NHL trade candidate rankings: Which players could be on the move?playSources: Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin requests trade (0:34)Greg WyshynskiJun 30, 2026, 08:00 AM ETClose
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
The NHL free agent pool is basically a puddle this offseason, as high-profile players chose to remain with their teams on new contracts rather than test the market.
If teams want to make dramatic changes to the rosters — and their fortunes for next season — then making a high-impact trade might be the only route.
Here’s a look at the potential 2026 NHL trade market, based on conversations with those around the NHL as well as media reports. The contract terms and average annual contract values are courtesy of PuckPedia.
Note that a no-trade clause requires a team to get a players’ permission before trading him. A no-movement clause is more powerful and prohibits a team from trading a player or placing a player on waivers or demoting a player to the minor leagues. In both cases, there can be partial clauses that cover a set number of teams of the player’s choosing.
Which blockbuster trade do you want to see?
Most likely to be traded
Dylan Larkin, C, Detroit Red Wings
Age: 29 | 2025-26 cap hit: $8.7 million/no-trade clause
Larkin turned the trade market on its head when he requested a trade this offseason, which is what happens when one plays five playoff games in 11 seasons and doesn’t have the sunniest relationship with his general manager.
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Larkin has five straight seasons of 30 goals or better. As he showed during Team USA’s run to Olympic gold, he also can certainly lock it down defensively.
Centers such as Larkin don’t often shake free, especially ones locked into contracts with a reasonable cap number through 2030-31.
It’s here we’ll note that one of his closest friends is Minnesota Wild star defenseman Quinn Hughes, who plays for a team that surely could use a No. 1 center. The Wild had goalie Jesper Wallstedt and forward Danila Yurov in a trade offer for Robert Thomas last season, as an FYI.
Multiple reports indicated that Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman asked Larkin and agent Pat Brisson to expand their horizons after they submitted a short list of teams after the season.
It’s hard to imagine Larkin returning to the Red Wings next season; captains tend to lose the room when they demand an exit. But Yzerman was clear after the NHL draft that nothing is assured. “My job as the manager of the Detroit Red Wings is always to do what is in the best interest of the Detroit Red Wings, and I will act accordingly to that. I cannot make any guarantees, or did not make any guarantees, that that request could or would be met,” he reported.
Jake DeBrusk, LW, Vancouver Canucks
Age: 29 | 2025-26 cap hit: $5.5 million/no-movement clause
One of the most mentioned names in NHL circles when it comes to players expected to move, DeBrusk is signed through 2030-31.
He is one season removed from a career high in goals (28) for Vancouver. Having DeBrusk as part of the Canucks’ rebuild benefits neither the team nor the player himself, who will turn 30 in October.
Ottawa has been rumored to pursue DeBrusk, but watch out for Edmonton here, where DeBrusk’s father, Louie, played and remains a color commentator on Oilers broadcasts.
Adin Hill, G, Vegas Golden Knights
Age: 30 | 2025-26 cap hit: $6.25 million/modified NTC
The clock strikes midnight for every Golden Knight eventually. Hill saw his fellow goalie Logan Thompson sent to Washington in 2024. With Carter Hart having led Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final, I asked Hill how he’s processing being next.
“Honestly, I’m not trying to focus on that too much right now. Right now, it’s just, let’s get the job finished here,” Hill reported. “We all are striving for the same thing right now and then if whatever happens in the summer, happens in the summer.”
Hill was limited to 27 games this season because of injury and wasn’t great when he did play (.870 save percentage), his third straight season of statistical decline. But there aren’t many goaltenders available who can say they were the primary starter for a Stanley Cup champion, albeit three seasons ago.
Kirill Marchenko, F, Columbus Blue Jackets
Age: 25 | 2025-26 cap hit: $3.85 million
Marchenko has been the leading goal scorer for Columbus across three straight seasons, including 27 goals in 76 games last season. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes first stated that the scoring winger informed the Blue Jackets he won’t seek a long-term contract with Columbus when his current deal is up next summer, at which point he’ll be a restricted free agent.
Teams are already lining up for his services, knowing that a player at his age with his size (6-foot-3) and ability has a very high ceiling on a deeper offensive roster.
Alexander Nikishin, D, Carolina Hurricanes
Age: 24 | 2025-26 cap hit: $925,000
The young Hurricanes blueliner hits hard, skates well and has a hard shot.
But GM Eric Tulsky is weighing whether to re-sign the restricted free agent to a crowded blue line or use his potential as a huge part of a package to further upgrade the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Darnell Nurse, D, Edmonton Oilers
Age: 31 | 2025-26 cap hit: $9.25 million/NMC
The Oilers have a shrinking window in which to win with Connor McDavid, who can become an unrestricted free agent in summer 2028. They have over $14 million in cap space this offseason. Moving Nurse would increase that financial flexibility while also giving GM Stan Bowman a veteran top-pairing defenseman as a trade chip — although it would have to be a trade that Nurse must approve given his no-movement clause.
Among the teams rumored to be preferred destinations for Nurse are Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but keep an eye on defense-starved Anaheim, as well.
Morgan Rielly, D, Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 32 | 2025-26 cap hit: $7.5 million/NMC
Like most Toronto players, Rielly has reported he would like to remain with the Maple Leafs. But he’s also a realist. After a disappointing season and sweeping changes to the front office, Rielly reported, “Change is going to happen, and as an athlete, you have to be prepared for that.”
What is intriguing about Rielly is that he has not exactly been “part of the problem,” if the problem is postseason success. Since 2022-23, he’s seventh among all defenseman in playoff points-per-game average (0.71) and 11th in plus-minus (plus-11). Yet a Rielly trade ticks a few boxes for new GM John Chayka: It makes the Leafs younger, it gives them more cap flexibility and it changes the mix on the blue line, where they need to get faster and more mobile.
“We’re constantly having discussions about what’s the best fit for the player, what’s the best fit for the team, how do we put the best team on the ice,” Chayka reported recently.
Vincent Trocheck, C, New York Rangers
Age: 32 | 2025-26 cap hit: $5.625 million/M-NTC
Trocheck was very much in play at the NHL trade deadline but no team was willing to meet what the Rangers wanted in return, which the New York Post stated was a first-round pick, a roster player and a prospect. Given the wafer-thin center market in free agency — and how many teams are searching for a man in the middle — New York might have more luck this offseason.
Trocheck, who turns 33 in July, is a player who can thrive in a variety of roles for a contender. His numbers were good last season, with 53 points in 67 games. But his best number is that miniscule cap hit that he has through 2028-29. Trocheck has a 10-team no-trade clause this summer. The Rangers ask remains quite high, given all of that.
Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
Age: 28 | 2025-26 cap hit: $9,583,333/NMC
Werenski has informed the Blue Jackets that he doesn’t intend to sign another contract with them when his current deal expires following the 2027-28 season. With that, the recent winner of the Norris Trophy hit the trade market like few other players have in recent memory. This is a foundational talent, a franchise-altering player who led the Jackets in time on ice and scoring over the past two seasons. And there’s a good chance he could move this summer.
Two things to keep in mind: The Jackets want to keep the forward momentum of their young core going, so this wouldn’t simply be a move for draft assets; and Werenski made this decision with two years left on his contract. This summer, he controls his next destination with a full no-movement clause. Next summer, that drops to a 10-team no-trade clause, so GM Don Waddell does have that card to play with his star defenseman.
There are plenty of rumored destinations, from Dallas to Vegas to Toronto. That’s because there isn’t a team in the NHL that wouldn’t want Zach Werenski.
The blockbuster possibilities
Mathew Barzal, C, New York Islanders
Age: 29 | 2025-26 cap hit: $9.15 million/M-NTC
Barzal had 72 points in 81 games last season for the resurgent Islanders, who began the Matthew Schaefer era with great vibes and a playoff push. So why trade their leading scorer? The Ottawa Citizen stated recently that GM Mathieu Darche is exploring the trade possibilities for Barzal, who has a $9.15 million cap number through 2030-31 and limited trade protection.
If Barzal is available, it’s hard to believe the Blackhawks don’t take an interest, given that franchise player Connor Bedard has called Barzal his hockey idol.
Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets
Age: 33 | 2025-26 cap hit: $8.5 million/NMC
Hellebuyck opened the door to trade speculation after expressing his frustration with the current state of the Jets.
Wyshynski’s Stanley Cup winner seriesThe Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions! Here’s a look back at how we celebrated every Stanley Cup champion going back to the 2018 season:
• Panthers 2025 | Panthers 2024
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• Blues in 2019 | Capitals in 2018
“From my perspective, complacency is not going to get us moving forward. Something has got to happen,” he reported in his exit interviews with reporters.
Lost in the hype about Hellebuyck delivering the first Olympic gold medal to Team USA since the Miracle on Ice run in 1980 was the fact that the goalie had the worst save percentage (.895) of his NHL career this past season. The three-time Vezina Trophy winner has a dream of a cap hit but a full no-movement clause — that does become a partial no-trade clause in summer 2027.
There were multiple reports that Hellebuyck was willing to waive his trade protection for a move to the Sabres around the NHL draft, but that never materialized. The Panthers want him but might not have the assets to entice the Jets. The Hurricanes do have those assets and are worth watching here.
Tomas Hertl, C, Vegas Golden Knights
Age: 32 | 2025-26 cap hit: $6.75 million
When the Golden Knights don’t lift the Stanley Cup — heck, even when they do — changes are always afoot in Las Vegas. Hertl had an inconsistent postseason for the Knights. He has a dream of a cap hit through 2029-30 but a three-team trade list this summer.
Hertl has some miles on his tires, but he remains a strong offensive player for a team that needs help in the middle and an absolute delight off the ice.
Matthew Knies, F, Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 23 | 2025-26 cap hit: $7.75 million
The Maple Leafs don’t want to trade Knies, but they might have to. The big 23-year-old had 66 points in 79 games for the Leafs last season, and had 29 goals in the 2024-25 season. He’s a coveted young player for teams that have frequently asked about him in trade talks with the Leafs.
GM John Chayka doesn’t seem to consider Knies untouchable either, but Toronto has the luxury to wait until the right package arrives.
Jacob Markstrom, G, New Jersey Devils
Age: 36 | 2025-26 cap hit: $6 million/M-NTC
Markstrom was inked to a controversial contract extension by GM Tom Fitzgerald last season, getting a two-year deal on Nov. 1 then ending up with an exceptionally mediocre season (.883 save percentage) after signing it. It is one reason Tom Fitzgerald is now former GM, replaced by Sunny Mehta.
Multiple reports indicate Mehta might be looking to move Markstrom, who has a 20-team no-trade list.
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 28 | 2025-26 cap hit: $13.25 million/NMC
As the dust settled on the first non-playoff season for the Maple Leafs in 10 seasons, Matthews wanted to take a moment to consider his future. There was no guarantee that he’d play for Toronto next season. He wanted to wait and see who took over the team, and what their plans were to make the Maple Leafs a contender again.
Since then, John Chayka and Mats Sundin were hired to run the team and have made a handful of moves to improve the roster as well as drafting Gavin McKenna first overall. Reports indicated that Matthews probably would suit up for the Leafs next season. But ESPN’s Kristen Shilton reports that Matthews’ name was still being mentioned plenty at the NHL scouting combine in Buffalo, New York, this week as a potential trade target. Is that an artifact of the NHL echo chamber, or is there still a chance Matthews could be on the move?
Colton Parayko, D, St. Louis Blues
Age: 33 | 2025-26 cap hit: $6.5 million/NTC
Parayko is another Blues player with trade protection, which Armstrong was handing out like candy for a while there in St. Louis. The Sabres thought they had a trade for Parayko in March, until the Blues defenseman nixed it with his trade protection. Parayko has played all 11 years of his NHL career in St. Louis. His longtime girlfriend, Isabella Imo, has roots in the city.
If he decides to waive his trade protection, Parayko would be a coveted “defensive defenseman.” The question is whether his no-trade clause flex was for Buffalo specifically, or anywhere but St. Louis.
Jason Robertson, F, Dallas Stars
Age: 26 | 2025-26 cap hit: $7.75 million/RFA
No player has generated more headlines in the trade market than Robertson. As we previously stated, the Stars are believed to have offered Robertson a deal on the level of Mikko Rantanen’s eight years and $12 million annually. Multiple reports indicate Robertson is seeking upward of $14 million to $15 million average annual value on his next deal.
Dallas thought it had a trade with Seattle for Robertson that would have included multiple first-round picks, but Robertson didn’t want to sign with the Kraken, killing that deal.
Only eight players in the NHL have scored more goals than Robertson (196) since 2021-22. His skating is improving. He was aggressive in the Stars’ brief playoff run, scoring five goals in six games. For a while, there looked to be a chance that Robertson and the Stars would be able to work something out to extend his time in Dallas. But increasingly, it might be the talented winger striking it rich on another NHL roster.
The 2027 free agent class
Jordan Binnington, G, St. Louis Blues
Age: 32 | 2025-26 cap hit: $6 million/M-NTC
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Binnington is entering the last year of his contract. He was surpassed by Joel Hofer in games played (46 to 41) and in every goaltending metric that assesses quality of play. Money Puck had Binnington with the lowest goals saved above expected in the NHL this season (minus-22.4).
But his performances in tournaments like the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Winter Olympics are evidence that he can still bring it when it matters most — and that Stanley Cup on his résumé never hurts, either.
Edmonton would seem like a logical landing spot, provided the Oilers aren’t covered under his trade protection — but watch out for Florida if things don’t get settled with Sergei Bobrovsky. And could there be a more perfect match for a goalie and a franchise spiritually and attitudinally than between Binnington and the Panthers?
Blake Coleman, C, Calgary Flames
Age: 34 | 2025-26 cap hit: $4.9 million/M-NTC
The Flames have traded the likes of Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar this past season as Calgary’s roster retooling continued. It’s hard to imagine that Coleman, whose name hit trade boards last season, won’t soon join them.
He had 35 points in 69 games last season, playing in all situations. He’s a player who could instantly bolster a team’s bottom six, much the way he did for the Lightning in winning two Stanley Cups for Tampa Bay.
Nico Hischier, C, New Jersey Devils
Age: 27 | 2025-26 cap hit: $7.25 million/M-NTC
After his introductory news conference in New Jersey, new Devils GM Sunny Mehta had a long, amicable conversation with his captain. Will that tone continue through their talks this summer, as Hischier seeks a new contract one year before unrestricted free agency?
The vibe around the Devils is that Hischier is bound for an extension, but there are two mitigating factors to consider. The first is Mehta, who takes over an underachieving Devils team in a market where a center such as Hischier could bring back a haul. The second is whether Hischier himself would seek a change in scenery from a Devils locker room that has had its share of dysfunction over the past few seasons.
That reported, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes stated over the weekend that Hischier and the Devils were on track to extend.
Erik Karlsson, D, Pittsburgh Penguins
Age: 36 | 2025-26 cap hit: $10 million/NMC
Karlsson received a third-place vote for the Norris Trophy in 2026. Let that sink in. That’s not to say that the former Norris Trophy winner didn’t deserve the attention, having amassed 66 points in 75 games and skating to a plus-8 while averaging 23:36 in ice time. It was just unexpected.
Karlsson is in the final season of the eight-year contract he signed with the Sharks in 2019. His salary is down to its lowest level ($7.5 million) while his cap number remains quite elephantine. But if Kyle Dubas was willing to retain in the final season of his deal, there certainly could be a potential move for Karlsson provided he’s willing to play there. As always, watch Dallas.
Ryan O’Reilly, C, Nashville Predators
Age: 35 | 2025-26 cap hit: $4.5 million
O’Reilly had a handshake agreement with former GM Barry Trotz that he’d have oversight of his next NHL destination despite not having trade protection. No word if that will be honored by Chris MacFarland, the newly hired GM of the Predators.
O’Reilly continues to be a player who brings great value to a contender, coming off his best offensive season (74 points) since 2018-19, while winning 55% of his faceoffs.
Rasmus Ristolainen, D, Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 31 | 2025-26 cap hit: $5.1 million
This isn’t the veteran defenseman’s first time in trade rumor mill. He had a strong season for new coach Rick Tocchet, but that might just strengthen his value as the Flyers seek to address other parts of their lineup, such as the center spot. Ottawa has been mentioned as a possible landing spot.
Change in scenery needed
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, Carolina Hurricanes
Age: 25 | 2025-26 cap hit: $4.82 million/M-NTC
The forgotten man in Carolina, Kotkaniemi had only two goals and seven assists in 42 games, skating a career low 11:21 in the regular season and not getting on the ice in the playoffs. He’s signed through 2029-30. Time for a change.
Mason Lohrei, D, Boston Bruins
Age: 25 | 2025-26 cap hit: $3.2 million
Lohrei was linked to the Bruins’ pursuit of defenseman Rasmus Andersson before Calgary traded him to Vegas. Boston wants to acquire more speed and skill. GM Don Sweeney reported that Lohrei has “a lot of upside” … but he also watched the last three games of their first-round series against Buffalo from the press box.
Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks
Age: 27 | 2025-26 cap hit: $11.6 million
Just because two of Pettersson’s countrymen are now running the Canucks doesn’t mean the maligned center is on firmer footing in Vancouver. To the contrary, Daniel Sedin appeared to cite Pettersson’s mental and physical preparedness in the offseason as a point of emphasis.
It’s beyond time for the Petterson era to end in Vancouver, and there might not be a better time for a trade to happen. The salary cap continues to rise. The number of available centers with Pettersson’s potential impact — this was a 102-point center in 2022-23 — is rather bleak. But that’s still a mighty big cap hit that runs through 2031-32.
Matvei Michkov, RW, Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 21 | 2025-26 cap hit: $950,000
Flyers GM Daniel Briere has reported that the team sees Michkov “being a part of the picture for years to come” despite moments of friction between the young scorer and head coach Rick Tocchet, including healthy scratches in the playoffs.
One assumes the only way Michkov would be traded is as a major part of a blockbuster.
Shane Wright, C, Seattle Kraken
Age: 22 | 2025-26 cap hit: $886,666
Wright saw his production tumble from 44 points in 2024-25 to 27 points this season, although coach Lane Lambert argued his overall game improved. The No. 4 pick in 2022, Wright’s name was in circulation at the trade deadline last season. He’s a restricted free agent in 2027.
