Welcome inside the latest edition of Eastern Edge, a weekly fantasy hockey column at Dobber Hockey analyzing the top trending fantasy news impacting your fantasy hockey squad on a week-to-week basis.

With the entire NHL – and Eastern Conference – abuzz with countless rumours, tantalizing storylines, and juicy roster updates to cover, we're switching things up a little bit in this week's look into the top fantasy hockey news in the Eastern Conference by dropping one tasty nugget of trade-related news for each team in the Atlantic Division – next Tuesday we're covering the Metropolitan.

The fantasy hockey postseason is getting agonizingly close, make sure your lineup is optimized on a nightly basis and you are tapped into all of the latest, starting below.  

Montreal Canadiens

Aside from the Canadiens playing like trash over the past couple weeks, things are pretty much status quo with this franchise. A team rebuilding while forming an identity for the future, the Habs obviously have some intriguing young fantasy pieces up front in the likes of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and the recently surging Juraj Slafkovsky (all three of whom are producing solid offensive number of late), but they allow far too many shots against and still need a lot of work on the backend before we can call this club a contender.

With that said, look for a team in need for a goaltender to pull the trigger on a move for veteran backstop Jake Allen over the coming weeks. Despite putting up ugly numbers this season to the tune of a 5-12-3 record, 3.68 goals-against average, and .892 save percentage, Allen is still going to garner attention for such playoff-bound teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, and others in need of a steadying veteran backup.

Allen's fantasy value is sure to soar should he move to one of those contenders and eat minutes, keep your eyes peeled and jump on it before others do.

Ottawa Senators

There's no denying the Ottawa Senators are playing their best hockey of the season while putting up a 6-3-1 record over their last 10, but considering how bad they've been all season, that's not really saying much. In terms of news and what's popping in the nation's capital, the Sens are open for business, as a 17-point gap on the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot clearly has Ottawa in sell-mode.

Much like Allen's value if moved to a contender, the same can be said for the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko and Jakob Chychrun, Ottawa's two biggest trade chips that are likely to be playing in different cities come March 8. Chychrun started the season like a house on fire but has cooled under Jacques Martin (nine points, minus-13 rating compared to 21 points and minus-one rating under DJ Smith) and Tarasenko's appeal as a veteran hired gun with Cup experience will surely have a number of teams ready to pay the price for a deadline bump in talent.

Once the chips start to move, expect a flurry of activity from the Sens resulting in a number of fantasy-relevant pieces warranting attention.

Buffalo Sabres

The biggest piece of news percolating the Sabres right now has nothing to do with the deadline whatsoever. Buffalo's blue paint is suddenly looking prosperous, and it's not because of Devon Levi.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been solid while carrying the Sabres over the past stretch, posting a 5-1-0 record, .935 SV%, and a shutout over his last six starts. Despite his strong showing, the Sabres' position in the standings and overall makeup of their roster leads us to not expect much from the Sabres in terms of moves, if anything, selling of a veteran piece in the likes of Erik Johnson. The big step from Buffalo comes next season, when that happens make sure you are all over players like Zach Benson, JJ Peterka, Owen Power and a handful of others.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Much like the Boston Bruins, Tampa is one of those teams that seemingly always makes an astute pre-deadline or deadline-day move to bolster an already studly lineup more than capable of making postseason noise. Considering the Bolts have really turned it around of late, posting a 13-6 record over their last 19, don't be shocked if GM Julien BriseBois once again gets crafty while looking to augment his roster.

Unsure which pieces they would be looking to add this time 'round, but don't sleep on the Lightning and their peripheral fantasy options to keep clicking as we approach the deadline and postseason.

Detroit Red Wings

Speaking of GMs that know what they're doing, enter Stevie Y.

Yzerman has been meticulously building this Red Wings group from the ground up and with his most-recent addition in Patrick Kane already paying dividends (28 points in 27 games) while the Wings climb the standings, expect Yzerman to be an active participant in trade conversations over the coming days and weeks. Detroit is seemingly a piece or two away from really being a force to be reckoned with in this division, Yzerman won't miss a single opportunity to make sure that prediction comes to fruition much sooner than later. 


Toronto Maple Leafs

Winning. What a difference it can make. Such is the case with the much-maligned Toronto Maple Leafs, a top-heavy team that needs a lot of love at a few different positions before anyone is ready to call this club a Cup contender. Everyone knows what the Leafs are after; one or two D-men, perhaps a veteran backup to take Joseph Woll under their wing, and maybe even a bottom-sixer to balance out their attack.

With limited trade capital and cap space, things are looking tight for Brad Treliving and the Buds brass, but a seven-game win streak obviously has Toronto's front-office wondering what could be with the right additions. Speaking of Woll, the young netminder is back with the big club following his brief conditioning stint in the AHL but given this is his first return from major injury, be wary of how early you run him out in your lineup.

Florida Panthers

General manager Bill Zito has been crystal clear on his team's approach to the deadline: do nothing. Much like last season, Florida is in line to stand pat and let their current roster do all the talking – talking that led them all the way to the Stanley Cup Final a season ago and one that is currently carrying them to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Not much to mention trade or news-wise other than: Look out, this Panthers' club is already for real.

Boston Bruins

Each and every season it seems like the Boston Bruins make a big deadline addition. This is what they do: solidify an already-beast mode brigade by bringing in a piece or two to try and take a Cup-caliber squad over the top. With Boston poised for another run at Lord Stanley, expect the front office in Beantown to be buzzing as the Bs look to add a piece on the blue line as the biggest need.

Boston was all-in last deadline, adding Tyler Bertuzzi, Garnet Hathaway, and Dmitry Orlov, so don't expect the same kind of splash. Nevertheless, the top-seeded Bruins will be active once again, especially in search of a blue-liner.