The Vancouver Canucks announced defenseman Luke Schenn won't play in Tuesday's contest against the Nashville Predators as the March 3 trade deadline looms.

Vancouver is sitting him to protect his value as a trade asset, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

A pending unrestricted free agent, Schenn carries a cap hit of $850,000.

Schenn missed Vancouver's clash against the New York Islanders on Feb. 9 due to an upper-body injury but returned the following game versus the Detroit Red Wings.

The 33-year-old has three goals and 18 assists in 55 contests this season while averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time.

Schenn captured back-to-back Stanley Cup championships as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

He isn't the first defenseman to be scratched for trade-related reasons this season. Arizona Coyotes star Jakob Chychrun hasn't played since Feb. 10, while Columbus Blue Jackets rearguard Vladislav Gavrikov hasn't suited up since Feb. 11.

Heading into Tuesday's showdown, the Canucks sit sixth in the Pacific Division with a record of 22-30-4. They're 17 points outside of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

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Cale Makar won't be back in action until next week at the earliest.

The Colorado Avalanche superstar is back in concussion protocol and won't play in Colorado's next two games, head coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday.

"He had a delayed response again on his symptoms, so he's back under the protocol now, and that timetable automatically puts him out for this weekend," Bednar told Altitude Sports Radio.

"We'll be cautious with this and just trust the player again. He understands it because he's been through it before ... but we'll keep an eye on him and see how it goes."

The Avalanche were off Monday and next play Friday in a road contest against the Winnipeg Jets. Colorado will then host the Calgary Flames on Saturday, the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, and the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jeff Carter hit Makar in the head during a win over Colorado on Feb. 7. Makar returned to that game after clearing protocol but experienced delayed symptoms and missed the Avalanche's next four contests.

The reigning Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner was back in the lineup for Saturday's win over the St. Louis Blues but exited after colliding with Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko. Though Makar returned to the game, he sat out Sunday's victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

The independent concussion spotter in Pittsburgh pulled Makar from the Feb. 7 contest before allowing him back in, but the one in St. Louis didn't remove him despite Makar grabbing his face after the collision, an Avalanche spokesman told The Athletic's Peter Baugh on Sunday.

The blue-liner said after the game against the Blues that his nose was bruised, but he attributed it to being struck by his visor.

Bednar said Sunday that Makar wasn't dealing with a head injury; he noted that - as far as he was aware - the dynamic defenseman sustained a bloody nose but "no real problems" because of the collision with Toropchenko.

Makar, 24, has been his typically electric self when healthy this season. He leads the NHL with 26:57 of average ice time, and he ranks among the league leaders at his position with 13 goals and 32 assists in 46 games.

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Buckle up, it's just about trade deadline time.

There aren't many teams that wouldn't be well-served by making a move at or before March 3 at 3 p.m. ET, but we're going to examine five teams that really should make a swap.

Like, really really.

Note: Deadline cap space indicates the amount that a team's total cap hit can increase while remaining below the ceiling at the end of the regular season. All figures courtesy of CapFriendly.

Florida Panthers: Try and get a 1st-round pick

The Panthers aren't in the same place as they were during the last trade deadline. Not even close.

Here they are in fourth place of the Atlantic Division with no real hope of uprooting the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, or Tampa Bay Lightning for one of the top three spots. The Cats have been on a bit of a run as of late, winning six of their last nine games, and they currently hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

There's a catch, though: The likes of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings are, at most, four points behind Florida and they all have at least two games in hand. The Panthers are going to have to strictly adhere to their winning ways - with an extremely slim margin for error - to keep their postseason dreams alive.

So, if you're the 2022 Presidents' Trophy winners, what do you do? How they're going to approach the deadline is a bit of a mystery, but one thing's a near certainty: They won't be going all-in. The Panthers don't really have the draft capital to do so, anyways. They don't have a first-round pick until 2026.

To put it harshly, Florida's top selections in the next two drafts went toward a failed attempt to get past the Lightning in the second round of the playoffs.

Hang on, it only gets more complicated for the Panthers. Anthony Duclair hasn't played a game this season thanks to an Achilles tear, and he and his $3-million cap hit have been living on long-term injured reserve. Patric Hornqvist and his $5.3-million price tag joined him there in early December due to a concussion. Duclair's return seems imminent, while Hornqvist doesn't have a firm timeline.

The cash-strapped Panthers will be forced into action in order to stay cap compliant if they become healthy. They won't necessarily have to make a major trade, but if the Panthers have to move someone anyways, they should at least consider prying away a premium draft pick from contending or bubble teams. Florida might need to move one of Sam Bennett or Sam Reinhart to accomplish that.

Cap relief is coming for the Cats in the summer in the form of some unrestricted free agents exiting the picture, including Hornqvist. Florida will also shed around $5.3 million in dead-cap space with Keith Yandle's buyout decreasing and Scott Darling's coming off the books entirely. As a result, the Panthers are projected to have around $11.25 million in cap space, but there is an avenue here for the team to restock its draft cupboards a bit and reset for 2023-24.

Los Angeles Kings: Get yourselves a goalie

Projected deadline cap space: $3.517 million

With the Kings rumored to be in on the sweepstakes for Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun, we opted to turn our attention to another area of need.

Listen, we all love an underdog story, and Pheonix Copley has been an astounding one for the Kings. The 31-year-old has helped stabilize the crease and boasts a shining record of 17-3-1.

However, between Copley, Jonathan Quick, and Cal Petersen, Copley is the only Kings netminder to own a save percentage above .900 on the season, and he's cutting it close with a .904. There isn't a positive goals saved above average value in Los Angeles right now between the three goaltenders, either, and the Kings also boast the third-worst save percentage (.902) and high-danger save percentage (.802) at five-on-five in the league.

Even though the Kings have been good enough to win a large swath of games under those conditions, it doesn't inspire much confidence for a team that wants to build on last year's surprise playoff appearance. The postseason picture is tight in the Western Conference and, as of right now, the Kings are relying on the Copley-Quick tandem to get them there. An upgrade would certainly be warranted.

What's more, with Quick's 10-year, $58-million pact finally coming to an end after this season, Copley and Petersen (who has been in the AHL for much of this campaign) are the Kings' only goalies signed for 2023-24.

It's imperative that general manager Rob Blake keeps his finger on the pulse of the goalie market at the trade deadline. Luckily, there seem to be options available, some of them even coming with term and previous playoff experience, the latter of which is something Copley lacks.

Potential targets: Jake Allen (Canadiens), Joonas Korpisalo (Blue Jackets), Cam Talbot (Senators), James Reimer (Sharks), Karel Vejmelka (Coyotes).

Pittsburgh Penguins: Fetch a 3rd-line center

Projected deadline cap space: $1.225 million

As of right now, the Penguins are outside the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. Sure, they have four games in hand over the Panthers and New York Islanders, who currently occupy the two wild-card spots, but this isn't a comfortable position for the perennial postseason team to be in with the deadline right around the corner.

One thing that would certainly help Pittsburgh secure its 17th consecutive postseason berth is a functioning third-line center.

Simply speaking, the Penguins struggle whenever Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby aren't on the ice. Pittsburgh has gotten outscored 31-46 at five-on-five when the pair of franchise legends are on the bench while controlling just 47.82% of the expected goals and 47.43% of the shot attempts.

Pittsburgh doesn't have a ton of inspiring options to fall back on if Crosby or Malkin go down to injury. Its entire third line needs work, but Jeff Carter has mainly taken on the center duties and he really isn't holding his own anymore. He's only averaging 14:35 minutes of ice time per game, the second-lowest total of his career and a little over three minutes less than what he was seeing in 2021-22. At 38 years old, he still has one year remaining on his contract after this season at a cap hit of $3.125 million.

The Penguins could sure use an upgrade on Carter's 20 points in 53 games this season, but they don't have a lot of money - or a particularly deep prospect pool - to do it. They should certainly find a way, though, especially as they look to not only make the postseason, but also break out of the first round for the first time in four seasons. The Steel City doesn't have much time to waste, either, with its iconic core of Crosby, Malkin, and Kris Letang not getting any younger. While those three are still around, the Penguins should focus on more than just stumbling their way into the playoffs.

Potential targets: Max Domi (Blackhawks), Sam Lafferty (Blackhawks), Ivan Barbashev (Blues), Gustav Nyquist (Blue Jackets), Adam Henrique (Ducks).

Edmonton Oilers: Again, find a defenseman

Projected deadline cap space: $562,500

It feels like we're here quite a lot with the Oilers. Here we go again.

Man, Edmonton could use another defenseman, preferably one who can help keep the puck out of the net. The Oilers' offense leads the league with 3.75 goals scored per game this season, but they also allow the 12th most goals against per contest with 3.28. Of course, it's worth noting that some of that can be chalked up to shaky goaltending - Jack Campbell has been a bit of an adventure during his first campaign in Edmonton - but the Oilers would do well to shore up that blue line.

The four rearguards who see the most amount of ice time in Edmonton are Darnell Nurse, Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci, and Brett Kulak. The Oilers are, in some cases, barely breaking even in key underlying metrics at five-on-five when they're on the ice, and getting out-chanced in others.

CF%: Shot attempts for
SCF%: Scoring chances for
GF%: Goals for
xGF%: Expected goals for

Now, it sure is fun to think about Erik Karlsson slinging the puck around with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl - apparently, the team agrees - but general manager Ken Holland said any deadline deals the Oilers make would have to be "dollar in, dollar out." Karlsson carries a cap hit of $11.5 million for four more seasons after this one, and that would be a lot of dollars in, dollars out - even if the San Jose Sharks (or a third team) retain some salary.

The Oilers might be better served with a more defensively-minded, cheaper option, seeing as their offense isn't the problem. Or, they could go for a defenseman that specializes in moving the puck who could get it out of their zone consistently to one of Edmonton's many, many weapons up top. Either way, there are some nice fits out there, some of whom come at a cap hit of less than $3 million.

Potential targets: Jakob Chychrun (Coyotes), Shayne Gostisbehere (Coyotes), Joel Edmundson (Canadiens), Vladislav Gavrikov (Blue Jackets), Erik Karlsson (Sharks), Jake McCabe (Blackhawks), Luke Schenn (Canucks).

Carolina Hurricanes: Go big-game hunting

Projected deadline cap space: $10.107 million

The Hurricanes are a dominant force in the Eastern Conference. They won a franchise-best 54 games last season and, with 37 victories under their belt with 27 games remaining in 2022-23, look primed to at least challenge that record this campaign.

Carolina is already a terrifying team, but it has the potential to get even scarier: General manager Don Waddell projects to have just a little over $10 million to work with to improve his team by March 3, so he should absolutely just go for it and add a shiny new toy to his forward group, especially in the absence of Max Pacioretty.

Pacioretty and his $7-million cap hit are currently on long-term injured reserve - hence the Hurricanes' bucketload of money - but it wasn't like that was in Carolina's plans when it acquired him from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for future considerations in July.

The talented goal-scorer wasn't able to make his season debut until Jan. 5 because of an Achilles tear that he sustained in August. He played five games and proved what he could bring to the team by lighting the lamp three times, but he subsequently suffered his second Achilles tear in a span of five months, effectively ending his campaign.

Luckily for Carolina, though Bo Horvat, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ryan O'Reilly are no longer on the table, there's still some top-end talent available on the market. Head coach Rod Brind'Amour's team hasn't made it out of the second round for the past three seasons, but one way to get over that hump would be to add a guy who looks like he could eclipse the 40-goal mark with his eyes closed this season - in case it isn't clear, we're talking about Timo Meier here.

The Hurricanes are at the very least sniffing around and have reported interest in both Meier and Chicago Blackhawks veteran Patrick Kane. Go wreak some havoc.

Potential targets: Patrick Kane (Blackhawks), Timo Meier (Sharks)

(Analytics sources: Natural Stat Trick, Evolving Hockey)

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The Pittsburgh Penguins' No. 1 netminder has returned to the crease.

Tristan Jarry is starting against the New York Islanders on Monday night, the Penguins announced.

The Canadian goaltender missed the previous nine games with what the club called a lower-body injury. He originally got hurt in the Winter Classic against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 2, missed the next seven contests, then returned to play two before going on the shelf again.

Jarry has played well when healthy in 2022-23, going 16-5-5 with a .921 save percentage over 27 games. He entered Monday's action ranking 10th in the NHL in goals saved above average at five-on-five and 21st in goals saved above expected in those situations, according to Evolving Hockey.

The Penguins starter is in his seventh campaign with Pittsburgh, which drafted him 44th overall in 2013.

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Mathew Barzal will miss at least a week due to what the New York Islanders are calling a lower-body injury, the club announced Monday.

The Islanders initially said Barzal would be out indefinitely before clarifying the recovery timeline is week-to-week and the plan is for him to return by the end of the season, according to the New York Post's Ethan Sears.

The 25-year-old was hurt Saturday when Bruins forward Craig Smith drove him into the boards with what appeared to be a knee-on-knee hit in the first period of Boston's 6-2 win. Barzal left the game and didn't return.

Barzal entered Monday leading New York with 37 assists and ranking second on the squad with 51 points in 58 games this season.

He's in his seventh campaign with the Islanders, who drafted him 16th overall in 2015.

New York pushed its chips in for a playoff push by acquiring Bo Horvat in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 30. The Isles then signed the ultra-productive center to an eight-year contract extension Feb. 5. However, New York has won only one of its last five games, going 1-2-2 in that span. While the Isles do occupy the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot, the Washington Capitals sit one point back with a game in hand.

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A holiday Monday means matinee action in the NHL. To celebrate the last holiday afternoon games of the regular season, we'll play our own fun game, using what every sports bettor wishes they had - a time machine.

Unfortunately, this time machine has a catch: We'll get to know everything about the games - except the actual goals.

Let's apply this magical circumstance to real games from last week. We get to know which team created more high-danger scoring chances at even strength and the percentage of expected goals their five-on-five attack generated - two pretty important indicators for success.

Game 1

Game 2

As a bonus, we also get to know that Team C was given seven power plays but didn't score on any of them. Which team would you want to bet on before the game? The -200 favorite that went scoreless on the power play but had a minor edge at even strength, or the +170 underdog?

For long-term profitable betting, both answers should be Team B - the San Jose Sharks. Yet in both cases, they lost - 3-1 (empty-net goal) to the Pittsburgh Penguins and 2-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights.

San Jose got surprisingly good goaltending from Aaron Dell (.926 save percentage) and Kaapo Kahkonen (.947 SV%), didn't allow a goal on special teams (10 out of 10 penalty kills), and was cumulatively level with its opponent at even strength. However, even with all this time-travel-assisted information, we would've made good bets that lost.

Here's how season-long metrics look for each team.

Even without a time machine, you can see how we might expect the Sharks to outplay the Penguins at home and compete stride for stride with the Golden Knights - even if the puck didn't bounce their way around the net.

The recipe

We started the campaign using regular-season point totals as a baseline for rating teams since it's our best measurement. Throughout the campaign, we adjust club ratings using on-ice metrics to remove the cognitive bias of win-loss records, which can be skewed by outliers like special-teams results, poor goaltending performances, and other unreliable events.

The cheat sheet

There are no bad bets at the right price, but how do we know what a good price is?

The following includes my fair price on the games (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I'd need to bet either side. I only need a 1% edge for a favorite if we're getting better than a fair price on the team more likely to win. For the underdog, I'll need 4% or better to make it a bet. For games I project to be closer to a coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough for a worthwhile wager. I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a team playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and a 3% consideration for a team on the second leg of a back-to-back without travel. When it comes to injured players, I do my best to estimate the impact on their team's win probability.

When the betting markets open up the night before, you can compare those prices with our "price to bet" column to see if you're getting any value with either side's moneyline. There's also a possibility that a moneyline moves into a bet-friendly range at some point between market open and puck drop.

Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.

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