This year’s NHL trade deadline is Friday, March 3 at 3 pm ET. The weeks leading up to deadline day tend to be the busiest for player movement during the regular season. Teams that are out of playoff contention shop the pending free agents they can’t or won’t re-sign. Meanwhile, contenders attempt to acquire the best available talent to bolster their rosters for the postseason.

The New York Islanders could be hoping for the same sort of boost with their recent acquisition of Bo Horvat. They acquired the 27-year-old center from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 30 to bolster their sagging offense as they attempt to nail down a playoff berth.

Sometimes a contender makes a trade that helps to propel them into the Stanley Cup Final. Recent notable examples include the Los Angeles Kings’ acquisition of Jeff Carter in 2012 and the New York Rangers bringing in Martin St. Louis in 2014.

Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane and St. Louis Blues center Ryan O’Reilly have become the subjects of frequent trade speculation among the media this season. They are the type of players who could lift a contender into a champion.

Here are five game-changing trades we’d love to see before the March 3 NHL trade deadline. You can give us your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.

Jakob Chychrun to the Los Angeles Kings

Locked in a tight race in the Pacific Division, the Los Angeles Kings could use a trade that gives them a lift to secure first place in the division and home-ice advantage for the playoffs. Acquiring Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun could be just the game-changer they need.

A skillful puck-moving defenseman, Chychrun is signed through 2024-25 with an affordable $4.6 million average annual value and lacks no-trade protection this season. Since returning from offseason wrist surgery on Nov. 21, the 24-year-old blueliner has 27 points in 35 games with a plus-minus of plus-6.

The Kings lack sufficient depth in left-shot defensemen on their blue line. They’re using right-shot rearguard Sean Durzi on the left side of their second defense pairing. Adding Chychrun would address that need, providing a big boost to their blue-line production while allowing Durzi to move back to the right side of their defense corps.

Adding Chychrun could cost the Kings a first-round pick, a top prospect and a good young player. They have the depth within their system to meet that asking price. It could be worth it as they’d have Chychrun for the remainder of this season and the next two.