Edmonton and Toronto are destined to miss the playoffs this season and, thus, are set to be sellers on NHL trade deadline day. Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver, meanwhile, have postseason designs and will be looking to add players. But are they looking to fill supporting roles or land superstars?

Here’s a look at the NHL’s six Canadian teams and what they’re hoping to accomplish before the NHL trade deadline Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET:

Calgary Flames

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The Flames need what they always need: A true No. 1 center to play alongside power winger Jarome Iginla(notes). The problem is, players such as Joe Thornton(notes) don’t grow on trees, and teams are understandably reluctant to trade away franchise prototypes. Calgary tried Olli Jokinen(notes), but that experiment failed miserably and Jokinen was shipped to the Rangers in exchange for a couple of underachieving wingers (Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik(notes)) on Feb. 1. Former Maple Leaf Matt Stajan(notes) – obtained in the Dion Phaneuf(notes) trade – is the man in the middle at the moment and recently signed a four-year extension, so he’s part of Calgary’s big-picture plans. However, he’s not a legitimate top-line center; Stajan, at best, is a second-liner. The Flames – with Miikka Kiprusoff(notes) in net, a defense corps led by Jay Bouwmeester(notes) and Robyn Regehr(notes) and scoring depth on the wings – have plenty of pieces in place for a playoff run, but Iginla is the lone gunslinger and he could use some help.

Salary cap: Calgary’s projected payroll checks in at about $55.3 million, meaning the Flames are about $1.5 million below the NHL maximum of $56.8 million. They can take on a player or two but can’t add a big salary unless they ship out a pricey contract, too.

Edmonton Oilers

Who do you want? Virtually everyone on Edmonton’s roster is up for grabs as the Oilers stumble toward a last-place overall finish in the NHL. Defensemen Lubomir Visnovsky(notes) and Sheldon Souray(notes) are top-four types who would help any power play (although Souray is out until late March with a broken hand), while veteran Steve Staios(notes) is a stay-at-home defender who provides a physical presence. Up front, captain Ethan Moreau(notes) is available to teams looking for sturdy veteran leadership, while Mike Comrie(notes) and Fernando Pisani(notes) are capable of adding secondary offense. The Oilers would surely love to move No. 1 center Shawn Horcoff(notes) – and the $27.5 million he’s owed over the next five seasons – but might not find a partner, or receive much in return considering Horcoff’s salary/output disparity (nine goals, 23 points, minus-29 rating in 56 games). Apart from forwards Dustin Penner(notes), who’s enjoying a breakout season, and Ales Hemsky(notes), who’s done for the season with a bad shoulder, everyone is available. Even youngsters such as Sam Gagner(notes) and Andrew Cogliano(notes) could be shipped out if the right mix of draft picks and prospects comes along. In other words, take a good long look at the Oilers’ current lineup – because it’ll never be the same again. And that’s a good thing.

Salary cap: Plenty of room here. The Oilers are more than $10 million below the cap, which gives Edmonton the option of taking a high-salaried player off of another team’s hands – assuming that the other team sweetens the deal with a draft pick or a prospect to make it worth it for the Oilers.

Montreal Canadiens

All eyes will be on new GM Pierre Gauthier to see if he moves one of the team’s goalies, Carey Price(notes) or Jaroslav Halak(notes). While Halak has been the better netminder to this point, Price is younger (he’s 22, while Halak turns 25 in May) and has the better pedigree (he was drafted fifth overall in 2005, while Halak was drafted 271st in ’03). The Habs insist they’ll keep both goalies until the end of the season, and then weigh their options. Both Halak and Price are eligible for restricted free agency in the summer, which limits their bargaining power, but it’s doubtful Halak wants to come back and be the low man in the tandem again. He thinks, deservedly, that he’s earned the right to be handed the reins as a full-time starter. But he knows that dream is doomed as long as Price remains in Montreal. Look for the Habs to trade a goalie, probably Halak, at the NHL entry draft in June rather than at the trade deadline. Elsewhere, the Canadiens could use more scoring punch on the wing, and have enough depth on the blueline that they might consider flipping a defenseman in exchange for help up front.

Salary cap: The Canadiens are up against the cap, so they can’t take on salary without trading some away.

Ottawa Senators

The surprising Sens sit comfortably in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, and they’ve done it despite rampant injuries and a similar roster to last year’s non-playoff lineup. In other words, while the Senators could seemingly use an overall talent upgrade, they might not want to shake things up too much for fear of disrupting team chemistry. If anything, look for Ottawa to beef up its defense corps. The addition of Andy Sutton(notes) from the Islanders was a start, but the Sens could use another dependable D-man.

Salary cap: Ottawa, like the majority of NHL teams, is close to the maximum and can’t add a big-league player without subtracting someone from its roster.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Defensemen Dion Phaneuf and Luke Schenn(notes) and goal-scoring winger Phil Kessel(notes) are the building blocks; they’re not going anywhere. But every other Leaf has his luggage ready, just in case. GM Brian Burke already has pulled off two of the biggest trades of the season when he added Kessel in September and Phaneuf at the end of January, and Burke has said he’s not done. Wingers such as Alexei Ponikarovsky(notes), Lee Stempniak(notes) and Wayne Primeau(notes) are the top candidates to be moved, and defensemen Jeff Finger(notes) and Garnet Exelby(notes) are history if a decent offer – or any offer – comes along. The Leafs are looking for the three P’s: picks, prospects and promising young NHLers.

Salary cap: The Leafs, too, are tight against the cap, but that shouldn’t be an issue as Toronto is looking to trade away roster players in exchange for younger (cheaper) players and prospects.

Vancouver Canucks

Like Ottawa, Vancouver is chugging along and is unlikely to make any radical moves. The Canucks may try to bolster their secondary scoring behind the Sedin twins or add some nastiness on the fourth line, but don’t expect GM Mike Gillis to dramatically change a team that made it to the semifinals last spring and sits in first place in the Northwest Division this season.

Salary cap: Guess what? The Canucks don’t have salary cap flexibility, either. So any deal will have to be on a player-for-player basis.