Much like last year, CLS thought it would be best to poll some of our favorite team-specific bloggers and ask, "What would you do if you were your team's general manager?"

With the deadline approaching on Wednesday, these posts will be updated up until early Wednesday afternoon so keep an eye on the blog during that time. Feel free to tell us what you would do if you were the GM in the comments.

(And, as always, thanks to our contributors.)

Buffalo Sabres

Vance from Bangin' Panger/Double Edged Sabres:

So last year I said sign Tim Connolly, that's worked out pretty well, you know, with that whole 55 points in 60 games thing he's got going on.  Plus he's stayed healthy, so that, is what we call prescience.  Look it up n00b.

But this year is a totally different situation.  I know you just watched those there Olympic games over the past couple weeks.  That Team USA goalie who suddenly ascended to Jesus and Oprah status, yeah, he's in his prime, our team is within striking distance of everybody but Washington.  Darcy Regier, it's time to go for broke.  The window here is short, Miller is 29, going on 30, you've got 3 years to make this thing happen before the blow up.  There's 3 things I'm thinkin' here.

1.  Trade for the baddest ass blueliner available(by available I mean pending UFA). In my estimation, that's Shane O'Brien out of Vancouver.  More realistically?  Maybe Brendan Witt, from the Isles (now playing in Bridgeport of the AHL), or somebody like Kurtis Foster or Aaron Ward.

2. You know those 5th round picks that really don't end up meaning anything to your team?  Trade that guy for Marty Biron. Us Sabres fans always love former Sabres, especially when they're better than Patrick Lalime.

3. The big splash. Everybody keeps saying the Hawks need to shed salary (they don't) but I'm gonna act like they want to.  Let's have a go with Nate Gerbe, Toni Lydman, and a pick for Patrick Sharp.  The Hawks get a prospect, a gritty stay at home blueliner, plus they get to shed the salary.  We're all winners there.

Oh wait, this is Darcy Regier.  So we'll end up with Wade Dubielewicz, Lee Stempniak, and Shane Hnidy.  [Facepalm]  That being said, I will forever give Regier a free pass, since he drafted Ryan Miller and Tyler Myers.

***

Hooray Punch-Out!

Boston Bruins

Evan from Stanley Cup of Chowder:

The Bruins need to find someone that can put the puck in the net and a defenseman that can make the first pass. They have been able to survive on goaltending and defense, but that can only take you so far. Their offensive punch has been weaker than Glass Jaw Joe. The need for a finisher is obvious, but they also need a puck-moving defenseman. Claude Julien's system is that the attack develops from their own end of the rink. Unfortunately, the B's haven't had a legitimate puck mover on the blueline that can get the puck to the forwards. The Bruins constantly cough up the puck when they are faced with an aggressive forecheck. We saw that in the Carolina series last year and it continues to be a issue. To sum things up, they need a winger with some scoring ability and a defenseman that doesn't soil himself every time they see a forecheck. If they can do that and find someone dumb enough to take Dennis Wideman's contract, I would be very happy...but that might be asking for too much.

***

Roy's Cup victories broke a lot of hearts.

Montreal Canadiens

Habsfan10 from Four Habs Fans:

If I was Pierre Gauthier, there's a couple of different ways I might approach the deadline:

***

Ottawa Senators

Meaghan from Sens at Land's End:

I haven't thought much about the Sens for the last two weeks -- too busy focusing all my energy on Team Canada -- but I believe I remember something about the team being short a defenseman. It seems to me Alexandre Picard was traded for Matt Cullen before the Olympic break and Chris Campoli went down with an injury. Murray must also consider the fact that even when Campoli comes back to the lineup, he will still be a terrible hockey player. There is also the question of Anton Volchenkov to think about: he'll be an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and the Sens must decide whether they're willing to risk not being able to re-sign him and losing him for nothing. Murray said today on Ottawa radio that it is possible the A-Train will be traded before the deadline. To my mind, trading Volchenkov would be crazy at this point. The team has been playing so well and it's hard for me to imagine what losing such an important piece of the puzzle would do to them. Plus, obviously, trading him would leave them short two defensemen.

To sum it up: the Sens must trade someone for help on defense. Who will they trade? No idea. There just aren't that many pieces I can either a) see the Sens wanting to lose or b) see other teams wanting to add.

Oh and in an ideal world, they'd pick up reliable goaltending. But good luck with that.

***

Toronto

Sean from Down Goes Brown:

If I was Brian Burke, I'd be pushing hard to get Tomas Kaberle to waive his no-trade clause. Which Burke publicly vowed not to do. Which means, I guess, that I'm not Brian Burke.

But for the record, I think Burke is making a big mistake if he plans to wait until the off-season to move Kaberle. Teams are willing to pay more at the deadline, and any team trading for Kaberle now will get him for two playoff runs instead of just one. I can't see how Burke will be able to get a better package in the summer, even though he'd be able to negotiate with all 30 teams. But he seems to be firm on this, so I guess I'll be disappointed.