NHL players bracing for trades during Four Nations Face-Off.

There has been a growing sense around the National Hockey League that the upcoming break for the Four Nations Face-Off could result in a great deal of trade activity around the league, and over the course of the past 24 hours two key pieces of evidence have come to light that appear to clearly indicate that will indeed be the case.

The first came last night when Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans spoke to the media like a man who had played his final game for the only NHL team he has ever known. Evans spoke of his time with the Canadiens in the past tense, leading many to speculate that his exit from Montreal was already a forgone conclusion.

Then on Monday morning, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that he had received a tip from an NHL player who informed him that he believed he was going to be traded during the upcoming tournament.

"I had one player who told me... he thinks he's gonna get traded over the Four Nations," revealed Friedman during the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Furthermore Friedman appeared to corroborate, through contact with additional players, that there is indeed a sense that there will be transactions coming during the Four Nations Face-Off tournament.

"I guess some players have been told, I don't know if by their teams or their agents or who it is, but they think there is gonna be action," revealed Friedman.

It sounds like some players had some difficult exits in their final regular season game before the tournament, with many believing that they may not be back with the same team once the tournament has concluded.

"There certainly is that feeling around there that some guys will not return to where they are," concluded Friedman.

It would appear that Jake Evans may believe that he is one such player, and it will be very interesting to see who else may be in that boat during the Four Nations Face-Off.