Every contending team in the NHL can always make use of another center, and the Anaheim Ducks have one up for grabs in veteran Adam Henrique.
When talking about NHL trade deadline targets, it is always a possibility that the player ultimately just does not get moved. Whether it's the contract situation, the return, or the selling team deciding to try to retain the player to make their own push, slam-dunk rentals stay put all the time.
If there is a player ahead of the March trade deadline that is a stone-cold lock to be on a new team, it's Adam Henrique. He's a productive veteran center on an expiring contract, and his current team has voiced a willingness to retain salary to facilitate a trade.
So if Henrique is on the move, who's going to benefit from his talents, and what can fans expect if their team lands him?
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NHL Trade Deadline: Adam Henrique
Contract Status: Expiring, $5.825 million cap hit
Possible Destinations: New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Winnipeg Jets.
We are including pretty much every upper-tier contender on this list, because they could frankly all benefit from adding Henrique to their middle six forward group.
We're omitting the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets, as they already added the other top centers available in Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan, respectively.
Henrique has been in the league a long time. He's approaching 900 career regular season games and got over the 500-career point hump earlier this season.
On a floundering Anaheim Ducks team, Henrique has been a bright spot, putting up 35 points in 51 games and a -1 plus/minus on a team with a -48 goal differential.
The perceived front-runner for Henrique's services at this point is probably the New York Rangers. In 2012, Henrique eliminated the Rangers from the playoffs with a sudden-death overtime winner, but now the Blueshirts could be hoping to be on the better end of a play by Henrique.
The Rangers have a gaping hole at third center behind Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. Adding Henrique would turn that from a weak point for New York to possibly the strongest third line in the playoffs.
Colorado, likewise, has fallen off from its Stanley Cup heights two years ago due to a lack of forward depth. The addition of Nazem Kadri at center put them over the top back then, and slotting Henrique in behind Nathan MacKinnon could do a lot to boost the Avalanche's support scoring.
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