PHR Mailbag: Stars, Jets, Mammoth, Blackhawks, Fourth Lines, Playoffs, Draft
Topics in this edition of the mailbag include the types of moves Utah should look to make, the top fourth lines in the NHL, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in one of our last two mailbag columns.
bottlesup: With what the Avalanche are doing right now and with Vegas acquiring Rasmus Andersson, is there a world in which my Stars can possibly make the Stanley Cup Final?
At this point, I wouldn’t be as concerned about Vegas. Yes, they’re better, but they’re a third-round opponent (Dallas isn’t dropping to a Wild Card spot and lining up with the Pacific Division) and with shaky goaltending this season, they’re beatable in a seven-game series. Not saying the Stars would for sure win but they’d have a solid chance.
Now, assuming they get past Minnesota in the first round, Colorado is its own unique test. Yes, they slumped before the break but let’s face it, teams that have a runaway first half tend to take their foot of the gas a little, so to speak. That doesn’t worry me. The Avs would be the favorites in that series but they’re also not unbeatable. I’d say that Jake Oettinger would need to be sharper than he has been this season for them to have a chance.
For Dallas to get the best chance to make it through to the Cup Final, they need to add defensive help. They have a strong top three but then are piecing it together from there with iffier options that you might not want to rely on for 16-plus minutes per game in the postseason. A solid defensive second-pairing blueliner that can help the penalty kill and take some pressure off the third pairing would help. A bit more firepower in the bottom six would help their chances as well. Once they get a better sense of whether Tyler Seguin can return (keeping their LTIR pool intact) or not (an SELTIR placement would add nearly $6MM to that pool), they’ll see how feasible those acquisitions could be.
Long story short, there’s definitely a world in which Dallas gets there. They’re one of the top teams in the league for a reason. They have a strong, experienced core group that has had some playoff success before. They’re not the favorite to come out of the West today but someone has to survive the gauntlet and it could very well be them.
Cla23: The Winnipeg Jets always claimed to be a draft-and-develop team. Meanwhile, they are one of the oldest teams, the Moose are not very good, and a lot of young players want out as they feel they are not getting a chance with the big club; their drafting is poor as well.
Do you think it is time to shake up the management and scouting staff? Scott Arniel should be safe as he doesn’t have much to work with.
It’s fair to say that Winnipeg’s drafting and development hasn’t been great as of late. Part of that is not having some of their better picks as a result of making win-now trades. Losing a first-round pick to retirement at 21 due to a hereditary tissue disorder was something out of their control. But, in general, if you look at their draft history (HockeyDB has a quick snapshot), the results aren’t pretty. And the end result is a system that’s certainly toward the bottom of the league.
As to whether an overhaul is needed, that’s a little harder to answer. We know the Jets are one of the stricter-budget teams in the league and their scouting group is on the smaller side. So is their player development group. Is this a case of simply needing more eyes that could aid on the drafting side and a bigger development team to help those prospects? It’s definitely possible. I’d like to think that could fix at least some of the problem without overhauling things.
I think the only way that an overhaul would be considered is if ownership decided that the current core has gone as far as they can and that it’s time to commit to a multi-year rebuild. At that time, maybe you bring in some new decision makers in management and scouting. I’m not sure the market could survive any sort of extended rebuild from an attendance and revenue standpoint and the fact they’ve re-signed all the veteran players they have suggests that’s not even being considered. So, for now, the more realistic hope would be that the front office gets a bigger budget to work with to rectify some of the drafting and development issues and hope that over time, that gets things back in the right direction.
GBear: The Mammoth seem to be a legit threat to make the playoffs, what move(s) do you foresee them making near the trade deadline? I’ll hang up and listen for the answer. ☎️
I’ll start with a question of my own. Where does GM Bill Armstrong feel his team is within the rebuilding cycle? Are they in the ‘happy to be here’ phase or aiming higher? The answer to that dictates the answer to your question.
I have them in the former. They’re not a top-three team in the loaded Central Division and I don’t think they beat Vegas or Edmonton if they wind up crossing over. I suspect Armstrong feels the same way so it’s probably not the time to swing big.
However, he should also want to reward his roster with some reinforcements, albeit more of the depth variety. An upgrade over Nick DeSimone and Olli Maatta is a small move that can give the back end a bit of help. There should be several of those players on the move that would only cost the Mammoth one of their previously-acquired selections. Up front, getting Logan Cooley back should be enough of an upgrade down the middle so I’d look at the wing. Someone like Michael Bunting makes a lot of sense. With the right fit, he can play basically on any line, allowing them to deepen the lineup. He plays with some jam which should appeal to Andre Tourigny. And he’s only 30; it’s plausible that they’d want to give him a multi-year deal if things went well so he feels like a fit on that front as well. And, again, their surplus picks should cover a big chunk of the acquisition cost.
Even if they wind up shoring up their group for an early playoff exit, a team can learn a lot from that short series by getting that taste. That’s worth using some assets to try to help solidify while also being restrained knowing that the bigger moves (that we know Armstrong will sniff around on) will likely come in the offseason.
Unclemike1526: With Frondell and Kantserov coming late this year in all likelihood, and Murphy and maybe Dickinson too being moved, Name the one guy (under 30) the Hawks could get in a trade that can put the puck in the net? A flat-out scorer. They need that more than anything. Frondell can take Dickinson’s spot eventually and Del Mastro can take Murphy’s; there has to be somebody out there, right? I don’t want to move Mikheyev or Grzelcyk and would rather re-sign them. Grzelcyk is solid and Mikheyev is too valuable as a PK guy. They need a scorer, right? The time for draft picks is over. Thanks.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the time of year when a lot of under-30 impact scorers tend to be moved. But if St. Louis is ready to shake things up, making a run at Jordan Kyrou makes sense. He’s not having a great year this season but before that, he had three straight 30-plus-goal seasons so that should fit the bill for what you’re looking for. He’s 27 and signed for five more years after this one at $8.125MM, a price tag and term the Blackhawks can afford. It’d take parting with a key youngster and a quality pick or prospect but if the goal is to get an upgrade to help take the next step, he might be it. Admittedly, I’m not sure he’s a great fit with Connor Bedard but talent is talent and he’d be a big upgrade.
On a smaller scale, they’re the type of team I could see wanting to take a look at Patrik Laine. It’s starting to sound like Montreal is willing to retain money to move him and take a negligible at best return for him to open up cap space for themselves. Chicago has loads of cap space and a six-week flyer to see how the 27-year-old might fare with a fresh start and if he might be a short-term solution for a couple of years after this. It runs counter to them being a seller but if the cost is next to nothing (or nothing), it’s a dart throw that might be worth making.
Daniel M: Blake Lizotte’s recent re-signing has me wondering if the Penguins have the best 4th line in the NHL right now. Their underlying numbers look really good, even though they start a ton of their shifts in the defensive zone. They contribute offensively too. What are some of the NHL’s best 4th lines?
Pittsburgh’s trio would be right up there. They’ve really impressed and have been together enough to show that it’s not just short-term good luck. Right now, they may very well be the best.
I pushed this question to the last mailbag so I could watch some games with this question in the back of my mind. Two fourth lines, in particular, stood out. One was Buffalo’s with Jordan Greenway and Beck Malenstyn being centered by Peyton Krebs. It’s a line with a lot of size and physicality but some solid defensive play and a bit of offensive upside to go along with a cycle game. Greenway’s continuing injury woes are certainly a concern moving forward, however.
The other one that caught my eye was Boston’s trio of Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Mark Kastelic. A little penalty-prone, sure, but that’s an energy line with some defensive acumen, a bit of offensive touch, and an ability to cycle a team to death in the attacking zone. That type of line can do some damage as the checking gets a little tighter down the stretch and into the playoffs and I could see it being more successful in the coming weeks.
One of the challenges in evaluating fourth lines is that they’re forever fluid. It’s rare to find a combination that works for an extended period of time. Players get hurt, shuffled in and out of the lineup, or moved up if things are going well. Per MoneyPuck, Pittsburgh’s fourth line of Connor Dewar, Noel Acciari, and Lizotte, is the 18th-most-used line in the league. Not just among fourth lines, that’s all lines. That type of consistency is extremely rare for a fourth line and probably gives it a leg up on the rest overall.
Switzerland Hoping To Climb International Ladder At Olympics
Next week, NHL players will take the ice at the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014. As much has changed in the 12 years since, the medal odds have remained the same. This year’s tournament is expected to be – above all else – a showdown between Team Canada and Team USA rosters stocked to the brim with NHL stars of past and present. Sweden and Finland fall in naturally behind the North American countries, rounding out the usual four-headed fight to leave with a medal. But thanks to some injuries to the top dogs, one underdog seems to stand out from the rest of the pack.
No – it’s not Czechia, which won the 2024 World Championship on the backs of the same players who will anchor their Olympic roster. Lukas Dostal, David Pastrnak, Martin Necas, and Tomas Hertl will pose major threats on Olympic ice – but injuries to Pavel Zacha and Filip Chytil may have irreparably damaged their depth chart. Instead, this year’s underdogs could be the Swiss, who have honed a roster of veterans into the perfect mix of reliability and explosivity.
Switzerland is led by one-time Norris Trophy winner Roman Josi, who continues to bring a dominant impact to both ends of the ice, even after losing 29 games of last season to injury. Josi poise, control, and perspective needed to lead a surging lineup. In speaking about Switzerland’s approach with NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, Josi said:
We know the teams that are coming here, the players that are here, but I think we can have a lot of confidence in our game. Obviously, this is a different beast than World Championships, but we’ve played some really good World Championship tournaments and got some momentum.
Josi added that this is the first time that Switzerland’s stars have had a chance to play at full strength. This is only the second time in the last five years that Switzerland has had each of Roman Josi, Nico Hischier, Kevin Fiala, and budding top-defender J.J. Moser on an international lineup. The other instance was at the 2024 World Championship, where the Swiss went on a mad dash to the Gold medal game, only to lose to the aforementioned Czechia. While Josi didn’t return for the 2025 tournament, Switzerland still managed to repeat as Silver medalists, this time losing to Team USA in their first World Championship win of the 2000s.
Back-to-back silver medal wins brought Switzerland up to four second-place finishes across the last 13 years. Before then, the Swiss hadn’t medaled in 14 years, not since their trifecta of medals won between 1994 and 1997.
Now, Switzerland faces the ultimate test. They have never medaled at an Olympic game with NHL talent – but this year offer an interesting mix of talent. Josi and Hischier offer stalwart reliability at both positions, capable as both playmakers and defenders. They’re complimented by Kevin Fiala, an electric scorer who seems to bring a bit extra to international competition. Fiala has led Switzerland’s last three World Championship rosters in points-per-game scoring and should continue to pop next to stars.
More than their top-end, Switzerland is bringing the fifth-most NHL talent in the tournament – the most outside the typical big-four. That standing has been propped up by injuries to other clubs but Switzerland’s flanks bring a lot of heft. Moser looks capable of standing up to the ever-important #2 role, while Jonas Siegenthaler‘s upside as a shutdown defender should hedge the team’s second pair. They’ll get similar support from Timo Meier and Nino Niederreiter on offense. Meier has 28 points in 52 NHL games and Niederreiter has 19 points in 55 games, down years for both players though they’ve also shown some extra spark in past international games.
The Nati will be rounded out with some shreds of upside. Philipp Kurashev was having a career-year before running into injury at the end of 2025. He has totaled 17 points and a plus-three in 34 games – notably his first NHL season with a positive plus-minus. Former Colorado Avalanche winger Sven Andrighetto has stepped up as a star scorer in Switzerland’s top pro league in his post-NHL days. He is one of five players scoring at a point-per-game pace in that league, with 35 points in as many games. Also on that list is former Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Denis Malgin, who has 41 points in 41 games. That duo will stand as potential X-factors who can score important goals ,even if their point totals don’t pop.
These strengths are built on what is, still, a lineup far away from the strength of the top-four. Switzerland is rolling out Akira Schmid as their starting goaltender. He has played a career-high 29 NHL games this season and has 16 wins and a .895 save percentage to show for it – stout marks behind a strong Vegas Golden Knights club. But goaltending will still be Switzerland’s biggest weaknesses, not supported by a similarly shaky defense behind their three NHL talents.
Sweden is missing Lucas Carlsson and Jonas Brodin, two hard-hitters who would have filled important roles this tournament. Finland is missing star center Aleksander Barkov. Could those absences leave enough room for Switzerland to push into medal contention? If they bring the might they’ve shown at the World Championships, it could be. Even if the Swiss don’t medal, a standout tournament could put them at the level of, or even above, fellow up-and-comers like Czechia and Slovakia.
Who Could The Penguins Target Before The Trade Deadline?
The Penguins appeared to fall back to earth in December after a strong start had them in playoff contention. A ten-game stretch dropped Pittsburgh to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. However, since the Christmas break, the Penguins have been on a tear, going 14-3-3 and climbing to second place in the Metropolitan Division.
No one expected Pittsburgh to be in this spot, but that’s where they are, and it is likely changing general manager Kyle Dubas’ long-term plans. Pittsburgh was expecting to sell at the trade deadline, but now there is talk of potential additions, as Josh Yohe writes in The Athletic.
But what exactly would the Penguins add? The truth is that Dubas probably isn’t looking for short-term answers and isn’t going to give up previous picks and prospects for rentals.
He might send out a late-round pick for a player or two, but his big moves, if he makes them, will not be short-sighted. So, given that he is armed with a ton of cap space and a plethora of draft picks in the subsequent three drafts, who could Dubas target?
Some people might see a player like Blues forward Jordan Kyrou as a fit, but Pittsburgh’s GM has a type. For the past two years, it’s been clear he’s targeting high-ceiling, (mostly) young players who have fallen on hard times, need an opportunity to showcase their skills, and come at a discount.
Egor Chinakhov, Arturs Silovs, Philip Tomasino, Cody Glass, and Stuart Skinner were part of a couple of trades Dubas made to acquire young talent with a ton of upside. Most of those moves have worked out, with Tomasino being the exception.
Then there is the free agency market, where Dubas’s work is very impressive. Justin Brazeau, Parker Wotherspoon, Ryan Shea, and Anthony Mantha were all brought in for a song. Now, they are all contributing significant minutes in key roles for Pittsburgh, and the team is reaping the benefits.
Kyrou could be considered a fit, but given the price tag and the money he is owed, it doesn’t feel like a Dubas target heading into the trade deadline. He has been burned by significant acquisitions before, both in Pittsburgh and Toronto, so he could be tepid when it comes to big-game hunting, especially if he is eyeing the Penguins’ long-term prospects. But like Kyrou, there are many players who have fallen on hard times and are available, with the upside Dubas might be looking for.
What about a Shane Wright in Seattle? Would Dubas be willing to move some of his picks and prospects to acquire the former fourth-overall pick in 2022, or even go so far as to move a player from the Penguins’ current roster?
Wright looked like he’d found his NHL footing last season, but an uneven start to this year has him on shaky ground. Seattle is putting out feelers to gauge the market for the 22-year-old.
Pittsburgh needs young, high-end talent to add to its young core of Benjamin Kindel, Sergey Murashov, Harrison Brunicke, and Rutger McGroarty. Could Wright be a fit? There is nothing to suggest Pittsburgh has interest, but given Dubas’ track record, it’s hard to ignore that there could be a fit there.
What about another top pick, Alexis Lafrenière, who is reportedly not a significant part of the New York Rangers’ retool? The former first overall pick in 2020 looked to have turned the corner two years ago, when he tallied 28 goals and 29 assists in 82 games.
However, last season was a setback offensively, and this season has been an even steeper drop. His assist numbers remain stable, but the finishing just hasn’t been there. He has a two percent drop in his shooting rate and isn’t generating the same shot volume as in 2023-24.
It’s hard to believe the Rangers would trade with the Penguins given the bad blood between the two sides, but they’ve done business before, as recently as 2024, when Pittsburgh sent forward Reilly Smith to New York for two draft picks. This would be different, though, as Lafrenière is in the first year of a seven-year, $52.15MM contract. And make no mistake, that contract could be a barrier to the Rangers moving him, although with a rising cap, it could be worth taking on, given Lafrenière’s potential.
At 24 years of age, Lafrenière has yet to live up to the billing that made him a first-overall pick. He was touted as an offensive wizard, drawing comparisons to another former first-overall pick, Sidney Crosby.
Now, in his sixth NHL season, it doesn’t appear he will morph into an offensive wizard anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t value to be had. Lafrenière could be a good long-term option to play on the wing with Kindel in Pittsburgh’s top six.
Lafrenière is a smart player. Like Kindel, he has a high hockey IQ and is an excellent passer who handles the puck well. There could be a match there if the Penguins are looking for younger players who have underperformed.
Given Dubas’s previous connection in Toronto, it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t be interested in right winger Nicholas Robertson, a pending RFA next summer who has been on the trade block for what feels like forever.
Robertson wanted out of Toronto 18 months ago and never got his wish. However, the Maple Leafs have moved him up the lineup this season, with varying results, thanks to the injuries the team has dealt with. Would Toronto move him now? It’s hard to say, but for the right price, anything is possible.
It’s not certain that Robertson would be a fit in Pittsburgh, as he likely wouldn’t be in their top nine. The Penguins’ fourth line of Blake Lizotte, Noel Acciari and Connor Dewar has been highly effective this year, meaning there might not be a place for Robertson with the Penguins. Things could change in the summer, when the Penguins have more slots open up due to departures, but for now, it seems unlikely that they would acquire the 24-year-old forward.
At the beginning of the season, the Penguins were widely regarded as having the worst left-side defensive unit in the league. No one could have predicted the emergence of Shea and Wotherspoon, who have become solid defensive options, while Brett Kulak was still playing in Edmonton with the Oilers.
At the time, Penguins fans were discussing the possibility of acquiring Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, the 10th overall pick in 2022. Reports from Elliotte Friedman at the time indicated that Mintyukov wasn’t happy with his playing time, and Penguins fans rightly saw him as a potential solution to their defensive woes. But now, with the Penguins’ current depth, it’s hard to say whether it would be a move for Pittsburgh to make. Dubas always likes to stockpile NHL defensemen and has at least a dozen of them right now, but would he put together a 22-year-old defenseman who would be a heck of a buy-low option?
Make no mistake, Mintyukov can play and would be a great long-term option for the Penguins alongside Brunicke on the back end. This season, Mintyukov has six goals and eight assists in 48 games, buoyed by a career-high shooting percentage of 12%. Pittsburgh is being cautious about how it spends its future assets and may not want to roll the dice if the price gets too high. But if Anaheim is looking to move on from Mintyukov, the Penguins could likely put together a competitive offer for the pending UFA.
NHL Teams Continue To Avoid Roster Re-Starts
Several NHL teams have been major disappointments this season, particularly the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. While the Rangers have made it clear they intend to retool, the Canucks have refrained from labelling their plans, possibly due to ongoing roster assessments or other internal considerations. Even teams that have entered clear rebuilds have become apprehensive about fully starting over (e.g., the Calgary Flames), for various reasons. PHR had a piece last year that addressed why teams are choosing a retool over a rebuild, but this piece will focus on why teams have shied away from ever starting over.
The reluctance to start over makes sense from the team’s perspective, even if it hinders the team’s long-term prospects of becoming competitive again. The Rangers are a perfect example, having invested a pile of past development years into players such as Igor Shesterkin and Alexis Lafreniere. This is common among NHL teams, who constantly fall into the sunk-cost fallacy of continuing to throw money and time at a player, even though he will never be what they were hoping for or effective enough to justify the costs they’ve paid.
Beyond past costs, teams are also trapped by future expenses from contract extensions given to players who are not performing up to their AAV. This is something the Rangers are arguably dealing with in the cases of Shesterkin and Lafreniere, another bitter pill for management to swallow, as they are now in a position where they feel as though they are throwing both past and future years away on a player they piled so many resources into.
Those extensions were signed by Rangers general manager Chris Drury, and his fingerprints are all over this team. Drury has invested everything into his current club, from draft picks to term to cap space to his public messaging. It’s part of the reason he has recently talked of pivoting to a retool. Walking away completely from this core would signal a massive failure on his part. Even if the pieces in place probably aren’t the ones you’d want to retool around, Drury will likely keep a lot of them, because he staked his reputation on acquiring them.
GMs who build a team and then have to blow it up are essentially admitting they were wrong in their roster construction. Few NHL GMs want to do that, and most front offices would rather be a consistent disappointment than openly admit they are wrong.
And therein lies a big problem in the NHL. Executives aren’t necessarily rewarded for championships; they are rewarded for not collapsing. Making the playoffs is safe; finishing just outside the playoffs shows stability, but tearing down a roster and rebuilding it is a considerable risk, one that can cost you your job. A full-scale rebuild requires several ugly seasons. It means fans with brown paper bags on their heads attending games, and it means an impatient owner circling the offices, wondering when the team will turn the corner. Rebuilding is brutal and ugly, and it requires patience. Retooling is more manageable, quicker, and often leads to immediate, albeit tepid, results.
Retools can also sell hope, and teams can see it in a retool. Owners prefer hope to being told they have to tear down their team, and hope sells more tickets than telling fans you are going to start over. That matters more to owners: a full building over a full draft-pick ledger. A middle-of-the-pack team with designs on limping into the playoffs is easier to market than a disciplined rebuild with zero guarantees.
So, NHL teams opt for the theatre of optimism over meaningful structural change, and it’s tough to fault them given the incentives at play. One of the most famous examples of this is the Toronto Maple Leafs of the late 2000s, who were managed by Brian Burke. The management group had assembled a promising prospect pool but grew impatient in September 2009 and made the trade with Boston to acquire Phil Kessel. The rest, of course, is history: Tyler Seguin was drafted in 2010 with the Maple Leafs’ first-round pick, and defenseman Dougie Hamilton was drafted a year later with Toronto’s 2011 first-round pick. Had Toronto simply been patient, there is no telling where that iteration of the Maple Leafs would have ended up.
Front offices dread wasting years, and in the early stages of a rebuild, there will be wasted years. It’s also why teams rush rebuilds and mess them up. That is effectively what Drury did. He became impatient and made bold moves to bolster his lineup, which ultimately blew up his prospect system and, eventually, his NHL roster. The Ottawa Senators are guilty of the same thing, taking wild swings early in their rebuild on Alex DeBrincat and Jakob Chychrun. Teams trade their future away and call it supporting the core. They extend players to justify their original bet on a player (see last week’s piece on this). They shift their own goals from winning the Stanley Cup one day to simply not having to start over.
Again, it’s hard to fault GMs for doing this. The NHL’s structure used to encourage full-scale rebuilds, but now the rules discourage them. The draft lottery has made it harder to build through top picks; the salary cap floor requires acquiring veteran players; and some high draft picks take longer to develop. All of that has made the retool, or stated differently, the half-rebuild, safer. Even if the retool leads nowhere, which it often does.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a prime example of this. In the 2022-23 season, it became clear the Penguins needed to get younger, but general manager Ron Hextall doubled down on his roster, trading for veterans such as Nick Bonino, Mikael Granlund, and others. He also sent Brock McGinn, Kasperi Kapanen, and Teddy Blueger out the door. It was a clear case of doing something now to change the furniture, hoping it would improve. It failed miserably. Hextall had stood still for most of his tenure in Pittsburgh, and while his flurry of moves that year showed urgency, he accomplished nothing and was fired at the end of the season.
The complex reality in the NHL is that teams can’t rebuild under current management, not in any meaningful way, because it would expose all of management’s mistakes. Bad drafting, poor development, bad signings, cultural rot in the dressing room, the list goes on. Starting over requires a top-down reset, from the president of hockey ops and general manager on down to the players, and most teams can’t stomach that kind of carnage or don’t have the humility to admit things aren’t working. This is why teams don’t rebuild until it’s five years too late, and the only choice they have is to start over and wait five to seven years for results.
The Maple Leafs are currently at that point. They can retool around Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly, or they could begin the painful teardown and build a whole new culture in Toronto. Given the incentives at play, it’s hard to believe they would choose the latter over the former, even if it might be the better choice for the franchise long term.
Trade Deadline Primer: St. Louis Blues
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 Blues.
The Trade Deadline will mark a fork in the road for the St. Louis Blues. The 2025-26 season has not gone according to plan, with the Blues sat last in the NHL Central Division and battling for last in both goals scored and goals allowed. Even with the bright spots of a solid blue-line and well-performing youngsters, the Blues have struggled to manage anything inspiring, sticking the team with the question of whether to replace or rebuild. The question will carry more weight than usual, as the answer will not only define the next few seasons, but also the first years of Alexander Steen‘s reign as the Blues’ general manager set to begin next season. With that change in sights, St. Louis will begin to blaze their trail this March.
Record
20-28-9 (8th in NHL Central Division)
Deadline Status
Sellers
Deadline Cap Space
$20.52MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 48/50 contracts used per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: STL 1st, STL 3rd, STL 4th, DAL 4th, STL 5th, PIT 5th, STL 6th, STL 7th
2027: STL 1st, STL 3rd, STL 4th, ANA 4th, STL 5th, STL 6th, STL 7th
Trade Chips
With a potential seller’s market ahead, many of the trade rumors swirling around the Blues have focused on their top-line veterans. Franchise center Robert Thomas has become a popular name, as teams wonder if the 26 year old’s prime will be wasted on a Blues team years away from Stanley Cup contention. Thomas is a top-end playmaker who posted 60 assists in each of the last two seasons. He continues to lead the Blues in points-per-game this season, with 33 points in 42 games.
But moving Thomas would represent a monumental shift for the Blues franchise – and leave them with a future search for a replacement first-line center. The team would be less scathed by moving scoring-winger Jordan Kyrou, who ranks second on the team in points-per-game with 32 points in 47 games. Kyrou offers an explosive bit of tempo and play-driving that could entice needs in need of a boost on offense, while not dragging down the Blues’ future structure. The same can be said for Pavel Buchnevich – third in points-per-game – who has been on-and-off the trade block through the last few seasons.
The Blues’ price on all three of their high-scorers is said to be sky-high – seen as the price to pay for breaking up the lineup, in addition to buying star talent. Costs might be a bit cheaper on the Blues’ veterans who have dwindled in impact. Defenseman Justin Faulk has continued to stand up to a nightly, number-one role with 11 goals and 30 points in 57 games. But at the age of 33, Faulk is a hard name to bet on through the next few seasons. The same goes for former Stanley Cup legend Jordan Binnington, who has posted a dismal .864 save percentage in 32 games this season. A change of scenery could bring the best out of either player, while only costing a few future assets.
Trade Needs
Young Potential: No matter if their goal is to compete in one year or five years, the Blues’ sights will be firmly on the future. Their new era is beginning to come into focus, built on the backs of budding potential like Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg, and Joel Hofer. But, even with a likely top-five pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, St. Louis seems to lack a game-breaker to lead them into their new era. Finding that talent on the trade market could be enough to swing Thomas or Kyrou away from the only NHL club they’ve ever played for. For St. Louis, trade talks should begin with the other team’s top prospects and draft capital. Landing a hopeful star like centers Michael Hage and Shane Wright, or goalie Jesper Wallstedt, would give the Blues lineup pieces to build around over the next few seasons. It would also take the weight off of the shoulders of Dvorsky, or a future draft pick, to try and carry the team through quiet years ahead. It seems clear that, no matter how the chips fall at the Deadline, the Blues’ priority will be building up for what’s to come.
A Massive Return: St. Louis is approaching the Spring with more on the trade block than they’ve had in many years. Their focus will be on building up the first few years of Steen’s reign, though more than that, the team feels on the precipous of a blockbuster deal. How high will the bidding war ride for a player like Thomas or Kyrou, two stars in their prime who would undoubtedly bring tough-to-find value to any new destination. Could the Blues land multiple star prospects to join an already-loaded pool? Or could they stock their cupboard of draft picks full. More than that, how will the heat of trades impact a St. Louis club that also has Brayden Schenn, Cam Fowler, Colton Parayko, and Pius Suter eyeing the tail-end of their careers? Even with an existing foundation for the future, now could be the Blues best chance to go full scorched-earth and tear down their existing structure – in the name of giving Steen plenty of firepower to build the team he wants to see through the rest of the 2020s.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski-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.
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.
Trade Deadline Primer: Dallas Stars
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, next up with the Stars.
This season has been what you would expect from a roster as talented as Dallas’. Despite their success, they sit third in the very gifted Central Division and would face the Minnesota Wild in the first round if the season started today. That kind of series could be a coin flip and might be the kind of matchup that forces Dallas to add to an already talented roster. The Stars have only a few more kicks at the proverbial can in this contention window, and with a significant extension for Jason Robertson looming, this could be the year they go all in.
Record
33-14-9, 3rd in the Central
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$3.267MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 47/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: DAL 2nd, SEA 3rd, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, DAL 7th, TOR 7th
2027: DAL 1st, DAL 2nd, DAL 4th, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, DAL 7th
Trade Chips
Dallas doesn’t have a lot to work with in terms of prospects and picks, which is the cost of being a consistent Stanley Cup contender over the past half-decade. The Stars do have some young pieces they could move, though, if they go big-game hunting on the trade market. Defenseman Lian Bichsel was a first-round pick in 2022, and at 6’7”, he is the kind of hulking presence on the blue line that teams line up for. His transition to the NHL hasn’t been smooth, as the 21-year-old has dealt with injuries and inconsistency this season. Bichsel appeared ready to break out last season, but he hasn’t delivered this year and has struggled through 26 games, failing both the eye test and the analytics test. Bichsel has a lot of upsides, though, and could be the centrepiece of a much bigger deal if Dallas goes all in.
Another prospect Dallas could look to move is right winger Emil Hemming. The 19-year-old was selected in the first round (29th overall) of the 2024 draft and is having a strong offensive season with the Barrie Colts of the OHL. Hemming is a potential NHL power forward with a good shot and isn’t afraid to get dirty at the net. He also plays a solid two-way game, which should endear him to teams seeking well-rounded wingers. The Stars could pair Hemming with a second- or third-round pick if they are on the hunt for trade deadline candidates that aren’t in the upper tier of trade targets but are solid NHLers.
Another potential trade piece for the Stars is young WHL forward Cameron Schmidt of the Seattle Thunderbirds, who was recently involved in a significant trade in that league. The Stars took Schmidt in the third round of last year’s draft (94th overall) and might have gotten a steal given his performance in the WHL thus far this season. Schmidt is currently third in league scoring and likely would’ve been a first- or second-round pick had it not been for his size (5’8” and 161 lbs). Dallas had no problem rolling the dice with Schmidt after succeeding with small centre Logan Stankoven, who is now in Carolina, and they could go that route with Schmidt as well.
Now, the Stars might have a pretty barren prospect cupboard, but they do have another promising young player on the NHL roster in Mavrik Bourque, who, at 24, is far from a finished product. Bourque was a late first-round pick in 2020 (30th overall) and has blossomed into a depth scorer, but there is still untapped potential in his game. Bourque tore up the AHL in 2023-24 with 77 points in 71 games, but struggled through his rookie campaign last year, finishing with just 11 goals and 14 assists in 73 games.
This year, Bourque’s offensive numbers have ticked up slightly, a good sign, especially given that many of his underlying numbers are also moving in the right direction. It’s hard to say whether Dallas is willing to part with Bourque, as they have been patient with his development, but if they have a chance to acquire a player who pushes them over the top, one would have to believe they would part with him.
Team Needs
Right-Shot Top Four Defenseman: The Dallas Stars will be joined by several teams seeking a right-shot top four defenseman. The Stars are solid on the top pair, but Thomas Harley has had a tough year on the second pairing, paired with depth options, and the results have been underwhelming to say the least. Harley’s offensive numbers are only slightly off his usual pace from the past two years. Still, his underlying numbers and on-ice results have taken a steep drop, likely due to instability on the right side and playing with depth options such as Ilya Lyubushkin and Nils Lundkvist. A stable right-side partner, such as Dougie Hamilton, would go a long way toward alleviating some of the pressure on Harley. However, the math doesn’t exactly work with Hamilton unless Stars general manager Jim Nill gets extremely creative with the accounting, or forward Tyler Seguin is, in fact, done for the season and the playoffs.
A Top Nine Forward: The Stars would likely look to add a top-nine forward to improve depth up front, ideally on the left wing. Currently, the Stars are deploying Justin Hryckowian on the top line alongside centre Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen. Hryckowian is solid defensively and has some playmaking ability, but he is unlikely to be a top-six player for a team that fancies itself a Stanley Cup contender. There is some versatility with Hryckowian, as he can play centre, so the Stars have options to add a winger and shift the 24-year-old down the lineup and over to centre, depending on their configurations.
Dallas could also opt for a right winger on the trade market and bump Bourque down the lineup, if they want, or perhaps Sam Steel. Given the players currently in the lineup, there is significant shuffling that could occur, but Dallas likely wants to add one more piece to that group so it can place all of their remaining depth into roles that better suit their skill sets.
Photo by Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Trade Deadline Primer: Colorado Avalanche
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 the Avalanche.
Colorado will come out of the Olympic break as the Presidents’ Trophy favorites and will likely remain so up until the trade deadline. There are a few teams that could conceivably catch them between now and then, but the Avalanche have put themselves in a spot where they won’t need to be too active at the deadline, barring injuries. Colorado ranks first in GF/G, first in GA/G, 31st in PP%, second in PK%, and first in SV%.
Record
36-9-9, 1st in the Central (~100% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$6.48MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: CAR 4th, COL 4th, PHI 5th, BOS 5th, COL 5th, NYR 7th, OTT 7th, PIT 7th, COL 7th
2027: COL 1st, MIN 2nd, COL 2nd, COL 4th, SJ 5th, COL 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th
Trade Chips
Depending on how aggressive they want to be, the Avalanche could likely use their plethora of draft picks to acquire the depth they need. Obviously, it’s more quantity over quality, but as the league’s best team, they only need to add around the fringes.
Still, if they wanted to make a more notable addition, particularly to their defensive core, Colorado has a few prospects at their disposal. It wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world for the Avalanche to push most of their chips in with only two more guaranteed years of consistent Norris threat, Cale Makar.
Two of Colorado’s better prospects are playing in the KHL, so they wouldn’t be negatively impacting the NHL squad or the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev, whom Colorado selected with the 31st overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, is playing for the Avangard Omsk. Furthermore, Ilya Nabokov, selected with the 38th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, is having a solid year with the Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
Considering how he’s played the last three years, Nabokov would have significant value if the Avalanche included him in trade conversations. Nabokov, 22, has managed a 67-34-9 record in 123 KHL games with a .920 SV% and 2.31 GAA. Although it’s not a direct comparison, the Florida Panthers were able to acquire Sam Reinhart with Devon Levi and Seth Jones with Spencer Knight in recent years. Both played integral roles in the Panthers’ back-to-back Stanley Cup titles.
Outside of those two, Colorado could include defenseman Sean Behrens or forward Nikita Prishchepov, both of whom are playing with AHL Colorado, for less significant additions. Unfortunately, according to Daily Faceoff’s preseason rankings, the Avalanche have the 29th-ranked farm system, meaning their cupboards are lacking in prospect capital. Regardless, it’s unimaginable that Colorado would part with anyone on the active roster, considering how the team has played this year.
Team Needs
Defensive Depth: At the time of writing, the Avalanche has only six defensemen on the active roster, without much depth. Yes, the likes of Keaton Middleton, Jacob MacDonald, Ronald Attard, and Jack Ahcan can and have all served when needed, though they wouldn’t be the best options to have in case of injuries leading up to or in the postseason. In a perfect world, the Colorado would target a defenseman who can play on both sides of the blueline, though they’ll want to seek out a left-handed shot at the very least. Fortunately, there should be a few options available to them with varying degrees of talent. Logan Stanley of the Winnipeg Jets, Matt Grzelcyk of the Chicago Blackhawks, Mario Ferraro of the San Jose Sharks, and Brett Kulak of the Pittsburgh Penguins all make sense as potential additions.
Bottom-Six Center: Outside of most contending teams, the Avalanche don’t have much to be concerned about regarding their center core. Nathan MacKinnon (51.1%), Brock Nelson (49.4%), and Jack Drury (59.2%) are all having solid years in the faceoff dot, with the former two providing much of the team’s offense. However, there is a steep drop-off in faceoff talent on the team’s fourth line. The team has typically used Parker Kelly or Zakhar Bardakov in that role. However, they’ve only managed a 32.1% and 43.4% in the faceoff circle, respectively. If he’s willing to leave his native Winnipeg in pursuit of one last shot at the Stanley Cup, Jonathan Toews would be a perfect addition, as he has a 61.0% faceoff rate this season. However, if Toews is unwilling to leave Manitoba, lower-cost additions such as Jason Dickinson (49.7%) or Erik Haula (50.3%) would also help round out the bottom-six.
Image courtesy of John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images.
Trade Deadline Primer: New York Rangers
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 continue our look around the league with teams that have clear plans at the extremes of the standings, next with the Rangers.
After missing the playoffs last season, it was becoming apparent that New York’s rebuild was not materializing as envisioned, but few would have expected “The Letter: Part Two”. Eager to turn the corner under new Head Coach Mike Sullivan, the Rangers had a strange start to the season, losing their first seven at home, but winning enough on the road to stay afloat at first. Then came the injuries, as the group was battered, numerous key players going down, dropping them to 30th in the league. On January 16, GM Chris Drury shared a letter to fans detailing the team’s plans to “retool”, soon dealing veteran defenseman Carson Soucy to the rival Islanders. Now, franchise cornerstone Artemi Panarin is headed out the door at any moment, as New York finds themselves back where they started seven years ago.
Record
22-28-6, 8th in the Metropolitan (0% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$4.77MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 47/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: NYR 1st, CAR 1st, CAR 2nd, NYR 3rd, NYI 3rd, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, VAN 7th
2027: NYR 1st, NYR 3rd, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, NYR 7th
Trade Chips
It’s far from a secret who Drury has set in his first order of business. 12 days after waiving a white flag on 2025-26, the major headline dropped that Panarin would be sat for roster-related reasons. Since then, a third of the league has been reported as having interest, most notably the Panthers, Hurricanes, Kings, Sharks, and Capitals. Wednesday’s 3 PM EST Olympic roster freeze stands as a roadblock, but the superstar has unfavorably had to sit for the last three games, and a deal seems imminent, even if shortly after the Olympics.
Suitors are working through the need to extend Panarin, but New York holds all three retention spaces. They would be wise to send their star with retained salary, and an extension set up, to maximize a return with their biggest chip.
Already aggressive enough to add Kiefer Sherwood, San Jose would be a fascinating fit, showcasing their intent on serious contention sooner rather than later. Panarin’s interest in Florida is well known, as he could reunite with Sergei Bobrovsky, but it would require unfathomable gymnastics to work out a deal. Finally, Panarin could be the star Carolina has been patiently waiting to add after Mikko Rantanen didn’t work out.
Besides the Blueshirts’ leading scorer and his expiring $11.6MM contract, it’s not as immediately clear who could be next. In the interest of their retool, it would be ideal to move on from at least one of their three 32-year-old centers; Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, and Vincent Trocheck.
Out of the bunch, Trocheck stands as the only real candidate, given his manageable $5.63MM cap hit. The contract runs through his age 35 season, not necessarily ideal, but given the majorly thin center market, Trocheck could bring a haul for the Rangers. The Pittsburgh native has 36 points in 42 games, enough that center-hungry teams such as the Hurricanes, Avalanche, and Red Wings could make a push. Minnesota is also in the market, however they would have to get creative given limited cap space and trade assets.
New York faces the challenge of having immovable contracts as they navigate a retool. Zibanejad, Miller, and the polarizing Alexis Lafrenière, aside, the issue extends on both ends of the lineup. Last summer’s big ticket, $7MM deal given to 30-year-old Vladislav Gavrikov doesn’t align with their latest plans, neither does 29-year-old Will Borgen’s $4.1MM, both defenders inked through 2029-30.
Jonathan Quick, 40, has an expiring deal worth $1.55MM, but the Stanley Cup winning Connecticut native may not have interest in moving on to a backup role on a contender. As Igor Shesterkin remains out with a lower body injury, Quick is in a favorable situation, able to play regularly as he closes the book on a tremendous career.
Brennan Othmann has been shopped throughout the season, as early as mid-October. The 23-year-old former first round pick is clearly not a traditional deadline piece, but no longer in the plans, he figures to be a “change of scenery” trade candidate, for a similar younger player in need of a new role.
Veterans Sam Carrick and Jonny Brodzinski could fetch middle round draft capital, both bringing strong results at the faceoff dot. Carrick is signed through next year at $1MM, while Brodzinski is a pure rental option, versatile enough to play center or wing.
Conor Sheary makes just $775k, but the 33-year-old has hardly been effective this year, with just one tally in 37 games, not to mention he is currently on LTIR with an upper body injury. When healthy, Sheary has respectable metrics and playoff experience, but he would not bring anything notable in return.
On the back end, Urho Vaakanainen, 27, could bring a bit of intrigue as a 6’2″ lefty penalty killing specialist, as he’s inked through next year at $1.55MM.
Team Needs
NHL-Ready Youth: Given Drury’s phrasing of “This will not be a rebuild. This will be a retool built around our core players and prospects” naturally, for better or worse, New York will seek young players capable of contributing as soon as next season, in all likelihood alongside veterans such as Miller and Zibanejad. Thankfully, as a result of the K’Andre Miller trade, they have an extra first round pick for the upcoming draft already, an asset always needed regardless of “rebuild” or “retool”. However, such a deal is indicative of Drury’s struggles as a whole, as it is players such as Miller who the Rangers are lacking if they can turn it around without entirely bottoming out. The club has a top heavy prospect pool, and a replenishment, especially on the blue line, would be beneficial.
Backup Goaltending: Although the Rangers aren’t in desperate need between the pipes, they could use a boost behind Shesterkin, with Quick’s days numbered. Prospect Dylan Garand’s development has stalled out a bit, still waiting on his NHL debut at age 23, and the Rangers are thin in the goaltending department elsewhere.
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