Trades in the NHL usually do not occur very frequently until February and March, but some names are already being tossed around the rumor mill only a few weeks in. Certain teams have certain needs, and certain players on other teams may fit those needs.
The Buffalo Sabres are a team that could do some dealing early on. It looks as if they are well on their way to finishing in the cellar, but they still have some valuable pieces that they can ship off for future help.
The first name on the list is Thomas Vanek. He seems to be the only guy on the Buffalo roster who can put the puck in the net and he could be valuable to some teams that are having trouble on offense. After dealing Jason Pominville last season, it's tough to believe that Vanek will still be wearing a Sabres jersey when the season ends.
Two teams that could be in the mix for Vanek are the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils. Despite both being in the Eastern Conference along with the Sabres, they are two teams having major trouble in the scoring department.
The Edmonton Oilers are another team to keep an eye on. Their decision to consistently draft forwards for several years looks like it is coming back to haunt them, as they are once again failing to live up to high expectations.
One of these young forwards, most likely Sam Gagner or Nail Yakupov, could be dealt to a team in need of scoring for some help on defense in return.
One of the two could end up in Philadelphia for a defenseman like Niklas Grossmann or Braydon Coburn.
The Oilers could also decide to trade some of their young talent for a goaltender, as Devan Dubnyk has been very unimpressive so far. The division rival Anaheim Ducks may be a team to trade with as they have two solid goaltenders in Viktor Fasth and Jonas Hiller.
Another with two solid goalies that Edmonton could make a deal with is St. Louis. The Blues boast a terrific tandem in Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott and also have a decent third goalie in Jake Allen. Gagner or Yakupov could fit in very well with the Blues, who can afford to give up a goalie for some more talent.
Ryan Miller of the Sabres could also be an option for the Oilers, with Jhonas Enroth looking like he could become a consistent NHL starter. Buffalo is obviously a team in need of some young talent as the Sabres are in full rebuilding mode.
The common trend is that the Flyers, Oilers and Devils are all grossly underachieving this year, and if there are options out there that could help these teams improve themselves, they may provide for some blockbuster trades in the early parts of the 2013-14 season.