It wasn’t too long ago that the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues were considered potential sellers in the NHL trade market. Entering the New Year, the three clubs were sitting well out of playoff contention in their respective conferences.
As of Jan. 1, the Hurricanes (37 points) were 10 points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference, the Blues (34 points) were mired at the bottom of the standings with the Blackhawks just two points ahead.
Because of where they were at that point in the schedule, all three were regular fixtures in the NHL rumor mill.