10 Value Players Likely to Be Available at the 2014 NHL Trade Deadline

February 27th, 2014 by Rob Vollman Leave a reply »
A lot of big names will change uniforms over the coming week, but it's often the value players that have the most significant impact down the stretch and into the playoffs. Which overlooked role players might be available this year, and ready to help propel a team towards post-season glory?

The hockey analytic definition of a value player is anyone who contributes in a number of ways that aren't completely captured by mainstream statistics or subjective impressions. Specific examples include anyone who:

Wins faceoffs Scores on the shootout Draws and/or kills penalties Plays tough minutes and/or against top competition, and Drives a team's possession rate Examples of value players who just missed this list include Columbus defenseman Nikita Nikitin and Phoenix's defensive-minded veteran Jeff Halpern.

Often there are reasons why these players are undervalued, such as their age, small size, history of injuries, bad contracts or disappointing seasons caused by poor linemates and/or tough opponents. We'll explore these reasons too.

One team came up repeatedly in the hunt for the 10 value players most likely to ma ...

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