The NHL rumor mill is again kicking into full gear as the holidays have passed and we inch ever closer to the March trade deadline.
For a handful of teams, the decision on whether or not to sell off productive, but non-integral and expensive pieces is looming ever larger.
The Washington Capitals are one such team, as they have a decision to make when it comes to the future of offensive defenseman Mike Green.
After the team went out and signed Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen in the offseason, and with the strong play of Karl Alzner and John Carlson, Green has essentially become an expensive - his cap hit this season is $6.2 million - third-pairing defenseman.
Add in the fact that he's a pending unrestricted free agent and it's not hard to see that the writing could very well be on the wall for Green. The Caps though, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie, who appeared on NBCSN's Intermission Report during the Flyers-Capitals game Wednesday day, as transcribed by NicholsOnHockey.com, will wait until closer to the trade deadline and make a determination on whether or not to trade the still-valuable Green based on their playoff outlook.
If things are good and they're looking like a postseason lock, they'll keep him for the current Stanley Cup-run and let him walk in the offseason.
"Or, on the other hand, if they're trending the other direction, and they're not feeling contending status at the deadline - or Mike Green, if they think they could just live without him, well then they could trade him as a rental at the deadline," McKenzie said.
Green has four goals and 19 assists in 35 games this season. His average ice time of 19:06 is the third-lowest it has ever been in his nine-plus year career.
The Colorado Avalanche are another team with a decision to make.
For the Avs, center Ryan O'Reilly - who counts $6.2 million against the cap this season, but has one-year left on his deal - is a piece potentially on the move.
Colorado GM Joe Sakic is gauging trade interest in O'Reilly. Were he to deal him, it would be as much a move for now as for the future - the Avs continue to operate as one of the worst defensive teams in the league and could swap out the gritty, two-way forward for sorely-needed blueline help.
"What they're saying is they're identifying some teams they think might be a real good fit that have some assets. They're looking for defense," McKenzie said in a separate interview on NBCSN's NHL Live, per NicholsOnHockey.com. "They need help on the blueline. They've got some depth up front with guys like Duchene and Landeskog, but they need help on the blueline and Ryan O'Reilly will likely get them that."
O'Reilly has seven goals and 16 assists this year. He's sporting a minus-8 and, though he's played better recently, hasn't looked like the locked-in, intense player he usually is.
