The NHL's March 7 trade deadline is a month away, while the league's two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off (Feb. 10-21) is fast approaching. Trade activity could pick up again following the tournament leading up to deadline day, and considerable activity could occur before the February break.

Several teams in both conferences are still jockeying for the final wild-card playoff spots. However, some of them have fading postseason hopes.

Two are former Stanley Cup champions while another is a former two-time Conference Finalist. They carry rosters with aging core players that are overdue for an overhaul.

The following is our list of five playoff pretenders who should consider blowing up their rosters before the trade deadline. We'll examine why we believe they should commit to rebuilding and which players could or should be peddled at the deadline.

Do you agree with our selections? Are there other teams you believe should be on this list? Tell us about them in the app comments below.

New York Islanders

As of Feb. 8, the New York Islanders were jockeying for one of the wild-card berths in the Eastern Conference. They'd staged a seven-game win streak in late January to climb from near the bottom of the standings to give themselves a fighting chance at a playoff berth.

However, the Islanders have one of the league's oldest rosters (average age: 28.96 years). They possess an aging core that's struggled to regain the form that made them Eastern Conference Finalists during the 2020 COVID-bubble playoffs, and semi-finalists during the COVID-shortened 2021 season.

Over the last three years, the Islanders missed the 2022 postseason, qualified as a wild-card team the next two seasons, and were eliminated from the first round in both years. They seem to be on a similar path this season.

During that period, general manager Lou Lamoriello tinkered with his lineup, adding Bo Horvat, Alexander Romanov, and Anthony Duclair. He also sacrificed his club's future, trading away first-round picks from 2020 through 2023 adding players to chase the Stanley Cup. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler ranked their prospect pool 25th overall.

The result is a team with aging stars like Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri due to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. They've been among the league's lowest-scoring teams over the past five seasons, lacking the offensive horses to stage a deep playoff run.

Being a wild-card team that can't get past the first round shouldn't be the Islanders' objective. They must transition away from their older veterans and inject younger, better-balanced players into their roster. The time to start is now, with Nelson and Palmieri while they have value in the trade market.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers have been rebuilding since Daniel Briere became general manager two years ago. While they've been competitive on the ice thanks to head coach John Tortorella, they lack the depth to be serious playoff contenders.

Briere made a significant trade on Jan. 31, shipping Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to the Calgary Flames for Andrei Kuzmenkov, prospect Jakob Pelletier, and two draft picks. That deal could signal the start of more moves by the Flyers before the March trade deadline.

The Flyers have missed the last four postseasons and it appears they'll suffer the same fate this season. Briere could be planning other moves to restock his prospect pool and perhaps add a significant player by the trade deadline or the offseason.

Frost and Farabee were first-round picks chosen by Briere's predecessors who didn't pan out as expected. They could have better luck in Calgary but the Flyers GM is focused on using the return from that trade to benefit his club over the long term.

Kuzmenko is UFA-eligible this summer and could be flipped for a draft pick or prospect at the trade deadline. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic observed that the second-rounder Briere got from the Flames gives the Flyers seven picks in the first two rounds of this year's draft, four of which are second-rounders.

Kurz believes shipping out Frost and Farabee sets a high bar for young Flyers like Cam York, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, Jamie Drysdale, and Noah Cates to step up their play or become trade bait. Briere could also consider looking into the market for veterans Rasmus Ristolainen and Scott Laughton.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Kyle Dubas took over as president and general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins two years ago. During that time, he's attempted to retool his roster with younger players while trying to add veterans to build a winner around aging stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.

The results speak for themselves. They missed the playoffs last year, and are poised for the same fate this season. They're near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, six points out of the final wild-card berth with six teams ahead of them.

At an average age of 29.48, the Penguins have this season's second-oldest roster behind the Edmonton Oilers. The difference is that the Oilers remain Stanley Cup favorites because core players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, and Zach Hyman are in their playing prime.

The same cannot be said for Crosby, Malkin, and Letang, who are still good players but are now in their late thirties and well past their prime when they won consecutive Stanley Cups eight years ago. However, those three have full no-movement clauses and are intent on their careers in Pittsburgh.

Dubas can't or won't move those three but can accept reality and start rebuilding in earnest. He may be coming around to it, having traded Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor to the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 1 for Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, prospects Melvin Fernstrom and a conditional 2025 first-round pick.

He still has tradeable assets like wingers Rickard Rakell, Michael Bunting, and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. They could fetch a return of draft picks and prospects to replenish a prospect pipeline ranked 20th by The Athletic's Scott Wheeler.

Seattle Kraken

The Seattle Kraken surprised everyone, perhaps even themselves, by qualifying for the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs in their sophomore campaign. They upset the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the opening round and pushed the Dallas Stars to the limit in the second round before falling in seven games

It seemed like the Kraken were poised to enjoy rapid success like the Vegas Golden Knights, who won the Stanley Cup in their sixth NHL season and missed the playoffs only once in their history. Instead, they failed to qualify for the 2024 postseason and are close to suffering a similar fate this season.

General manager Ron Francis tried to get his club back on track last summer, signing free agents Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour to lucrative long-term contracts. However, those moves failed to move the needle, leaving the Kraken with two expensive players in their early 30s who will be past their prime in a few years.

Francis gave full no-movement clauses to Stephenson and Montour and cannot shop them without their permission. He should attempt more moves to add promising young talent like his acquisition of winger Kaapo Kakko in December.

The Kraken GM could be planning to shed some of his expensive players, recently demoting goaltender Philipp Grubauer to his AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley. Buying out the 30-year-old Grubauer could be in the offing in June if he can't find a way to move him in the trade market.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported last month that the Kraken was exploring the trade market for forwards André Burakovsky and Oliver Bjorkstand. Gritty winger Brandon Tanev is UFA-eligible this summer and could be a tempting target for playoff contenders.

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues were a Cinderella story in 2018-19. They rose from last place in the Western Conference at midseason to qualify for the playoffs, then staged an incredible playoff run culminating in their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

However, those days are long gone. Sitting eight points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot, it appears they'll miss the postseason for the third straight year.

General manager Doug Armstrong has shaken up his roster in recent years by trading away veterans like Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko while promoting young stars like Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou into larger roles. He signed away promising players Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers last summer.

The Blues must do more to shake up their core and inject more talented youth into their lineup. During a Jan. 28 interview with The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford, Armstrong hinted at doing that by the trade deadline if he didn't see significant improvement.

Rutherford seems to be getting started, waiving winger Brandon Saad and reaching a mutual agreement with him to terminate his contract, freeing up his $4.5 million annual cap hit through next season.

Other moves could be coming. On Feb. 6, TSN's Darren Dreger reported that "there's potential" for team captain Brayden Schenn to be traded. Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos included Schenn, Pavel Buchnevich, and Jordan Kyrou on his trade board the following day.

Standings (as of Feb. 7, 2025) via NHL.com. Salary info via PuckPedia.