NHL trade season is well underway, with plenty more moves expected before the deadline Friday

Mikko Rantanen could be on the move again if Carolina cannot sign him to an extension. Brock Nelson, Erik Karlsson and brothers Brayden and Luke Schenn are all in the mix.

Seth Jones, Ryan Lindgren and Gustav Nyquist have already changed teams. And there is still plenty of time before the NHL trade deadline on Friday. Even after a series of deals prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off, the coming week should bring plenty of action before the NHL trade deadline on Friday.

“The two-dollar answer to the million-dollar question is, ‘I’m not sure we know,’” Bill Zito, general manager of the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers said earlier in the week before acquiring Jones from Chicago.

Of the league’s 32 teams, 25 are either in a playoff position or within four points of a spot. Not all of them are legitimate contenders, but Washington Capitals general manager Chris Patrick wondered if the tightness of races in the Eastern and Western Conferences will affect the volume of moves.

“There’s some teams this year that are kind of in that four-point range of the playoffs that maybe have been sellers for the last couple years and say: ‘You know what? We’re just going to run with it here and see what we can do, and if we miss, we miss, but I want to give the guys a chance to make it,’” Patrick said. “I’m really not exactly sure what to expect, but it does feel like there’s kind of less teams that have come out and said, ‘Hey, we’re open for business.’”

Late in a horribly disappointing season, the Nashville Predators signaled they are open for business by trading Nyquist to the Minnesota Wild. That came hours after Colorado got Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey from the New York Rangers, who traded a couple of pending free agents but aren’t giving up on the season.

Forwards

Rantanen went from the Avalanche to the Hurricanes in a three-team blockbuster in January, but the 2022 Cup champion remains the biggest name in trade buzz because he still does not have a contract beyond this season.

Carolina could opt to roll the dice and try to win with him and figure it out before July 1, but if he is available, the suitors from Dallas to Edmonton to Florida will be lining up.

Nelson, another pending unrestricted free agent forward, is more likely than not to get traded with the New York Islanders fading from the playoff chase. Same goes for Rickard Rakell of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Scott Laughton of the Philadelphia Flyers and Ryan Donato of the Blackhawks.

Seattle Kraken center Yanni Gourde — a two-time Cup champion with Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 — is coming off sports hernia surgery but could be exactly the kind of depth addition that gets a team over the top in the playoffs.

St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn just played his 1,000th regular-season game in the league, and reports have circulated that teams are interested in acquiring him and defenseman brother Luke, who plays in Nashville, in separate trades.

“Honestly, the times I’ve gotten traded, I didn’t expect to get traded,” Brayden said. “So, you really never know.”

The Rangers are holding winger Reilly Smith out for trade-related reasons, and Boston has some decisions to make with (injured) captain Brad Marchand and hard-nosed forward Trent Frederic.

Defensemen

Jones to the Panthers for goaltender Spencer Knight and a conditional first-round pick put the wheels in motion and may have set the market rate, though the defense market is far less robust than at forward.

Philadelphia’s Rasmus Ristolainen might be the best right-handed shooter at the position available, and he has two years left on his contract. So does three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson — at roughly double Ristolainen’s salary — and the Penguins should be motivated to move him and get younger.

Montreal’s David Savard, a teammate of Gourde’s and Luke Schenn’s on the Lightning’s 2021 Cup run, is among the best rental options on the board.

Goaltenders

Knight being part of the return for Jones could open the door for Florida to get another backup for two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, but after that it’s slim pickings in net.

Anaheim’s John Gibson is the only No. 1 goalie believed to be available. Carolina and defending West champion Edmonton are in the small group of teams with championship aspirations that may look to upgrade at hockey’s most important position, though salary cap implications could very well lead them to stay pat.

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AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Sunrise, Florida, contributed.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer