Trade deadline blog: Morris to Coyotes

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The trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET. It's always a busy time. Last year, 47 players moved and 45 were dealt the year before. Check back often as USA TODAY hockey reporter Kevin Allen details which players are moving and what's going on behind the scenes.

11:38 a.m.: Bruins add D Dennis Seidenberg

Dennis Seidenberg to Boston confirmed. Bruins also get rights to Ohio State defenseman Matthew Bartkowski. They still have room for another deal. Byron Bitz, Craig Weller and a second-round pick go to the Florida Panthers.

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11:35 a.m.: What we're waiting for

1. The Bruins to make a significant move. They moved Derek Morris to clear cap space for a reason.

2. To see if Phoenix can land a scorer to go with its upgraded defense

3. Whether any team will bite on Florida or Edmonton veterans with contracts beyond this season. Neither of these teams is in a good position.

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11:05 a.m.: Report puts Derek Morris in Phoenix

If you don't have an abundance of scoring, you try to win it with goaltending and a blue-chip defensive corps.

Presuming that TSN's report of Derek Morris going back to Phoenix is accurate, it gives Phoenix a defense of Morris, Ed Jovanovski, Adrian Aucoin, Keith Yandle, Zbynek Michalek and Jim Vandermeer.

The Coyotes' defense was underrated before, but the addition of Morris adds another upgrade.

With Ilya Bryzgalov in net, the Coyotes have an intriguing lineup heading down the stretch drive.

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10:15 a.m.: What the Blues are thinking

The St. Louis Blues aren't going to talk contracts with Erik Johnson, David Perron and Chris Mason until after the season. That's only worrisome to goalie Mason, because he can't be sure what's going to happen after the season.

The Blues obviously want to wait to see what happens down the stretch before they decide the team's direction.

The Blues will listen to offers for some of their veteran players, but Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk have no-trade clauses. They probably would move Brad Boyes, but his contract is a detriment to a deal. He has a cap hit of $4 million, and two seasons remaining at $4 million and $4.5 million.

Also, the Blues are still trying to make the playoffs.

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9:58 a.m.: Who's been helped the most by trades over the past 48 hours

1. Pittsburgh Penguins: Pick up Alexei Ponikarovsky from Toronto and hang on to their first-round pick. They wanted a scoring forward for their top six, presumably to play with Evgeni Malkin. The Pens also add puck-moving defenseman Jordan Leopold to add some defensive depth. But Ray Shero didn't want to surrender his first-round pick because he believes stable franchises can't afford to be surrendering their future year-after-year. He gave up a second-rounder for Leopold and a good prospect for Ponikarovsky.

2. Toronto Maple Leafs: Land Luca Caputi, who was one of Pittsburgh's top prospects. He's 6-2, 185, and he projects to be a tough forward. He should get a look from the Leafs this season.

3. Nashville Predators: Pick up defenseman Denis Grebeshkov from Edmonton for a second-round pick. Now if they receive good offers for Dan Hamhuis, they can make the deal easier because they at least have a veteran D man as a replacement. Grebeshkov is a restricted free agent, meaning Nashville has his rights beyond this season.

4. Ottawa Senators: Solid pickup in Andy Sutton, who comes over from the New York Islanders. Sutton is 6-6, and he could be a solidifying piece for the Senators' defense.

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Who's open for business

The Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are the top sellers in the marketplace. The Maple Leafs have done the most already, and still have Wayne Primeau, Lee Stempniak and Garnet Exelby to move. All of those players will be unrestricted this summer.

Carolina can move Ray Whitney (his no-trade clause would have to be waived), plus Joe Corvo, Aaron Ward and Andrew Alberts. Whitney, Corvo and Ward will be unrestricted and Alberts has a season left at $1.3 million.

The Los Angeles Kings and 'Canes could get a deal done in a minute for Whitney, but he wants an extension to waive his no-trade clause.

The Panthers and Oilers want to make some moves, but the players they want to move aren't on the last season of their contracts. Florida's Cory Stillman is a desired forward, but

Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell is looking for help now, and he is also looking to move Slava Kozlov, who has fallen out of favor with coach John Anderson.

There will be plenty of interest in Colby Armstrong, but Waddell isn't sure he wants to trade him because he's important to the team's playoff hopes. The problem is he can't sign Armstrong and he hates to lose him this summer for nothing.

Best guess: the Thrashers will move him if they can get someone who can help the team now.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2010-03-02-trade-deadline_N.htm