Dallas Stars, other teams may wait until last minute to deal…

Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com: Jim Nill seems to feel that the market for the deadline may fully set in the final hours. That looks to be a growing trend among insiders, analysts, and general managers alike.

Will that market set so that Dallas can add an expiring contract without costing a big expense? That answer remains unknown currently.

“In the end it comes down to what the price is. There’s a certain price that every general manager is going to be comfortable with depending on where their team is. If that price makes sense to us, we’re open to it. If it doesn’t, we won’t be doing it. It’s pretty straightforward that way and I think it’s that way with a lot of teams.”

Simply, the wait goes on.

A Dallas Stars offer for Artemi Panarin?

Sean Shapiro of The Athletic: Dallas scoring just 145 goals at press time was a full 20 goals less than any other current playoff team. That makes a deal for Panarin more of a possibility.

What could it take? A first-round pick, Roope Hintz, and Jason Robinson probably are not enough. Would including Denis Gurianov be enough? That becomes an excellent question if Columbus is truly intent on moving Panarin.

The mystery of the Columbus Blue Jackets

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic: Will Columbus sell, buy, or buy and sell? The answer to that is anyone’s guess. Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin are two of the biggest trade chips of the deadline.

Columbus is exploring the acquisition of Matt Duchene as well.

With this many moving pieces, decisions will come sooner rather than later internally. The problem with Bobrovsky becomes his 5-14 postseason record with a .891 save percentage. What is the market on that?

Lastly, does a package deal happen now or in the summer? With so many possibilities, sweeteners may be needed depending on what happens next.

The Vegas Golden Knights and the trade deadline

Joey Alfieri of NBC Sports: George McPhee‘s wisest course remains treading lightly with this trade deadline. Keeping picks and building the pipeline are higher priorities.

Trading a mid-round pick for a secondary or tertiary player would accomplish that. The problem becomes when a general manager keeps trading big (Panarin, Stone, Duchene), eventually, there is little left to fall back on.