Tampa Bay Lightning blue-liner Dan Boyle, left, battles New York Islanders forward Mike Sillinger during NHL action this season. Both players could find themselves with new teams come Feb. 26. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The NHL trade deadline will strike this year on Feb. 26, and regardless of its debatable merits, every general manager will be working the phones to see whether they can improve their teams.

According to the league's media department, some 101 current NHL players have been on the move on deadline day at some point during their careers.

Buying often means parting with something valuable, but some teams are more decidedly on one side of the buy-and-sell ledger than others.

BUYERS:

Anaheim Ducks

Ducks general manager Brian Burke isn't likely to sit idly with the opportunity to repeat as Stanley Cup champions if a reasonable deal can be made. Even with Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne returning from semi-retirement, the club reportedly has $1.2 million US left in cap space. More importantly, they have prospects and three Edmonton draft picks gained when the Oilers signed Dustin Penner.

"We do have assets," Burke admitted during a recent media conference call. "I think we could probably use the assets we have and we've got some good young players. We've got some picks, and I think we might be able to do something on a hockey deal basis that makes us a better team and that's what we're going to try to do."

Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings GM Ken Holland got deeper at forward last year at the deadline and then watched as two starting defencemen went down with serious injuries, an experience still fresh in his mind. This year, Niklas Kronwall is again injured as is forward Daniel Cleary, who is an unrestricted free agent. Both players are expected to be back by the eve of the playoffs, but even if Darren McCarty's comeback pans out, Holland is not going to get caught short on depth again with a Stanley Cup run such a real possibility.

"Everybody would love to have a top-six forward or a number four, number five defenceman," said Holland. "Everything depends on price."

New Jersey Devils

Hard to believe, but New Jersey hasn't made it past the second round of the playoffs since play resumed after the lockout. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Devils didn't strike a major deal on deadline day in either of the two years that followed — not like 2002 when they scored one of the best modern deadline deals by acquiring Jamie Langenbrunner and Joe Nieuwendyk. Langenbrunner is still a critical player for the Devils.

GM Lou Lamoriello will try and do anything he can to reverse the recent trend, especially with coach Brent Sutter in his first year with the club. The Devils are neither stellar nor glaring at forward or defence, but scoring-by-committee from a generally undersized unit has led to a goal total that is just 23rd in the league, making them likely to look at someone with offensive creativity. Defenceman Andy Greene has been a healthy scratch in some recent games for New Jersey.

San Jose Sharks

Sharks GM Doug Wilson is usually pretty reticent but was upfront about his team's needs heading into the playoffs.

"If we can do something on our back end that makes us a better team, we will," he told the San Jose Mercury News. "But a lot of teams are looking in that area."

It was reported that Ottawa's Wade Redden utilized his no-trade clause to nix a deal to the Sharks. Matt Carle's name has cropped up as potentially leaving San Jose, but he just signed a four-year deal in November. As well, Sharks forward Steve Bernier has endured a disappointing season.

Vancouver Canucks

Not long ago, the Canucks were thought likely to be active on deadline day to solidify their Stanley Cup aspirations. More recently, the club has fallen on the wrong side of the playoff picture, so either way, Vancouver figures to be active.

Defenceman Lukas Krajicek may be done for the year with his shoulder injury, adding another imperative in addition to the need for more scoring up front, which has inspired visions of Mats Sundin coming from Toronto to join fellow Swedes Markus Naslund and Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks may have to part with goaltending prospect Cory Schneider.

SELLERS:

Chicago Blackhawks

The future's bright in Chicago, which could very well be buying this time next year. A potentially attractive free agent destination in the summer, the Blackhawks would like to shed some salary and would be willing to take any reasonable offer for three veterans with time left on their contracts: Robert Lang, Martin Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin.

Unrestricted free agents like Martin Lapointe and Yanic Perreault aren't likely to fetch much but an intriguing possibility for other clubs could be Jason Williams, who is healthy again after a groin injury and was acquired himself at last year's deadline from Detroit. The Blackhawks are also deep in defence prospects.

Will the Vancouver Canuck trio of Daniel Sedin, Markus Naslund and Henrik Sedin soon have another Swede to add to their circle? Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin has been mentioned as a potential acquisition at deadline time. (Richard Lam/Canadian Press)

Los Angeles Kings

Kings GM Dean Lombardi made a series of deals last summer that backfired. The team is stuck with Kyle Calder and Michal Handzus but have several unrestricted free agents that could garner a modest return, highlighted by defenceman Brad Stuart and underachieving forward Ladislav Nagy. Stuart could join his fifth team in just less than three years, and Nagy his fourth in just over a year.

Stanley Cup vet Rob Blake, with a no-trade clause, is reportedly only willing to consider moves within the Western Conference. Mike Cammalleri has endured some struggles after a banner year last season, but it's hard to envision him moving without a goaltender coming the other way, with few prospects in that regard.

New York Islanders

The Islanders haven't exactly had a stand-pat culture under Mike Milbury and now Garth Snow, and with a slew of unrestricted free agents on their roster and uncertain playoff hopes, it's hard to see them inactive. Miroslav Satan, Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko, Josef Vasicek, and even Chris Simon are UFAs. The names of Marc-Andre Bergeron, Mike Sillinger and Bryan Berard have again circulated in trade talk, as well.

Comrie has expressed a desire to remain on Long Island after a few years of moving around the league, but it's never the player's call. Satan, with his penchant for goals in bunches, would seem to be a desirable pickup but recently admitted he is playing with damaged ligaments in his knee.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Everything is up in the air with the Lightning: their playoff prospects, their future ownership and the plight of several veteran players. Others teams would desperately love to acquire defenceman Dan Boyle, but general manager Jay Feaster is making every effort to retain him and Boyle has a no-trade clause.

Prying free one of the Big Three — Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis or Vincent Lecavalier — again seems unlikely but not as unthinkable as before. However, unrestricted free agent Vinny Prospal is averaging nearly a point a game and has reportedly clashed with coach John Tortorella, though it's doubtful there is a Tampa player who hasn't at some point.

If the Tampa Bay swoons in the series of games before the deadline, UFA Johan Holmqvist could be on the move for a team needing goaltending depth.

Toronto Maple Leafs

As they've done in recent years, the Leafs have responded to desperate times with some inspired hockey in recent weeks, but Cliff Fletcher probably wasn't brought in as general manager to merely tinker with the lineup. While the ball is in Mats Sundin's court regarding a potential deal, Fletcher could find takers for players with no-trade clauses like Darcy Tucker and Bryan McCabe.

The most coveted player will probably be all-star Tomas Kaberle, who also has a no-trade clause but is not making as much as some other NHL defencemen of similar talent. If Kaberle stays put, the Leafs do have a small window to trade him without his consent should the team fail to make the playoffs next season.

ON THE BUBBLE:

Boston and Columbus

While there are several teams in an uncertain position due to the tightness of the NHL standings, the strategy of these two teams may be the most hard to read.

Boston GM Peter Chiarelli desperately wants his team in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, and he has money to use given the long-term injuries to Patrice Bergeron and Manny Fernandez. (Don't believe the recent talk of Fernandez being a factor for the Bruins before the end of the season.) The Bruins have made the most of their poor standing in the last few years and have a mix of veterans (Glen Murray, Aaron Ward) and prospects (Matt Lashoff, Mark Stuart).

On the other hand, the Bruins can hold back and hope the current team under the aegis of Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas and Marc Savard can make the playoffs, with money coming off the books in the summer for the worst NHL free agent signing in recent years, Alexei Zhamnov, who played just 24 games for the Bruins before pulling up lame.

First-year GM Scott Howson in Columbus, meanwhile, finds himself in a position somewhat similar to Don Waddell last year in Atlanta. The Blue Jackets are still in playoff contention and need to reward their fans with the first post-season appearance in franchise history. However, they have several veterans heading to free agency.

Howson wants to re-sign Adam Foote, and Michael Peca has fulfilled his checking role well, but they are UFAs, as are Ron Hainsey, Sergei Fedorov and David Vyborny, who is enduring a horrible season but could garner a flyer from another team. The Jackets have had trouble scoring goals and that has partly emanated from the blue-line, where Hainsey leads all team defencemen with just 26 points.