A look at the top-ten trade candidates leading up to the deadline

Tomorrow, February 7th, will mark six weeks until the National Hockey League trade deadline for the 2021-22 season. There will be a flurry of action between now and March 21st at 3pm ET.

Let's take a look at ten names who are likely to be on the move ahead of this year's trade deadline.

1) Jakob Chychrun - Defence - Arizona Coyotes.
2) Ben Chiarot - Defence - Montreal Canadiens.
3) Jake Debrusk - Left Wing - Boston Bruins.
4) Artturi Lehkonen - Left/Right Wing - Montreal Canadiens.
5) John Klingberg - Defence - Dallas Stars.
6) Phil Kessel - Right Wing - Arizona Coyotes.
7) Reilly Smith - Right Wing - Vegas Golden Knights.
8) Jeff Petry - Defence - Montreal Canadiens.
9) Calvin de Haan - Defence - Chicago Blackhawks.
10) Joonas Korpisalo - Goaltender - Columbus Blue Jackets.

A lot of these players have been in the rumour mill over the last month or so, but an interesting name that I have included is Reilly Smith of the Vegas Golden Knights. Smith is in the final year of his contract at a cap hit of $5 million. Yes, the Golden Knights are first in the Pacific Division and could use him down the stretch, but they need to clear cap space in order to activate Jack Eichel off of LTIR, which could come at some point in February. It's also not a guarantee that Smith re-signs with Vegas in the off-season, so moving him now for an asset makes the most sense.

One team to watch, who has the most players on my list, is the Montreal Canadiens. General manager Kent Hughes has a big task ahead of him. With the team heading for a rebuild, moving on from pending UFA's and veteran players is the most logical way to kick start that rebuild. Ben Chiarot has garnered the most attention around the league since at least November. Some insiders believe that the Canadiens could get a first round pick in return for Chiarot given his performances over the last two Stanley Cup playoffs'. Other names to watch are Artturi Lehkonen, Jeff Petry, who reportedly wants out of Montreal, and Brett Kulak among others.

Columbus' Joonas Korpisalo may be the most in-demand netminder leading up to the deadline. Some teams that could use Korpisalo include Edmonton, Washington and possibly the St. Louis Blues, who would have him in a 1A/1B situation with Jordan Binnington.

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