NHL storylines to watch heading into Trade Deadline

Let the games begin.
The next four weeks and a day in this NHL season figure to be among the busiest, newsiest and most interesting. It is the run-up to the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline, which is 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 25.

Who stays? Who goes? Who buys? Who sells? Who signs? Who declines? Who says they need more time to decide? And that's just for the deadline.
What about the divisional and conference Stanley Cup Playoff races? Yes, they'll heat up even more.
There's a lot to watch and pay attention to in the coming weeks. Here's a rundown:

Playoff race in Western Conference

Eight teams are separated by six points with the likelihood of three playoff spots available provided the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights don't collapse.
The Minnesota Wild are third in the Central Division but six points ahead of the St. Louis Blues, who are sixth. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars occupy the wild card spots in the conference with 52 points each; they own tiebreakers on the Vancouver Canucks, who also have 52 points.
The Anaheim Ducks have won two of 16 games since Dec. 18 (2-10-4) but are one point out of a playoff spot with 31 games to play. They play nine of their next 12 games on the road.
The Edmonton Oilers fired general manager Peter Chiarelli on Tuesday but are three points out of a playoff spot. Six of their next eight games are on the road. The Arizona Coyotes, 6-2-2 since Jan. 4, are two points out with seven of their next 11 games on the road.

All eyes on Columbus

The Columbus Blue Jackets have decisions to make on forward Artemi Panarin and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who each can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Neither player has expressed an overt desire to re-sign with the Blue Jackets, but neither has publicly ruled it out either, which makes the situation dicier for general manager Jarmo Kekalainen.
Do the Blue Jackets, who are third in the Metropolitan Division with 59 points, treat their best forward and their No. 1 goalie as their own rentals by keeping them even if they won't re-sign or they're not sure if that's what they want to do? That's a possibility because Columbus, as it's currently built, is good enough to get into the playoffs and potentially win there as well.
However, there is also the future to think about and the potential return the Blue Jackets can get in trades for Panarin, who has 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) in 46 games and Bobrovsky, who isn't having his best season (19-14-1, 2.91 goals-against average, .904 save percentage) but is still undoubtedly a top goalie in the NHL.

Rebuild continuing for Rangers?

The New York Rangers (49 points) are nine points out of a playoff spot with 34 games to play, which means it could be time to embark on the next phase of their rebuild.
The most notable Rangers who could be traded are forwards Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello, and defenseman Adam McQuaid. Each can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Zuccarello has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past five games to possibly improve his market value. The 31-year-old is two games from 500 in the NHL, all played with the Rangers.
Hayes has 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 39 games. The 26-year-old has missed the past nine games because of an upper-body injury but is expected to be in the lineup against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
McQuaid, 32, has been one of the Rangers most valuable defenseman and has helped Brady Skjei turn his season around since coach David Quinn paired them.

Oilers: Buy or sell?

The Oilers are three points out of a playoff spot despite going 5-12-0 since Dec. 16, and captain Connor McDavid talked Thursday about the motivation to prove everybody wrong.
Management, led by Oilers Entertainment Group CEO and vice chair Bob Nicholson, and assistant general manager Keith Gretzky, who Nicholson said will take on many of the GM's duties, believes the team is capable, but will they put future assets in play to help in the short term? Is that worth it? Are the Oilers good enough to warrant help this season?

And in Ottawa…

The Ottawa Senators are nearing decision time with forwards Matt Duchene and Mark Stone, their top two scorers this season; each can become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Sportsnet reported the Senators are negotiating a new contract with each player, but with the trade deadline looming, they're going to need more than just ongoing negotiations for these players to be off the market. If one or both remain unsigned in the next few weeks, the expectation is the Senators will start shopping them.
Stone leads the Senators with 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists) in 50 games. Duchene is second with 47 points (20 goals, 27 assists) in 41 games.

But wait, there's more…

* Ten more players in the final year of their contracts who could be dealt before the trade deadline:
Right wing Wayne Simmonds (Flyers), center Jason Spezza (Stars), defenseman Jay Bouwmeester (Blues), center Derick Brassard (Pittsburgh Penguins), left wing Carl Hagelin (Los Angeles Kings), center Eric Staal (Wild), left wing Andre Burakovsky (Washington Capitals), left wing Micheal Ferland (Carolina Hurricanes), forward Marcus Johansson (New Jersey Devils), center Brian Boyle (Devils).
* Six teams that could be aggressively looking to improve before the deadline, putting future assets in play to better their chances now:
1) Predators -- second in the Central Division with 64 points, the same amount as the Jets but in four more games played; 2) Capitals -- second in the Metropolitan Division with 60 points but 0-5-2 in their past seven games; 3) Boston Bruins -- fourth in the Atlantic Division with 59 points, two behind the Montreal Canadiens; 4) Sharks -- second in the Pacific Division with 65 points, three more than the third-place Golden Knights in the same number of games (52); 5) Stars -- in position currently to be the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference; 6) Avalanche --in position to be the second wild card into the playoffs from the West with an extra first-round draft pick that could be used in a trade because they also get the Senators' first-round pick from a trade last season.
* The New York Islanders, arguably the most surprising team this season, are first in the Metropolitan Division with 62 points, three ahead of the Capitals, and they have four pending unrestricted free agents in forwards Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Jordan Eberle and Valtteri Filppula. The Islanders could be buyers in the trade market if they continue to play well into February. It could just be a question of where they play their home games in the playoffs, Barclays Center or Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders would love to have to answer that question.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning lead the NHL with 37 wins and 76 points through 49 games. They're on pace for almost 62 wins, which is the NHL record for most victories in a season set by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings. They're also on a 127-point pace, which would fall five short of tying the record for most points in a single season set by the 1976-77 Canadiens (132), who played 80 games. The Lightning would need to average 1.697 points per game in their final 33 games to catch the Canadiens. They're averaging 1.551 points per game. Can they keep pace in wins and pick up their pace in points to have a chance?
* The last major marquee event on the regular-season calendar takes place at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, on Feb. 23, when the Flyers host the Penguins in the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series (8 p.m. ET; NBC, TVAS). It's a rematch of the Stadium Series at Heinz Field on Feb. 25, 2017. The Penguins won that game 4-2 in front of 67,318.