Newest Trade Bait Board Finds 5 Centers in Top 10 Trade Targets

As we get closer to trade deadline #1 (Feb. 4th Olympic Roster Freeze) and then deadline #2 (March 6th), the Trade Boards are coming fast and furious, as insiders around the sport rank the most likely players to be dealt.

The latest TSN Trade Bait list came out on Thursday, and not surprisingly, it lists five centers among the Top 10 trade targets around the NHL. The demand greatly outstrips the supply of viable pivots, so they are the most in demand. Here's the Top 10:

Artemi Panarin, LW, New York Rangers
Nazem Kadri, C, Calgary Flames
Vincent Trocheck, C, New York Rangers
Dougie Hamilton, RD, New Jersey Devils
Ondrej Palat, LW, New Jersey Devils
Blake Coleman, LW, Calgary Flames
Steven Stamkos, C, Nashville Predators
Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, Carolina Hurricanes
Andrew Mangiapane, LW, Edmonton Oilers

Although Panarin may arguably deliver the biggest payoff of any of these players (with the possible exception of Kadri), The Bread Man's teammate Trocheck has quickly become a top target of teams around the league as the Rangers go into sell mode, given the three years remaining on his deal at a reasonable $5.625M cap hit. Panarin is a pending UFA.

Kadri, Stamkos and Pettersson, three of the centers on this list, carry heavy cap hits and term on their deals, so trades will be tricky. But make no mistake, those three are highly in demand.

TSN names Colorado, Washington, Los Angeles and Carolina as the top suitors chasing Panarin.

Odd to see only one defenseman in the Top 10, with Hamilton sitting at #4, but several more loiter farther down the list, including Luke Schenn (#12), Connor Murphy (14), Justin Faulk (18) and Brett Kulak (20).

On the full list of 35 names, there are surprisingly only the aforementioned three names from the Rangers. The St. Louis Blues lead the way with five players among the list, while the Vancouver Canucks are next at four.