On Last week’s edition of Hockey Night in Canada, Chris Johnston mentioned that the NHL’s trade market seems to me more active than it usually is at this time of year. Parity in the league means that teams are going to be looking for any advantage they can. For those who see themselves as contenders, a December trade will have a bigger impact on playoff seeding that a trade in February will.
There is also a market of sellers developing due to the fact that there are so many bad teams at the bottom of the league - Chicago, Los Angeles, Ottawa and a few others know they’re not going anywhere this season.