College Hockey 2020 Trade Deadline (or) What Teams Need Down The Stretch

Monday marked the annual NHL trade deadline.

Several current collegians saw their NHL rights traded in the leadup, including Northeastern's Tyler Madden and Denver's Slava Demin. Those are the only trades that can be made involving college players since trades don't exist between college programs.

But what if they did? What if teams contending for a national title and NCAA Tournament berth were able to add a player or two for a postseason stretch run? What if it was allowed?

It's not. (I have to say that just to reiterate this is a hypothetical exercise.) However, as I did for last year's stretch run, let's look at how teams can improve with the 2020 postseason on the horizon.

Before we begin, a few rules:

Rule #1: As much as every team would like to improve, there needs to be a line drawn between buyers and sellers. So to do so, only teams in the top 20 of the current Pairwise, which mimics the criteria used by the NCAA selection committee to select the 2020 NCAA Tournament at-large bids, can pick up a player from outside the top 20.

The only exception is the top three Atlantic Hockey teams (AIC, Sacred Heart and Army), who are contending for the conference NCAA Tournament autobid yet sit outside the top 20. Those players are off-limits. Those teams can add as well. Sorry teams wanting Jason Cotton or Blake Christensen.

Rule #2: Only upperclassmen can be chosen.

Every team would be running down State Street to get Cole Caufield or K'Andre Miller. Dartmouth's Drew O'Connor could help quite a few teams at either center or wing. Northern Michigan's Griffin Loughran recently led the nation in goals, and Providence's Jack Dugan currently leads the nation in points. No one's getting them. In theory, each should have more chances to contend as an underclassman. The players being chosen are more Ray Bourque-like.

Rule #3: Teams cannot pick players from teams in the same conference. Like how NHL teams often avoid trading players inside its own division or conference, it’d be more difficult to convince players being picked up by rivals and conference mates.

If it was allowed, of course. Just reiterating again.

Boston College: Jerry York's team, combining a large senior class with high-powered rookies, looks to be returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

So why not add a 2016 national champion? Colorado College's Chris Wilkie would give the Eagles, surprisingly inexperienced on the big stage, a taste of what it takes to win a title. His 20 goals and nation-leading 5.1 shots per game do not hurt either, giving the nation's top offense yet another dangerous weapon.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish jump back into contention after sweeping Michigan. It's the first pair of wins for Notre Dame since November 8-9, when ND was 7-0-1. Cale Morris may be a top-10 college hockey goalie, but he has not produced top-10 numbers in his senior season. Notre Dame has scored 14 non-empty net goals in its last six games.

The Fighting Irish could use February's top goal-scorer to continue its winning ways. That's why Notre Dame picks up RPI's Todd Burgess. The Engineers senior has nine goals in eight games since January 31st, which would be tied for second among Notre Dame players all season. It'd also keep the Wolverines from adding another RPI player, given two are already in Michigan's lineup.

Western Michigan: Another team trying to work its way into the NCAA Tournament, the Broncos are 9-2-2 since January 11th and would be right on the bubble if the season ended today. It does not so this would be a good moment for WMU to bolster its chances by adding another six-foot player on the blue line. Boston University's David Farrance leads all defenders with 13 goals this season. His eight power-play goals are more than all Western Michigan blue liners combined, adding to a Broncos power play that is currently 23rd in the nation.

Northeastern: The Huskies are no stranger to adding players. This season, Northeastern has a pair of graduate transfers - the closest reality to what this exercise is doing - in goaltender Craig Pantano and forward Brandon van Riemsdyk. It's helped the Huskies, who are almost as high in the Pairwise as Hockey East standings.

While it would be tempting to add another goaltender after Boston College scored 10 on the three-time Beanpot champs, Northeastern could use another forward body. Injuries to Madden and struggling to have 12 healthy forwards in a lineup put the Huskies in a spot where adding Miami's Gordie Green would be useful.

Michigan: If Burgess is off the table, let's keep it in the (past and future) CCHA. Another goal-scoring option for the Wolverines would be Lake Superior State's Max Humitz. Of his 19 goals this season, only three have come on the power play.

Massachusetts: Once again, Greg Carvel has his team operating on all cylinders. Massachusetts has not missed a beat despite missing a couple players now in the NHL.

One place the Minutemen could improve is on the power play, where Massachusetts has gone from 1st to 55th (of 60 teams). Perhaps no available player could help more than Harvard's Reilly Walsh. The Crimson once again finds itself at the top of the best power-play rankings despite missing a couple players now in the NHL. One of the constants is Walsh. Of his 18 points this season, 11 have come on the power play.

North Dakota: There are a few directions where the Fighting Hawks could go. There are some top goalies available. Another forward, adding to what graduate transfer Westin Michaud has done, could always help. A team can never have enough solid defenders, even though North Dakota is sixth in team defense. All would add to a team that is a legit national championship contender.

Peter Thome emerging in recent weeks takes away much of the need for a goalie. Jordan Kawaguchi doesn't appear to be injured seriously either. For that reason, I'm going with Bowling Green's Alec Rauhauser as the addition. Bringing in a top WCHA D with NCAA experience, and a North Dakota native to boot makes for a solid story.

Sacred Heart: The small school in Connecticut has seen a career year for its hockey program, winning the inaugural Connecticut Ice tournament and leading Atlantic Hockey for much of the year. Although passed by defending champion AIC, the Pioneers could use some postseason help. Why not upgrade in goal with a player no stranger to moving around New England? Providence's Michael Lackey is available.

Penn State: During the 2019 version of this article, I placed Vermont's Stefanos Lekkas with Penn State to help shore up its goaltending woes. That hasn't been as much of an issue this season. In fact, Peyton Jones has a better save percentage than Lekkas, whose team has won all of three games.

As much as the move would be nice, rewarding a career putting up some great numbers for some bad teams, there's a greater need than repeating Lekkas. Adding an experienced all-around defender who can score and play heavy defensive minutes would be a solid addition. Therefore, Penn State adds Northern Michigan's Philip Beaulieu.

Minnesota Duluth: And here's the Lekkas landing spot. It's tough to mess with a team returning most a core that has won two straight national championships and 11-4-1 since the calendar turned to December. Worst case, the Bulldogs have a backup goaltender whose last game featured a scoreless tie if anything happened to Hunter Shepard.

Maine: Credit to the Black Bears for continuing its rise. This is a team that began the year with one returning defender from last season's final game. Few would expect Maine to be spending the last month bouncing back and forth in and out of the NCAA Tournament, but that's been the case.

The team has been top-heavy once again, with 63.9% of its goals scored by five players. Another player used to putting up a disproportionate amount of points and goals is Michigan State's Patrick Khodorenko. Getting him up to Maine would seem like a good fit for a team that could use a second top-line center.

Arizona State: This year's edition comes too late for the independent Sun Devils, whose regular season came to an end on Saturday. ASU is waiting nearly a month to find out whether a 22-11-3 record will be enough to make a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

If Arizona State needs any upgrades, it will be for a single-game elimination. Who would be someone who could come in and steal a game or two? Another Spartan, senior goaltender John Lethemon, that's who. No one else available has as many shutouts this season as Lethemon.

Quinnipiac: It's been a different type of season for the Bobcats, who have withstood the growing pains that come with being a younger team. While several players have replaced QU's departed stars, there's still work to be done. That's why adding Boston University captain Patrick Curry makes sense. With Curry, Quinnipiac gets another forward who can play off the team top line or open up a second scoring line. Just as important, the Bobcats get another leader and one experienced working with a young team.

Minnesota: Anyone saying they saw Minnesota being on this list in December is either lying or should be using those powers for good. The Gophers have lost a total of three times since the holiday break. Another young group (the youngest in college hockey, in fact), the team's underclassmen have stepped up as Minnesota tries to complete an at-large run for the ages.

To do so, the Gophers bring in someone very familiar with head coach Bob Motzko. He's also familiar with one of those freshmen, given he's his older brother. That's right, Minnesota would add St. Cloud State's Easton Brodzinski. Besides the familiarity, the Gophers could use another veteran presence and someone who understands Motzko's system. Brodzinski has experience being on college hockey's top regular-season team in back-to-back years.

Minnesota State: The Mavericks just got back Marc Michaelis from injury last weekend. No one's going to be a bigger pickup for Minnesota State than a top-ten player very familiar with Mankato and healthy after missing a month.

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