Mailbag: Trade Deadline candidates, Last Men In vote

Here is the Jan. 9 edition of Dan Rosen's weekly mailbag, which runs every Wednesday. If you have a question, tweet it to @drosennhl and use #OvertheBoards.

Who are your top 10 tradeable players for each conference for the upcoming 2019 NHL Trade Deadline? - - @whoopoi
I'll break this up this way:

Eastern Conference:

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, New York Rangers forwards Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello, Detroit Red Wings forwards Gustav Nyquist and Thomas Vanek, Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard, Ottawa Senators forwards Matt Duchene and Mark Stone, Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk.
Yes, that's 11, but it speaks a little to the imbalance in tradeable players from each conference.
I wonder if the Blue Jackets will keep Panarin and Bobrovsky even though each is a pending unrestricted free agent. If the Blue Jackets didn't already have these players, they would be buyers in the rental market looking to acquire players like them. So why not hold on to them and, at worst, treat them as rentals?
I've said before that I think it's a foregone conclusion Zuccarello will be traded, but I think the Rangers should keep and re-sign Hayes to make him a part of their future. I stand by that. Why trade a player who wants to stay and could be difficult to replace? The Red Wings could do the same with Nyquist, who is 29 and second on Detroit with 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) but signed through only this season. It makes no sense for them to keep Vanek (17 points), who is 34 and a pending UFA, if they're not going to be in the race to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He's not necessarily a part of Detroit's future. Nyquist could be. Howard is an interesting case because the Red Wings would have to find a contending team that needs a rental goalie and believes Howard is better than the goalies it already has. I don't see one right now.
If Stone and Duchene want to re-sign with the Senators, Ottawa should make it happen. Those are elite players who are young enough to be centerpieces in Ottawa's core (Duchene is 27, Stone is 26). But if the Senators can't re-sign one or both by the middle of February, the next move must be a trade. They can't get caught the same way the New York Islanders did last season with John Tavares. It's a no-win situation for Ottawa, especially because it must surrender its first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft to the Colorado Avalanche as part of the Duchene trade from last season.
I feel the same way with Simmonds and the Flyers. No contract by mid-February means trade is a must. It's a little different with Faulk and the Hurricanes because he has one year remaining on his contract after this season, but Carolina is solid at defenseman and needs help at forward. The only forwards the Hurricanes have signed beyond this season are Jordan Staal, Victor Rask, Andrei Svechnikov, Warren Foegele and Lucas Wallmark. Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho are restricted free agents.

Western Conference:

Los Angeles Kings defensemen Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez, Kings forwards Jeff Carter and Carl Hagelin, Minnesota Wild forwards Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter and Eric Staal, Chicago Blackhawks forward Artem Anisimov and Arizona Coyotes forward Richard Panik.
This list is different because six of the nine players (Muzzin, Martinez, Carter, Coyle, Niederreiter and Anisimov) has term remaining on his contract beyond this season.
The Kings need changes. I've read in other places they should look to trade goalie Jonathan Quick too. I won't discount that, but I also don't think the Kings, with Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar, will go into a deep rebuild the way the Rangers have. Quick matters to them and he'll keep the Kings competitive. But the Kings need an infusion of youth. If they're going to trade Quick, that seems like more of an offseason move, when more teams would get into the bidding.
The three Wild players are, pardon the pun, wild cards because I'm not sure what general manager Paul Fenton is going to do. I don't think they're good enough to win in the playoffs if they get there. Fenton could start a partial tear it down, attempt to build it up, or stand pat and hope for the best come April. If it's a partial tear down, Coyle, Niederreiter and Staal should be available. Staal is a pending UFA.
Anisimov has two years remaining on his contract, but the Blackhawks, a team in transition, could try to trade the versatile forward in a salary cap move to give them some added flexibility going into the offseason. Panik is a pending UFA and a role player on a team that is sitting outside the playoff race.
What would it take for the Vancouver Canucks to get Andre Burakovsky from the Washington Capitals? Nikolay Goldobin and a low draft pick? -- @nhlfan12345
I've seen Burakovsky's name out there in trade speculation. I haven't heard of this particular trade mentioned probably because it's difficult to speculate on the specific pieces a team could get in return. That said, after diving in to the details of this exact trade proposal, I think you're in the ballpark but with one major caveat. The forward is a restricted after the season and the Capitals, or any team that acquires him in a trade, would have to extend him a qualifying offer of $3.25 million, his base salary this season, to retain his rights, preventing him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Is Burakovsky still worth $3.25 million or more in his next contract? That's debatable considering his struggles this season. If he isn't issued a qualifying offer, he'd become a UFA. On the other hand, Goldobin is coming to the end of his entry-level contract, which means there is more flexibility for the team signing the forward to his next deal. However, if the Canucks are willing to take on Burakovsky at that price, the trade you propose makes sense.
Goldobin and Burakovsky are 23. They were first-round draft picks, Goldobin to the San Jose Sharks at No. 23 in the 2014 NHL Draft and Burakovsky to the Capitals at No. 23 in the 2013 NHL Draft. Goldobin has produced more than Burakovsky this season, but he's had more of an opportunity. He has played in four more games than Burakovsky and about four minutes more of ice time per game, half of which he's spent on the power play. Then again, Goldobin was scratched for road games against the Senators and Montreal Canadiens last week. He returned to the lineup in a 5-0 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday because rookie forward Elias Pettersson is out with a knee injury. Maybe a change of scenery could do some good for Goldobin and Burakovsky.

I couldn't find a hint about who are the most spectacular players in the Last Men In vote (for the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game). As the All-Star Game runs a bit like OT, 3-on-3, are there any stats of who puts up great numbers in OT and is on the ballot? -- @VojkoHo
The Atlantic Division is the toughest call. Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin leads the NHL with four overtime goals this season, but they are his first four NHL overtime goals and he's in his fourth season. Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner has three OT goals this season. Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly each has two. Point has six overtime goals since the start of last season, tied for the most in the NHL with Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who is not on the Last Men In ballot. I'd go with Rielly because of the season he's having.
Statistically speaking, it should be Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek in the Metropolitan Division. He is tied for third in the NHL with 16 OT points (five goals, 11 assists) since the 3-on-3 format came in in the 2015-16 season. However, he has one OT point this season, an assist. Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang are the only two of the eight Metropolitan Division players in the vote who have scored in overtime this season. I'd go with Letang again because he's been arguably the best defenseman in the division this season. He also has 15 OT points in the 3-on-3 format (three goals, 12 assists).
Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews or Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin should be the frontrunners in the Central Division. Seguin has two overtime goals this season and Toews has three OT points (one goal, two assists), but he's tied for second in the NHL with eight OT goals in the 3-on-3 format. St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko has seven OT goals in 3-on-3. But I'd vote for Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog in the Central Division even though he hasn't scored an OT goal since 2016-17. He has an OT assist this season.
Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano would get my vote in the Pacific Division, but statistically, going by 3-on-3 results, Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl or Kings center Anze Kopitar would be the favorites. Draisaitl has four OT points (two goals, two assists) this season and 15 in his NHL career (six goals, nine assists). Kopitar has 16 OT points in the 3-on-3 format (four goals, 12 assists), but one point, an assist, this season. Giordano has two OT assists this season after scoring two OT goals last season. He has 11 OT points (four goals, seven assists) in 3-on-3.
With Hayes and Zuccarello locks to be traded, do you think the Rangers take calls on Chris Kreider? If so, do you think they will pull the trigger if a deal comes along they can't pass up? -- @raygarvey30
I expect general manager Jeff Gorton's phone to be constantly charging because he'll be busy in the coming six-plus weeks and Kreider's name will likely come up multiple times. If they get the right package, I have no doubt the Rangers would move Kreider, who is signed through next season and is on pace to score 40 goals this season. If the Rangers don't view Kreider as a significant part of what they think they can be in a year or two, it makes sense to sell high now.