The New York Islanders have been one of the busiest teams on the trade market these last 10 months, and from the sounds of it, general manager Mathieu Darche isn't close to finished. The NHL's roster freeze is up Feb.22 and with the trade deadline set for Mar.6, look for Darche to continue making moves, after already acquiring Ondrej Palat from the New Jersey Devils, and Carson Soucy from the New York Rangers. It's not often a GM makes two trades with rival teams, but it was obvious Darche ide...
The first month+ of the NHL season saw the Chicago Blackhawks get off to an unexpectedly strong start, going 10-5-4 and sitting in a playoff spot. But things came crashing down to earth, and the Hawks' rebuild will have to wait another year to advance to the next level. The team currently sits with a 22-26-9 record, and thoughts of a playoff spot are a distant memory. They will be sellers at the trade deadline after the Olympic Break is done. Scott Powers , Mark Lazerus ...
The St. Louis Blues are adding some depth down the middle of the ice, as the Blues have claimed center Jack Finley off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. STL claims Jack Finley — Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 7, 2026 Finley, 23 has appeared in 22 games for the Lightning this season, scoring two goals, and adding one assist for three points. He's been averaging just 8:24 of ice-time per game, and hasn't been used much else besides 5.vs.5. Finley has won 49% of his fac...
The Philadelphia Flyers have somewhat hung around all season, but they weren't exactly projected to be a contender this season anyways. They have had some strong performances from certain players and it helps give management an idea of how to shape the team for the future. The Flyers are almost there. They have some solid core pieces, a generally younger to middle-aged group of talent, and some prospects. They are on the rise, even if it takes until next season or the one after for it to reall...
The Seattle Kraken are in an interesting spot. They are fighting for a spot in the playoffs, but have been in and out of the race at multiple points this season. They traded Mason Marchment, have dealt with injuries, and have some good young players on the team and on their way. But they aren't good enough to win a Stanley Cup and not bad enough to get a top-5 pick to potentially really change their franchise. Matty Beniers and Shane Wright were supposed to be the players to do that, drafted s...
The Washington Capitals are a little behind in the playoff race, but have dealt with injuries this season. After all of that, they are four points back of a playoff spot with two extra games played. It won't be an easy hill to climb, but it's easier than some that still believe they're in the race. The Capitals aren't going to roll over this season, in Alex Ovechkin's potential last in the NHL, and after a great retool in the 2024 offseason, great prospects, and a solid team, they are capable ...
Keep an eye on the San Jose Sharks once the roster freeze is over as GM Mike Grier is working hard to upgrade his blueline. The Sharks are expected to make multiple trades to add defencemen, as they're looking to options to they can either sign to contract extensions, or already have term on their contracts. The Sharks have surprised this season, and will come out of the Olympics with a 27-24-4 record, sitting five points out of a playoff spot. Grier has a boatload of cap space to work with, l...
Nazem Kadri isn't the only valued center on the trade market these days, cooling trade talk a bit latey . But that doesn't mean teams aren't still trying to acquire the gritty, intense, playoff-ready center. With teams like his former club, the Colorado Avalanche, along with the Dallas Stars, the Carolina Hurricanes, and Montreal Canadiens being some of the more talked-about suitors for the Calgary Flames' veteran, there's a new surprise team revealed that's got Kadri on its radar as wel...
The Edmonton Oilers and Andrew Mangiapane haven't been a match made in heaven, and now a trade is expected before the March 6 trade deadline. While the Olympic freeze has halted any movement throughout the NHL, trade talks are heating up and there's growing speculation the Oilers are advancing in their quest to move Mangiapane. The 29-year-old winger hasn't been able to carve himself a role in Edmonton and hasn't been able to adjust being moved down the lineup into more of a checking role. Nic...
The Nashville Predators continue to be one of the more interesting teams to follow this season, as there's been plenty going on, on and off the ice. From early season struggles and GM Barry Trotz calling out his team, to eventually seeing Trotz step down, one thing that's been constant this season in Nashville are the trade rumors. While the most interest lies in Ryan O'Reilly, who has the word of the organization that they won't surprise him with a trade, the one trade candidate that appears ...
Pavel Zacha's 2026 Olympics are over before they even had a chance to begin. Czechia add Filip Chlapik to the roster, replacing injured Pavel Zacha. 🇨🇿 #Olympics #IIHF @czehockey pic.twitter.com/fpKMauYWaG — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) February 7, 2026 Team Czechia's men's hockey team announced on Saturday that the Boston Bruins center is out for the Olympic tournament due to an upper-body injury. Zacha will be replaced by Filip Chlapik. Zacha sustained the injury before the Olympic break, leavin...
The Bobby McMann market is only expected to get louder, and the Colorado Avalanche are starting to feel like a legitimate landing spot if a trade actually happens. With the Toronto Maple Leafs flirting with sell mode and reportedly asking for a first-round pick, McMann has turned into a deadline winger that contenders love to add in March. He has 19 goals and 13 assists in 56 games this season, he's a proven 20-goal scorer, and his $1.35 million cap hit makes him one of the easiest plugs...
The Los Angeles Kings landed Artemi Panarin, but they weren’t done shopping. Elliotte Friedman reported Los Angeles still wants a true middle of the ice driver, and the Kings even tried to get New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck included in the Panarin negotiations.
Kings interest in Vincent Trocheck won’t go away
Trocheck, 32, checks every box for a contender trying to get nastier down the middle. He’s producing again this season with 36 points in 43 games, and he’s comin...
Nazem Kadri was one of the buzziest centers on the rumor mill for the first half of the season, despite the fact that neither he nor the Calgary Flames were interested in a trade. More recently, we learned that Kadri actually would be open to a trade, to the right spot. Nevertheless, his trade market seems to have quieted a bit, and according to insider Elliotte Friedman , writing in his 32 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, there are two reasons for that. And they're named Vince...
The Tampa Bay Lightning have made some roster changes heading into their Olympic break, as they've placed center Jack Finley on waivers Friday. Cleared Jack Finley (TB) on waivers https://t.co/yFjqdwEfvK — Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 6, 2026 The 23-year-old Finley can now be claimed by any team before the 2pm deadline on Saturday. As a reminder, the waiver chart is based on standings, so the Vancouver Canucks would have first crack at adding Finley, if they so to choose. jack fin...
The New York Rangers have already made one massive change by move Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings, and it sounds like some moves could be coming involving their core players, specifically, Vincent Trocheck. According to multiple reports, the Detroit Red Wings and Rangers could be working on a deal that sees Trocheck wind up in Motown. The 32-year-old center is signed for three more seasons at $5.6 million AAV, and owns a 12-team no-trade clause. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman discussed ...
The Artemi Panarin Sweepstakes are over, as we saw earlier this week, as the New York Rangers traded the pending UFA to the Los Angeles Kings . He then immediately signed a two-year extension with LA with an $11M AAV. We learned that on the morning of the trade, Panarin informed the Rangers that the Kings were the only team he would accept a trade to. But that doesn't mean that others didn't try. In fact, with a rich extension being one of his prerequisites for accepting a trade, there were fo...
Top hockey prospect Gavin McKenna was facing a pretty uncertain future after the story broke this week that he had been hit with a felony aggravated assault charge following an alleged scrap near Penn State. But a sigh of relief comes for the promising hockey player on Friday, as we have learned that the felony assault charge has been dropped. Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna will have his felony aggravated assault charge dropped, the Centre County District Attorney's Off...
The Nashville Predators are a better team than they were last season and are still in the race for the playoffs in the weak Western Conference, but they aren't contenders and likely won't go anywhere if they do squeak in. What they can do is alter their team, get value for certain players, and retool again as it doesn't seem like they want to rebuild with Juuse Saros, Filip Forsberg, and Roman Josi still on the team. The Predators are four points out of the playoffs, but have won just three of...
The Montreal Canadiens are contenders for the Stanley Cup this season as it seems pretty wide open in the East. They sit second in their division and third in the conference after upgrading this offseason, and are looking to upgrade even further before the trade deadline. To do that, Patrik Laine will have to move. Chris Johnston said, "Moving him out, the Canadiens do that in concert with knowing they have something else in place, and at this point in time, they don't have anything else in pl...
The familiarity factor for the Team Canada roster at the Olympics has been on another level. Doug Armstrong (GM) selected Jordan Binnington and Colton Parayko from his St. Louis Blues , selected Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, and Anthony Cirelli from Jon Cooper's Tampa Bay Lightning , and the injury replacements, Sam Bennett and Seth Jarvis, both played on the 4 Nations team for Canada. On top of that, the defense selected were all the same and there were very few changes made to the roster, de...
Paul Maurice started his Olympic break early. The Florida Panthers head coach was tossed out of Thursday night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in what was a wild, fight-filled affair. The Battle of Florida lived up to its name, and much more, as this game was one for the ages. In the third period, the Lightning were walking away with it 4-0, and that's when things took a turn. Fights broke out at center ice, including a rematch between Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk, and Lightning's Brandon...
Artemi Panarin had the Seattle Kraken ready to blow the doors off the market, and he still said no. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Seattle put a four-year extension on the table with an average annual value higher than Leon Draisaitl’s $14 million, a jaw-dropping pitch that would have made Panarin one of the league’s top-paid players. Kraken’s offer was massive, Panarin still stayed on his track The wild part is how close things apparently came to falling apart with Los Ange...
With the St. Louis Blues sliding toward a deadline sell-off, the Detroit Red Wings are getting linked to one of the steadier names that could actually move: veteran right shot defenseman Justin Faulk. Detroit’s blue line has had moments, but the second pair has felt like the spot that needs a real stabilizer, and Faulk checks a lot of the boxes for a team trying to stay in the race without gambling on a pure rental.
Why Justin Faulk fits what Detroit needs
Faulk is 33, plays big minu...
Seth Jarvis is heading to the Olympics after all. Now, we just wait to see if his close buddies will once again make a trip to see him play. ROSTER UPDATE | Seth Jarvis has been added to 🇨🇦's Men's Olympic Team, replacing Brayden Point. MISE À JOUR | Seth Jarvis s’ajoute à la formation de l’équipe olympique masculine du 🇨🇦 en remplacement de Brayden Point. #MilanoCortina2026 | @hockeymanitoba pic.twitter.com/2MWLrdviau — Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) February 5, 2026 Jarvis gets the nod ...