NHL Trade Deadline live blog
The latest news, deals, rumblings from around the NHL
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1 a.m. ET
Well, the Vancouver Canucks didn’t waste any time answering our questions about Conor Garland. The six-year, $36 million contract Garland signed with the Canucks last summer doesn’t even begin until next season, and he’s on the move in a late-night trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets for second- and third-round picks.
The Buffalo Sabres were working late too. After striking out on Colton Parayko, they closed the deal on getting defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets. Leading the return to Winnipeg is young forward Isak Rosen, Buffalo’s first-round pick (No. 14) in the 2021 NHL Draft. The Jets also received defenseman Jacob Bryson and two draft picks.
12 a.m. ET
Good morning, or good evening. Don’t say good night. Because we’re just getting started here on Trade Deadline day.
OK, I’ll be getting some sleep, and hope that nothing happens while I do, but this first entry is coming to you from Madison Square Garden, where I just wrapped up covering the New York Rangers’ 6-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a pair of “Original Six” sellers.
The Maple Leafs started their sale Thursday, trading center Nicolas Roy to the Colorado Avalanche for a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft that could push to 2028, and a fifth-round pick in 2026.
The Rangers started their sale more than a month ago, when they traded Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings and Carson Soucy to the New York Islanders.
The Rangers scratched centers Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick against the Maple Leafs for roster management purposes, so certainly they could be on the move before the deadline, as expected.
Ditto for Toronto forwards Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton, and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. They were scratched for roster management purposes for the second straight game.
Toronto got a good return for Roy, who probably will be a third-line center in Colorado behind Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson.
The return also shows you that prices in this year’s trade market are high, or at least they have been so far.
The Edmonton Oilers gave up a first-round pick to get forwards Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks. It helped, of course, that the Blackhawks also took forward Andrew Mangiapane, who has an AAV of $3.6 million through next season.
The Minnesota Wild gave up a second-round pick to get bottom-six forward Michael McCarron from the Nashville Predators.
It took the Dallas Stars giving up a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2029 (really, we’re trading 2029 picks already?) to get defenseman Tyler Myers from the Vancouver Canucks. Myers adds to Dallas’ depth.
The trade I like the most so far is the Ottawa Senators getting forward Warren Foegele from the Los Angeles Kings. The Senators also picked up a third-round pick while giving the Kings second and third round picks, all in this year’s draft.
Foegele, a 20-goal scorer the past two years, will fit perfectly in Ottawa’s middle-six forward group and he’s signed for next season at $3.5 million.
The biggest blockbuster so far is MacKenzie Weegar going from the Calgary Flames to the Utah Mammoth for three second-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, defenseman Olli Maatta and forward Jonathan Castagna.
I’m all in on the Mammoth being all in. And they still have enough draft capital and prospects to make a splash Friday.
But the big names who have been talked about as candidates to be traded haven’t moved yet, which is the most obvious indication of how high the asking prices are this year.
The Rangers could trade Trocheck, but if they don’t get the return they’re looking for they could punt that for the summer or scrap that plan altogether.
The St. Louis Blues could still trade defenseman Colton Parayko, who reportedly used his no-trade clause to nix a trade to the Buffalo Sabres. They could also trade forwards Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou, defenseman Justin Faulk and goalie Jordan Binnington.
They won’t trade them all, but the Blues are a team to watch because of those players and what the return might be for them.
So are the Sabres. They didn’t get Parayko, but it appears they’re pivoting to getting Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets, as well as Carrick from the Rangers.
Are the Florida Panthers really going to trade goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who did not play Thursday? They could, and still re-sign him in the offseason. That rarely happens, but it could in this case.
Will the Flames move Nazem Kadri, who has a $7 million cap hit for the next three years? How about forward Blake Coleman, who is signed through next season at $4.9 million?
The Predators have traded McCarron, forward Michael Bunting (Dallas) and defenseman Nick Blankenburg (Colorado).
Is Ryan O'Reilly next? Is it Steven Stamkos? Erik Haula?
Barry Trotz is in his last season as the Predators general manager and it’s his job to set things up for the next person in charge.
The New Jersey Devils could move a defenseman or two, with Simon Nemec, Dougie Hamilton and Johnathan Kovacevic on the list. But none will come cheap.
The Wild seem to be in on everybody, but are they going to do anything else? Trocheck?
And what about the Vancouver Canucks with Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland?
Oh so many questions and so little time to get some answers.
The clock is ticking. The deadline is hours away. The prices are high. They could fall.
Wake up!
