The Hockey Stop

With the NHL trade deadline looming the rumors are ramping up.

Some moves have already been made and others are on their way before the 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST Wednesday deadline.

One player to watch out for is New York Islanders defenseman Andy Sutton. A report today on Newsday.com says the Isles don't appear likely to re-sign the 35-year-old blueliner who becomes a free agent after this season. General Manager Garth Snow has had discussions with Sutton's agent, Pat Morris, but they apparently haven't been fruitful.

Now the speculation centers on where Sutton may end up if he doesn't stay with the Isles. In my mind the most logical place is Washington. Many Capitals fans and analysts have repeatedly made the point that the team is one shutdown defenseman away from a Stanley Cup run. Whether that man is Sutton is up to General Manager George McPhee, but he could be the last piece of the puzzle the Caps arguably need to sip from Lord Stanley's Cup.

Sutton has been having an excellent season so far for New York. The 6-6, 245-pound player has four goals and eight assists for 12 points and a minus-three with 73 penalty minutes. But it is his gritty work clearing the crease that would benefit the Caps in the playoffs.

But the Ottawa Senators are also looking to plug a hole on the blue line so they might nab Sutton before the Caps make a bid.

Other defensemen similar to Sutton who could be on the trade block include the St. Louis Blues' Barret Jackman, the Carolina Hurricanes' Aaron Ward and the Atlanta Thrashers' Pavel Kubina. However, it is unlikely two Southeast Division rivals would make a deal with the Capitals so Jackman is the more likely option.

So will the Caps nab Sutton or someone else or do nothing at all given the d-man talent down in Hershey (John Carlson and Karl Alzner)? Or will George McPhee instead trade for a forward instead (Sens' Matt Cullen and Blue Jackets' Raffi Torres could be in mix according to NHL.com)? It will be interesting to see what develops over the next few days.

Other recent trade deadline news courtesy of NHL.com:

The Flames signed center Matt Stajan to a multi-year contract extension.

The Stars signed left wing Steve Ott to a contract extension and are likely to keep goalie Marty Turco.

Florida defenseman Jordan Leopold has been dealt to Pittsburgh for a 2010 second-round draft pick.

The Predators have picked up Oilers defenseman Denis Grebeshkov for 2010 second-round draft pick.

The Blackhawks nabbed Blues prospect goalie Hannu Toivonen along with defenseman Danny Richmond in exchange for goalie Joe Fallon.

The Thrashers picked up forward Evgeny Artyukhin from the Ducks in exchange for defenseman Nathan Oystrick and a conditional draft choice in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.