We've just barely cracked through into 2025, and as exciting as a new year is, for many teams and players around the NHL, it helps bring into focus how wild it might get in just a couple of months.

That's right. We're talking about the NHL trade deadline, which arrives March 7. Even though most everyone across the league is halfway through their schedules, have you looked at how close the playoff races are shaping up?

The Eastern Conference essentially has all 16 teams thinking about the playoffs, with even the last-place Buffalo Sabres sitting seven points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card.

Even though the West has a handful of teams already thinking about the NHL Draft lottery, the races in the Central and Pacific Divisions will be brutal and the handful of teams gunning for the wild card spots will be on edge.

What does that mean for the trade deadline? Buyers and sellers will know better where they sit and some teams you think might be selling will buy and vice versa. There are players to be had and deals to be made and we're going to make some bold calls with less than two months to go until deadline day.

Rangers Will Bring Back J.T. Miller

The soap opera that exploded with the Vancouver Canucks surrounding star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson has taken all of us by storm.

Even though the rumors of discord between the two are plenty juicy, the fact that one or both of them could be traded takes it to another level. Both have been incredible players with the Canucks capable of piling up points and in Miller's case, playing with a nasty edge as well.

Both guys make a ton of money and even though the "easier" player to trade is Pettersson because he doesn't have no-trade protection until the summer, there are a handful of teams reportedly kicking tires on Miller (Rangers, Boston, Pittsburgh) who would seem likely for him to OK a deal.

But one of those teams, the New York Rangers, are the ones who drafted Miller in the first round in 2011 and a reunion makes all the sense in the world. The Rangers need a jolt (or two or three) and while GM Chris Drury has been active, it feels like a big one is brewing and bringing Miller back would qualify easily.

Vancouver reportedly already shot down a one-for-one offer of Mika Zibanejad for Miller, but trades are all about the negotiation, right? Starting there and hammering out something else is how the game is played.

All Eyes Will Be on the Buffalo Sabres

If you haven't noticed, it's been a trying season for the Buffalo Sabres.

A 13-game winless streak in late November into December has defined them and unless they can put together a win streak longer than four games, it'll be tough sledding for them to jump seven teams to get into the second wild card.

Crazier things have happened, but that nightmare skid shined a bright spotlight on Sabres GM Kevyn Adams and how he would find a way to get things turned around. After all, he made what was old new again when he hired Lindy Ruff to be the coach, and the offseason player moves have had varying levels of success.

Jason Zucker has been excellent, but he signed for one year and if he doesn't want to sign an extension, he'll likely be on a playoff team by the end of the deadline. Rumors are circling around Dylan Cozens and RFA-to-be defenseman Bo Byram and with all the young players and prospects they've got (Jack Quinn, Jiri Kulich, Zach Benson, Konsta Helenius, Anton Wahlberg), Buffalo could make a blockbuster trade happen whenever they feel like it.

But Adams isn't one to cave into pressure and he won't be bullied into making a trade he thinks will hurt them down the road. He's been GM since 2020 and apart from a 91-point season in 2023 and finishing one point out of the playoffs, the postseason dream has always been out of reach.

The fans' patience left town a while ago and when/if Adams makes a trade will decide his fate.

Anaheim Ducks Goalie John Gibson Will Be Traded

Gibson, 31, is a veteran who's having a great season. His .916 save percentage is tied for seventh-best in the NHL among goalies with at least 15 games played. And it's important to note games played because, so far, he's played in only 16 of them. After all, he missed time due to an appendectomy. Since returning, however, he's been fantastic on a Ducks team that's been struggling again.

Gibson, of course, comes with a $6.4 million cap hit and a contract that has two more years left on it beyond this season. He also has a history of injuries, but since returning this season, he's been solid and sound health-wise and that's enough to get contenders in need to call GM Pat Verbeek.

Carolina has ridden Pyotr Kochetkov hard because of injury to Frederik Andersen and while Kochetkov's been OK, the Hurricanes cannot have another short playoff run again this season. Now that they have the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils racing out in front of them and the Blue Jackets, Penguins and Rangers all lurking behind them, slip-ups in-season could be crushing.

The Edmonton Oilers, on the other hand, have gotten brutal goaltending from Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard and while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can cover up a lot of holes, the Oilers don't want last season's loss in the Stanley Cup Final to be outdone by a poor showing this year.

Colorado Avalanche's Biggest Move? Gabriel Landeskog Returning

The Colorado Avalanche have been one of the league's busiest teams with trades in the first half of the season. They had serious problems in goal with Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen playing terribly and replaced them with Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. They also added forward Juuso Parssinen from Nashville to better their depth up front.

That's a lot of moves, especially swapping out a complete goalie tandem, for any team never mind a Stanley Cup contender. That's why when trade deadline time comes in March, the Avalanche are going to be one of the quieter teams, but they'll arguably get the best player in their lineup with captain Gabriel Landeskog.

We've seen Landeskog join the team during practices in the past week or so. Although he's still dealing with a lot of pain in his surgically repaired knee that's kept him out of action the past two seasons, seeing him getting so close to returning makes us believe he'll be back.

This is a bold call on our part because a player's health, particularly after such a brutal knee operation, is their battle to fight and whenever he's ready to go again, it'll be the right time. But this is as close as he's been to getting back and a player as deeply competitive as Landeskog wants so badly to be back out there. We believe in him and think he'll be back to help Colorado in the second half of the season and the playoffs.

Brock Nelson in Boston Makes Sense

The Boston Bruins are fighting it right now. They're struggling to get offense from deep in their lineup and they've found themselves mired in a losing streak currently that's making their forecast for the playoffs look murky.

Boston needs a jolt up front and New York Islanders UFA-to-be forward Brock Nelson would be a superb fit in black and gold. Nelson is big and plays a power-forward kind of game. He can play up the middle or on the wing and the Bruins could use someone to do either of those things to spark their attack.

Nelson's $6 million cap hit is tricky to work around, but since he's in the final year of his deal, it makes him that much easier to trade at the deadline. At 33 years old, he's more than veteran enough to fit in seamlessly with the Bruins.

Yes, his numbers are a little down this season, but with how trying things have been on Long Island this season, perhaps a change of scenery would give him and the B's the spark they're looking for.

Dallas Will Go Big on Defense

When you look at the Dallas Stars defense setup, you're treated to a group of left-handed blue-liners among some of the best in the league. Miro Heiskanen is elite, Thomas Harley is young and on the rise in a big way, and Esa Lindell is rock solid. The right side, however, could use an upgrade or two.

Dallas has Ilya Lyubushkin, Matt Dumba and Nils Lundkvist holding it down on the right side and it is an area that could be improved on. The Stars have Stanley Cup aspirations and with a great forward group and an elite goaltender, they've got just about all their bases covered.

If the Canadiens aren't in playoff contention by the time the deadline rolls around, veteran David Savard would make a lot of sense for the Stars. He's in the final year of his contract, holds it down on the right side and plays tough, physical defense.

If not Savard, it might come down to finding a lefty shot that can play well on their off-hand side. That's where things can get a little dicey trying to find help. Would guys like Columbus' Ivan Provorov or Pittsburgh's Marcus Pettersson be able to handle it?

Flyers Will Be Dealing

Despite having John Tortorella as head coach and a load of attention surrounding them, the Philadelphia Flyers tend to keep it quiet off the ice when it comes to making moves, Cutter Gauthier aside. But after a few seasons with Torts in charge and the team in flux between rebuild and trying to make the playoffs, the guys who could use a change of scenery are obvious by now.

Forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost stand out in a big way as trade candidates. They've struggled the past couple of seasons under Tortorella and Frost has been a healthy scratch on occasion. Even though Farabee had a career year last season, he's struggled mightily this year. You can't help but think that a new team would help shake both of them out of it.

Trades like that aren't easy to do, however, Farabee and Frost are still relatively young and having them sort themselves out and grow because of it would be ideal in a rebuilding situation. Then again, if the coach is frustrated with the progress and it's hurting the situation, that's not good.

Trading young players can mean getting other, different younger players back or veterans that can help the young guys they're holding onto become better players.