With less than a month until the March 13 trade deadline, there's a large group of teams on the fence between being bottom feeders or contenders. How they play the next two weeks will determine whether they acquire talent for a run toward the playoffs or trade players away to build for the future. Teams with players due to be unrestricted free agents this summer are the ones to keep a close eye on.

Along the boards

Toronto Maple Leafs At one point, the Maple Leafs were competing for the No. 1 seed in the East. Now, Toronto finds itself flirting with the No. 8 seed. Whether it's the distraction of Eric Lindros trade rumors or porous defense, the Leafs are in trouble. Chicago's Steve Sullivan Think the Maple Leafs could use this guy? Sullivan could be the feel-good story of the season. He's undersized at 5-foot-9 and was waived by Toronto last season. Since being picked up by Chicago, Sullivan has 50 goals in 130 games. In his previous 203 NHL games, Sullivan had 48 goals. For his effort, the Hawks rewarded Sullivan with a reported three-year, $9 million contract. Sullivan has five more goals than Gary Roberts, Toronto's top goal-scorer. Nashville and Calgary The Flames and Predators continue to flirt with playoff contention. The reason they aren't in contention is due to sub-.500 home records. Both Nashville (15-12-1-2) and Calgary (12-11-4-2) have winning marks on the road, but can't get on a roll at home. The Preds are 9-15-6-0 on home ice, while the Flames are a bit better at 8-11-7-2. Florida's Pavel Bure So he didn't get hat tricks in three consecutive games. Big deal. It might be too-little-too-late for the Panthers, winners of five of their last six, but Bure has been a one-man wrecking crew the last two months. He has eight goals in his last five games and 19 in his last 21. Vancouver Dan Cloutier for Felix Potvin? Is that the best GM Brian Burke can do? There has to be another maneuver on the horizon because Cloutier isn't going to make the Canucks a playoff threat and might not even deserve the "goalie of the future" tag. Moving Potvin was necessary, and having Cloutier doesn't necessarily hurt, but it has to be a precursor to another goaltending acquisition, if not in the next four weeks, sometime in the next six months. San Jose Sharks The team responds to Owen Nolan's absence by going on a 3-0-2 run. During the current streak, the Sharks have three shutouts -- two by Steve Shields and one by Evgeni Nabokov -- and have allowed just three goals. Any criticism about team defense and depth should be put on hold, as should the assumption that Dallas will catch San Jose in the Pacific during Nolan's suspension, which has six games remaining entering Sunday's game against Minnesota. Hot seat: Mario Lemieux is making a lot of headlines for his opinions on the state of the game. Although his commentary is legitimate -- the players are too big, too fast and too strong for the current ice dimensions -- it will only spark more on-ice focus on him. As the playoffs near, the ring of respect will continue to shrink around Lemieux. Hot seat, Part deux: It might not be melodramatic to say the next three weeks might define Glen Sather's time in New York. Faced with a position on the weak part of the playoff fence, Sather must decide between moving veterans to make room for youth and acquiring more veterans to justify a playoff run. His competitiveness and creativity will be tested. Veteran advantages: Can skip morning skates Can make rookies pay for cabs Veteran disadvantages: Dental bills Can recall the clear-blade, long-pant era

The only teams currently not in the top eight of each conference that can be excluded from playoff consideration are the Islanders, Lightning, Ducks and Blue Jackets. For the sake of discussion, we'll keep Minnesota and Atlanta in the mix, and you'll find out why below.

Here are a few games involving teams and players on the front line of this dilemma:

Monday: Chicago at N.Y. Rangers
Both Chicago and New York are less than 10 points behind the No. 8 spot in their respective conferences, but the spotlight is decidedly brighter on New York. Most of the talk has surrounded the possibility of Keith Tkachuk or Rob Blake arriving and Mike Richter possibly leaving.

But several more names will surface in the coming weeks. One is Rich Pilon, who is close to returning to the lineup from a concussion. Pilon, set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, would be an excellent No. 5 or No. 6 defenseman for a contender. The 32-year-old defenseman is a minus-1 on a team with a goal differential of minus-22. Pilon is big, strong and physical. He also impressed more than a few people by coming into the season in great shape.

Pilon becomes even more expendable because youngsters Tomas Kloucek and Kim Johnsson have drawn praise from coach Ron Low, and there's little doubt the Rangers' defense needs to be younger and quicker.

Wednedsday: Atlanta at Carolina
It's unlikely the Thrashers will make up 14 points in 23 games to reach the No. 8 spot in the East. But with Donald Audette and Ray Ferraro having great seasons in walk years, a substantial amount of attention will be focused on Atlanta.

Thrashers GM Don Waddell is in a difficult position. With the franchise in just its second season, his priority is to build for the future. But Audette and Ferraro have been key to the Thrashers' success and losing them could be a risk.

"I really try and keep negotiations out of the media, but we have had discussions with our unrestricteds -- with Audette and Ferraro," Waddell said. "With Ferraro, it's more of a matter of whether he's going to play (next season) or not.

"My goal is to try and sign these guys."

Waddell is confident at least one of the two will be signed. However, as the trade deadline approaches, the phone will ring quite a bit and some tempting offers will follow. Audette has great skills and would provide offensive depth for a contender, especially on the power play. Ferraro provides intensity and an unmatched work ethic to go along with his resurgent scoring touch.

Wednesday: Vancouver at Montreal
Take the Canucks off the list of rebuilding teams. Coach Marc Crawford's team will make the playoffs.

Montreal's story resembles their situation last season: a rash of injuries followed by solid play late in the season. Twelve points might be too much to make up, so the Canadiens might be better served getting to ground zero and allowing the new management team a chance to add some depth.

Defenseman Eric Weinrich, basically, has already been traded because he's due to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He's been one of Montreal's most consistent players, with 19 assists and 25 points, and can help out on special teams as well -- he has nine power-play points.

But the Canadiens have other veteran talent which might appeal to other teams. The Habs would like to keep players like Trevor Linden and Martin Rucinsky, but they'd be remiss not to listen to offers. Both players are under contract for next season and wouldn't be a "rent-a-player" like Weinrich.

"A guy like Weinrich more than likely will be traded," said Linden, who has 11 points in nine games since returning from injury. "I do hear a lot of rumors (about me). I kind of laugh. They are funny. If Andre (GM Andre Savard), who is a good hockey man, can improve his team, he could trade any one of us.

"Any player wants to be in the playoffs, no question about it. That's the best time of the year. I'm not asking to be traded and don't want to be traded. My wife likes it here, and the organization has been great to me. But I'm not in control of the situation, so I don't worry about it."

Rucinsky, a five-time 20-goal scorer just coming off a knee injury, has been traded twice in his career. He realizes because of his age and the Montreal media fish bowl, trade rumors are part of the job.

"There has been some talk all year long about what direction the Montreal Canadiens take," he said. "I'm not the youngest guy on the team -- I'll be 30 in March. If they try to rebuild, I could be traded.

"Montreal is a special place for these rumors. ... If it happens, it happens. If not, good. I'm happy here."

Wednesday: Minnesota at Dallas
Like Atlanta, the Wild have a few veterans that playoff contenders could use down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Curtis Leschyshyn (plus-7) and Sean O'Donnell (minus-1) play solid defense. While trades for these guys and Weinrich don't make huge headlines, good blueliners are difficult to come by.

A third player is winger Scott Pellerin. It's not difficult to determine his value to a contender. Pellerin is just four points shy of his career high of 41 set in 1998-99, and he is an impressive plus-10. Plus, he is great in the locker room and has 31 games of playoff experience.

The interesting thing about all three players is that they are at three distinct levels in the trading/re-signing process.