All of a sudden, the needle has moved.
The teams are back from a holiday break. The Winter Classic is in the rear-view mirror. And executives across the league are starting to ponder exactly what it will take for them to take part in a summertime parade—or simply to keep their jobs come season's end.
A key date in that process is March 21—the trade deadline.
And though it's still better than two months away, there's no doubt that the deals that will take place in the final hours leading up to it are in the germination stage as we approach mid-January.