The CFL's trade deadline is Wednesday, and only one squad has been eliminated from post-season contention.

That team is the Ottawa RedBlacks, who could definitely use more draft picks but missed out on their glorious chance to trade quarterback Henry Burris, so the deadline will likely come and go without much action.

If teams could acquire what they needed with few or no strings attached, however, what kind of action would we see on deadline day? Just for fun, here is our annual trade deadline wish list for each team and what piece they need to have a better chance at hoisting the Grey Cup on Nov. 30 in Vancouver.

(* Please note these aren't realistic options. They are simply the best players at the position in which each team could use an upgrade for the stretch drive and the playoffs):

Calgary -- They are the Grey Cup favourites by a mile, so they really don't need much. It wouldn't hurt, though, if they got a Canadian defensive lineman to bolster their depth. Hamilton's Ted Laurent would do just fine.

Edmonton -- Adarius Bowman has caught nearly half of the team's passes this season. And because Fred Stamps has become an afterthought in the City of Champions, the Green and Gold would no doubt love to add Toronto receiver Chad Owens, who is averaging about 100 receiving yards per game.

Saskatchewan -- The Riders lost quarterback Darian Durant to an elbow injury in early September and haven't had much luck with Tino Sunseri or Seth Doege, so they could sure use Ricky Ray to fill the void. Or how about Henry Burris? Oh, never mind.

B.C. -- They don't have Andrew Harris for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury, and Stefan Logan is banged up as well, but should be ready for their next game. Kevin Glenn has the ability to win games but he needs a good running back to complement him since he hates to run the football. If the Stampeders are willing to part with Jon Cornish, the Leos should get in on those sweepstakes.

Winnipeg -- They have the worst offensive line in the league, so the Bombers need someone like defending most outstanding offensive lineman Brendon LaBatte of the Riders. Hey, didn't he used to play for the Bombers?

Toronto -- The Boatmen are starting to roll offensively with a healthy Owens, so they could use a boost on the defensive side of the ball. Someone like Alouettes linebacker Chip Cox would fit in well on an Argos squad that has only 10 interceptions and is in the middle of the pack when it comes to pass and run defence.

Hamilton -- The Ticats don't have many deep receiving threats on their roster right now and Zach Collaros has yet to show he can move the ball down the field in large chunks. Edmonton's Bowman would solve that problem in a jiffy.

Montreal -- The Alouettes are getting their offence going at the right time, so it's their usually reliable defence that could use a shot in the arm. Montreal, which has a league-worst nine interceptions, could benefit from the services of Edmonton's Dexter McCoil or Winnipeg's Moe Leggett, who both have five picks.

Ottawa -- Since the RedBlacks are already out of contention, they need draft picks, draft picks and more draft picks. Anyone over the age of 28 should be on the block. Sell! Sell! Sell!

EASTERN REVIVAL

Don't look now, but that crossover spot that everyone and their dog was guaranteeing is no longer a sure thing now that the East has won nine of its last 11 games against the West.

The Argos, Tiger-Cats and Alouettes are all 6-8, while the fourth-place team in the West, the Lions, are 8-7 and have a nasty schedule left.

If we assume the home team wins the remaining games involving the Argos, Ticats and Alouettes, and they all beat the RedBlacks, the Argos and Ticats would both finish at 9-9 and the Alouettes would end up at 8-10.

That would mean the Lions would just have to win one of their remaining games to get the crossover spot in the East. Regardless, it should be a dandy finish after quite a lopsided start.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Alouettes receiver Duron Carter is a stud receiver. If he can get his head screwed on straight and not drive his own teammates crazy, he should be an NFL receiver next year at this time ... How do the Saskatchewan Roughriders NOT start Kerry Joseph against the Edmonton Eskimos this weekend. They have to. It can't be any worse than the alternatives ... Has anyone seen Chad Johnson lately? ... You never get sick of seeing Anthony Calvillo honoured, do you? There's a reason for that. Pure class.

LATE HITS

Riders running back Anthony Allen has taken the league rushing lead with 849 yards, which isn't bad when you consider he was benched earlier in the year and has been used in a rotational system for much of the campaign ... In an odd twist, the Lions have the league's top two tacklers. Solomon Elimimian has 121 and is going to break J.C. Sherritt's league record, while his fellow linebacker, Adam Bighill, is second with 67 ... Bo Levi Mitchell is expected to be back under centre for the Stampeders this week. Calgary can clinch top spot in the West with a win over Winnipeg ... The players of the week are Argos quarterback Ricky Ray (offensive), Eskimos linebacker Dexter McCoil (defensive), Tiger-Cats kick returner Terrell Sinkfield (special teams) and Tiger-Cats slotback Andy Fantuz (Canadian).

SMOOTH MOVE

Not many CFL pundits gave the Alouettes much of a chance to do anything this season. The Als were coming off the Anthony Calvillo era, and it's never a smooth transition when trying to find the next quarterback.

Now, we're not saying Jonathan Crompton is the next one, but the Alouettes deserve credit for not sitting still. When the organization realized Troy Smith wasn't the answer, it moved on. When it realized Alex Brink wasn't what it was looking for, it moved on. When it wasn't convinced Tanner Marsh was ready to make the jump to starter, it went out and grabbed Crompton off the scrap heap.

All the former Eskimos pivot has done is guide the Larks to wins in five of their last six games and put them smack dab in the hunt for first place in the East Division with four games to go.

General manager Jim Popp could have dug in his heels and told the coaching staff to make it work with Smith, but he essentially admitted a mistake by moving on to the next pivot. Crompton might not be the next one, but he's the one who is getting the job done right now.

THE INSIDERS SAY

CFL coaches and managers give their anonymous thoughts on what they’re talking about behind closed doors:

Break a mickey over Chris Jones' head, and he'll get up and kick your ass. His team plays like that ... There is no trade talk out there ... If anything is going to prevent the Eskimos from getting to the Grey Cup, it's offensive line consistency and penalties ... Have the Bombers won a game since they fired Jim Bell? One of the nicest men I've ever worked with. Smart, too. But the little tough guy wanted total control. It's (Wade) Miller's team now, and they're in the crapper ... Who do I think is MOP? Maybe (Ricky) Ray from the media, and he's playing great, but a lot of us coaching would vote for (Mike) Reilly. Edmonton has won more games. Biggest turnaround in the league, and Reilly's running and passing makes him tougher for us to play against than Ray's passing does. Winning should matter more than stats, and Edmonton is going to have three or four more wins than Toronto ... It won't be long before Lions defensive co-ordinator Mark Washington is starting to get head coaching opportunities. He's doing a good job ... Odell Willis isn't the league's most outstanding player. He's a one-trick pony who is free to do his own thing and doesn't have to play with any responsibility at the defensive end position ... B.C. isn't going to be the crossover team. Not with the way their defence is playing. They haven't given up a touchdown in three games ... My boss said Jock Climie might be one of the names for commissioner. He said they want a guy who understands football and business this time. Climie knows football and they say he's a lawyer, so he must be smart ... Hamilton has the inside track to finish first in the East Division. They have the easiest schedule ... The Stampeders are the Grey Cup favourites, but they have to get over the mental hurdle of past playoff flameouts. It will all come down to the play of their quarterback and star players. Calgary's best players have been no-shows in big games and playoffs ... We have no Canadian depth now because of Ottawa. We're trying to hold on because we had to make sure they would be competitive over there. I told my coaches last December to accept it. Told them that we were told we had to give Ottawa enough to win six or seven games the first year, but instead they've screwed it up. They're way worse than the first Ottawa expansion team ... Great play call by the Argos on that winning touchdown. They caught the Ticats in a bad coverage and made them pay. You have to credit the Argos instead of pointing the finger at the Ticats. Also, the play on both sides of the line in the second half determined the outcome ... The Eskimos offence would be several clicks faster if they hadn't cut Marcus Henry. When you've coached defence you know it's hard to defend against size. Put Henry, who may get a thousand yards in Ottawa, out there with (Adarius) Bowman, who may get 1,500 yards this year, and with that good rookie Canadian (Devon Bailey), and they would have three receivers who are 6-4 or bigger. They would be impossible to match up with ... If I'm Corey Chamblin, I start Tino (Sunseri) this weekend with Kerry (Joseph) ready on standby. It's tough to think anyone even with experience is able to come up now and run the table. Also, they need to know for now and the future what they have in Tino ... The reason why everyone thinks the refereeing is terrible is because special teams penalties are way up and it's slowing the game down. Forty penalties in the Hamilton-Toronto game was a good example of that.​

PENTON'S PREDICTION

Props to the East Division for making it interesting, but it looks like it's going to be too little, too late for the Argos, Alouettes and Tiger-Cats to snag the three playoff spots in the East. Everything would have to work out way too perfectly over the next four weeks for the crossover berth to not go into effect. Either the Lions or Roughriders will be going East.

BY THE NUMBERS

70 - Sacks the Bombers are on pace to surrender this season

5 - Fumbles by the Lions this season

361 - Adarius Bowman's lead in the CFL's receiving yards race

40 - Penalty flags thrown during last week's Ticats-Argos game

BOSS BLUNDER

Ticats offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell gets to take the heat this week for his fancy play call at the worst possible moment.

Hamilton led Toronto 30-13 late in the third quarter and had the ball on its own 44-yard line. That's when the Ticats decided to have some fun with the old double reverse. The only problem is Terrell Sinkfield, who earlier in the game got caught from behind on a kick return while showboating, fumbled the ball.

The Argos recovered the loose pigskin and quickly turned it into the touchdown that got the ball rolling in their comeback victory.

Ticats coach and GM Kent Austin bristled at the suggestion that it was a bad play call.

"And if we catch the pitch, he scores," Austin told reporters after the game. "If you watch the play."

As Dave Ritchie used to say, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, it would always be Christmas Day.

It was not smart to call that play at that stage of the game. Too much can go wrong, and it did.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Big win and then an incredibly humbling experience serving Thanksgiving dinner at the Welcome Hall Mission. pic.twitter.com/W6ifRSCsJT — Alex Brink (@AlexBrink10) October 14, 2014

POWER RANKINGS

1. (1) Calgary - Talk about perfect timing for a bye week. Four games left to ramp up for the playoffs.

2. (3) Toronto - As good as Ricky Ray is, Chad Owens is the most outstanding player on this team.

3. (4) Edmonton - The Green and Gold dominated the Blue and Gold from start to finish on Thanksgiving Monday.

4. (2) Hamilton - They had the win in the bag against the Boatmen, but the league's youngest team blew it.

5. (6) Montreal - Putting up 40 points against a pretty good defence was the perfect tribute to Anthony Calvillo.

6. (7) B.C. - The RedBlacks were just what the doctor ordered for the Leos, who have some confidence back.

7. (5) Saskatchewan - Hey Darian, how's the elbow? Sore? What about now? Still sore? Is it healed yet? No? Can you check again?

8. (8) Ottawa - Only two victories means it's still possible they could be one of the worst expansion teams.

9. (9) Winnipeg - One more loss, and the Bombers will match last year's longest losing streak under Tim Burke.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday, 7 p.m. EDT

Ottawa at Hamilton

Their defence should have better luck against Henry Burris and the gang. Ticats by 14.

Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT

Montreal at Toronto

Something tells me this will be a dynamite defensive duel. Argos by 3.

Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT

Calgary at Winnipeg

The Red and White have a chance to clinch first place in the West Division. Stampeders by 15.

Sunday, 4 p.m. EDT

Edmonton at Saskatchewan

Without Darian Durant, the Riders defence can't do it alone. Eskimos by 6.

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Last week: 3-1

Overall: 48-17