Real Kyper’s Trade Board 1.0: A first look at intriguing possibilities

For all NHL GMs, the time between American Thanksgiving and the NHL trade deadline feels no different to me than committing to a marathon.

As I found out running the 2013 New York City marathon, before tackling 26.2 miles on race day there was a vital preparation that I needed to adhere to. Runners have to invest in base training for the best chance of crossing the finish line with success.

It’s no different for all GMs this time of year.

Now is when management teams really start to diligently comb through a wealth of depth charts, statistics and salary cap projections.  No stone goes unturned in hopes of having any semblance of success by the March 7 trade deadline.  

The vast majority of GMs willing to  do their due diligence and properly leverage their team’s future for a chance at the Stanley Cup are usually rewarded. Just ask the last three champions in Florida, Vegas and Colorado. 

In a rare moment the road to the trade deadline can look like a sprint in which Minnesota, Columbus, San Jose, Colorado, Anaheim and the NY Rangers beat many to the punch in recent weeks. 

GMs Bill Guerin and Don Waddell struck early with the David Jiricek trade, a type of prospect who is rarely available. Both clubs were clearly ready and willing to set a market price.  

Chris Drury and Pat Verbeek followed with the Jacob Trouba trade as the Rangers worked their way through a rough stretch on the schedule and plenty of off-ice distractions. Chris MacFarland of the Avalanche, meanwhile, has made two trades already to completely turn over his goaltending tandem.

But we’re just getting started and factors will continue to change that will re-shape the trade market in the months ahead.

This season’s list of available names at the trade deadline may end up being the most compelling in recent years, with GMs working under a salary cap that is fast tracking towards $100 million.

Pending star UFAs entering their prime years will undoubtedly make this trade market much more impactful compared to other years. 

Players such as Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett, Mikko Rantanen, Brock Boeser, Nikolaj Ehlers, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad, are a lot more likely to come into trade conversations with or without their no-trade protection the longer they go unsigned. 

Then add a few players like Nazem Kadri, Cam Fowler, John Gibson and Thomas Chabot, who are all still under contract, and this deadline could massively change the trajectory of any team those players potentially join.  

In the meantime, teams with little or no chance to contend for a Stanley Cup will add their talented players into the trade mix. Ivan Provorov, Brock Nelson, Marcus Pettersson and Rasmus Ristolainen will all be in play. 

This year’s trade deadline will definitely feel different with the pandemic long in the rear view mirror and with NHL revenues now at record heights.  

The quarter mark of the season has passed and it is becoming a bit clearer where some teams are going to land. But it’s important hockey fans remember this: much like marathon runners, pace yourselves until March 7.

He sits at the very top of the grit list for any team looking for that element because of how the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup last season — and the Panthers have received plenty of feedback from teams that would be willing to pay a boatload to get him. Bennett would be a hard player for Florida to lose as they try and defend their championship. With 13 goals and 26 points already, Bennett is their most physical player on the roster. But with an expiring contract, there’s a risk they’ll lose him for nothing next summer and that’s not so appealing to GM Bill Zito so from what I’m told, he’ll listen. 

So, it seems there’s more than a 50-50 chance Bennett could be traded this season if they don’t close the negotiation gap, which sits today as wide as a football field. Unless the Panthers decide to keep him as their “own rental” I would see this as a sign and trade scenario so the Panthers and Bennett can squeeze as much out of a deal as possible. In return Florida would want a current player who can help them right away, and not just futures as they’re still chasing another Stanley Cup.

Colorado would lead the charge with the void of Gabriel Landeskog out of the lineup, and with Tyler Seguin done for the season Dallas also has a major opening in the roster for someone like Bennett. Would Dallas return Mason Marchment to the Panthers?

A right-shooting defender for the Calgary Flames, he’d be any team’s dream pick up at the deadline. Andersson has one year remaining on his contract, so GM Craig Conroy has time. He doesn’t have to make any decisions on Andersson now, especially as long as Flames fans are still engaged in the playoff race. But what if that fades? Andersson could bring back a ransom’s request to Calgary, especially if they moved him before he becomes a “rental” trade candidate next season.

For now, Andersson is one of Calgary’s top scorers and their ice time leader, averaging over 24:45 per game. He’s not a trade candidate in the immediate future, but if Calgary doesn’t stay in the race in the new year, his name can’t be excluded in talks.

Unlike a much younger Andersson, it’s more likely we’ll see Kadri in another uniform by the time the new Scotia Place arena opens in 2027. Making $7 million against the cap through the 2028-29 season, Calgary most likely would need to retain salary to try and build a deal around a top prospect like Toronto’s Fraser Minten. Calgary has already used up one of their three retention slots on Jacob Markstrom, which will be on their books this season and next. 

Kadri also has a lot of say in this. He has a full no-movement clause this season and next, after which it changes to a modified no-trade. Calgary management is well aware that if the right fit comes along, the 34-year-old centre will be willing to work around it.

Vancouver, eyeing to compete for a Stanley Cup with a core locked in of Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes, have a tough decision to make on Brock Boeser. He led the team with 40 goals last season, but will he continue on as part of this core?

With Jake Guentzel pushing the value of UFA scoring wingers up, Boeser is looking for eight years, north of $8 million AAV range, and Vancouver isn’t yet prepared to pay him what his projected value is. If no contract extension is on the way, the idea of losing him for nothing in free agency isn’t all that appealing either. Canucks management isn’t one to sit around and have been rather busy traders in recent seasons. Until an extension is signed, Boeser will be a trade candidate to watch this season.

Chabot is far from reaching his ceiling due to injuries and defensive struggles since signing his massive $64 million deal in September of 2019 under GM Pierre Dorion. The problem now is that Jake Sanderson is clearly regarded as the Sens’ No. 1 defenceman under the new ownership and management is left pondering if it’s still wise to pay both of these similar defencemen large sums if the team continues to underachieve.

If Ottawa is still on the outside looking in by March look for them to make a big trade to shake up the core and Chabot could be it. He has three years remaining with a modified 10-team no-trade list.

As far as Norris is concerned, he could be available for many of the same reasons as Chabot: the Senators will have an appetite to shake up the core if they keep trailing the playoff picture. And Norris’ name has been out there for a while.

Third among Ottawa forwards in average ice time per game and used in all situations, Norris’ offensive production hasn’t been able to approach the 35 goals he scored three years ago before he had shoulder surgery — and teams are still very concerned about that injury. But, with 12 goals in 27 games, his pace once again is to score over 30 times. Is now the time to find a trade partner? Are teams more comfortable with Norris today?

Fowler will continue to push on his trade request as the Anaheim Ducks start thinking about a future without the 32-year-old who they chose 12th overall back in the 2010 draft. He’s still a good and productive player who can be in the top four for a playoff team, but Anaheim has an abundance of young, left shot defencemen and it’s time to move on from Fowler. 

Still rebuilding, the Ducks are likely to move Fowler now, with Jacob Trouba’s leadership coming in, and when Fowler still has another season remaining on his contract, even if it means retaining some of the $6.5 million he’ll make against the cap. They have not used any of their three retention slots yet. Fowler has a modified no-trade clause that shouldn’t be a major hindrance in talks. 

The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy last season and, with a .537 points percentage so far in 2024-25 that ranks eighth-best in the Eastern Conference, that’s just not going to cut it. The team expects to be challenging for the Stanley Cup again and the slower-than-expected start has started to cause some trade buzz that crescendoed with Jacob Trouba moving to Anaheim. 

Chris Kreider’s name first leaked at the same time as Trouba’s, off the GM’s shared emails between one another. Unlike Trouba, this might just be a case of a GM trying to shake his dressing room up, but with Chris Drury’s hardline approach, you can’t dismiss Kreider’s name being out there. It’s notable that Kreider’s contract has a modified no-trade clause now (15 teams) and no longer has full no-movement protection. Kreider scored 39 goals a season ago for the Rangers and though he has 10 in 24 games this season, he only has one assist and is a minus-3. We’ll see how this one plays out. 

Ferraro’s name came up in rumours last season, too, and will be present again through the 2024-25 season. Still just 26 years old, Ferraro makes only $3.25 million against the salary cap and still has another year to go on his contract. San Jose has already used up all three of its retained salary slots (Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Tomas Hertl) but wouldn’t have to do that with Ferraro. 

It would have to be for a return that makes sense to their rebuild, but Ferraro is a left-shot, top-four defenceman who kills penalties and has been San Jose’s blocked shots leader every season since 2020-21.

Another coveted right shot defender, Ristolainen has a $5.1 million cap hit that runs another two years — through the 2026-27 season — so the Flyers don’t have to feel pressure to move him or eat a ton of money in retention. But as the salary cap climbs in those two seasons, this contract will start to look a little more valuable. He’s still considered a top-four defenceman and can kill penalties. He’s big, has huge reach and isn’t shy to throw his weight around, currently with the most hits of all Flyers defencemen.

Ristolainen isn’t going to be targeted by a team for his offence, but could suit the Oilers just fine to shore up what’s been missing since Game 7 in Florida.

The Predators are far behind where they planned to be this season, closer to having the best odds at the NHL Draft Lottery than even a wild card spot right now. GM Barry Trotz has tried to rattle some cages with comments in the media, but the team wasn’t able to gain any momentum in November, didn’t win two games in a row all month, and now have lost eight in a row.

After what they invested in the roster by way of free agency, and choosing to re-sign Juuse Saros while trading away Yaroslav Askarov, “rebuild” isn’t something Nashville will do, but management will have some reaction to the team’s struggles. Carrier is a player to watch on the market as he averages over 20 minutes of ice time a game, plays top penalty kill minutes and is one of the top shot blockers on the team. 

A right shot defender, Carrier has two more years on his contract past 2024-25 and makes just $3.75 million against the cap. 

As far as rental players go, Ivan Provorov will be the headliner of the bunch. Left shot, top-four defender who can still play in all situations — and does in Columbus, though in a secondary role on the power play. Provorov is reliable in his workload, averaging over 23 minutes a game, and because he rarely misses a game. The last time he was out was back in 2021-22 and he missed only three games that season.

Provorov is counting for $4.75 million on Columbus’ cap after the Kings retained just over $2 million of his contract in a three-way trade involving the Flyers in 2023. The Blue Jackets have all three of their own retention slots still open.

For many years Ehlers has been one of the best point producers per minute on the Jets and that’s true again in 2024-25 — averaging 15:33 of ice time per game and scoring more than a point per game, Ehlers is pacing towards a career-best season and leads the Jets in points per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play.

Now Winnipeg may be facing a decision on Ehlers, who is on an expiring contract and could decide to seek greater opportunity elsewhere when it expires. Will the team feel itself enough of a contender to carry on with him as its own-rental, will they be able to find a trade for him that helps both now and in the future, or is there any path to an extension?

In a rough year for the Penguins it’ll be time to move on from some expiring contracts instead of keep moving forward with a group that has the worst goal differential in the league (minus-30). Pettersson will be one of a few rentals the Penguins could be trading out, and might be the best of them for a contender seeking a top four blue liner. 

Pettersson averages the most even strength ice time on the Penguins (19:25) and is their go-to penalty-killer on the blue line. His numbers look awful, caught up in Pittsburgh’s dreadful start, and Pettersson has been on the ice for more 5-on-5 goals against than any other player in the league. Put him on a stronger team and Pettersson should show better, though. Pettersson makes just over $4 million against this year’s cap and the Penguins have only one more salary retention slot remaining.

When it comes to the New York Islanders and trade rumours, who really knows with Lou Lamoriello? But today we’re looking at a team hovering around .500 that hasn’t won a playoff series since making the Cup Final in 2021. If they decide to move on from Brock Nelson, the 33-year-old goal scorer would be at the top of a lot of lists around the league. 

Nelson is a big guy who can play top-six minutes and score a lot of goals. In fact, over the past four seasons combined, Nelson ranks 21st in the league in goals. He has partial no-trade protection, makes $6 million against the cap and the Islanders haven’t used any salary retention slots.

A healthy scratch at one point in November, Hall has scored three of his six goals in one game — and that hat trick came after going more than a month without a goal. 

The 33-year-old winger makes $6 million against the cap, but the Hawks have two salary retention slots open if it helps make a trade happen. Still rebuilding and far from competing for a playoff spot yet, Hall will want out of here before the trade deadline and get another shot to compete in the playoffs.

Under a new head coach (Dan Bylsma), Yanni Gourde’s ice time has fallen by an average of over two minutes per game as he’s mostly been pushed into a bottom-six role with the Kraken. His production has dipped, too, and after Gourde scored just 11 goals and 33 points last season, he’s on pace for even less this season. 

If he’s not interested in a significant pay cut it’s best he moves on to a contending team. He’s still a two-time Stanley Cup winner who also had 13 points in 14 games during Seattle’s only post-season appearance. He can still kill penalties if tasked with it and is a feisty player for his size. He will be watched closely and is a highly tradable commodity if and when Seattle falls off the playoff race.

Like Gourde, Tanev will be a player teams around the league keep tabs on and would be an attractive one to target and add to a playoff roster. A bit bigger than Gourde, Tanev is also feisty, isn’t shy to throw bodychecks and is strong on the forecheck. Another bottom-six forward, Tanev is relied upon for Seattle’s penalty kill.

Gourde is the more expensive of the two potential Kraken rentals ($5.166 million) while Tanev earns just $3.5 million against the cap. Both have modified no-trade lists and, it’s worth pointing out, Seattle hasn’t retained any salaries yet.

Vatrano has most often finished around the 20-goal mark over the past six seasons, but last year climbed all the way to a 37-goal finish. So far in 2024-25 he’s come back down to his career average. While Vatrano plays a good amount on Anaheim’s power play, he’s only scored once there so far this season — five others have come at even strength. 

He’ll be 31 years old by the time the playoffs begin and makes just $3.65 million against the cap. Vatrano is a top-six player in Anaheim’s mix, but could just as easily be an offensive upside winger on a contender’s third line. Vatrano hits and checks well.

Speaking of hitting and checking well, Columbus’ Mathieu Olivier has tons of eyes and interest in his services around the league because he’s tough and plays hard. Olivier leads all the Blue Jackets in hits, just as he did last season, and it’s not really close. 

He’s a tough cookie with some punch and has already scored a career high of eight goals this season. Remember what Tanner Jeannot brought back Nashville from Tampa two seasons ago? That deal included five draft picks, including a first. Affordable at just $1.1 million AAV, Olivier will be a sought-after rental, if the Blue Jackets decide to trade him instead of re-signing him.

On our radio show, Real Kyper and Bourne, Columbus GM Don Waddell downplayed the idea of trading Olivier and said he was working on re-signing him. But until Olivier signs that extension, how does Waddell not listen to offers? He’ll be an attractive asset and remain on my trade board until we hear news of a contract.

With so many young defencemen on the roster now, and still coming, Montreal will have to think about what to do with 34-year-old David Savard, who still holds down a second pairing spot for them and is the team leader in shorthanded ice time per game. That Montreal PK, by the way, is seventh-best in the league. 

A right shot defenceman, Savard is perhaps a better fit on a playoff team’s third pair, but he can reliably move up a lineup if necessary. That kind of flexibility and experience can’t be understated. Savard has an AAV of $3.5 million before becoming an off-season UFA. He’ll be this year’s version of Luke Schenn.

It just hasn’t worked out for Grubauer in Seattle and now that Joey Daccord has taken over the No. 1 job and signed a five-year extension that doesn’t even kick in until next season, the Kraken are looking for an out with Grubauer. With save percentages of .889, .895, .899 and .870 in the four years he’s been in Seattle, no team eyeing Grubauer will be looking at him as a starter. He’s a backup to relieve your starter, or to turn to in an injury pinch. 

And, so, if the Kraken trade Grubauer, they would have to be retaining a good chunk of his salary. Grubauer has a $5.9 million AAV that still runs through the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons, but the actual salary owed to him is $6.8 million this season, which drops to $5.6 million next season, and $4.5 million in the final year of the contract, without any bonuses due. 

If Grubauer is not traded, he is susceptible for a buyout.

Just about every season for a while now John Gibson’s name has come up in trade rumours, but this year it just may actually come to fruition, especially with as well as Lukas Dostal is playing. Gibson hasn’t played behind a competitive team in a while, and that may have hurt his numbers. But in eight starts since returning from injury this season, the 31-year-old has a .914 save percentage and a 4-3-1 record.

Gibson makes $6.4 million this season, plus the next two, which might still be a lot for teams to pay a premium on. But if Anaheim uses one of its three available salary retention slots to move Gibson and bring that number down to around $4 million, teams could be interested in an affordable No. 1 goalie who could help them alone, or in a tandem. 

The Carolina Hurricanes came close to obtaining his services this past summer only to have the deal fall through. They circled back to Gibson with Frederik Andersen out a while with a knee injury. In that way, it could be similar to how Jacob Markstrom ended up in New Jersey after prolonged interest from the Devils.

But with Colorado trading for Mackenzie Blackwood and Stuart Skinner playing better in Edmonton lately, the goalie market has shrunk, which does no favours to Ducks GM Pat Verbeek as he tries to find a solid return.

Scott Laughton has come up in trade rumours before, and the Flyers would have to get just the right offer to move him. They aren’t actively seeking to trade him as much as they’re open to listening. Laughton makes $3 million against the cap through next season and still provides value to the team. 

But, again, one of the themes of this trade season is that gritty forwards will be in demand and Laughton fits the bill as one of the more physically engaged Flyers forwards. He can also play centre, which is a little bonus, with the flexibility to move to the wing, and kill penalties as well. The Flyers have been looking for a first-round pick in return for Laughton.

They say the Rangers room hasn’t been the same since this player left. A two-time Stanley Cup champion in Tampa Bay, Goodrow is a physical forward who fits the mould as a fourth-line energy guy. His offence has fallen off, but he’s looked to when teams need to turn the game’s momentum with physical play.

The biggest hurdle to getting a trade done might be his contract. Goodrow is in the fourth year of a six-year contract that comes with a $3.641 million AAV and since San Jose has already used all three of its retention slots, they can’t directly send him anywhere else at less than full value. If salary is to be retained for his final destination, the Sharks and their trade partner would need to get a third team involved. 

A third-liner for the Penguins who broke out with 16 goals last season, Drew O’Connor is affordable with just a $925,000 cap hit this season before becoming UFA eligible in the summer. Still just 26 years old, he’s a legit trade candidate for the Penguins. 

O’Connor is a big guy (6-foot-4, 209 pounds), who can skate and shown an ability to put pucks in the net, while earning more time on the PK this season. There’s no doubt teams have interest in this player.