With the NHL's general managers beginning their meetings Monday in Florida, it's expected a flurry of trades will be consummated before the Feb. 26 trading deadline.
However, the biggest possible addition on the market is a free agent currently playing in Sweden.
Former NHL MVP Peter Forsberg, who has not played since last season, is expected to decide Tuesday if he's healthy enough to make a return to the league.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren expected Forsberg, who won two Stanley Cups with Colorado, to decide if he wants to resume his career after struggling with foot and ankle injuries.
"The last I heard is Peter is going to decide probably by Tuesday whether he's going to play or not," Holmgren said.
Philadelphia, Minnesota, Vancouver, Colorado and Ottawa and Chicago are all possible destinations.
It was thought the Flyers were the leading contenders for Forsberg. But with Philly barely clinging onto the No. 6 spot in the tight Eastern Conference - it's so tight that there's only a five point difference separating the No. 6 seed Flyers (65) and the No. 12 seed Florida Panthers (60) - and the possibility of star winger Simon Gagne missing the rest of the season with a concussion, Forsberg's preference may now lie elsewhere.
One hot rumor has Forsberg ending up in Minnesota, which holds the third seed in the Western Conference standings and would be able to put him on a line with stars Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra.
Forsberg also has a relationship with the Wild's future owner, Craig Leipold, who owned the Nashville Predators when Forsberg played there last spring after being traded from the Flyers. Leipold will take over as the Wild owner in mid-March.
Oh, and there's the fact that Forsberg's girlfriend was raised in Minneapolis.Another late and somewhat surprising entrant to the Forsberg sweepstakes is Chicago.
Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon has admitted involvement in the Forsberg negotiations, and two European news outlets reported during the weekend that Forsberg, 34, is weighing a three-year, $11 million offer from the Hawks. He would be joining a club that may not make the playoffs this year in the deep West but one that has plenty of young talent to mentor, such as Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
No matter which team Forsberg lands with, it should be a smooth one. Last season Forsberg was traded to Nashville near the trading deadline.
According to Predators coach Barry Trotz, Forsberg was a wonderful - and easy - addition to the dressing room.
"It was easy, and the reason is that Peter Forsberg is a great person," Trotz said. "I mean, he fits into your team very easily because of his personality."
For his part, Forsberg has remained mum on his future in hockey. He has told no one - not even the players, trainers or coaches of the Modo team in Sweden with whom he has been skating for several weeks – his intentions.
Meanwhile, any team that doesn't get Forsberg will undoubtedly be interested in the two biggest names reportedly available on the trade market: Atlanta's Marian Hossa and Toronto's Mats Sundin.
Both are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Hossa, 29, has rejected a five-year, $35 million offer to stay in Atlanta, so he'd likely be a two-month rental for whoever gets him.
"They could lose me for nothing," he said. "Obviously they're aware of that. It's a big decision on their part."
Hossa entered Monday with 26 goals and 27 assists and twice scored more than 40 goals.
Sundin, 37, is the oldest player on the market, but he has not yet lifted his no-trade clause and he'll have a big say over where he'll go if he leaves Toronto. He has 24 goals and 36 assists this season.
The Maple Leafs would like to keep Sundin, but with the team's struggles this season, interim general manager Cliff Fletcher has to listen to whatever offers he could receive for Sundin, who must first waive a no-trade clause.
The first major trade happened early last week when the Ottawa Senators picked up Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore from the Carolina Hurricanes for Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo."The first big piece goes out, and then the other pieces start to move," Canucks GM Brian Burke said. "Usually a trade like that triggers a chain reaction. And Carolina and Ottawa's deal, I think, will produce a flurry, especially when all the GMs are going to be at one place."
One player who may not be going anywhere is Kings defenseman, who said Sunday that he has not been asked to waive his no-trade clause nor does he want to do so.
"I want to stay here and remain a King," said the injured Blake. "I stressed that with them and talked about the plans of the Kings and the future and a lot of different things. That was it.
"Nothing has changed on my part. I expressed my feelings to stay here again and do what I wanted to do when I came here two years ago. . . . My goals have been, two years ago, to sign here, to finish here. And to do something here, and that hasn't changed. If it takes two more years, three more years, or five years, I hope I'm involved somehow with that process."
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