Yesterday, the silly season NHL offseason began with a bang. The Montreal Canadiens sent their top defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Jonathan Drouin.

Understandably, rumors are starting to come out about teams looking to make moves and players that might be available in the trade market. After all, teams have to figure out their expansion draft strategy pretty quickly, as their protection lists are due by 5 PM EST tomorrow.

While we sit and wait for the Dallas Stars and general manager Jim Nill’s strategy and whether he makes a move now to shore up his team’s roster for the coming season, let’s look at a few deals that have been floated on the interwebs involving the team we’re anxious to see get back to contention.

Chris Tanev (D - Vancouver Canucks)

TSN reported a few days ago that the Stars have inquired about the 27-year-old defenseman. He has a modified-NTC that kicks in on July 1st, and moving him would allow the Canucks to protect defenseman Luca Sbisa. Vancouver is in a rebuild mode, and Tanev is their best defenseman.

The asking price is likely to start at a first round pick — but is he worth trading the 3rd overall? Probably not. Definitely could see the #29 pick in play, though. I see this deal being one where both teams could improve, but the Stars will likely hold fast on what they feel comfortable paying to get him.

Stars are in on this as well, I'm hearing. Bidding war could make price too hefty, but Brodin would be the perfect catch for Dallas. https://t.co/W049KrXRLQ — Brandon Worley (@brandonworley) June 15, 2017

Brodin is a 23-year-old defenseman that is left handed. He’s the top shot suppressor on the Wild’s blueline. Not much of an offensive touch, but Dallas doesn’t necessarily need that. The price for trading with a division mate for such a young piece is likely to be high, a combination of draft picks and roster players. What Minnesota needs is scoring, and Dallas can deal from a position of strength in that regard.

The tricky part to this one happening is likely going to be that acquiring Brodin means you’d have to use a protection slot on him for the expansion draft and, assuming one doesn’t go the other way in a trade, one of Stephen Johns/Dan Hamhuis/Jamie Oleksiak is no longer among the protected blueliners for Dallas. With Minnesota needing to make the trade to get expansion draft protection list relief, if Brodin moves it’s likely to be before the roster freeze at 3 PM EST Saturday.

Still think Eberle to Dallas for Cody Eakin makes most sense if Oilers want to deal Eberle. — Jim Matheson (@NHLbyMatty) June 15, 2017

Eberle seems to always be under fire in Edmonton, and perpetually on the trade block. (Which likely means he won’t finally get traded this season, right?) However, the idea of an Eberle-for-Cody-Eakin swap is appealing in two ways. First, the Stars need a right wing to ride shotgun with the Jamie Benn-Tyler Seguin superduo. Secondly, the Stars have a surplus of centermen and several in the AHL that might be ready for a bottom six role. With Radek Faksa being all but a lock as the team’s third line center of the future, is paying Eakin’s $3.85 million cap hit to be a fourth line center good cap management?

Maybe not, assuming that the Stars see Eakin as more useful as a pivot rather than a winger. His numbers were abysmal last season even with heavy minutes played between Benn and Seguin. Is that a trend or an anomaly? That’s the tricky part. Eakin could go to Edmonton and put up stellar offensive numbers and play his particular brand of defense effectively. But is it worth hanging on to him to see if he can do that in Dallas or would acquiring a legitimate top six right winger (a position of shallow depth in Dallas, to be honest) be better in the long-term?

Eberle carries a $6 million cap hit for the next two seasons, so there might be some money to be worked out in this deal. But a one-for-one swap seems like the right price for both sides in this deal.