Hockey analytics pioneer Rob Vollman is ESPN Insider's armchair GM this season, exploring how modern statistics can inform front-office decisions.
Last season's most successful trade deadline move was when the Los Angeles Kings acquired Marian Gaborik from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Matt Frattin as well as a second-round pick and a third-round pick. The 32-year-old Slovakian scored 38 points in 45 games en route to the team's second Stanley Cup in three seasons, before re-signing with the club in the summer.
This season, there's no one available who is likely to have quite the same impact, other than the legendary Jaromir Jagr, but there is definitely a legion of wingers who can provide valuable depth down the stretch.
Trade deadline season is always exciting as teams, fans and media consider all the names whistling through the rumor mill, and ponder what their potential impact could be. This season, there's an abundance of options at wing, but very few that stand out in any particular regard. When hunting through such a large pool of fairly comparable players, hockey analytics can be a useful way to start making distinctions between them, and to find those individuals most likely to be the right fit.
That's why we're going to take a look at some of the underlying numbers to find out which players are in the best position to contribute down the stretch and into the postseason, to calculate reasonable price tags and to determine the most likely destinations. There's a lot of information packed into a short piece, so we'll stay at the high level, and within the limits of what can be accurately revealed with statistical analysis.