Michael Misa of the San Jose Sharks (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
As we approach American Thanksgiving, the growing unrest on the NHL trade market is coming to a head.
Many teams have been hit by the injury bug, like the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild, and more. All these teams are working the phones aggressively to help give their team a boost, but there’s one problem.
This is a true seller’s market.
“Teams are waiting for someone to make a mistake and overpay for their players,” said the NHL source. “There are so few identifiable sellers at the moment.”
What’s more, it seems like half the league, including the Canadiens, Canucks, Red Wings, Wild, Capitals — and more — are looking to bolster their centre depth as they deal with injuries and heightened expectations.
The reality is, there are only six teams under .500 as we near US Thanksgiving, a level of league parity that has rarely ever been seen in the Salary Cap era.
The outcome? Way fewer sellers, with even fewer options to choose from.
“Trading for a top-9 centre right now is going to be very costly, with so few realistically available,” continued the source. “The NHL’s parity in the standings makes it very difficult to add a player via trade without sacrificing from the current NHL roster.”
Holding Up The Market
As of the writing of this article, the Calgary Flames sit in last place in the NHL with 13 points in 20 games, three points clear of the second-to-last Nashville Predators, who have 16 points in 20 games.
For many around the NHL, the feeling is the Flames hold the key to the NHL’s current gridlock on the trade market, but there isn’t a real sense of urgency coming out of Calgary to make any panic moves in the short term.
“Calgary, I feel, has the big end of the stick here with a couple of interesting pieces,” continued the source. “And they have very little incentive to make a move at this time, unless a team blows them away.”
With the likes of Nazem Kadri, pending free-agent Rasmus Andersson, and even veteran Blake Coleman, the Flames could easily undertake a quick re-tool. Sources indicate there doesn’t seem to be an appetite for any kind of retool or rebuild at the upper echelons of the organization, for now. We’ll see if that changes should the Flames continue to sit last in the NHL all season.
That then leaves us with the Nashville Predators, the St.Louis Blues, the Buffalo Sabres, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Vancouver Canucks as clubs under the .500 mark.
Vancouver and Toronto are more likely to try and buy at this stage, despite their record. Toronto is seeking a top-4 right-shot defenseman with an offensive punch, while Vancouver continues their year-long search for a second-line centre; a search that began after they moved on from J.T. Miller last season.
The Buffalo Sabres, as previously reported, aren’t in the business of making any panic deals, so you can count them out of trading their prized pieces for now.
That leaves the Predators, Blues, and, just outside the pack, the San Jose Sharks, as potential trade partners for underperforming teams.
“St-Louis and Nashville are two other teams that are struggling right now and fielding calls from other teams,” said another NHL source. “I hear St-Louis wants to work their way out of this funk like they’ve done before, but Nashville is in a bit of a predicament with all these older players with No-Trade clauses.”
There’s been lots of noise of late out of Nashville when it comes to the future of Steven Stamkos, who holds an $8M cap hit until the end of the 2027-2028 season. On top of his full No-Movement Clause, Stamkos’ age and cap hit would likely force the Predators to move him with retention if they were ever to get anything of value for the 35-year-old.
That’s not something they want to do at the moment, and we stand at an impasse.
As for St-Louis, names like Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou have been in the rumor mill dating back as far as last year’s trade deadline, so it’s nothing new to see those names pop up again in trade winds.
St-Louis has admitted that they are open for business, but they aren’t looking to sell; they’re looking for hockey trades to help shore up their aging defense.
That leaves the San Jose Sharks.
“One team I wonder about is San Jose. They have 50 contracts on the docket and Michael Misa is still around despite his injury,” added the source. “Misa can’t play more than 9 total NHL games without forcing Mike Grier to make a trade to get rid of a contract. The kid’s injury delays that timeline, and then there’s the World Juniors, if he’s healthy. I could see them trying to get ahead of it.”
With bottom-dwelling clubs perfectly comfortable waiting out their desperate peers, and some outright refusing the role of sellers altogether, there isn’t a very deep trade market at the moment, per sources.
Lots of point touches between general managers, but very little concrete in the form of tangible trades, but, with exactly a month before the NHL’s Holiday Trade Freeze, the expectation is that things could shake loose on that front too.
For now, it’s a poker game in the NHL trade market, and the river has yet to be revealed.