The NHL trade deadline is less than two months away on March 7, and the 4 Nations Face-Off (Feb. 12-20) probably will kick-start the festivities, with every NHL general manager expected to attend.

Teams have their midterm scouting meetings in January, when they set the course for the trade deadline, discuss which players they are willing to move and who they are most interested in acquiring. This is another opportunity for development staff to provide updates on organizational prospects and scouts to provide analysis on prospects in other organizations. Once the meetings are done and scouts are dispatched with players to monitor, the trade talks really pick up.

With that in mind, it's time to evaluate the prospect cupboard of each contender. Who is untouchable? Is it the right time to go all-in? In which prospects will teams be most interested? How close is each prospect to playing NHL games on a regular basis and what impact could they have?

All of these are questions that teams and their fans will be asking over the next two months. Not every playoff team is a true Stanley Cup contender, and not every team we'll discuss here is on the same level of contention. Four teams are positioned as contenders with a significant prospect surplus that can be leveraged to improve the current roster: the Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals.

Here's a detailed look at the prospect situation for 13 likely playoff-bound teams -- players whose names might be popping up in trade chatter in the coming weeks:

Note: Teams are listed in alphabetical order by conference.

Eastern Conference

Carolina Hurricanes

Team overview: The Canes are perennially listed as contenders and are one of the few prospect-rich contending teams. That's directly related to their continued draft success. Carolina is consistently viewed as a draft winner because it extracts tremendous value every year. It's well known that owner Tom Dundon is not keen on moving first-round picks or high-end prospects, making it difficult for Carolina to acquire stars. That tune probably would change if a superstar signed to a long-term deal were to become available.

Prospect pool: Alexander Nikishin is the best defenseman outside of the NHL, and has been an untouchable for quite some time. The projected top-four defender plays a well-rounded game, and should be an impact player for the Canes in the near future. Scott Morrow and Aleksi Heimosalmi are two defenders teams would be keen to acquire in trades with Carolina, as both are impact players in the AHL. Though it's unlikely Carolina moves Morrow, perhaps Heimosalmi is a player the Canes would use as a trade option to acquire a player who can help them in their current contention window, given Dominik Badinka in the pipeline.

Other NHL teams have shown interest in quite a few forward prospects, but Carolina has been unwilling to move them. Bradly Nadeau, Felix Unger Sorum and Nikita Artamonov are under 20, producing admirably at the AHL and KHL levels and are known to be untouchables. Jayden Perron, Noel Gunler, Ryan Suzuki and Justin Robidas are seeing an uptick in trade value with their performances this season, and will draw interest from potential trade partners. All of them are skilled players with middle-of-the-lineup NHL potential.

Gunler, Suzuki and Robidas are in their early 20s and could play NHL minutes as soon as next season. All are players who have been developed well and would be valuable talent for a team that is looking for young players who skate well: Gunler a scorer; Suzuki a playmaker; Robidas a reliable two-way player. All of them bring a different skill set and could be the key component in a rental trade.