Predators Notes: Marchessault, McCarron, GM Search
There is a willingness from both the Predators and winger Jonathan Marchessault to see if something could happen on the trade front, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts column. The 35-year-old is in the second season of a five-year contract that carries a $5.5MM AAV. Marchessault has battled injuries this season and has been a little quiet when he has played, notching 10 goals and seven assists in 38 games. However, he was one of the few players who lived up to expectations last season when he collected 21 goals and 35 helpers to finish second on the team in scoring.
While a $5.5MM cap charge for a top-six forward in an increasing cap environment is reasonable, there will be teams questioning just how long he’ll be able to stay in that role which will largely dictate the viability or lack thereof of a swap. Marchessault has a full no-move clause which gives him control over where he could be moved to with Friedman noting that one particular priority for the winger is going somewhere with strong minor hockey infrastructure for his children.
More from Nashville:
- On Friday, the league announced that winger Michael McCarron was fined just over $2.3K for a slash on Washington blueliner Trevor van Riemsdyk on Thursday night. The amount is the maximum allowable under the CBA, amounting to the lower of $5K or one-half of one day’s salary, in this case the latter. The fine money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
- When GM Barry Trotz announced he’d be retiring, the Predators appointed CAA Executive Search to assist in the search for his replacement. However, following concerns from the NHLPA about potential conflicts of interest (CAA Hockey also represents 153 active NHL players), CAA has withdrawn from the agreement with the team, reports Alex Silverman of the Sports Business Journal. The NHLPA’s rules governing agencies prohibit those agencies from representing NHL players and also assisting in executive searches, even if they’re run by two completely distinct elements of that firm. Trotz remains in place as the GM for the time being and is expected to take the team through the trade deadline and beyond that until a replacement is found. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean adds (Twitter link) that the search will now be done in-house.
Blues Claim Jack Finley Off Waivers From Lightning
There may be a trade freeze in the NHL right now but waiver wire moves can still be made. The Blues have added some young depth off the wire, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed center Jack Finley off waivers from the Lightning. Under the rules for roster movement during the break, he won’t be required to report to St. Louis until February 17th.
The 23-year-old was a second-round pick by Tampa Bay back in 2020, going 57th overall. At the time, Finley wasn’t lighting it up in junior hockey with WHL Spokane but with a six-foot-six frame and an ability to play down the middle, the Lightning hoped that he’d eventually fill out and become a potential bottom-six option for them. He had 57 points in his draft year and then in 2021-22 (2020-21 was largely wiped out), he managed just 50 so the offensive outburst never came.
However, Finley showed some promising signs offensively in the minors. In his first three full professional seasons, he reached the double-digit goal mark in all three, ranging between 12 goals in his rookie year to 14 tallies last season, when he wound up with 28 points in 40 contests with AHL Syracuse. Given that, Tampa Bay was hesitant to cut him in training camp, instead keeping him around at the back of their roster.
Unfortunately for Finley, playing time was difficult to come by. He played in just 11 games over the first two months of the season, resulting in a three-game conditioning stint with the Crunch, where he had three points. Finley did play a bit more regularly after being recalled, seeing action in 12 games over the last seven-plus weeks but that was still minimal playing time overall. On the season, he has two goals and one assist in 23 outings while playing just 8:25 per game. He’s also chipped in 37 hits and has won 48.5% of his faceoffs.
Finley, a St. Louis native, now joins a team that looks to be heading for at least some sort of rebuild or retooling process with the team well out of playoff contention. Accordingly, he should have an easier pathway to consistent playing time down the stretch if the Blues sell off more veterans as they did with the Nick Bjugstad trade earlier this week; Finley effectively fills his spot on the roster.
While waiver claims are often on short-term deals, that isn’t the case here. Finley is in the first season of a three-year deal that currently carries a cap hit of $775K. As the league minimum increases next season, the AAV of the deal will go up to reflect the higher salary being paid. The final two seasons of the agreement are a one-way salary so St. Louis is potentially absorbing around $2MM in cash costs over the next three years. But if Finley is able to fill a depth role during that stretch, it’ll be a worthwhile pickup for them.
Photo courtesy of Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up are the Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens
Current Cap Hit: $95,173,995 (under the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Zachary Bolduc (one year, $863.3K)
F Ivan Demidov (two years, $940.8K)
G Jacob Fowler (three years, $923.3K)
D Lane Hutson (one year, $950K)
F Oliver Kapanen (two years, $925K)
Potential Bonuses
Bolduc: $425K
Fowler: $80K
Demidov: $2MM
Hutson: $850K
Kapanen: $637.5K
Total: $3.9925MM
The Canadiens were able to get Demidov signed earlier than expected, allowing him to play in the playoffs last season and burn a year of his contract. He’s off to a strong start to his rookie year and it feels like he’s the next player that GM Kent Hughes will look to get signed to a long-term deal and bypass a bridge pact. At the rate salaries are going up, that could land in the $10MM range, especially if they sign an early extension and get the eighth year in. Meanwhile, half of his bonuses are ‘A’ ones and could realistically be hit.
Kapanen is having much more success this season after playing a very limited role at the beginning and end of last year. While he has fared well with Demidov, there remain enough questions about his offensive ceiling to make a shorter-term deal likely. That could fall in the $4MM range depending on his point production. He has three ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and has a realistic shot at reaching at least the goals one. Bolduc came over in an offseason move from St. Louis and has shown some signs of being a capable secondary scorer. Still, he’s likely to be in bridge territory as well, likely surpassing the $3MM mark. He has two ‘A’ bonuses in his deal with a 20-goal one being the most realistic.
Hutson will get a longer look later but for now, it’s worth noting that he has four ‘A’ bonuses in his contract and could conceivably hit them all. However, he has a rare clause in his contract that caps the total bonuses achievable in the deal at $1.15MM. He has already hit $750K of that so even if he hits enough of the criteria to reach all four bonuses, his payment will be capped at $400K. Notably, Kapanen is one of the other few players in the league with that restriction on bonus money.
Fowler was brought up a few weeks back and made enough of an impression to get more than a spot start. As a result, he’s already hit his games played bonuses. The Canadiens are hoping that he’ll be their starter of the future. The price tag of those players has jumped past $8MM in recent years but most of those were UFA deals where Fowler has a ways to go to get to UFA eligibility. But with the cap escalating, if he pans out, he could very well land in that range. For now, he’s back in AHL Laval but the bonuses will still count.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
F Kirby Dach ($3.363MM, RFA)
F Patrik Laine ($8.7MM, UFA)
F Joe Veleno ($900K, RFA)
D Arber Xhekaj ($1.3MM, RFA)
The Canadiens took a flyer on Laine in the 2024 offseason after it was clear that a return to Columbus wouldn’t be tenable. The hope was that he’d bring some extra firepower and might be a better fit in a secondary role. When healthy, he has shown flashes of being that threat, especially with the man advantage where he was one of the top scorers last year despite missing two months with knee trouble. However, he also spent a lot of time on the fourth line and was there this season before suffering a long-term lower-body injury. That sets him up with eligibility for performance bonuses in a one-year contract and frankly, that might be the best way for him to potentially maximize his earnings while the signing team can mitigate the risk. A deal like that could have a couple million in base salary and then a few million in bonuses tied to games played and production.
Dach’s injury history is even longer than Laine’s as he has missed more games than he has played since being acquired at the 2023 draft. When healthy for an extended stretch, he has had some moments to show that a top-six player could still be in there but between the inconsistency and injuries, it’s far from a given he’ll get there permanently. His qualifying offer jumps to $4MM and a long-term deal is unlikely. Instead, another shorter-term deal around that number might be the way to go. Veleno came over in free agency after being bought out by Seattle and landing in a soft free agent market. A sub-$1MM qualifying offer helps but with his history, he’d likely garner much more than that in a hearing making him a strong non-tender candidate. Given how things went this past summer, it doesn’t seem likely that his market would be much stronger in 2026.
Xhekaj hasn’t been able to break through his deployment as a sixth defender in recent years, something that won’t likely change the rest of this season. Still, he’ll likely be past 200 games by the offseason and could plausibly double his current price tag which would be on the high side for someone in his role.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Josh Anderson ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Alexandre Carrier ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Phillip Danault ($5.5MM, UFA)
G Jakub Dobes ($965K, RFA)
F Brendan Gallagher ($6.5MM, UFA)
G Samuel Montembeault ($3.15MM, UFA)
F Alex Newhook ($2.9MM, RFA)
D Jayden Struble ($1.413MM, RFA)
After being on a bargain contract on his second deal, Gallagher’s contract has been anything but for the majority of it so far. At 33 with a lot of wear and tear on him, that’s probably not going to change. Now a full-time bottom-six player, he could be looking at a 50% drop in pay on his next contract. Anderson hasn’t provided a lot of value on his deal either as primarily a bottom-six piece as well but he’s a couple of years younger than Gallagher and provides a lot of physicality. It would be surprising to see him beat this amount on his next deal but the drop in salary might be pretty short overall.
Danault returned for his second stint in Montreal with a trade right before the holiday roster freeze. A legitimate two-way player early in his contract, he has been more of a defensive specialist the last couple of years. While that’s still a useful player, someone in that role isn’t going to provide great value at this price point. Like Anderson, he’s probably looking at a small cut in pay at a minimum.
Newhook hasn’t been able to lock down a full-time top-six spot like Montreal hoped when they got him a couple of years ago. He’s consistently in the 30-point range (though he was off to a better start this year before his long-term injury) and his positional versatility certainly helps so he’s someone they’ll likely want to keep when his deal is up. His qualifying offer drops to a manageable $2.1MM but, like Dach, a shorter-term contract that buys a year or two of team control might make the most sense; a contract like that could run near the $4MM range.
Carrier fit in quite well after being acquired from Nashville in a midseason trade, stabilizing the back half of their back end. A right-shot player who can cover 20 minutes a game when needed (even if that’s not the most optimal option for him), he should have a strong market in his next trip through free agency which likely pushes his price point past $4MM as well. Struble is in the first season of his bridge deal and has been in and out of the lineup early on. His situation resembles Xhekaj’s right down to playing on an identical cap percentage and, like Xhekaj, doubling this price tag could be doable depending on how things play out.
Last season, Montembeault showed some signs of becoming a legitimate starting goaltender which would be a promising development from a waiver claim a few years back. If he stayed on that trajectory, he could have found himself in the $6MM per season range on his next deal. But early-season struggles have probably scuttled those hopes. Now, he needs to reestablish himself as a starter before thinking about a big raise. Dobes is on his bridge deal and has established himself as a full-time NHLer. Depending on where he lands on the depth chart down the stretch and into next season, his next contract could range between $2MM and $5MM per season depending on how things go; the variance potential is quite high.
Signed Through 2027-28
F Alexandre Texier ($1MM in 2025-26, $2.5MM in 2026-27 and 2028, UFA)
Texier was signed recently after asking for a contract termination from St. Louis, taking a pay cut of more than 50% in the process. He got off to a strong start though, earning him a two-year extension soon after at a rate higher than the one he walked away from. If Texier can remain an impactful player, the Canadiens will do well here but if he goes back to being a depth player, they might wind up regretting this one.
Artemi Panarin Notes: Other Offers, Trade Timing, Contract
While there wasn’t much trade activity leading into the Olympic trade freeze, one of the biggest moves of the season was made when the Kings acquired winger Artemi Panarin from the Rangers in exchange for prospect winger Liam Greentree along with a 2026 conditional third-round pick that upgrades to a second-round selection if Los Angeles wins a round. Meanwhile, if they win two rounds, New York also collects a 2028 fourth-round selection. Panarin subsequently signed a two-year, $22MM extension shortly following the swap. With the dust now settled on the trade, here are some additional notes on the move.
- During his media availability following the swap (video link), Panarin stopped short of directly confirming that extension offers from the Rangers were low-ball proposals but did note that “I don’t know if I should say this but I feel like the contract offer (said), ‘We’re not sure if we want you or not.’” Over the offseason, it was reported that New York had approached Panarin’s camp with some proposals that would see him take a sizable pay cut to remain with the team with some willingness to get creative on the term. With those talks going nowhere, Panarin added that there wasn’t really any reengagement with the Rangers after that point on a new deal.
- While Panarin ultimately took the offer from Los Angeles, it was far from the biggest one on the table. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in his latest 32 Thoughts column that the Kraken made an offer of more than $14MM per season in an effort to try to convince Panarin to accept a trade to them. That would have nearly been double the highest amount that the team has given a player so far in their brief tenure with Vince Dunn being their current top-paid player at $7.35MM.
- From the standpoint of affordability, teams likely would have preferred the trade to come after the break when there would be less money remaining on his contract (even with the Rangers retaining 50% on his contract to facilitate the move as they did). However, Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic relays (subscription link) that Panarin made it clear that his deadline was the trade freeze so that he would have ample time to settle in with his new club. That might have taken an interested team or two off the table as a result. That said, Panarin ultimately decided that the only team he’d accept a move to was the Kings so those other possibilities probably wouldn’t have happened anyway.
- PuckPedia has the breakdown of Panarin’s new deal. It’s predominantly paid in the form of signing bonuses to the tune of $20MM over the two years ($11MM for next season, $9MM for 2027-28) while he receives a base salary of $1MM in each season. Additionally, Panarin has a full no-move clause in this contract, just as he does in his current one.
Pavel Zacha To Miss Olympics
The Bruins will have one less participant at the upcoming Olympics while Czechia will be down a key center. The IIHF announced (Twitter link) that Pavel Zacha will not be participating in the event due to injury. He has been replaced by middleman Filip Chlapik.
Zacha has been dealing with a lower-body injury for a little more than a week after sustaining it late last month against Philadelphia, ultimately causing him to miss the Winter Classic as well. Originally, head coach Marco Sturm had noted that the injury wasn’t expected to force him to miss the Olympics which suggests that Zacha’s recovery hasn’t gone quite as well as they hoped so far. Now, he’ll get three extra weeks to recover before games resume toward the end of the month.
The 28-year-old is in the midst of a solid season, notching 15 goals and 22 assists in 54 games while averaging a little over 17 minutes per night of ice time. That production has been good enough to place him fourth in team scoring at the break.
It’s likely that Zacha would have had a similar role at the Olympics that he has in Boston, serving as a second-line center while seeing time on both special teams units. Coincidentally, he sits fourth in scoring among NHLers on the Czech roster, behind teammate David Pastrnak, Colorado’s Martin Necas, and Vegas’ Tomas Hertl.
As for Chlapik, he was a second-round pick by Ottawa in 2015 and got into 57 games with them over parts of four seasons before being granted his release back in 2021. Since then, he has spent the majority of his time playing at home with HC Sparta Praha and sits third in Extraliga scoring this season with 19 goals and 26 assists in 45 games.
Juho Lammikko Clears Unconditional Waivers, Signs In Switzerland
Feb. 7: Lammikko wasn’t an unrestricted free agent for long. Zurich in Switzerland’s NL announced that they’ve signed him to a three-year deal that runs through the 2027-28 campaign.
Feb. 6: Lammikko cleared waivers and is now a UFA, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Feb. 5: The Devils announced they’ve placed forward Juho Lammikko on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. Assuming he clears tomorrow, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and can return to Europe or sign elsewhere in North America.
New Jersey placed Lammikko on standard waivers last month for roster flexibility, but never assigned him to the minors. Yesterday, the Devils finally sent him down to Utica as the corresponding move for Nick Bjugstad‘s acquisition. Evidently, he’s refused to accept the assignment and is in breach of his contract as a result.
Lammikko, 30, returned to the NHL this summer when he signed a one-year, $800K deal with New Jersey last June. His season started inauspiciously on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury. He got back into action in late October but has been a healthy scratch for long stretches at a time. In 24 games dressed, he’s managed two assists and a -4 rating while averaging 9:53 of ice time per game.
A checking center who commonly shifts to the wing, Lammikko’s possession numbers have been ugly. He’s only controlled 42.7% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite being used in a relatively sheltered role and has been shelled in possession quality as well.
Lammikko was a third-round pick by the Panthers in 2014. He joined the organization for the 2016-17 campaign and climbed through the minors before making his NHL debut two years later. He notched 11 points in 84 games for the Cats over parts of two seasons, interrupted by a stint back in Europe, before being traded to the Canucks shortly before the 2021-22 campaign. That resulted in Lammikko making a career-high 75 appearances for Vancouver, notching seven goals and 15 points while averaging over 12 minutes per game.
Despite that decent showing as a bottom-six middleman, his NHL career paused again there. He headed back to Europe with Switzerland’s ZSC Lions, emerging as one of the National League’s top power forwards during that time. After racking up 112 points in 144 games with a +60 rating over three years, he attempted his third NHL arrival with the Devils. With his unwillingness to accept a minor-league assignment, a return to the top Swiss league or somewhere else in Europe should be the expectation.
Flyers’ Ty Murchison Expected To Be Out For Season With Injury
The Philadelphia Flyers will lose a strong call-up option for the rest of the year. Defenseman Ty Murchison, who made his NHL debut in December, has sustained an upper-body injury and isn’t expected to return this season per Lehigh Valley Phantoms broadcaster Bob Rotruck. Murchison sustained the injury during Lehigh Valley’s January 11th loss to the Providence Bruins. He has missed eight games since.
Murchison was having a succesful start to his pro career. The AHL rookie only had six points in 29 games – but his 46 penalty minutes ranked third on Lehigh Valley, and his staunch defense earned him a call-up to the NHL while Philadelphia adjusted to blue-line injuries. Murchison went on to play in three games with the Flyers, netting no scoring and a plus-one. He earned incremently more ice time over those three games, before being reassigned.
Murchison brings an physical, defense-first presence that proved quickly valuable in Lehigh Valley. That continues the pattern of hard-earned hockey that followed Murchison through four years at Arizona State University. He only scored 23 points in 145 games with the Sun Devils – but, again, his propensity for hard-hitting hockey proved intimidating at the college flight.
The 23-year-old Murchison seems well set to vie for a bottom-pair role in Philadelphia one day. He could have even earned that role at the tail-end of this season, after Philadelphia traded Egor Zamula following Murchison’s NHL debut. Now, it seems he’ll have to wait for a smooth recovery next season before he rejoins the fight for NHL minutes.
Trade Deadline Primer: Minnesota Wild
With the Olympic break approaching, the trade deadline is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We begin our look around the league with teams that have clear plans at the extremes of the standings, this time with Wild.
Our Trade Deadline primer series rolls on with the market’s current big fish. The Minnesoa Wild pulled off one of the biggest trades in recent memory when they sent top-six center Marco Rossi, top prospect Zeev Buium, wing prospect Liam Ohgren, and a first-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for franchise defenseman Quinn Hughes. The monster move has already returned dividends. Minnesota has posted a 16-5-5 record with Hughes in the lineup – but still appear a few lineup pieces shy of true Stanley Cup contention. The Trade Deadline will challenge Minnesota to mend those holes with a recently-thinned wallet.
Record
34-14-10 (2nd in Central Division)
Deadline Status
Buyers
Deadline Cap Space
$14.52MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 42/50 contracts used per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: MIN 3rd, MIN 4th, SJS 5th, MIN 5th, MIN 6th, MIN 7th
2027: MIN 1st, MIN 3rd, MIN 4th, MIN 5th, MIN 6th, MIN 7th
Trade Chips
The Wild dealt most of their loose pieces in their big buy for Hughes. What was left behind is a relatively solid lineup with no major value-buys sticking out. That hasn’t stopped Minnesota from finding ways to stay on top of the trade market. The club has dangled star goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt in recent trade discussion, in an attempt to find a star addition on offense.
Wallstedt offers unprecedented market value. The Nashville Predators traded top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, and a third-round pick, to the San Jose Sharks in 2024 in exchange for David Edstrom, Magnus Chrona, and a first-round pick. Counting Edstrom’s draft capital, that is the equivalent of two first-round picks – a price that Wallstedt could supercede with his performance this season. Finally stuck in an NHL role, Wallstedt has posted 14 wins and a .914 save percentage in 23 games this season. He has proven to be a true force in the NHL, after doing as much in both the AHL and SHL.
The Wild could land a serious addition on the back of Wallstedt’s value alone. They could add to it their 2027 first-round pick or top prospects like Charlie Stramel or Ryder Ritchie to seemingly land some of the biggest names on the market. With plenty of cap space on deadline day and one more year on Hughes’ current contract, there could be little-to-nothing holding Minnesota back from going all-in.
Trade Needs
Thee Center: Minnesota has held tryouts for their top-center role through the last four seasons. None of Rossi, Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, or Danila Yurov have appeared capable of leading a Cup-winning offense. It is clear the Wild are one piece short of a true top lineup. Luckily, this year’s market is unusually rife with center talent.
Minnesota might be able to swing Robert Thomas away from the St. Louis Blues with their assembly of Wallstedt and future capital. Thomas is a clear top center in the midst of his prime on a Blues team heading the wrong way. He would offer a forechecking and playmaking presence that would fit seamlessly next to play-driving scorers Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, like it has next to Jordan Kyrou in St. Louis. The Blues will need to be swayed to trade away their core forward, especially to an interdivision rival, but a core future piece like Wallstedt could be enough.
The Wild could pull off a similar deal for Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri, though the Flames are less likely to be swayed by a trade package surrounding a star goalie. That offer could be more convincing should the Vancouver Canucks let Minnesota double-dip and target Elias Pettersson.
Should Thomas, Kadri, and Pettersson be too rich for Minnesota’s taste, they could find cheaper options in Rangers’ center Vincent Trocheck or Sharks’ center Alexander Wennberg. Neither player would fill the top-line role outright, though they could add some nice diversity next to Hartman, Eriksson Ek, and Yurov on the depth chart. Trocheck has 12 goals and 36 points in 43 games with New York, while Wennberg has stepped up with 37 points in 55 games.
Some Goalie Reassurance: Dangling Wallstedt for another big trade is a bold, and potentially franchise-altering, decision by the Wild. They would need to replace their backup goalie role should Wallstedt move, with Calvin Petersen and Samuel Hlavaj both boasting sub-.900 save percentages in the minors.
The Wild could find that quite easily if they make it a priority in their buy of a new center. The Blues could likely be separated from former Cup-winner Jordan Binnington in a deal where they land Wallstedt. That would give the Wild a veteran addition – and a rival familiar to Wild and Team USA general manager Bill Guerin – to backup Filip Gustavsson. Minnesota could also find a few different options in the Canucks, who currently have Nikita Tolopilo and Jiri Patera battling for the NHL backup role after an injury to Thatcher Demko.
Should Minnesota want to split their buys into two deals, they could benefit from connecting with the Pittsburgh Penguins or Florida Panthers, in an attempt to buy netminders like Joel Blomqvist or Daniil Tarasov. Both would come with a cost, though could probably be pulled away with the right argument.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images.
Panthers’ 2026 First-Round Pick Traded To Blackhawks Is Top-10 Protected
The Florida Panthers acquired defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2025 Trade Deadline. In return, the Blackhawks received goaltender Spencer Knight and a conditional 2026 first-round pick. At the time, the reported condition was that the pick would become Florida’s 2027 first should the Panthers find another trade involving their 2026 pick. It was revealed on Friday – nearly a full year after the deal – that the pick also carries top-10 protection, per hockey insider Frank Seravalli.
That condition was later confirmed by Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, who adds that Chicago has been aware of the protection since the trade occured.
This news will diminish the Blackhawks’ chances of landing two top-10 picks in a strong 2026 draft class. Chicago currently sits with the sixth-worst points percentage, while Florida holds the 10th-worst. Wielding both first-round picks, with no protection, could have nearly doubled Chicago’s chances at landing the first-overall selection.
Instead, the Blackhawks will have to watch where Florida falls before they can start planning for the next two drafts. The Panthers have faced consistent challenges this season and enter the Olympic break with a 4-6-0 record in their last 10 games. The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions seem headed for a postseason miss, pending a surge in the second-half.
While a chance at double-dipping in the top-10 is always enticing, the Blackhawks’ prospect pool will move forward relatively unaffected. Draft pundits have agreed that top-10 value could fall into the teens of this year’s draft, while the 2027 class is believed to be another loaded year. Chicago has spent the last eight years building one of the best prospect pools in the league and are now entering a phase where promoting young talent will become more important than adding it. That could push the Hawks to consider moving out draft capital for some veteran rivets, an approach argued for by Kyle Bokota of Blackhawk Up.
Chicago seems headed for a high pick regardless this season, and still hold outside odds to land first-overall. Their scouting room will be as busy as ever, looking to land another value pick to join Anton Frondell and Vaclav Nestrasil Jr. from their 2025 class.
Kings Reassign Joe Hicketts
2/6: The Los Angeles Kings assigned Hicketts back to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. He is expected to suit up in Ontario’s Friday matchup against the Bakersfield Condors per Anthony Collazo of Mayor’s Manor.
2/3: The Kings announced they’ve recalled veteran defenseman Joe Hicketts from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis. L.A. returned center Kenny Connors to Ontario in the corresponding move.
Hicketts’ recall comes after Michael Anderson sustained an upper-body injury early in Sunday’s game against the Hurricanes, indicating they aren’t expecting him to be available tomorrow against the Kraken. However, since Jacob Moverare was already available as a healthy extra, there must be an undisclosed injury concern regarding another Kings defender. Hicketts is only eligible for an emergency recall if there’s a chance L.A. won’t have six healthy defenders for its home tilt against Seattle.
Hicketts, 29, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Red Wings way back in 2014. The 5’8″ lefty beat the odds to get into a handful of NHL games with Detroit between 2017 and 2020, but hasn’t appeared at the top level since. He’s instead become an AHL mainstay, appearing in 552 games in that league over the last 10 years. That’s 17th among active AHLers.
He has spent the last three seasons in Ontario after inking a two-way deal with the Kings in 2023, subsequently signing two more of them to stay in the organization. He was named captain last year and has remained a valuable puck-moving option, although his production is down in 2025-26. After racking up 20 points in just 30 games in 2023-24, the best point pace of his professional career, he’s declined to only a 3-11–14 scoring line in 41 appearances this season with a -9 rating. He’s still only three points back of Samuel Bolduc for the team lead in scoring among defensemen, a testament to how much Ontario’s blue line has struggled to generate offense.
Hicketts won’t be on the NHL roster any longer than he absolutely needs to be as a result, but it’s still a nice story for the British Columbia native to land perhaps his first big league appearance in over six years this week. He only suited up twice for the Wings in the 2019-20 campaign, both times in November.
Connors, 22, sees his first NHL recall end without a game played to show for it. He was recalled on Jan. 26 in the wake of an injury to Alex Turcotte, who has since landed on injured reserve to make way for captain Anže Kopitar‘s return to the lineup. With 13 healthy forwards rostered aside from Connors, there was little chance of him seeing action, especially after sitting as a healthy scratch for four straight games. The 2022 fourth-rounder now returns to Ontario, where he had nine goals and 24 points in 41 games to begin his first professional season.