an excellent net-front power play presence (60 PP points in his career). Burrows proved this month he still has that edginess teams would value.

Who they should avoid: Jarome Iginla and/or Shane Doan

Iginla is getting worse by the game. He’s on pace for a 22-point season even though he still plays solid second-line minutes. The 39-year-old winger has yet to score more than two goals in a single month. Doan, 40, is on pace for 28 points with about the same average ice-time as Iginla.

Iginla wants to play for a Stanley Cup-contending team. What Cup contender would look at Iginla these days and think his potential contributions to that goal would meet even a paltry price paid to acquire him? Arizona GM John Chayka recently said that he hadn’t even spoken with Doan about waiving his no-trade clause in weeks. I wonder why. Nobody’s calling.