Mailbag: Potential Panarin destinations; market for defensemen

Here is the Jan. 30 edition of Dan Rosen's weekly mailbag, which runs every Wednesday. If you have a question, tweet it to @drosennhl and use #OvertheBoards.

Where do you think Artemi Panarin winds up after July 1? -- @knightvine
Here are five possible destinations other than the Columbus Blue Jackets, with reasons why:
1. New York Rangers:Signing Panarin would signal a significant step forward in the Rangers' rebuild, accelerating the time-to-win process by a year, perhaps two. He'd be the dynamic, point-per-game, top-line forward the Rangers do not currently have. New York has the big-city appeal and the Rangers have the salary cap space.
2. Florida Panthers: The Panthers are young and have two elite centers in Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck. They've struggled this season, but they're still a team on the rise. The South Florida weather and nearby South Beach are major pluses.
3. Chicago Blackhawks:Panarin played his first two NHL seasons on a line with Patrick Kane and had 151 points (61 goals, 90 assists) in 162 games. Chicago should be able to afford him. I don't see why he wouldn't be interested in returning.
4. Boston Bruins:The Bruins could use another wing who they can lock into a top-six role to potentially play with center David Krejci on the second line. They might be a team interested in acquiring Panarin before the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline if the Blue Jackets decide to move him.
5. New York Islanders: The chance to play with Mathew Barzal, for coach Barry Trotz and under general manager Lou Lamoriello, and live on Long Island, a bridge or a tunnel away from New York City, could all be very enticing.

How does the Jake Muzzin trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs affect the trade deadline market? -- @BartlettBrando
The impact it could have is on teams that could potentially trade top-four defensemen who are signed through at least next season. That's what the Los Angeles Kings did with Muzzin on Monday, when they traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Carl Grundstrom, the rights to unsigned draft choice Sean Duzi and Toronto's first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Top-four defensemen with term left on their contract are typically rare commodities in a deadline market, but maybe not so much this year. The Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Rangers and even still the Kings are at least five teams that appear to have them to dangle this year.
The Hurricanes have Justin Faulk, who is signed for one more season ($4.833 million salary cap charge), and Dougie Hamilton, who is signed for two more ($5.75 million cap charge). Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin are the Hurricanes defenseman I'd go after if I were a rival general manager, but they're the players I wouldn't trade if I were Hurricanes GM Don Waddell unless I were blown away by an offer. Pesce is signed for five more seasons with a cap charge of $4.025 million. Slavin is signed for six more seasons at $5.3 million per.
The Blues have Alex Pietrangelo, who has a year left on his contract ($6.5 million). I'd be shocked if St. Louis traded Colton Parayko, who is signed for three more seasons ($5.5 million). The Canucks have Chris Tanev, who is signed for one more season ($4.45 million). The Rangers would entertain offers for Kevin Shattenkirk, who is signed for two more seasons ($6.65 million cap charge). And the Kings could test the market value of Alec Martinez, who is signed for two more seasons ($4 million cap charge).
It's difficult to properly analyze what the Maple Leafs gave up to acquire Muzzin because it's all future assets, but a first-round pick and at least a prospect, if not two, have to be considered a ballpark rate for a top-four defenseman who is signed beyond this season.

Is there a chance Taylor Hall demands a trade out of New Jersey and if he doesn't get traded does he do what John Tavares did last July? -- @kdevilphin84
I don't think Hall would demand a trade unless things turn ugly. As far as I can tell, his relationship with the New Jersey Devils, GM Ray Shero and coach John Hynes is good, so there'd be no animosity that would push him to want out. There's also the continued development of center Nico Hischier and the possibility goalie Mackenzie Blackwood is the real deal. Those are some of the factors that could entice Hall to stay.
However, Hall could play the long game with the Devils the same way Tavares did with the Islanders and Panarin is doing with the Blue Jackets. He'll have earned the right to test his value on the free agent market in 2020 if he chooses. If that's what he does, Shero might have to get proactive this offseason and at least look into what the market would be for Hall with one year left on his contract. Don't underestimate the fact the Islanders put themselves in the position to lose Tavares for nothing because they were not proactive enough to make the big decision.
How do the Maple Leafs manage their cap situation going forward where four players (John Tavares, William Nylander, Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner) take up half the money? -- @MassF
Sign Matthews and Marner after this season and build around them, Tavares and Nylander because that's an elite core of forwards and you don't get rid of that for cap considerations. It can be done.
It helps that the cap could go up from $79.5 million to $83 million next season, according to what NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said at the Board of Governors meeting in December. The cap could continue to rise beyond next season if revenues continue to climb. It also helps that the Maple Leafs have goalie Frederik Andersen, who has two more years on his contract, and defenseman Morgan Rielly, who is signed for three more seasons. The same can be said for Muzzin and center Nazem Kadri, who is signed through the 2021-22 season. Maybe having both Kadri and Patrick Marleau, who has one year left at $6.25 million, is a luxury Toronto won't be able to afford after signing Matthews and Marner but moves can be made to accommodate that if necessary. The Maple Leafs could lose defensemen Jake Gardiner and Ron Hainsey in free agency, but they have defenseman Travis Dermott still on an entry-level contract for one more season, and Calle Rosen, Andreas Borgman, Rasmus Sandin, the No. 29 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, and Timothy Liljegren, the No. 17 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, should push for spots next season. Toronto likely would try to acquire one or two veteran defensemen but wouldn't have to pay exorbitantly for one.
What do you see the Nashville Predators trying to do before the trade deadline? Names to look for that are out there that might be a good fit? -- @BrettHullander
One number to look is 13.1 percent, which represents the Predators' 29th-ranked power play this season. More recently, they're 0-for-25 in seven games since Jan. 10 and an NHL worst 9.6 percent (7-for-73) in 24 games since Dec. 6. So if Nashville is going to look for something prior to the deadline, it should be a forward who can make a difference on the man advantage.
If the Philadelphia Flyers decide to move him, Wayne Simmonds, a forward on the last year of his contract, would be the perfect fit for the Predators. Simmonds, one of the game's best net-front forwards on the power play, has scored four power-play goals this season, but has 93 in his NHL career, including 11 last season and 16 the season before. Peter Laviolette, who coached Simmonds in Philadelphia from 2011-13, could plant the 30-year-old veteran in front of the net and expect Nashville's power play to become more of a threat than it has been.

Two more to look out for are forward Micheal Ferland of the Hurricanes and center Brian Boyle of the Devils. Ferland has scored five power-play goals this season and Boyle six. They're each in the final year of his contract as well.
In all cases, it's a big forward from the rental market who can take up a lot of room in front of the net on the power play and make a difference.
Could you rank the following from most likely to least likely?
1. Johnny Gaudreau winning the Hart Trophy
2. Bill Peters winning the Jack Adams Award
3. Mark Giordano winning the Norris Trophy
@StanfordJer
3, 2, 1
Giordano would get my vote for the Norris Trophy if I had one and had to submit it today. He's second in the NHL among defensemen with 52 points (11 goals, 41 assists), three behind Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks. He leads all defensemen with a plus-29 rating (not my favorite stat, but plus-29 stands out regardless). He has been terrific on special teams with 18 points on the power play and four shorthanded, including three goals. And his impact on the Flames goes beyond the obvious traditional numbers too. They generate 55.66 percent of 5-on-5 shot attempts when Giordano is on the ice. It's the best shot-attempts percentage (SAT) among all Flames defensemen, which is remarkable considering he plays a lot against the opposition's best forwards.
Peters should be in the running for the Jack Adams Award, but I think that's Trotz's to lose. The same should be said for Gaudreau and the Hart Trophy, but Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov is ahead of him. Don't sleep on center Connor McDavid, especially if he finds a way to help the Edmonton Oilers into a playoff spot. They're three points out.