Looking at the early returns of notable off-season NHL trades

Who will be the first team to make a trade this NHL season?

Will it be the Nashville Predators, who look to be starting down the road of back-to-back disastrous seasons as they prepare for two important games against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sweden this week? A couple more losses could put general manager Barry Trotz in the mood to make a roster-changing move.

What about the St. Louis Blues? GM Doug Armstrong has put this core on notice before, but it has answered back each time and prevented major change.

Will the rebuilding Calgary Flames be first out of the trade blocks, with pending UFA Rasmus Andersson as sure a trade asset as you can find? The only questions there seem to be about when that dam will break, and how far the change will go.

Will the Toronto Maple Leafs’ uninspiring start encourage GM Brad Treliving to alter the path in any way? Can the Edmonton Oilers find a goalie worth taking action on?

It’s about that time of year where teams understand what they have, what they don’t and what they’re willing to do about it.

For now, the trade market is quiet, though the winds are beginning to blow.

The summer trade market wasn’t the most active we’ve ever seen, but there were still several notable players moved and we’re beginning to see the impact. As we await in-season deals, let’s take a look back at the moves made this past summer.

To Anaheim: Chris Kreider, 2025 fourth-rounder
To NY Rangers: Carey Terrance, 2025 third-rounder

Partial salary dump and partial direction change, the Rangers traded their longest-tenured player in early June. The fact they got rid of his full $6.5 million AAV (for two seasons) was seen as a win for the Rangers as Kreider was coming off the lowest point total of his career. At 34, there was risk that Kreider was going through age-related decline, though he said after the trade he dealt with injuries to his back and hand, plus an illness that gave him vertigo partway through last season.

In Anaheim, Kreider is part of a younger core with a veteran backbone. The Ducks have been one of the most fun and surprising teams of the NHL’s first month or so and Kreider — who’s played 11 of Anaheim’s 15 games — is a better than point-per-game player and third on the team with nine goals.

The Rangers, meantime, are struggling at home, though their underlying numbers are strong and they finally broke through with their first home win on Monday.

The prospect New York got in the deal, Carey Terrance, has two goals in 11 games.

To Dallas: 2025 fourth-rounder, 2026 third-rounder
To Seattle: Mason Marchment

The Stars needed to create cap space and roster flexibility, so they offloaded Marchment’s entire $4.5 million cap hit to Seattle, which was looking for exactly the skillset the 30-year-old offers: a little snarl, some offensive upside and top-six potential. Marchment started with a goal in his first game and five points in his first nine, but he has been shut out since. His underlying metrics show a player who, at 5-on-5, should have a little more production on the way (he has a wildly low 4.8 shooting percentage), but the jury is still out.

With some early-season injuries in Dallas, Marchment’s absence opened opportunity for Sam Steel and Oskar Back to move up the lineup. The Stars are about where you’d expect near the top of the Central (though with a negative goal differential), while the Kraken (also with a negative goal differential) are third in the Pacific.

To Chicago: Andre Burakovsky
To Seattle: Joe Veleno

The Blackhawks needed more skill and scoring upside surrounding Connor Bedard. Enter Burakovsky, who had a career high of 22 goals and 61 points with Colorado in its Cup-winning season, but couldn’t keep that up for goal-hungry Seattle. Ultimately, his $5.5 million AAV proved too much for what he was(n’t) bringing. Would he have better luck beside Bedard?

Well, Bedard and Burakovsky have formed Chicago’s most consistent forward duo, outscoring opponents 14-8 at even strength. The 30-year-old winger has scored seven goals, nearly equalling his 79-game output with the Kraken last season (10). He’s tied for the team lead in even-strength goals and is just shy of being a point-per-game player.

Veleno was bought out by the Kraken in June. He has played 10 games with Montreal this season, but doesn’t have a point.

To Philadelphia: Trevor Zegras
To Anaheim: Ryan Poehling, 2025 second-rounder, 2026 fourth-rounder

Zegras had been a falling star after signing his bridge contract, and while the Ducks held out for a bounceback to either benefit from themselves or through a trade return, they ultimately sold low on a player who at one point was an EA Sports cover athlete and a 65-point player at 21 years old.

In a contract year with the Flyers, Zegras has found new life. He’s averaging a point per game, sits halfway to his 57-game offensive output from a year ago, and hasn’t gone without a point in back-to-back games yet. He’s been a centre and a winger, a first-liner and a third-liner, and he leads the Flyers in power-play points. He’s done everything asked of him.

So good has Zegras been that the question has shifted from, “can he play well enough to earn a $5.75 million qualifying offer from Philadelphia” to “what would a re-sign look like?”

Poehling, meantime, has been a full-time bottom-six centre in Anaheim. With one goal and six points in 15 games, he’s is a minus-2, has won well under 50 per cent of his draws, and ranks among the worst expected shots and goals percentages at 5-on-5 on the Ducks.

To Vancouver: Evander Kane
To Edmonton: 2025 fourth-rounder

Cap-strapped Edmonton needed to find a taker for Kane, who missed the entire 2024-25 regular season before rejoining the team for its playoff run, and his $5.125 million cap hit.

In came Kane’s hometown of Vancouver, where he played his junior hockey, which had the space and lacked Kane’s big body and scoring potential. In 17 games, Kane has three goals and nine points while placing fourth on the Canucks in even-strength points, tied with forward Elias Pettersson.

With the Canucks hit so hard by injuries, the pinch would have been felt more had they not added Kane. It’s early days to determine if Kane’s contribution will be positive, but as was the case when he first arrived in Edmonton to put up a good season and monster playoff, the 34-year-old is playing for a new contract.

To Utah: J.J. Peterka
To Buffalo: Michael Kesselring, Josh Doan

After missing the playoffs for a 14th consecutive season, the Sabres had to deal with another trade request with Peterka. He had just stepped up into a breakout season, too, finishing tied for second in team scoring at 68 points. A pending RFA, the Sabres held some leverage in a Peterka trade, and ultimately landed both a top-four defenceman and a middle-six winger in return. Peterka quickly signed a five-year deal ($7.7 million AAV) with Utah.

With the Mammoth, Peterka has played most of his even-strength minutes with Dylan Guenther. All 10 of his points came in October.

In Buffalo, where the on-ice results are shaky again, Doan has become a bit of a darling with his forechecking while his nine points are currently tied for third on the team. No full-time Sabre has a better shots for percentage or expected goals percentage at 5-on-5.

Kesselring, meantime, started his season late coming off injury and has played just seven games. Currently on the third pair, the Sabres have been outshot 43-31 and outscored 5-3 with Kesselring on the ice at even strength.

To Montreal: Noah Dobson
To NY Islanders: Emil Heineman, two 2025 first-round picks

The shift from rebuilding to all-in has been underway in Montreal since qualifying for last season’s playoffs, and trading the 16th and 17th overall picks in the 2025 draft for defenceman Noah Dobson was a clear indication of that. While the two picks helped the Islanders win the draft — they took Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson after No. 1 choice Matthew Schaefer — the addition of Dobson has given Montreal one of the league’s best blue-line pairs.

Seventy-six pairs have played at least 100 minutes together, and the Matheson-Dobson combination ranks fifth with a 70 per cent goals rating (14 for, six against), per Money Puck. Of 18 defence pairs that have played at least 200 minutes together, that ranks first. Dobson’s offence and Matheson’s defence have been a strong combination, with Dobson second among Montreal blueliners in scoring, two shy of Lane Hutson with 11 points in 15 games.

To Columbus: Charlie Coyle, Miles Wood
To Colorado: Gavin Brindley, 2025 third-rounder, 2027 second-rounder

The Blue Jackets picked up a couple of depth players from Colorado over the summer, but it didn’t come cheap. Coyle, their third-line centre behind Adam Fantilli and Sean Monahan, is winning nearly 54 per cent of his face-offs, sits fourth on the team in even-strength points and is the primary forward used on the penalty kill. Miles Wood has played 10 of Columbus’ games as a fourth-line winger.

Gavin Brindley was a 2023 second-round pick, but only played one game with the Blue Jackets. The 21-year-old has become a full-time NHLer for Colorado this season, playing on the fourth line. He has just five points, but four have come in his past five games including an overtime winner against Vancouver. Also this week: Brindley signed a two-year extension.

To Ottawa: Jordan Spence
To Los Angeles: 2025 third-rounder, 2026 sixth-rounder

There has been a lot of in-season conversation/snark about this trade and none of it has been positive from the Los Angeles side. New Kings GM Ken Holland elected for a more experienced back end so brought in Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin. To make space, out went Spence.

The Spence pickup has been a big win for Ottawa. Though he’s been scratched a few times and played just eight games, Spence has seven points. At 5-on-5 he’s been Ottawa’s best defenceman by Corsi and expected goals percentages, largely in a second-pair role and without any regular special teams time.

Meantime, Dumoulin and Ceci have been the Kings’ two worst defencemen at 5-on-5 by Corsi and expected goals percentage. They’ve been outscored 11-6 and 11-5, respectively.

To Detroit: John Gibson
To Anaheim: Petr Mrazek, 2027 second-rounder, 2026 fourth-rounder

After years of being on the trade block, John Gibson finally moved over the summer as the Red Wings hoped they were finally ending their ongoing search for a No. 1 netminder. So far, that hasn’t really been the case. Detroit’s crease has been split between Gibson and Cam Talbot, with the two combining for the league’s 25th-ranked save percentage.

Gibson has allowed at least four goals in five of his nine starts. Talbot has been the better of the two by every meaningful measure and, interestingly, the pending free agent is the cheaper option. Gibson remains under contract for another season at $6.4 million against the cap.

To Toronto: Matias Maccelli
To Utah: 2027 third-rounder

You could say the entire Maple Leafs roster is still figuring out what it is and what it wants to be. Their physical pushback is not there, their defence has struggled, the goaltending has let them down…but, hey, they’re fourth in goals per game (with a sky-high shooting percentage that also ranks fourth).

Maccelli came in as a bit of a mystery. After scoring 57 points for Arizona two years ago, he had just 18 in 55 games last year with Utah. With more opportunity in Toronto, could he get back to what he was at his career peak? He’s still just 25 and the Leafs really needed a winger (or two) to help pick up the offensive pieces lost with Mitch Marner‘s departure.

Maccelli started on the top line, and though he has been moved down to the bottom six, another opportunity to move up could come at any time — especially with the team being hit so hard by injuries. Currently on a 41-point pace, Maccelli is still finding his lineup fit (a team-wide issue). A three-game point streak last week teased Maccelli’s offensive upside.

To Vegas: Mitch Marner
To Toronto: Nicolas Roy

The trade of Marner for Roy was really made because of the former’s intent to sign in Vegas as a free agent. The pre-July 1 swap just allowed him to get eight years instead of seven, and for the Maple Leafs to get something in return. By no means was this ever going to be an equal swap.

The results show that, clearly. Roy has been Toronto’s third-line centre, as expected, and his most common linemate has been Dakota Joshua. When that duo has been on the ice at 5-on-5, the Leafs have been outscored 10-4 and outshot 61-51.

Marner, meantime, has largely been thriving for the Golden Knights, though even strength chemistry with Jack Eichel didn’t immediately take and he was moved to a line with Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev. That trio was lights out, with an xGF% over 73 while outshooting opponents 49-33. At Vegas’ skate Thursday morning, Marner was back with Eichel and Ivan Barbashev.

All told, Marner is second in Vegas with 19 points in 15 games and tied for the team lead in even-strength points.

To Montreal: Zachary Bolduc
To St. Louis: Logan Mailloux

Montreal’s abundance of defencemen made Mailloux expendable and Bolduc added a little sandpaper to the Canadiens’ mix — a trait that takes on greater value come the post-season.

Bolduc has come as advertised, ranking second on the team in hits while playing about 11 minutes per game. But while his offence was present immediately out of the gate with three goals in his first three games, he’s managed just two points since.

Mailloux, meantime, didn’t register a point in nine games to start the NHL season, and when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 the Blues were outscored 13-1. After a minus-3 in a 6-1 loss to Washington last week, Mailloux was sent down to the AHL.

To Carolina: K’Andre Miller
To NY Rangers: Scott Morrow, conditional first-rounder, 2026 second-rounder

Like Kreider, Miller was part of the Rangers’ core changeover and since he was an RFA, there was a risk of an offer sheet. Rather than deal with that, New York and Carolina came to terms on a sign-and-trade.

Joining an already-loaded Hurricanes defence corps, Miller has still been among the team’s top blue liners, scoring eight points in 10 games and averaging over 23 minutes per contest. He missed six games with a lower-body injury.

For New York, the trade was about cap space and not committing so many dollars and so much term to Miller after a down season. Defenceman Scott Morrow, 23, is in the AHL for his second pro season and the first-round pick is the better of Carolina’s and Dallas’ while being top-10 protected.

To Pittsburgh: Arturs Silovs
To Vancouver: Chase Stillman, 2027 fourth-rounder

Silovs flashed his potential two years ago when he stepped in for 10 playoff games with the Canucks. He finished off the Nashville Predators in the first round with a 28-save shutout in Game 6, and then came within one win of knocking out the Edmonton Oilers in Round 2. Last year, Silovs was the AHL playoff MVP as the Abbotsford Canucks won the Calder Cup. But with Thatcher Demko’s return and Kevin Lankinen’s strong 2024-25 season, Silovs became a trade candidate.

Even while recognizing Silovs’ potential, one of the more surprising team stats through nearly a quarter of the NHL season has to be the Pittsburgh Penguins’ third-ranked team save percentage between the 24-year-old Latvian and Tristan Jarry, who was waived last season. Silovs has been one of the best puckstoppers in the league with a .916 save percentage, 2.49 GAA and a cumulative 6.9 Goals Saved Above Expected, which ranks eighth according to MoneyPuck.com.

Stillman, a first-round pick of New Jersey’s from 2021 before passing through the Penguins’ organization, has one assist in six AHL games this season.

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