Rosen's mailbag - Jan. 20, 2016

Here is the Jan. 20 edition of Dan Rosen's weekly mailbag, which will run every Wednesday in the Over the Boards blog during the 2015-16 NHL season. If you have a question, tweet it to @drosennhl and use #OvertheBoards.

Let's get to it:

Will Patrick Kane win the Art Ross Trophy, the Rocket Richard Trophy and the Hart Trophy? -- @HW06

Yes on the Art Ross and, if that happens, yes on the Hart, in my opinion. But I don't think he'll win the Rocket Richard because of Alex Ovechkin, who has 11 goals in his past 12 games. I expect Ovechkin to continue to tear it up and eventually pass Kane in the goal-scoring department. But Kane is running away with the Art Ross Trophy at this point and, in my opinion, he'd be a landslide winner for the Hart Trophy. He has made a huge difference, especially with Marian Hossa not scoring at his normal rate until recently.

What are your thoughts of Evgeny Kuznetsov in Washington this season? Are he and Nicklas Backstrom becoming the top 1-2 combo in the East? In the NHL? -- @chris_szimanski

This question made me go back and take a hard look at the top-two centers for each team in the NHL, or at least the players I deem as being the top-two centers on their team regardless of injury (i.e. Connor McDavid with the Edmonton Oilers and David Krejci with the Boston Bruins). I found six that I would rank with (not ahead of, mind you) of Backstrom and Kuznetsov. My list includes: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins), Patrice Bergeron and Krejci (Bruins), Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter (Los Angeles Kings), Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings), Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Eichel (Buffalo Sabres) and Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza (Dallas Stars).

I can't say Backstrom and Kuznetsov are definitively better than any of those combinations but I will say they're right up there with them and getting better too. Backstrom is among the best No. 1 centers in the NHL and Kuznetsov has climbed up the list to be among the best No. 2 centers. They're elite, which is a big reason why the Capitals are elite too.

Why do you think Carl Hagelin failed in Anaheim? Is Pittsburgh a better fit? -- @k_corpstein

Hagelin is not a grinding, physical forward. He plays a speed game. He darts around the ice, hides and pops open. If he's going to be in a top-six role, he needs to play with players who can create space on the ice for him. But the key is those players have to be able to score consistently too, because Hagelin is not a consistent scorer. The Ducks tried him with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry because it should have worked with Hagelin's speed complementing their size and scoring ability. The problem is Getzlaf and Perry weren't scoring. Hagelin was eventually pushed down the lineup and I thought he was starting to get some traction similar to the traction he had with the New York Rangers as a third-line left wing who was a key component on the penalty kill. But the Ducks need goals. The Ducks needed a bigger forward who could play a grinding game and had some offensive upside. They're hoping that player is David Perron.

Hagelin is a better fit with the Penguins because he can play more of a speed game. He has looked good on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, because those players hang onto the puck and allow Hagelin to use his speed to get open. They're also producing, especially Malkin, who has a way of making any left wing on his line look good. Hagelin is also used to the Eastern Conference.

What's up with the Penguins? One step forward, one step back all season. What will it take for them to play to potential? -- @bmalandra

What makes you think they're not playing up to their potential already?

They're not a deep enough team and they haven't gotten enough production out of some of their top players, notably Crosby (until recently) and Kessel. Their defense was a question mark coming into the season. Nothing has changed. Plus, they've had to play without Kris Letang for 10 games this season. Their power play was poor under former coach Mike Johnston. It's been better under Mike Sullivan.

Chris Kunitz isn't producing. Perron didn't do much before he was traded. Pascal Dupuis was unfortunately forced into early retirement. Beau Bennett is hurt, again. Nick Bonino is hurt now. Sergei Plotnikov has not come close to meeting his preseason expectations. Patric Hornqvist slumped for a long time and generally has not been the same as he was for most of last season.

Put all that together and you get an inconsistent team. But that being said, they have only three regulation losses in their past 13 games (6-3-4), so they're picking up points and staying in the playoff race.

I picked them to finish third in the Metropolitan Division behind the Rangers and Capitals. I thought at the time it might be a reach because of their depth and defensive issues, but I figured Crosby, Malkin and Kessel would carry the scoring load enough to carry the team. Crosby (until recently) and Kessel haven't held up their end to this point.

What will the Arizona Coyotes do by the trade deadline? Will it be relative to position if they can reach the playoffs or sell big time? -- @trondkasin

I don't see a sell -off coming. If anything, the Coyotes' surprising success this season has to have general manager Don Maloney thinking about adding an asset or two for the push toward a Stanley Cup Playoff berth. Arizona needs to continue to build its fan base, and a playoff push in March and April will go a long way toward doing that. I guess they could be sellers if they go into a prolonged slump and fall out of the race between now and Feb. 29, which is the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline, but I don't see that happening. The Pacific Division won't allow for it to happen.

Do you see the Red Wings making any splashes leading up to the deadline? If so, who do you see being traded? -- @purdstheword22

I'm not sure on splashes, but I think general manager Ken Holland will be in the market for a depth forward with news that Drew Miller is out for the rest of the season following knee surgery. The Red Wings are so tight against the salary cap that making any trade that adds a player with significant salary will be difficult.

When is the Montreal Canadiens' freefall going to stop? What is required for it to stop? Will they even make the playoffs? -- @gelboustany

No clue. Goals and saves. Yes.

OK, now that we've got that out of the way, let me explain:

I haven't the slightest idea of when the Canadiens will start scoring more and allowing fewer goals, but that's really what this boils down to.

They aren't playing badly. I know that might anger some people who want to be angry at the Canadiens, but they really aren't playing poorly. They are controlling the puck and the play, generating shots, both quantity and quality, but they can't seem to score. They will eventually if they keep playing this way.

They aren't giving up too much on the defensive end, but they're not getting the same types of timely saves they were getting when Carey Price was in net. Playing without Price puts them at a huge, huge, huge disadvantage because he's the player who settles everything down, makes the big save and gives confidence to the skaters. They're not the same team without him. They need him back. That's obvious.

But what is just as obvious is the Canadiens aren't all of a sudden a bad team. They simply just have a bad record of late. They need some better luck, some more pucks to go into the net, and they need more timely saves.

Any news on the Rangers and possible trades? Who in their 'D' corps should be traded? -- @Mikey_B_Goode

No news as of late. The Rangers do look like a team that needs some type of jolt, but it'll be hard to make it happen via a trade because of their cap situation. I have heard their name in the Jonathan Drouin trade rumors, but those are just rumors now. There is nothing concrete there.

As for the defense, it's not a matter of who should be traded, it's a matter of who could be traded. I'm sure the Rangers would entertain the idea of trading Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, but with their contract situations (Girardi is signed through the 2019-20 season, Staal through the 2020-21 season) and their play of late, I can't see any team willing to take them on right now. On the other hand, Keith Yandle would be a hot commodity because he's an unrestricted free agent after the season and clearly can help any struggling offense. The Rangers could move him at this point, but it would mean elevating either Dylan McIlrath or Brady Skjei. McIlrath is at best a 5-6 defenseman at this stage of his career, and he's a righty, unlike Yandle. Skjei is a lefty who can skate and move the puck, just like Yandle, but he's playing his first professional season in the American Hockey League. It's reasonable to question his readiness for a full time NHL role.

Unless the Drouin rumors have a chance at becoming reality, I think the Rangers will stay status quo for the time being and try to sort out their issues in house, with the hope that they can have them figured out before the trade deadline. If they don't and it appears they're going to sputter to the end, trading Yandle might be their best option for the future.

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl