Jill of all trades

The GIST: The NHL is getting in on trading — and we don’t mean Pokémon cards. The trade deadline is Monday at 3 p.m. ET.

Remind me what the trade deadline is: It’s the last time in a season that teams are able to trade eligible players. That said, to make things complicated, teams can still make trades after the deadline, but those players are NOT eligible to play for their new team for the rest of the season or in the playoffs, so most teams don’t bother.

And what’s the point of the trade deadline?: Basically it’s to keep the competitive balance among teams by ensuring they’re locked and loaded before the playoffs start in April. So up until 3 p.m. ET on Monday, expect some trade activity as playoff-contending teams try to add some top talent for their playoff push.

Cool. Who’s been moved so far?: The blockbuster trade of the season happened back in December, when the New Jersey Devils shipped their superstar forward, Taylor Hall, to the Arizona Coyotes in a five-player deal. And although there’s been a lot of movement, no real “big fish” have been traded yet. Looks like teams are waiting to catch trade ’em all.

So who might be next?: Rumor has it (sing that to the tune of Adele) the biggest star on the trading block is New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider. The Rangers might extend his contract to keep him in the Big Apple for a few more years, but since the Rangers are in rebuild mode and Kreider is a free agent after this season anyway, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Rangers were desperate enough to make a last-minute move.