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The hours are down to a precious few, and some names have already been taken off the board. Still, the list of players who could be traded by Tuesday's 3 p.m. deadline is long and filled with star caliber.
Such names as Teemu Selanne, Phil Housley, Miroslav Satan, and Ziggy Palffy all remain in play.
What we know is that Mario Lemieux will remain in Pittsburgh, if only because he owns the team. Other than that, unless the name is Forsberg, Sakic, Yzerman or Roy, get ready for last-minute chaos at the trade deadline.
Here is a quick outline of immediate needs going into Tuesday ...
The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim could use some depth up front. A deal with Buffalo for Chris Gratton isn't an impossiblity, although a deal with Ottawa for Magnus Arvedson is a long shot.
The Colorado Avalanche would like to upgrade their second and third lines and are in the hunt for San Jose's Vincent Damphousse or possibly Selanne. Don't count out Mike Ricci's return. If they're unable to get any of the above, they might scrap with Edmonton and Vancouver among others for Gratton. It's unlikely they'll make another move on defense after getting Bryan Marchment on Saturday.
The Dallas Stars have done most of their shopping at the eleventh hour, and the deals with Columbus and Buffalo, with a likely addition of Doug Gilmour might be a prelude to a much bigger deal with San Jose.
The Detroit Red Wings always wait until the last minute to make a deal. This time they might be forced to settle a bit earlier in hopes of landing Aaron Miller from Los Angeles or Alexei Zhitnik of Buffalo.
The New Jersey Devils still need to replace Alexander Mogilny's offense. Could it be Selanne or Damphousse? The Devils have Scott Gomez as part of an offer, and if anybody wants to take a risk on Mike Danton, he's available with a buyer beware warning.
What the N.Y. Islanders need is some offense so that other teams can't key on Michael Peca, who is supposed to be keying on the other team's top line. With young goalie Rick DiPietro waiting in the wings, their run for the Cup is the future. If Mike Milbury makes a trade, it'll be one to get them in the playoffs.
The Ottawa Senators have added the muscle they need in Rob Ray.
The St. Louis Blues, very simply need a goalie named Sean Burke. Tampa Bay could use a depth defenseman; Toronto has made its moves, but could still stockpile a defesneman. And the Canucks are looking for some scoring depth.
Al Morganti covers the NHL for ESPN.
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