The timing doesn't always work out like this.
Injuries can ruin even the best-laid trade plans.
But for the Vancouver Canucks right now, as they look to trade away veterans and look toward the future, one injury timeline has worked out in their favor.
Teddy Blueger, the 31-year old center, recently returned from an absence. That sets him up to prove he's healthy before potentially being moved to a new team before the NHL trade deadline.
Daily Faceoff writer Matt Larkin lists Blueger on his trade board in the tier one category of guys most likely to be moved.
Blueger has a cap hit of $1.8 million and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, so he likely will only get a small return for Vancouver in a deal.
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For an acquiring team, he's exactly the kind of gritty player that it can help to add before a playoff push.
"Blueger has played just three games this season and finally returned from his lower-body injury this week, just in time to boost his trade value," Larkin writes. "Strong on draws and a penalty-kill fixture, he’s a prototypical fourth-line pivot."
Teams can always use a reliable, experienced center. That's what Blueger is.
The Canucks wouldn't be likely to re-sign him after the season anyway, so trading him for any return at all would be logical at this point. It could wind up being a win-win trade, even on this relatively small scale.
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