Mailbag: Hurricanes goalies, Predators approach before Trade Deadline

Here is the March 31 edition of the mailbag. Each week, an NHL.com writer will answer your questions asked using #OverTheBoards.

What do you think the Carolina Hurricanes do with their goalies? Alex Nedeljkovic is playing lights out and James Reimer/Petr Mrazek are both unrestricted free agents after this season. "Ned" has to start 10 of Carolina's remaining 25 games to keep his RFA status. -- @GLaSnoST9
General manager Don Waddell told The Athletic on Friday he's not sure what the Hurricanes will do with the three goalies but trading one of them before the NHL Trade Deadline on April 12 was a possibility.
"We don't have a lot of [NHL salary] cap space," Waddel said. "If we're going to do something at the trade deadline, maybe one of the chips is our goalies. I can't say which one. It depends."
Waddell said it was a good problem to have, and that is why I don't think any of them will be traded.
First, Mrazek hasn't played since breaking his right thumb Jan. 30, so it's unlikely a team will trade for him. Second, the Hurricanes are one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers for first place in the Discover Central Division and their goaltending is a big reason why. Reimer is 13-4-1 with a 2.70 goals-against average and .907 save percentage. Nedeljkovic is 8-3-2 with a 2.05 GAA, .927 save percentage and two shutouts.
Assuming Mrazek returns healthy, being three deep at the position would serve the Hurricanes well if they hope to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Unless they get an offer they can't refuse, expect them to keep all three goalies.
With the Nashville Predators' recent hot streak, how might teams view players like Mattias Ekholm and Mikael Granlund now that they're in the playoff conversation, and could the Predators' recent surge drive their price tag up? And could it turn Nashville into a potential buyer instead? -- @CBrooksTN
The Predators have won six games in a row and are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for fourth place in the eight-team Central. The top four teams in each division make the playoffs.
So what does that mean for Nashville's approach ahead of the deadline?
As impressive as this turnaround has been, I don't think it makes the Predators buyers. I'm guessing they are focused on the big picture and any buying that's done will be based on that, not what could happen if they hold on to this playoff spot.
But if the Predators decide to trade Ekholm or Granlund, has this recent surge increased the price tag? I could see it more for Ekholm because there are always teams that could use a good defenseman and there usually aren't many available. The 30-year-old can become an unrestricted free agent after next season and has scored 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 30 games and averages 22:29 of ice time per game, third on the Predators behind Ryan Ellis (24:39) and Roman Josi (24:36). Granlund, a pending UFA, has scored 15 points (eight goals, seven assists). TSN reported March 23 that he could be a primary target for the Toronto Maple Leafs but I doubt they or anyone will overpay for the 29-year-old forward.
General manager David Poile and the Predators have never shied from making trades, so they will be interesting to watch in the next 12 days.

With so many "four-point" games due to the schedule format, do you think any teams could make a late-season push and sneak into a playoff spot? -- @Rob_Oswald
The Predators are a perfect example of how quickly a team's situation can change this season. Five weeks ago (Feb. 24), the Predators were seventh in the Central, eight points behind the Blackhawks for fourth place.
It's the main reason that with less than six weeks remaining in the season, there are very few teams I'd count out, so here's who I think still has a chance:
The Dallas Stars could be the next Predators in the Central. Despite missing forward Tyler Seguin (hip) and goalie Ben Bishop (knee), they're four points behind the sixth-place Columbus Blue Jackets and seven points out of fourth place. Their schedule is tough with 23 games over the next 41 days, but I could see them stringing together some wins and challenging for fourth. Their biggest issue is leaving points on the table in overtime/shootouts. They have 10 overtime/shootout losses, which leads the NHL.
The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are five points behind the fifth-place Arizona Coyotes and six points behind the fourth-place St. Louis Blues in the Honda West Division. I'm leaning more toward the Kings because I like their goaltending and defensemen, and I'm curious to see how Brendan Lemieux fits in after the forward was traded to Los Angeles by the New York Rangers on Saturday. The Kings and Sharks play each other four times from April 2-10, so there will be plenty riding on those games.
In the MassMutual East Division, the Rangers are two points behind the fifth-place Philadelphia Flyers and five points behind the fourth-place Boston Bruins and play them two more times (scheduled for May 6 and May 8). Eight of the Rangers' next 15 games are against the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres, who are below them in the division, and that would be a key opportunity to try to collect points.
There's going to be a lot of jockeying for positions in these divisions. Buckle up and enjoy.
What kind of moves do you see the Blackhawks making? -- @franknacchio19
Chicago GM Stan Bowman talked about this during the "Blackhawks Insider" podcast on March 17.
"We're trying to add players that we think can be part of our future," he said. "I don't think we're going to be looking for rental players who will be here a couple of months and having to give up some top, young assets to do it. Now there's time and a place for that, but I think we're still building. Our best years are ahead of us going forward, so I think we want to make sure we don't trade out young assets unless you're getting a young asset back, someone that you think is going to be part of your future."
You could say Chicago got somewhat of a trade acquisition when center Kirby Dach made his season debut Saturday after breaking his right wrist during a pretournament game with Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship on Dec. 23. The Blackhawks were thin at center with his absence and that of captain Jonathan Toews, who announced Dec. 29 he'd be out indefinitely with a medical issue.
Given the uncertainty of Toews' situation, perhaps the Blackhawks look to get a young center to be part of the rebuild. If they want to trade players from their roster, forwards Carl Soderberg and Mattias Janmark could be possibilities. Each signed a one-year contract with Chicago (Janmark on Oct. 12, Soderberg on Dec. 26) and is a solid role player who could help a playoff contender.