Since the inception of the NHL’s Southeast Division in the 1998-99 season, each of the five teams has qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs at least once. In five of those eight seasons, two Southeast teams qualified for the postseason in the same years. But, of the 13 total playoff appearances only four times did a Southeast team advance past the opening round. In three of those four instances, the Southeast team advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Cup twice.

As the NHL season embarks on the final one-third of the schedule, there is no guarantee that two teams will qualify for the playoffs this year as the Eastern Conference race is one of the most contentious in recent memory with just 11 points separating the 7th-ranked team and the 15th-ranked team entering play Feb. 6. While the Southeast Division champion likely will be seeded third in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the runner-up could find itself out of the playoff picture on the final day of the regular season, which is just 60 days away.

Several fans have e-mailed us within the past week and asked us to speculate about the upcoming trade deadline and wanted to know if their team is a potential buyer or seller.

To follow is my response as it concerns each Southeast team.

Carolina    Buyer
Now that Canes’ general manager Jim Rutherford has been mentioned as the heir apparent to a similar position in Toronto, there is little hope that any expected trade rumors coming out of Carolina will actually ring true if first reported in Toronto. But, Rutherford’s current team can win the Southeast Division by improving its league-worst penalty-killing unit and eliminating its penchant for allowing short-handed goals (an NHL worst 10). With the knee injury that sidelined forward Justin Williams after 36 games, the Canes’ other 10 wingers have scored a total of 72 goals on the season and have a combined plus/minus rating of –22.

It would be interesting to see a more prolific scorer on the wing in Raleigh with a puck-moving defenseman who also doesn’t mind staying at home occasionally. As long as we are using those pie-in-the-sky wishes, lets encourage Rutherford to acquire 26-year-old defenseman Ron Hainsey and 32-year-old versatile forward David Vyborny from Columbus in a package deal.

Editor's Note: Instead of Hainsey and Vyborny, Rutherford dealt unrestricted free agents Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore to Ottawa for forward Mike Eaves and defenseman Joe Corvo Feb. 11.

Atlanta Buyer & Seller
With a decision on the future of unrestricted free agent Marian Hossa expected soon, Don Waddell will have an excellent idea of whether or not to deal Hossa before the deadline. If Hossa doesn’t intend to re-sign with the Thrashers, then Waddell must ship the Slovakian forward to a Western Conference team in exchange for a playmaker to center Ilya Kovalchuk’s line and a stay-at-home defenseman to shore up the Thrashers often troublesome blueline. Several teams have been mentioned as Hossa suitors with Detroit the most-often cited. But, what about a nice package deal with St. Louis instead just like last year?

Hossa, Garnett Exelby and Pascal Dupuis to the Blues in exchange for center Brad Boyes, defenseman Bryce Salvador, right wing Jamal Mayers and a high-draft pick. That way, Waddell improves some of his team's weaknesses, gets rid of two future unrestricted free agents, and unloads a little dead wood on the backline and several million in cap space.

Washington  Buyer
General manager George McPhee has assets to deal, but disrupting the obvious chemistry that the Capitals have built with new head coach Bruce Boudreau at the helm is a bit dangerous. However, dealing a No. 1 pick or an unproven, yet highly touted prospect could be just the tonic in Washington. The Caps are a little weak up the middle after the season-ending injury to Michael Nylander and using an unknown asset for a proven rental center seems prudent.

Free agents Mike Comrie and Ruslan Fedetenko of the New York Islanders could be a nice fit for the Caps. Comrie played in 20 playoff games for the Senators last summer before inking a one-year deal on the island, and the Ukrainian Fedetenko won a Cup in Tampa in 2004. The Caps’ defense could use a little tightening as well, and Columbus veteran defenseman Adam Foote would be a great tutor for the young blueliners, and the perfect partner for the offensive-minded Mike Green.

Florida Buyer
On paper it appears the Panthers need a lot of help, particularly on both wings where getting one or more goal scorers seems imperative for any hope to make a solid playoff run. The Panthers haven’t qualified for the post-season since the 1999-00 season and for the health of the franchise a quick exit this year will make little difference. But, Jacques Martin has Florida just one point out of first place and seems to be in the same situation as Waddell found himself last season: Make the playoffs or else! The overachievers could be out of contention by Feb. 26, but that’s unlikely given the confidence boost they received in an 8-0 rout of the Maple Leafs in Toronto last night. Goalie Tomas Vokoun is the real deal between the pipes but the Panthers need to score more goals to take the pressure off of him and their defense.

Martin doesn’t have the luxury of dealing for would-be free agents unless he has a realistic shot of signing them long term. But, the Cats do have 27 prospects in their system at 22 years of age or younger, and while sacrificing a couple doesn’t seem like the perfect option right now, it’s better than having an empty barn again this April. Florida has nine restricted free agents that need to be re-signed this summer and all of them are young players, too. With a surplus of youth, lets propose acquiring a few veterans to get the Cats over the hump and into the postseason. Short-term scoring punch could be provided by forwards Miroslav Satan from the Islanders or Phoenix’s Radim Vrbata, both of whom are scheduled to be free agents this summer.

Tampa Bay   Seller
The disappointment continues in Tampa since the Lightning hoisted the Cup in 2003-04. The Bolts have 13 unrestricted free agents set to hit the market in July and while they still have a chance to make the post-season, a few untimely losses could thwart those chances within the next few weeks. With $20 million tied up in Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards next year, don’t be shocked to see general manager Jay Feaster unload one of his top forwards for additional cap relief and a handsome return. Outside of the big three and Vaclav Prospal, many of the Lightning forwards would look better in Trenton (ECHL) than Tampa, and the save percentage of goaltenders Johan Holmqvist, Karri Ramo and the banished Marc Denis looks more like Albert Pujols’ slugging percentage than any semblance of what Nik Khabibulin once provided. Feaster should put on his Monty Hall cap and get the deals done before any other GM beats him to it.

SOUTHEAST Standings Thru Feb. 19
Carolina Hurricanes 30-28-5 65
Washington Capitals 28-26-6 62
Atlanta Thrashers   29-28-4 62  
Florida Panthers    27-29-6 60
Tampa Bay Lightning 25-28-6  56