Rumours have Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla (right) heading to the Pittsburgh Penguins before the April 3 trade deadline. (QMI Agency/Files)
Sitting in the Pittsburgh Penguins management box at the Air Canada Centre the other day, Ray Shero looked at the standings and shook his head.
Shero had just been asked about the upcoming
April 3 trade deadline and how much activity he expected there to be, both league-wide and from his own Penguins. Even he isn’t certain, given the unique circumstances of this condensed 48-game season.
“There are so many teams jammed together right now, I think a lot of them aren’t sure if they are buyers or sellers,” Shero said. “That might be one of the reasons you haven’t seen any really big deals go down by now.”
Shero has a point. With just over two weeks to go before the deadline, the majority of NHL teams don’t know whether to add or subtract.
Consider this remarkable stat: Heading into play Saturday, there were 20 teams within six points of each other. In other words, 66% of the NHL’s 30 teams had between 26 and 32 points.
