The NHL has been buckwild ever since the Brady Tkachuk trade to Florida dropped over the weekend. Seemingly everyone in the league is trying to get their ducks in a row ahead of the draft, not only projecting what they need right now — but reading the writing on the wall for where they will be in a few year’s time.
Inthe past few days we’ve seen the Buffalo Sabres make a flurry of moves, the Captials landing Jordan Kyrou, and the Senators move their No. 9 pick to bolster their lines, but some of the biggest rumors are still floating around with the draft on the horizon. Let’s dive into the whispers going on around hockey and determine which make sense, and which just don’t hold any water.
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NOT BUYING IT: Connor Bedard trade rumors
The Blackhawks are biting their nails trying to get this Connor Bedard extension done before he’s poised to become a restricted free agent in July, but at no point am I buying the idea that Chicago might trade him — no matter how ugly the negotiations get.
Sure, Bedard notoriously hates losing and wants to see the Blackhawks improve, but there’s just not a landing spot that makes sense on a contender right now. He could theoretically go to a mid-tier playoff team like Utah or Buffalo, but those teams neither have the assets, nor the desire to sink all their energy into taking on a player who is still developing his NHL game. That means the teams most likely to make a deal, like the Maple Leafs, Canucks, or Red Wings, more or less put Bedard in the exact spot he’s in right now, trying to win.
The best move for Chicago now is to get the deal done, and I think they will — even if it means breaking the bank for a player his age. This is a big market, a burgeoning star, and a team that unquestionably has a lot of work to do, but seems willing to make some deals to improve now (see Bowen Byram) while also having a deep pipeline of players down the road.
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BUYING IT: Hurricanes shopping Alexander Nikishin
The Stanley Cup Champions have the deepest prospect pool of any elite team in the NHL, and they know it. It was assumed that the Canes would look to re-up Nikishin long term, but there have been some murmurs that his agents are looking for a contract much larger than Carolina is comfortable with after one year in the league.
Ultimately, we have a case where Nikishin is a 3rd line defenseman inside the Hurricanes, but would be a top four guy on most other teams. That, paired with his youth mean there will be plenty of suitors out there. The Canes can run their “next man up” philosophy from inside the system without losing that much, largely because Ke’Andre Miller was a breakout star for them last year.
Nikishin will be traded ahead of the NHL Draft, and I think it’s going to be part of a big time deal.
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NOT BUYING IT: Connor Hellebuyck to the Panthers
There seems to be a fundamental disconnect between what Florida would like to do what they can do, and what they’re willing to do. There is absolutely no scenario that involves the Panthers getting Connor Hellebuyck without giving up established talent on their roster right now. None, zero, zilch.
Florida gave up everything they had left to get Brady Tkachuk in terms of not messing with the roster, meaning the only player who could really spur a package for Hellebuyck is Anton Lundell, whom the Panthers have said is a non-starter (which is correct). Lundell is one of their few young, future pieces who will be with the team in six or seven years time, and without a prospect pool it’s too rich going all in on a goaltender upgrade.
There’s also an element to this where people are overvaluing Hellebuyck too much right now. He’s coming off a down year, is signed to a massive extension, and really isn’t worth what’s left on the deal unless you think the 2025-26 season was an abberation and not the start of regression. Florida is smarter than going all-in here.
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BUYING IT: The Devils making a spash with No. 12
The New Jersey Devils are desperate to get back into playoff contention and be in win-now mode while Jack Hughes is still in his prime, and there’s a lot of chatter about their $13M in cap space paired with the No. 12 overall pick.
This feels like the prime opportunity to make some noise in the trade market, and I can’t help but think that Jason Robertson of the Stars makes a ton of sense in a sign-and-trade scenario. Dallas would like to retain their scoring wing, but are locked in cap hell right now that they can’t escape without gutting their core. This is the payment for the Mikko Rantanen deal, and they will likely lose Robertson as a result.
New Jersey would be a great landing spot for scoring, and the No. 12 pick would give the Stars a prospect to build up for the future. If not Robertson, then look for someone like Matthew Knies of Toronto who would also make sense here.
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