Capitals and Canucks: Trade partners?

Bo Horvat and Andrei Kuzmenko are two players that will need significant raises and the Canucks can't risk losing them both for a few hockey sticks. In the middle of a ''retooling,'' the Canucks must play their cards right moving forward.

Kuzmenko currently has 34 points through his first 37 NHL games and if the Canucks can't find a way to place his new salary within the team's salary capacity, they could possibly receive quite the haul for the winger. He carries a low $950K AAV until July which is ideal for teams looking for brief help and potentially everyone could be buyers.

The Capitals are a team that would fit in, they currently hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and they have a great core composed mainly of Russians (Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov) adding another offensive forward would definitely give them a lot more depth and since they're tight on the Salary Cap, Kuzmenko would be an excellent fit.

Ovechkin has already told the Caps management group that he didn't want to be part of a rebuild while he chased Gretzky's goal record, so it makes perfect sense for them to try and acquire big pieces for a deep cup run. The Canucks have been known to be on the market for a young centerman perhaps Connor McMichael or Hendrix Lapierre could set the base for trade.

Would you rather take the risk and hold Kuzmenko until the end of the season to sign him, or trade him before the deadline?

SOURCE: NHL Trade Rumors