Insider List 5 Trade Candidates To Watch Around The NHL

It's never a bad time to discuss potential trade candidates and who is going to be traded next because we really never know. Elliotte Friedman listed the top five around the NHL at the moment, naming Joel Armia, Kevin Labanc, Anthony Mantha, Andrew Peeke, and Conor Garland in no particular order.

Armia was cut by the Montreal Canadiens so that they could keep a couple of younger players around who would have otherwise have to be sent through waivers. Armia is older and slowing down, but has a contract that is tough to move. After Kirby Dach went down with an injury, Armia was recalled, but I don't expect him to play many games. We'll see if the Canadiens can dump his contract in the summer if they even can.

Labanc was almost put on waivers last week, but instead, started the game that night for the San Jose Sharks. Ever since he took less money to stay with the Sharks so that they would have a better chance of winning, it has gone downhill for him. It coincides with the team as a whole, but the team will try to trade him with 50 percent of his contract retained before the trade deadline. He has zero points and has only dressed for two games this season.

Mantha is a seemingly unmovable contract for the Washington Capitals and the organization has not been happy with his play since being acquired. He just has never gotten going and is currently on the fourth line with a cap hit of $5.7 million AAV. He also served as a healthy scratch for one game already this season.

The Columbus Blue Jackets clearly have more solid defensemen than they can fit in their lineup, and Peeke is getting the short end of the stick. For such a strong defensive presence, he has sat out for four of the five games. Even when Zach Werenski got injured, the Blue Jackets chose to call up David Jiricek and play him. That is still the case and now Peeke is eighth on the defensive depth chart. His cap hit makes a trade a lot easier than the others.

Garland is going to be traded this season. His agent is looking for a team and the Vancouver Canucks are also searching. He is a decent middle-six winger that can produce a fair bit of points. The Canucks are willing to retain up to 30 percent of the contract in a trade and are looking for a defenseman in return. There are teams that could get a deal done soon. While all of these names need to be traded by the teams they currently play for, it might not be a reality this season.