Carter, Subban say active offseason 'amazing' for NHL

BUFFALO -- Anson Carter already can't wait for next season. 

The 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft doesn't start until Friday at KeyBank Center (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS) and the free-agent window doesn't open until Wednesday, but Carter, one of the game's leading voices in the U.S. as a studio analyst for “NHL on TNT,” gets jacked up talking about next season because of the flurry of activity around the NHL in the week and a half since the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup.

Brady Tkachuk has been traded to the Florida Panthers. The Washington Capitals added Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou. Bowen Byram went to the Chicago Blackhawks with the Buffalo Sabres getting back the No. 4 pick in the 2026 draft. The No. 9 pick in the draft has gone from Florida to Ottawa to San Jose. The Edmonton Oilers hired Mike Babcock as their new coach.

"It's amazing for the game," Carter told NHL.com from the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition community street hockey event at the Resource Council of Western New York. "I love it. I always sit at home and I'm watching a lot of sports programming on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN, and even when I'm back in Toronto, Sportsnet and TSN, you see a lot of baseball coverage, but you don't see as much hockey coverage. I think it's the best thing ever for the game, all these different stories. I don't know what's the bigger story, Babcock coming back, Tkachuk, (John) Chayka, it's incredible."

Former NHL defenseman P.K. Subban thinks similarly.

Subban, one of the leading hockey personalities for ESPN, was also in attendance at the street hockey event that saw the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition gift a $20,000 check to the Resource Council of Western New York to support the growth of hockey for youth in Buffalo.

Dozens of local kids who are part of the Resource Council community, and others who walked in off the street because they heard about what was going on, attended the event and played street hockey with Carter, Subban and fellow PIC representatives Anthony Stewart, Mark Fraser, Georges Laraque, Al Montoya, Jordan Harris, Blake Bolden and Julie Chu.

"This is an amazing turnout of kids that want to play the game, that are playing the game, that are passionate about it, that are excited, and it's really, really cool," Subban said. "But talk about the NHL, this has to be one the most active offseasons that we've seen, and I think it's great for the game because the players want it. I think the players deserve to have the opportunity to say, 'Hey, you know what, this is not a great situation for me anymore, it's not a great situation for me and my family, is there an opportunity to move me to a contender?' "

Player empowerment has been a theme of the offseason, with Tkachuk the most prominent so far, approaching the Ottawa Senators about trading him and using the power of his no-movement clause to orchestrate a move to play with his brother, Matthew, in Florida.

"If I'm Carolina, I'm air-punching I'm so mad," Carter said. "I get to enjoy my championship and then Florida comes back and they reload."

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman all played a pivotal role in Babcock becoming the Oilers new coach.

"Now those guys can't say, 'Well, we don't have any control with what happens to the coaching staff,' " Carter said. "You do. You do. Because if you didn't want it to happen you could have shut it down right away."

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has reportedly asked to be traded and has provided a list of teams he would go to, using his no-trade clause to his advantage.

"There's a long history of players that didn't take ownership of (their careers) and it cost them championships, potentially a lot of money and potentially decorations on their resume that they should have had," Subban said. "Players betting on themselves is something you're seeing more in hockey, which is great. I don't think guys are losing the intangibles of understanding the team and the concept of team. We're seeing that in Edmonton, where they're trying to do everything they can to win. That's the cool thing I take away from it is the guys still see team as the value but individually they all have their own goals and aspirations and we're seeing that now come to the forefront."

Carter said the activity this offseason is a byproduct of society in general.

"Everyone wants things now, no one has any patience," he said. "It's filtered into our game where you see these organizations, they're not waiting. Players aren't waiting. Players aren't saying, 'I'll wait 10 years into my career until I'm 30 to try to win a Cup.' These guys are like, 'That's not happening, I'm going to try to win the Cup right now.' I would never fault a player for wanting to go somewhere to try to win because innately that's what really motivates us as athletes. I know some fans might not like it and it might look like a lack of loyalty, but it goes the other way too. Organizations ask guys to waive no-trade clauses all the time. It's tough for the fans I think to understand that, but for someone who consumes content and is a fan of the game I think it's amazing."

Carter also said teams like the Panthers and Golden Knights being destinations and players such as Mitch Marner last year and Brady Tkachuk this year using what is within their power to pave their way to those teams has created a villainous effect that is good for the NHL.

"It helps our game too because now you're seeing teams that are, like, really hated," he said. "I'm hearing from my friends outside the game, people really hate the Florida Panthers and what they're doing. People hate the Vegas Golden Knights and what they're doing. But what's the common denominator between those two teams? They win. Everyone hates winners. Our game is no longer regional, local. Now you're seeing people in Edmonton and Calgary hate Vegas. I think it's great for the game. It gives our game a much bigger footprint."

Even better, it's all happening before July 1, the traditional biggest day on the NHL's offseason calendar because that's when unrestricted free agents can begin signing with other teams.

Player empowerment coinciding with fewer impact UFAs and a rising salary cap from $95.5 million this past season to $104 million next season and $113.5 million in 2027-28 has created the windfall of mega moves this month, with more likely to come.

"This is the best," Carter said. "I hope it continues through the whole summer because it keeps our sport out there in the forefront in the news. This expands the sport."