The NHL’s March 3 trade deadline is less than two weeks away. There have already been seven trades since Jan. 1 with three deals involving notable players taking place over the past three weeks.

The first occurred Jan. 30 with the New York Islanders’ acquisition of Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks. On Feb. 9, the St. Louis Blues dealt Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers. The Blues made another big move Friday, trading Ryan O’Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a three-team deal involving the Minnesota Wild.

More significant trades are bound to occur in the days leading up to and including the deadline itself. Once the big day has passed, there will be the inevitable assessments by pundits and bloggers over which teams won or lost depending on the trades they made and the prices they paid.

Several notable stars, including the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane and the San Jose Sharks’ Timo Meier, could change teams. Playoff contenders such as the Boston Bruins will be expected to bolster their rosters, while non-contenders such as the Montréal Canadiens will try to get the best possible returns.

Predicting the biggest winners and losers of the deadline isn’t easy. We can only guess which teams will make the biggest splashes in the trade pool and which ones will come up short. Nevertheless, we gave it our best shot by examining the factors that could positively or negatively affect teams’ efforts to improve.

We excluded the Islanders, Rangers and Maple Leafs, putting the focus instead on clubs that have yet to make big moves. Do you agree or disagree with our predictions? Let us know in the comment section below.

Winner: San Jose Sharks

Mired near the bottom of the Western Conference, the Sharks are poised to miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season. However, first-year general manager Mike Grier is in a good position to make a move or two that could help them build for the future.

Winger Timo Meier was the top name in our February trade block big board. The 26-year-old is also set for restricted free agency, giving interested clubs an opportunity to re-sign him if Grier allows Meier’s agent to speak with those teams.

Meier could bring a first-round pick, a high-quality prospect and a young NHL player to the Sharks. They could also get decent value for pending unrestricted free agents such as goaltender James Reimer and center Nick Bonino.

Superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson’s name has also surfaced in trade rumors, though his expensive contract and no-movement clause make him difficult to move during a season with so many teams carrying limited cap space. The trade discussions Grier has regarding Karlsson, however, could lay the foundation for an offseason move.