The NHL's Feb. 29 Trade Deadline is approaching and teams are making decisions on whether to buy or sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out today's trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

Big Decision Looming

Loui Eriksson's situation in Boston will be interesting to monitor leading up to the Trade Deadline. Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe dives into it and outlines all the routes the Bruins could take with their talented winger.

Shinzawa said if the Bruins don't re-sign Eriksson and decide to move him at the Trade Deadline, they could either ship him off as a rental or package him with one of the two first-rounders the team has for a better return.

If Eriksson is sold as just a rental, the Bruins would hope to net a first-rounder and a prospect, but if he's packaged with a first the Bruins would hope to land a player like Jonas Brodin or Matt Dumba. Those two are mentioned because the Minnesota Wild are reported to have interest in Eriksson, according to Shinzawa.

Sticky Situation

The St. Louis Blues could have a difficult decision to make soon involving their captain David Backes, who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this campaign.

Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch broke down the situation and reports that trading the captain would be the most unlikely situation.

The Blues are in win-now mode but if they re-sign Backes before losing what would be a fourth-straight first round series, there could be criticism of the move.

St. Louis could also wait until after the season to address Backes' contract, which would open the possibility of losing Backes for nothing.

Any Takers?

The Ottawa Senators may be ready to finally move on from defenceman Jared Cowen.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports the Senators could be looking to move the soon-to-be 25-year-old at the Trade Deadline but also that it could be a big task.

Cowen, who has just three assists in 34 games this season, is still owed $4.5 million next year, which likely diminishes his value on the market. Garrioch also notes that Sens GM Bryan Murray won't give the former first rounder away for nothing.