It seems like just yesterday we were watching the World Junior Championships and gearing up for the Winter Classic. However, it's already mid-January, and that means there's only a few more weeks before the NHL trade deadline hits. You can be certain that tires are being kicked, though both Jay Feaster of the Calgary Flames and Brian Burke of the Toronto Maple Leafs are more than happy to public talk about the lack of realistic deals coming their way.

From both Feaster and Burke, it sounds like teams want to match up both cap hit and skill in a deal, though you can bet on things loosening up as the trade deadline nears. Usually, it just takes the first domino to fall before things really get going. While there are certainly big-name question marks, the easiest trade fodder is the impending UFA, as their contract will be done come June and there aren't any worries about lingering cap hits.

In short, the following players have the potential to be hired guns. Of course, not all of them come with the cap hit or skill to be in it, but you can bet that GMs on losing teams want to get anything in return for assets that will disappear in a few months.

The following lists are impending UFAs from teams that are essentially out of the playoff race. That's the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, and Florida Panthers out east. Out west, the Edmonton Oilers are really the only team that factor into that, but let's throw the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jacket in there as well just to round out the list.

The positional lists are sorted by team and cap hit (descending), along with any notes about injuries. All values are courtesy the good folks at NHL Numbers and all injury updates are from TSN.

Obviously, the big catch here is Tomas Vokoun. Word has it that the Panthers are exploring contract negotiations with Vokoun, though his recent benching can't really help things. Would a team like the Philadelphia Flyers grab a veteran like Jean-Sebastien Giguere?

Forwards

There are a lot of two-way depth forwards available, such as Rob Niedermayer and Marty Reasoner. Zenon Konopka is a brawler, but he's also strong at faceoffs. For teams looking for scoring depth, some skill options exist, though there's no slam dunks when you've got guys like Radek Dvorak on the list.

Defense

Now here's where it gets really interesting. You've got the ongoing Tomas Kaberle saga, Bryan McCabe and his broken jaw, and former #1 overall pick Chris Phillips. Anton Babchuck is an interesting possibility, and there are plenty of depth journeymen that could be used to round out the 5/6 spots on the blueline.

There aren't any gamebreakers, such as last year when the New Jersey Devils sold their soul to the, erm, devil by acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk. Instead, it's a lot of depth players and over-30 talent that could be the missing piece of the puzzle.

Take a good look at these lists. Do you see targets you want to round out your team or is this much ado about nothing?