Contracts with trade protection are booming as the NHL trade deadline is looming. But these hockey clauses date back to the 1970s.

Utah Hockey Club is one example of why. They have no intention of being sellers if they can avoid it. They feel they’re still in the playoff race in the West, trying to chase down the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames for the last playoff spot.

Phil Kessel recently had a meet-up with his ex-Arizona Coyotes teammates. On Sunday, Kessel posted a group photo with his buddies on Instagram, featuring Clayton Keller, Jakob Chychrun, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Lawson Crouse, among others.

Defensemen Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield will return from injury against the Dallas Stars on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET, Victory+, MSGSN). Pulock, who missed seven games with an upper-body injury, has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) and is plus-7 in 48 games while averaging 21:55 of ice time. He will be paired with Scott Perunovich.

"When we rolled into Utah, we kind of said, 'We want to be in a position down the stretch where we're playing meaningful games," Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said prior to a 5-3 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. "We're in the build right now, as we call it. We're four years in and we're making a lot of progress."

Meanwhile, discussions about league expansion continue. Atlanta, Houston, and Quebec City have all been mentioned as potential candidates, and on Wednesday, a new city entered the conversation.

The NHL recently met with a group interested in acquiring an expansion team for the New Orleans market at the league’s offices in New York.