Kraken Could Make Jamie Oleksiak Available
The Kraken have at least mulled the possibility of flipping pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Jamie Oleksiak ahead of next week’s deadline, as evidenced by his placement on TSN’s latest Trade Bait board released today. Oleksiak briefly appeared in trade speculation at this time last season, too, but ultimately remained in Seattle, armed with a 16-team no-trade list.
Seattle’s in a tough spot in the standings. They’re hanging onto the last wild-card spot in the West by two points. They’re in a rather crowded group, though, with only six points of separation between fifth place in the conference (Oilers, 66) and 10th (Kings, 60). They’re not in a clear position to be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, but will likely do a little bit of both with long-term success in mind.
What’s clearer, though, is the lack of fit for Oleksiak in Seattle past this season. He’s already been forced to play a decent chunk of time on his off side due to Seattle’s excess of lefties. Of their group, Oleksiak is the only one on an expiring deal. Vince Dunn and Ryker Evans are signed through next year, while Ryan Lindgren is under contract through 2028-29.
The Kraken have strong enough playoff odds (55.8%, per MoneyPuck) that they could justify keeping Oleksiak down the stretch as an in-house rental before letting him walk in July. But even if they make the playoffs, their lowly offense will likely keep them from going anywhere. It would make sense, if there’s any interest, for Seattle to subtract Oleksiak from a position of relative strength if they can help convert his trade value into landing an impact forward.
Seattle would likely have to retain up to half of Oleksiak’s $4.6MM cap hit to make him of true interest to anyone, but that’s something they’re in a position to do with over $20MM in space by deadline day. That’s more because of his deployment, the 33-year-old is now more of a natural bottom-pairing fit after being a top-four option for several years, but he’s still provided some positive value outside of his desirable 6’7″, 252-lb frame. The Ontario-born big man has nine points and a +6 rating in 56 outings this season while featuring on the Kraken’s second penalty-killing unit. His possession numbers aren’t near the top of Seattle’s leaderboard, but don’t paint him as a liability, either, especially in primarily defensive-zone deployment. He also carries a low injury risk for a player of his size and playstyle; he hasn’t missed a contest due to an injury since November 2022.
Still, Oleksiak’s remaining trade protection is expansive enough to cause some problems. That’s just over half the league he can block a move to, but with his new club likely only being a temporary stop on his way toward free agency this summer, he may be willing to waive that protection for the right situation.
Mammoth Interested In Dougie Hamilton
Add the Mammoth to the list of teams that have kicked the tires on Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton, says David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
Whether the feeling is reciprocal remains to be seen. Hamilton has a full no-movement clause accompanied by a 10-team trade list. That extensive trade protection already nixed a deal that would have sent Hamilton to the Sharks last summer. Nonetheless, Pagnotta adds that while “his agent is trying to help facilitate a move” and that he’s “open to exploring options outside of his preferred list,” his market isn’t particularly fervent. The Maple Leafs had some interest, but their recent slide has likely taken them out of the buying conversation, especially in terms of taking on a player with a steep cap hit like Hamilton’s $9MM. San Jose still has some degree of interest, according to Pagnotta, but it’s unclear whether Hamilton has changed his tune on a move there.
While Hamilton’s initial cost is pricey, he only has two years left on his deal and will be a UFA in 2028. The cost of entrance will take many playoff hopefuls out of the picture, especially if the Devils aren’t keen on retaining salary, but that type of structure works for a team like Utah that has loads of present cap space, some money coming off the books this summer, and no big-ticket RFAs to negotiate with until after Hamilton’s contract expires.
Talks apparently slowed regarding Hamilton last month after fellow righty Luke Hughes exited New Jersey’s lineup with a shoulder dislocation. With the Devils well out of the playoff picture and Hughes close to returning, though, they should be more willing to re-engage in conversations. Hughes’ absence has opened the door for Hamilton to get reps as New Jersey’s top power-play quarterback once again, though, and he’s delivered a 2-5–7 scoring line in his last 10 as a result. The Devils are hoping that’s boosted his stock to some degree, although his 22 points in 54 games this season are still on track for his worst offensive showing in over 10 years.
That’s understandably a sign of concern for a defender on the wrong side of 30 whose offensive acumen was always his selling point. It’s also a testament to just how consistent a producer he’d been up to this point, though. From 2014 to 2025, Hamilton averaged 16 goals and 52 points per 82 games and finished top 10 in Norris Trophy voting four times. It’s now been three years since he received any award consideration, and his output has been on a somewhat consistent decline since a left pectoral muscle tear limited him to just 20 games in the 2023-24 campaign.
Still, for a playoff hopeful in Utah that’s being held back by a relative lack of depth scoring and a bottom-two power play, Hamilton’s fit would be natural as an established, successful PP1 option. Any concerns about his defense should be quelled by a system under head coach Andre Tourigny that’s consistently held possession control since the franchise’s inception last season, controlling 53.7% of shot attempts and 53.6% of scoring chances at 5-on-5 this year.
It could also come with a relatively low acquisition cost, depending on how desperate the Devils are to clear the bulk of Hamilton’s money. They likely would have been willing to take less for him earlier in the season when they were still in the playoff conversation and were looking to boost their cap flexibility to make additions. The latter is still likely a long-term priority, but is no longer a pressing short-term concern with them on a five-game losing streak and 13 points out of the playoff picture.
Wild Emerging As Frontrunner In Vincent Trocheck Trade Talks
As the Wild gear up for an all-in trade deadline following their earlier acquisition of Quinn Hughes, they’re now the league-wide favorite to acquire center Vincent Trocheck from the Rangers, according to Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
Minnesota’s interest in Trocheck dates back several weeks but was surely fueled by Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic’s report earlier this month that the Rangers had essentially resigned themselves to moving him by the deadline, as compared to making it a summer deal. For a team that lost a top-six center in Marco Rossi in the Hughes deal, adding another one – a clear-cut upgrade, no less – is a natural next step for general manager Bill Guerin as he aims to guide the Wild out of a cutthroat Central Division picture in the playoffs.
While salary cap considerations have kept the Wild out of major trade conversations in recent years, that’s no longer the case. Even after the Hughes deal, they project to have $12.3MM in cap space on deadline day, per PuckPedia. That’s more than enough to take on Trocheck’s deal, which runs at a cap hit of $5.625MM through 2028-29, with no retention and without subtracting a roster player from the mix.
Minnesota has depleted a good portion of its valuable young talent, shipping off Liam Ohgren and Zeev Buium alongside Rossi in the Hughes trade, but has more to spare. As Mercogliano writes, 2022 first-rounder Danila Yurov is likely a non-starter. The rookie has eight goals and 22 points in 52 outings this season and is now Minnesota’s clear-cut top “prospect,” depending on your definition of the word. Mercogliano relays word from his Minnesota-based colleague, Michael Russo, that he “would be very difficult to pry away,” even for a talent like Trocheck with 37 points in 44 games on an offensively stagnant Rangers club.
Aside from that roadblock, there are still plenty of other names the Wild could leverage for the Rangers to consider. Center Charlie Stramel, the Wild’s first-rounder in 2023, has recovered nicely from a tough start to his college career and is now a standout 21-year-old senior at Michigan State, posting a 19-21–40 scoring line in 30 games with a +30 rating that leads forwards nationally. Right-shot defenseman David Jiricek, drafted sixth overall by the Blue Jackets in 2022, hasn’t demonstrated much forward progress since his acquisition last season, and it stands to reason they’d be comfortable flipping him as a result.
Trocheck does have some say in where he ends up with a 12-team no-trade list. The 32-year-old is reportedly open to a move to the Twin Cities but would otherwise prefer to stay in the Eastern Conference. Pagnotta reports that the Kings, Jets, Mammoth, and Avalanche have expressed some level of interest as well, but those could all end up being non-starters based on his M-NTC.
Bruins Reassign Michael DiPietro
Feb. 27: Boston reassigned DiPietro to Providence following last night’s win over the Blue Jackets, per the AHL’s transactions log. Swayman will return to the team for tomorrow’s game against the Flyers. DiPietro was needed for six minutes of game action to relieve Korpisalo, who was temporarily pulled by concussion spotters before returning. He stopped both shots he faced.
Feb. 24: DiPietro was recalled back to Boston today, per Ryan. It’s unclear if he’s up solely for practice purposes or if they’re expecting to need him to back up Korpisalo against the Blue Jackets if Swayman doesn’t return to the team by Thursday.
Feb. 20: Boston has assigned DiPietro back to Providence, Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe reports.
Feb. 18: The Bruins announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled goaltender Michael DiPietro from AHL Providence on an emergency basis. He’ll serve as Boston’s lone NHL-contracted practice netminder for the time being, as Jeremy Swayman (USA) and Joonas Korpisalo (Finland) are still representing their respective countries at the Olympics.
Back during training camp, there was concern DiPietro wouldn’t make it through waivers on his way to Providence. The 26-year-old had emerged as one of the AHL’s top netminders over the previous two seasons, including a .927 SV% in 40 games last year that earned him the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s best goaltender.
He’s well on his way to taking home that hardware for a second straight season. In 28 appearances for the P-Bruins, he’s put up a downright ridiculous .942 SV% and 1.64 GAA with a 21-5-0 record – but somehow only has one shutout to his name. Nonetheless, he has a 12-point lead in save percentage on the second-place netminder with at least 20 appearances.
He’s signed through next season at a $812,500 cap hit, giving the Bruins almost no choice but to work with Korpisalo’s 10-team no-trade list and find a new home for the veteran backup this summer. If they can’t, they’d essentially be forced into trading DiPietro to avoid the near certainty of losing him for nothing on waivers next October.
Kings’ Andrei Kuzmenko Out With Injury
The Los Angeles Kings will be without forward Andrei Kuzmenko in Thursday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, head coach Jim Hiller told reporters including Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Kuzmenko will aim to work his way back to full health before the Kings take on the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Kuzmenko did not play in the third period of Los Angeles’ February 5th match against Vegas, though he did not appear to sustain a clear injury. He played a full game, and even posted two assists, in the Kings’ return from the Olympic break on Wednesday.
The Russian winger has found a nice scoring touch as of late. Wednesday’s game brought him to four points in his last three games, though Los Angeles would go on to lose all three. That scoring continued a strong new-year for Kuzmenko, who now has 13 points in 19 games since the calendar turned over. He is up to 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games this season, strong enough scoring to earn Kuzmenko upwards of 20 minutes a night through points of this season. His absence will leave the Kings searching for another playmaker, now without wingers Kuzmenko and Kevin Fiala, who sustained multiple fractures in his left leg during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Los Angeles will tap extra forward Taylor Ward to fill Kuzmenko’s hole in the lineup. Ward has scored four points in 15 NHL games this season. He has also notched 12 goals and 21 points in 32 games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, matching his goal-total and six points shy of his point-total from 66 AHL games last season. Ward should fill a bottom-line role, while Los Angeles looks towards recent star addition Artemi Panarin to replace the scoring left vacant by Kuzmenko and Fiala. Panarin recorded two assists in his Kings debut on Wednesday, and led the New York Rangers in scoring with 57 points in 52 games prior to his trade.
Trade Deadline Primer: San Jose Sharks
With the Olympic break now over, the trade deadline is almost a week away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with teams in the fight for a playoff spot, next up with the Sharks.
The Sharks spent much of last summer bolstering their lineup to protect some of their young stars. So far this season, the additions have worked out well, and the Sharks remain in playoff contention with a third of the season remaining. San Jose management likely didn’t expect this team to be in playoff contention, but second-year superstar Macklin Celebrini has taken massive steps forward in his development, putting the team ahead of schedule in its rebuild. It should be fascinating to see how Sharks general manager Mike Grier responds to a team that wasn’t expected to be in playoff contention.
Record
27-24-4, 6th in the Pacific
Deadline Status
Conservative Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$641K on deadline day, 2/3 retention slots used, 48/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: SJ 1st, EDM 1st, COL 2nd, FLA 4th, MTL 5th, PHI 6th, SJ 7th
2027: SJ 1st, SJ 4th, CHI 5th, SJ 6th,
Trade Chips
For a team just emerging from a rebuild, the Sharks don’t have many draft picks in the next two drafts. That said, they have arguably the best prospect pool in the NHL, though it will likely fall down the list as prospects are traded and others graduate into full-time NHLers. The Sharks are in an interesting spot heading into the deadline, as they could do some buying, but also move out one or more of their pending UFA defensemen who don’t fit management’s long-term plans.
Veteran defenseman Mario Ferraro is a good place to start, as he is a UFA at the end of the season. While the Sharks likely aren’t interested in being sellers this season, Ferraro will have significant value at the deadline and could give the Sharks more future pieces to add to their already deep cupboard of future assets. There is an outside chance that San Jose locks him up, as they reportedly have interest in a shorter-term deal with Ferraro, which would make sense given that he is just 27 years old, is one of the team’s leaders, and should have some good years in front of him. Ferraro isn’t overly skilled, but he has a high hockey IQ and is solid in the defensive zone as well as on the penalty kill. Ferraro isn’t a top-pairing presence on the blue line, but he does throw the body around and is a very quick skater, which helps with puck retrieval and getting the puck out of the defensive zone. Ferraro won’t net a top-end asset in a trade, but he is the kind of player teams covet for bottom-pairing and penalty-killing roles come playoff time.
John Klingberg and Vincent Desharnais are two other veteran defensemen on expiring deals who could be moved if the Sharks fall out of playoff contention or acquire younger defensemen and have a surplus. Klingberg has had a resurgence this season in San Jose, playing over 21 minutes a night and scoring at a 40-point pace for the first time in years. The 33-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Sharks this season, and the plan at the time was likely to move him to a playoff contender once San Jose fell out of playoff contention. However, that time hasn’t come yet, and the Sharks remain within striking distance, which could complicate matters. The allure for San Jose to move Klingberg will be a market that should heavily favor sellers, as so few teams have punted on this season and are selling off.
When it comes to moving young players, it doesn’t seem San Jose is in a position to move the likes of Michael Misa, Will Smith, Sam Dickinson, or any of their top young prospects. Further down the depth chart, the Sharks could move a prospect such as goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen, whom they selected late in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft (30th overall). Ravensbergen has great size at 6’5” and moves very well, though he will look to fill out more in the coming years. He is positionally sound and reads the play extremely well for a young goaltender.
It was surprising to see San Jose draft Ravensbergen last year, given that they already have Yaroslav Askarov in the fold. However, given the unpredictability of the goaltending position, the Sharks felt it was a worthwhile bet to add another highly touted goaltending prospect. GM Mike Grier probably isn’t in a hurry to deal Ravensbergen, given that his junior numbers haven’t been great and he has significant untapped potential. If the right move comes along to acquire more developed young players, Grier might feel inclined to pull the trigger on a trade.
Team Needs
A Right Shot Defenseman: The Sharks were reportedly in on New Jersey defenseman Dougie Hamilton last summer, but didn’t work out a deal. It’s unclear whether they would still have interest, but if they did, a deal for Hamilton would instantly make him their best puck-moving defenseman. That’s less a credit to Hamilton and more a reflection of the offensive capabilities of the Sharks’ current defensive unit. San Jose badly needs a defenseman, ideally on the right side, who can contribute to the offense. It’s hard to gauge whether Grier is desperate enough to go back to Hamilton, but it seems likely he would prefer to acquire a younger player who can grow with the team’s young core and be part of what could be a very special run in San Jose.
A Middle Six Forward: The Sharks were also reportedly interested in forward Artemi Panarin before he was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings, underscoring that the Sharks recognize they need more depth at forward. San Jose could use help in its middle six, and it has already addressed this issue to a degree by acquiring Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks. Despite the Sherwood addition, the Sharks are still regularly deploying Collin Graf and Philipp Kurashev in their top nine, which is less than ideal for a team with playoff aspirations. No disrespect to Graf or Kurashev, who are both having a great year as younger players, but their spots in the forward group highlight a lack of depth at the position. San Jose could make a top-nine pickup to give their forward group more balance and ultimately a better chance to win on a nightly basis.
Red Wings Activate Simon Edvinsson From Injured Reserve
The Red Wings announced today they’ve activated defenseman Simon Edvinsson from injured reserve. He’ll be in the lineup for tonight’s clash with the Senators. They have an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is required.
Edvinsson spent the last seven games of Detroit’s pre-Olympic break schedule on the shelf with a lower-body injury. Thankfully for the Wings, the bulk of his recovery time came while no games were being played – he otherwise surely would have missed a double-digit total at what is a crucial point of the season for their playoff positioning.
With so much time off, the Wings get Edvinsson, hopefully, at full strength after going 5-3-2 to end January and through the beginning of February. That middling stretch, plus the Sabres’ win in their return to play last night, has bumped Detroit out of the Atlantic Division podium and into a wild-card spot.
Detroit dropped five out of seven with Edvinsson out. That’s not surprising considering the domino effect his absence has on their defense.
The 2021 sixth-overall pick has now fully arrived as a top-pairing piece, serving as Moritz Seider‘s partner for most of the season. He’s averaging over 22 minutes per game as a result and has a 6-11–17 scoring line with a +6 rating in 48 games. His pairing with Seider has also controlled 55.3% of expected goals at 5-on-5, eighth in the league out of 29 pairings with at least 500 minutes together this season, per MoneyPuck.
But without Edvinsson in the mix, Detroit’s left-shot options on defense become paper-thin. Ben Chiarot remains in the #2 slot on the depth chart and has been outscored 47-38 at 5-on-5 this season – his seventh consecutive campaign with a negative differential – while controlling only 46.2% of shot attempts. Albert Johansson‘s possession numbers aren’t any better.
They now get him back down a stretch run that sees the Wings face the sixth-most difficult remaining schedule, per Tankathon. The good news for them is their three principal competitors for playoff positioning – the Bruins, Canadiens, and Sabres – are also in the top 10.
Sharks Have Shown Interest In Braden Schneider
The Sharks’ forward progress this season means they’ve fully exited the teardown portion of their rebuild. They’re expected to ship out a couple of names from their bevy of pending UFA veteran defenders, but that won’t preclude them from adding pieces too. They already swung to pick up winger Kiefer Sherwood from the Canucks earlier this year and made a play to snag Artemi Panarin from the Rangers. Their talks with New York didn’t stop with Panarin, though. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports San Jose is among the teams to show interest in Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider.
The 24-year-old Schneider certainly doesn’t qualify as adding star power to the mix, but he fills a huge organizational need for a Sharks club whose only long-term weakness is a relative lack of promising right-shot defenders in the system. He’s more of a shutdown threat than a puck-mover but did hit the 20-point plateau last season, now with a 2-9–11 scoring line and a -15 rating in 57 games in 2025-26. That’s come while the physical 6’3″ righty is averaging a career-high 20:19 of ice time per game, in large part due to his elevation into top-pair minutes for long stretches this season while Adam Fox has been dealing with injuries.
Schneider’s underlying numbers aren’t particularly strong. He’s never had a positive relative Corsi For percentage at 5-on-5 and has remained underwater in expected goals for the duration of his career as well. He fits a familiar mold of first-round picks struggling to find their way in New York – but with five seasons and nearly 350 NHL games under his belt, he’s almost a finished product. His toolbox is solid, but it’s fair to wonder if his lack of success in the possession department is a good fit for a Sharks team that already ranks last in the league with a 45.2% Corsi share at even strength.
Still, the Sharks don’t have much of a choice to add young right-shot depth, and Schneider is one of the few names who’s realistically available as New York embarks on a retool of its own. All three of their righties on their active roster, John Klingberg, Vincent Desharnais, and Timothy Liljegren, will be UFAs this summer. They do have 23-year-old Jack Thompson in the minors as a capable call-up option, and 2022 second-rounder Mattias Havelid is tracking to make an impact within the next couple of years, but neither has the size nor skillset Schneider brings. University of Denver standout Eric Pohlkamp is also in their system, but is also on the wrong side of 6’0″.
The Rangers were receiving calls on Schneider as far back as October. Just how long the Sharks have been in the mix remains to be seen, but their search for rights-controlled right-shot defenders operates independently of their immediate likelihood of playoff contention.
Trade Deadline Primer: Washington Capitals
With the Olympic break over, the trade deadline is just over a week away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? After looking at teams at the ends of the standings, we shift our focus to teams fighting for a playoff spot. Next up are the Capitals.
The Capitals have a roster that is too deep and too talented to be sitting where they are in the standings, but that is why teams play the games. Last season, Washington outperformed expectations, and this year, under the weight of those heightened expectations, the team has been inconsistent and has played below its talent level. Despite the struggles, Washington remains in the hunt for a playoff spot, and a strong push out of the Olympic break would go a long way toward reaching the postseason. There is no guarantee they will do it, but at this point, they seem likely to add to their roster rather than remove from it, as they should, given how unlucky they’ve been this season. Their record doesn’t reflect the team in Washington, and it will be interesting to see how they navigate the deadline.
Record
29-23-7, 5th in the Metropolitan
Deadline Status
Conservative Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$12.66MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: WSH 1st, WSH 4th, WSH 4th, WSH 5th, WSH 6th, WSH 7th
2027: WSH 1st, WSH 2nd, WSH 4th, WSH 5th, WSH 7th, OTT 7th
Trade Chips
The Capitals have already borrowed a bit from the future, shipping out their second- and third-round picks this season and their third- and sixth-round picks next season. Those trades have yielded mixed results, but they are the kinds of moves teams make when competing for a playoff spot.
Outside their draft-pick catalogue, the Capitals have a healthy stable of prospects who should continue to make an NHL impact in the coming years. Washington’s system is slightly above average, which is saying a lot for a team that mortgaged its future repeatedly for a decade or more. The Capitals have drafted well recently and have prospects in their system who would make solid trade chips.
As Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports, if Washington wants to go big and make a splash, it might cost them one of their top prospects, either center Ilya Protas or defenseman Cole Hutson. Capitals general manager Chris Patrick has already said he isn’t interested in moving Hutson, and it’s hard to blame him given the player’s profile. Washington has to think about a future without superstar Alex Ovechkin while also trying to give him a potential final season to remember.
Protas would be an excellent trade chip if the Capitals chose to go that route. Protas is having a solid first pro season in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, tallying 18 goals and 20 assists in 47 games. The 6’5”, 201-lb pivot won’t burn you with speed and doesn’t separate with his legs, but he is quick with the puck and has a good ability to anticipate the play before moving the puck to teammates. His size will be an attractive quality for teams looking to size up down the middle, and he could be a central piece of a package to acquire a top winger.
With Ryan Leonard now fully graduated to the NHL, the Capitals’ top prospect is likely Andrew Cristall, who put up awe-inspiring numbers in the WHL last season, with 48 goals and 84 assists in 57 games. While his transition to the AHL hasn’t been perfect, he is still putting up points in his first professional season, with nine goals and 28 assists in 47 games. Cristall is the definition of dynamic, using his terrific skating to deceive opponents and operate as a setup man for his teammates. Cristall is a bit on the small side by NHL standards at 5’10”, but given his work with the puck on his stick, there would be many teams willing to facilitate a trade if Cristall is part of the return.
Team Needs
A Top Six Winger: The Capitals were reportedly interested in forward Artemi Panarin, which makes sense given their need for top-six help on the wings. Ethen Frank has seen regular shifts in the top six, suggesting that, as currently constructed, Washington is not a serious contender in the Eastern Conference. Gone are the days when Ovechkin, John Carlson and a lethal power play could carry the Capitals’ offense. The stars need help. Nashville Predators forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault are likely available, but do the Capitals want to trade away futures for a couple of aging veterans on expensive deals? Hard to say.
Jordan Kyrou is a name that could make sense, as the St. Louis Blues appear ready to dive deeper into a rebuild. Robert Thomas is also a potential option. Both would require significant commitments in the form of trade assets and cap space, but the Capitals are in a position to make both work if they wanted to.
Depth Forward: Last trade deadline, Washington acquired forward Anthony Beauvillier from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second-round draft pick. That type of deal was likely an overpay, but Beauvillier is the kind of player Washington could target as they look for help in their middle six. The Capitals have dealt with injuries this season, and some of their depth players haven’t contributed much offensively. In a perfect world, the Capitals could have found a player such as Egor Chinakhov, who is young enough to be part of the future but ready to contribute NHL minutes now. Unfortunately for Washington, he was traded to Pittsburgh earlier this season. The Capitals should have plenty of options should they try to add another depth forward. They could acquire a top-end forward and hope that pushing everyone down the lineup solves the problem, or they could look to a team like Vancouver and perhaps pry away a player like Teddy Blueger, who wouldn’t cost a lot but has looked great in limited action this season.
Avalanche Interested In Nazem Kadri Reunion
The Avalanche have already been busy opening cap space ahead of the trade deadline, taking a slight hit to their blue line depth to swap out Samuel Girard for Brett Kulak in Tuesday’s deal with the Penguins. They’re now projected to have close to $11MM in cap space on deadline day. That leaves them wide-open to acquire a big-name target to bolster their chase for the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup.
One of those targets is coming into view: Flames pivot Nazem Kadri, whose career year for the Avs in 2021-22 helped guide them to their only Cup win of the Nathan MacKinnon era, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. That comes amid Kadri’s name rocketing up trade lists following reports that he’s had a change of heart on his willingness to stay in Calgary long-term, plus Pagnotta indicating today that the Flames are open to retaining a portion of Kadri’s $7MM cap hit.
With a 13-team no-trade list, Kadri can block a move to several contenders. The Hurricanes, who were purported to have interest in him earlier this season, were reportedly on that list. It’s a relative certainty, though, that Kadri wouldn’t welcome a return to the destination where he had his greatest offensive success, which he then parlayed into his seven-year, $49MM free agency cash-in with Calgary in 2022.
Now 35, Kadri’s deal still has another three seasons left on it. He’ll be 38 when it’s up. For a cap-strapped team like the Avs, that makes a deal a non-starter without retention because of its long-term impact, even if they have the space to pull it off this season. If Calgary is willing to make him closer to a $5MM or $4MM player through 2028-29, though, that suddenly makes it a workable addition for Colorado. They’re up to $13MM in flexibility for next season after the Girard-for-Kulak trade with seven roster spots to fill. Bringing that figure back under $10MM with a Kadri pickup, assuming they don’t send a significantly-paid roster player the other way, would preclude them from making any major additions this summer as things stand, but it would still allow them to fill out a full roster with depth signings.
The presumption that the Avs wouldn’t send a roster player back may be hasty, though. They’re one of the deepest clubs in the league at every position, their prospect pool notwithstanding, and could easily stand to leverage a third-line name like Jack Drury or an even pricier one like Ross Colton in talks if the Flames have an interest in either.
If there’s a relative weakness on Colorado’s roster, it’s having Drury in the third-line slot down the middle. His eight goals and 19 points in 56 games this season are somewhat underwhelming on a team that scores as much as the Avs for a player averaging nearly 15 minutes per night. He’s nonetheless been incredibly valuable in the faceoff dot, winning 58.6% of his draws.
What Kadri lacks in faceoff acumen, he more than makes up for in what would likely give the Avs one of the best one-two-three punches down the middle in the modern era with MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, and himself. Even in a relatively down year for the late bloomer (at least in terms of him being a true top-six piece), he’s put up 39 points in 56 games to lead Calgary in scoring. That’s a 57-point pace over 82 games, and his recent history remains exceptional, with 35 goals last year and 75 points the year before.
It’s fair to question if a Kadri acquisition would cause the Avs to invest too much into aging assets for too long, though. While Nelson has exploded for 30 goals and 50 points in 56 games, he’s 34 years old and signed for two more years at a $7.5MM cap charge. With Cale Makar‘s next big payday scheduled for 2027, loading up too much past next season could leave them with too little flexibility to get a deal done.
Among the other teams that have expressed some level of interest are the Canadiens, as previously reported, plus Colorado’s Central Division challengers, the Stars and Wild, Pagnotta reports. He also added the Panthers as a team that’s kicked the tires, but that likely hinges on their decision to enter the deadline as buyers at all – something that’s looking less and less likely with a playoff spot now eight points out of reach.
Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.