The NHL trade deadline is at 3 p.m. today.
The NHL trade deadline is at 3 p.m. today. REUTERS

The NHL trade deadlines is at 3 p.m. EST Monday, and though nothing has happened since Ben Bishop went to Ottawa for a second round pick late on Saturday night, expect things to heat up soon.

The craziest deadline ever was March 3, 2010. Thirty-one deals were made that day, more than doubling the average. This year looks to be close to that in terms of zaniness, with one unnamed NHL general manager saying he expects 20-25 trades today.

There have been at least 10 trades made on deadline day every year since 1994 thanks in part to the pressure the hard deadline creates.

In the weeks and days leading up to the deadline, general managers are slow to pull the trigger on deals when they thing something better may be out there, but with the immediacy of the deadline bearing down on them they have a tendency to take the money and run.

General Managers also tend to wait on deals until the last moment because they don't want to be embarrassed. The trade deadline is a copycat type of situation where the first deal struck can set the tone for what is fair value, for other deals coming later in the day.

If a GM pulls a deal early, and a later deal gets more for a similar player, the GM who made the first deal will look like he got robbed while the second one looks like a genius.

However, once the first domino falls today it will open the floodgates for a whole host of other deals. For a hockey fan today is like Christmas so buckle up and have a good time.