With four days off before the 2023 Stanley Cup Final gets going, we could see a wave of news between now and the puck dropping Saturday in Las Vegas.
The Washington Capitals hired Spencer Carbery to be their new head coach, and that’s probably not the only hire we’ll get this week. The Rangers are reportedly getting close with Peter Laviolette, the Penguins are waiting on Kyle Dubas’ decision to be their next GM or not, Sheldon Keefe is dangling with an uncertain future in Toronto…and on it goes.
The silly season is just around the corner here.
As is usually the case, the summer months loom large for several NHL franchises who are considering changing up their approach. Free agency returns on July 1 this year and is one avenue to improve, but this isn’t the best or deepest class of UFAs. The salary cap may only rise by another $1 million, too, and there’s just not a ton of cap space around the league right now.
So, the trade market is where a lot of business could get done and the draft on June 28-29 in Nashville (including the lead up to it) is where we anticipate a lot of that action taking place.
Things are bound to change and new developments are sure to arise in the coming weeks, so we will update our list as news and rumours come. But, for now, here is our look at 20 impactful players who could be traded this summer.
John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
It wouldn’t be an off-season trade candidates list without this name on it yet again. Gibson has been a yearly trade candidate for a while now, but his contract ($6 million AAV through 2026-27), declining numbers from his peak (on a rebuilding team we should mention), and his importance to the team vs. how goalies are generally valued on the trade market are among the reasons why he hasn’t moved. At GM Pat Verbeek’s end of season press conference he said he wasn’t planning on trading his No. 1 goalie, but teams better prepared to contend might have a greater need for the soon-to-be 30-year-old. In February, ahead of the trade deadline, Elliotte Friedman wrote in a 32 Thoughts column that “I think Gibson and the Ducks would love to find a way to get him a new home.”
Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
Things are getting even rockier in Arizona after Tempe locals voted against a new arena project in a referendum. Now there really is no off-ice plan ahead in the market, and the on-ice plan could be affected. Top prospect Logan Cooley decided to stay another year in the NCAA, a choice that was impacted by the arena vote. Clayton Keller, the team’s top scorer, had his agents meet with the Coyotes to discuss the organization’s future, though it’s not believed he’s asked for a trade yet. Keller has five years left with an AAV of $7.15 million and he’s a central figure in their build up. However, with everything up in the air around the organization now, anything is possible.
Elias Lindholm, Calgary Flames
Truthfully, under a new GM and yet-to-be-named new head coach, the Flames are sure to be facing some change to a roster that disappointed and missed the playoffs this season. How much change remains to be seen. The biggest factor overhead is that six veteran core members of the team have one year left on their contracts, and thus a year away from unrestricted free agency. Given Johnny Gaudreau just walked for nothing, Craig Conroy will have to consider moving any of them who don’t re-up early this summer.
So, Calgary really does have a few notable trade candidates, but Lindholm tops the list. The 28-year-old was non-committal to re-signing at his year-end availability and in Friedman’s latest 32 Thoughts, it was suggested that Bo Horvat’s extension with the Islanders may be a comparable (eight year, $8.5 million AAV).
Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes
The Canes’ scoring leader in the regular season with 71 points, Necas’ production tailed off in the playoffs and he managed just one assist in the four-game Eastern Conference Final. He was an RFA last summer and the Canes bridged him with a two-year pact paying $3 million against the cap, but when that expires next summer Carolina will be faced with the decision of re-signing him with term and a raise. The Hurricanes have to find more offence, so trading out a 28-goal scorer may not be the easiest choice unless the need is addressed some other way. Carolina has just one full-time forward signed beyond next season so they will be making several decisions on how their cap picture will be managed, who fits into it and who doesn’t.
Joel Edmundson, Montreal Canadiens
Had a lower body injury not kept Edmundson out of Montreal’s lineup for a month leading up to the trade deadline, perhaps he already would have found himself on another team. Speculation swirled around Edmundson because he’s the exact type of big-body, physical defensive defenceman that playoff teams seek, and he had a contract running through next season so you’d get two cracks with him. But after leaving a game on Jan. 26 early, he didn’t return to action until the day before the deadline, so injury concerns lingered. Now, Edmundson has a single year left on his contract with an affordable $3.5 million cap hit. With the Canadiens probably still a year or two away from beginning to make their push up the standings, if the soon-to-be 30-year-old Edmundson isn’t part of the long-term plans, he’s an effective rental for hire.
Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils
Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald’s priority should be to re-sign Bratt, who scored a career high 32 goals and 73 points this season. New Jersey broke out of their rebuild in a big way and earned a playoff series win right away, so maintaining that momentum is crucial now. An arbitration eligible RFA, Bratt’s contract is one of the most important to get done in New Jersey this summer, along with Timo Meier, another RFA due a $10 million qualifying offer. This isn’t an either/or scenario, both could be retained, but if the number is too uncomfortable or a termed deal can’t be reached, might Fitzgerald entertain moving Bratt to address another area of need?
Alexis Lafreniere, NY Rangers
Three years into his NHL career, Lafreniere was never offered the immediate sort of big role opportunity that usually goes to first overall picks, and a lot of that had to do with situation. A left winger, Lafreniere was drafted to an organization that already had Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin at the position, so Lafreniere has mostly settled into a third line spot with a couple other youngsters, and not a ton of power play time. His 19 goals last year are the most he’s posted so far, and his 39 points in 2022-23 set a new personal best. The Rangers are very much in win-now mode and, after a disappointing first round exit to rival New Jersey, might ponder swapping a high-end young asset for an area of greater need. Lafreniere’s ELC is over, so the Rangers are left to make some sort of decision on the RFA: long-term deal, bridge deal, or finding a deal with another team.
Alex DeBrincat, Ottawa Senators
So many factors hang over Ottawa’s off-season, beginning with the ownership question and what impact that may have on the GM, coach and overall team direction. DeBrincat was a huge addition for Ottawa just last summer, sending the seventh overall pick to Chicago, but his goal output dropped from 41 in his last season with the Blackhawks to just 27 with the Senators. Now he’s an arbitration eligible RFA due a $9 million qualifying offer. He’s a year away from being UFA eligible too, so simply walking this another season wouldn’t be the best result for Ottawa.
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Whether a full and proper rebuild transpires here under Keith Jones and Daniel Briere remains to be seen, but the Flyers are surely in for some change in direction on the ice. And it can’t all be “bad” contracts or “frustrating” players who get moved out. If you want something, ya gotta give something up. Konecny’s name is one that has been loosely tied to trade rumours at recent deadlines, but the team has been reticent to move on from the now-26-year-old too early. He became more than a point per game player for the first time this season and set a new career high with 31 goals. He also makes just $5.5 million against the cap for another two years, which is great value for the team that has him. So while the Flyers might still be interested in having Konecny as a core piece, he may also be the type of asset they use to really shift gears.
Ivan Provorov, Philadelphia Flyers
Provorov’s development just hasn’t come smoothly and his 17-goal, 41-point sophomore season feels like a lifetime ago. He’s 26, signed for two years with a $6.75 million cap hit and, with the right partner, perhaps there’s more to tap here.
Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks
Several teams reportedly contacted the Sharks during the season about acquiring Karlsson, who is your Norris Trophy favourite and put together an offensive year for the ages. But it became clear that San Jose GM Mike Grier wasn’t keen on retaining any salary for the last four years of Karlsson’s contract, and that taking on an $11.5 million AAV in the middle of a flat cap season is next to impossible. Now, though, we enter into the summer months where teams are allowed to exceed the regular season salary cap by 10 per cent and player movement is common. Karlsson has a no-move clause in his contract so has complete control of the situation, but he may be very happy to move into a winning environment. He’s stated that he just wants to be taking runs at the Cup at this stage of his career and it doesn’t seem as though the Sharks organization will be challenging on his timeline.
Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues
Another name that popped up in the pre-deadline rumour mill who was never dealt, Parayko will come up again in the summer. Something is going to change in St. Louis after they missed the playoffs, and the fact they hold three first-round draft picks means GM Doug Armstrong has strong currency at his disposal. To make some space for movement, Armstrong may seek to trade one of his highly paid blueliners who have term left on their contracts. The problem is that all of them, including Parayko, have no-trade clauses.
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
These next two names go hand-in-hand. As our own Luke Fox explained if the Maple Leafs do go down the blockbuster change road under new management, that sort of move could come down to Nylander and Mitch Marner. You know the contract situations: Nylander has one year left until he’s UFA eligible and Marner is two years away. Both players have trade protection added to their current contracts on July 1 (Nylander a 10-team no-trade, Marner a full no-move). Nylander makes $4 million less against the cap.
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
Behind door No. 2 is Marner, an elite two-way player and the team’s top scorer in the regular season (99 points) and playoffs (14 points). He’s also the third-highest paid winger in the league and so, if you’re looking to change the core, does it make sense to offload one of the most expensive contracts on your books?
J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks
His brand new, seven year, $8 million AAV contract — signed last September — is set to kick in and comes with a full no-movement clause, so if the Canucks are going to trade Miller it’ll have to be before July 1. The problem might be that Miller signed this extension after a 99-point season, but followed up with an up-and-down 82-point season. The Penguins reportedly had interest in Miller at the deadline and just couldn’t strike a deal, but have since dismissed GM Ron Hextall. The Canucks might not want a trade involving Miller to be a true salary dump, but they have the least projected cap room in the league this summer and might value the elbow room.
Anthony Mantha, Washington Capitals
Since coming to Washington in a last-second deadline day blockbuster in 2021, it just hasn’t gone according to plan for Mantha. Once a goal scorer on the rise with a 25-goal career best season all the way back in 2018-19, Mantha has had trouble staying healthy and producing with the Caps — he’s played 118 games and has just 24 goals to show for it. In 11 playoff games with Washington, he hasn’t scored at all. Mantha, who will turn 29 before next season begins, has one year left on a $5.7 million contract before becoming UFA eligible.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
According to several reports, this situation has been bubbling for some time. Back in 2021, Elliotte Friedman wrote that the Caps were “losing patience” with Kuznetsov after he and then-goalie Ilya Samsonov were late to a team meeting. In the meantime, in a mailbag written in March, Capitals reporter Tarik El-Bashir wrote that there was a broken trust between team and player. And, a report out of Russia claimed that Kuznetsov had asked for a trade out of Washington dating back two years. Playmaker more than goal scorer, Kuznetsov saw a sharp decline in points from 78 last year to 55 this past season, but he has two years left on a contract that pays $7.8 million against the cap.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Winnipeg Jets
Like Patrik Laine before him, Dubois has been on this slow walk to free agency since coming to Winnipeg and now, entering a summer in which he’s an RFA just one year away from being UFA eligible, the Jets have a big decision to make on the player. Unless he surprises and signs a multi-year deal, how can you start a season with Dubois able to walk in a year? How big of a factor is Montreal really going to be in all this and, if Dubois truly is seeking out that destination, would they pounce to acquire him early or wait it out? Dubois had 27 goals this season and a career-high 63 points.
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
When the Jets missed the playoffs last season, Scheifele questioned his future with the team. After being eliminated in Round 1 this season, Scheifele didn’t cast as much doubt on his situation, but was still fairly non-committal. He’s got one year left on his contract before becoming UFA eligible so, like Dubois, the Jets will have to either get him signed ASAP or consider dealing him as a rental. Scheifele was less than a point per game player for the first time since 2015-16.
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Do the Jets still consider themselves real contenders for the Stanley Cup? More importantly, does star goalie Hellebuyck? Like Scheifele and Dubois, Hellebuyck could become a UFA next summer if he’s not signed to an extension and the 30-year-old indicated he’s considering where he’s at in his career, and where the Jets are in their timeline. “My main goal is to win a Stanley Cup, and I’m starting to run out of time and can feel it,” Hellebuyck said at his year-end media avail.
