The line between buyers and sellers remains undefined, thereby stalling talks in advance of the NHL's trade deadline.
So says one NHL executive, who told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun there's "no question" the market is heating up, but no moves are imminent because "too many teams are in it."
"It" refers to the Stanley Cup Playoff race, where only the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes sit more than 10 points out of wild-card spot. As such, names like Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, and Martin Hanzal are dominating the rumor mill at present.
In the Eastern Conference, teams like the New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings, and Buffalo Sabres could probably be added to the list of sellers, but might be unwilling to add themselves to that group just yet as hope remains for a turnaround.
Seeds may have been planted in recent weeks with team representatives gathered in Toronto and Montreal for the 2017 World Junior Championship, but there's no harvest to reap on the trade front quite yet.
The trade deadline is set for 3 p.m. ET on March 1.
