Several trade targets being withheld from the lineup ahead of the trade deadline

Ahead of their game tonight - against one another - the San Jose Sharks are benching Timo Meier for trade related reasons, while on the other side of the ice, the Chicago Blackhawks are doing the same with Sam Lafferty and Patrick Kane. The Blackhawks officially announced Kane would be out for "period of reflection" amidst all the rumours surrounding a move to New York.

Meier has been one of the biggest names available and has drawn interest from nearly every contending team. He is set to become an RFA at the end of the season and is in line for a qualifying offer of 10 million dollars if a long-term deal can't be struck. He is currently affecting the salary cap with a 6 million AAV, the Sharks have been looking for a haul that includes first round picks and prospects, and he seems to be the first domino that will lead other teams dispersing towards mid-tier trade targets once he's off the market.

The Blackhawks have drawn interest to a lot of their roster players that includes Jake McCabe and Max Domi as well but Lafferty is the prototypical deadline move for a team looking to bolster their bottom-6 with a defensively responsible forward who can chip in with a few goals here and there. He currently has 10 goals and 21 points, including a league leading 4 shorthanded goals and should be relatively cheap to acquire in the grand scheme of things.

As for Patrick Kane he has always wanted the New York Rangers and it seemed like a pipe dream after they went out and acquired Vladimir Tarasenko. There was about a week or two of rumours that surrounded him with the Maple Leafs but he quickly shot that down earlier this week and has urged the Blackhawks front office to get something done with the Rangers.

The Rangers have already withheld Vitaly Kravtsov for traded related reasons and placed Jake Leschyshyn on waivers in a move that frees up a roster spot and cap. The 10.5 million cap hit that Kane carries has been the biggest hindrance, however with a third team brokering a trade for salary purposes, look for another deal that will involve 75% salary retention.