NHL
2026 NHL
Trade Deadline
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Good morning to everyone except NHL GMs, who are apparently still sleeping quietly, and have been since the Olympic freeze ended. No worries, guys, I don’t think anything important was happening this week.
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Well, the good news is we had a trade yesterday, with the Edmonton Oilers getting Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks for a second-round pick. On a typical midseason Monday, one medium-sized trade would be pretty good. But this isn’t a typical week, and one trade won’t cut it. Let’s get into it.
So … trades?
As in, more than one?
The deadline doesn’t come until 3 p.m. ET on Friday, so there’s still plenty of time. We’ll almost certainly see dozens of deals between now and then. But we’re already into unusual territory, because the fireworks have typically already started by now.
For example, by the Tuesday morning of last year’s deadline week, we’d already seen a blockbuster involving Seth Jones that ended up having significant Stanley Cup ramifications. So far this year, there’s been nothing close to that. Granted, we did get the Artemi Panarin deal back before the Olympic freeze, but that was over a month before deadline day. Weren’t these GMs supposed to be working on moves over the break? Did someone miss a memo?
Maybe, but there are more realistic explanations for what’s going on here, a topic Pierre LeBrun digs into in a piece you should read right now. A few considerations he flags:
Those first two issues aren’t going away. The third one might, either because new sellers emerge, old sellers make more talent available or buyers realize it’s almost closing time and they can’t be as picky as they might like.
However it plays out, we’re going to get a bunch of deals over the next few days. The question is how many, how big and whether any surprising stars shake free. (Speaking of which, Friday’s newsletter will hit your inbox after the 3 p.m. deadline to get you all caught up.) As far as those we think are on the block, some names are bigger than others …
Assuming the GMs decide to join us eventually, we should see some big names on the move. Our latest trade board features as much star power as any year in recent memory. The twist here is that, unlike some previous years, none of the biggest names seems like a lock to move.
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That leaves us in a weird state of limbo. We could be on the verge of an all-timer of a deadline. We could also already be in the middle of a historic bust.
If it’s the former, here are five names I think could make for the most interesting week:
5. Dougie Hamilton, Devils: He’s a talented player and could help several teams, but that $9 million contract (with two full years left to go) should make a move difficult. Or will it? Put it this way: If Hamilton is moved this week, it’s probably time to revise some priors around what kind of contracts are movable in an (almost) $100 million cap world. Besides, the Devils are probably really motivated to move him, since it would free up the room for the Quinn Hughes trade that we all know they … oh. Oh no.
4. Nazem Kadri, Flames: He’s another name with term left on a big contract, in his case three full years at $7 million. He’s also 35 and well off of last year’s 35-goal pace, so the warning lights are flashing all over the dashboard. Still, this is a proven playoff warrior with a Cup ring, which makes him an intriguing target for some of the young-ish teams heading to the postseason. As I said in this week’s rankings, I kind of love the idea of him going to Buffalo.
3. John Carlson, Capitals: His name hasn’t been out there all that much, but with the Capitals sitting outside of a playoff spot, he’d make for an interesting rental. He’s having a great season, and if the Caps would really move him, then he instantly surpasses Hamilton as the best blueliner available. Would they move him, though? He’s been a Capitals mainstay for 17 years.
2. Robert Thomas, Blues: Move him or don’t, at this point I’m just looking forward to not having to hear about the Blues dangling their top offensive threat. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t buy it. I think all the talk of Thomas (and Jordan Kyrou) has been a bluff, a way to get the phone ringing and potentially drum up some business on lesser names. But I’d love to be proven wrong, because it would be a blockbuster if it happened.
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1. Elias Pettersson, Canucks: I’ll get into this more in tomorrow’s column, but I could see Jim Rutherford being just wild enough to do it. And he absolutely should, as much as it would break some Canucks fans’ hearts. Let’s all agree on one thing: If Rutherford actually manages to move a slumping center in year two of a $92.8 million contract, no NHL GM ever gets to cry about midseason trades being too hard ever again.
Which Hall of Famer was traded at last year’s deadline?
I don’t mean a potential future Hall of Famer or even a lock — I mean that a guy who was already in the Hockey Hall of Fame was traded at last year’s deadline. Can you name this player?
📈 Dom Luszczyszyn looks at the analytical case for some of the top blue-line trade targets, including Hamilton and Carlson. And here’s his take on the available forwards.
📺 Mark Lazerus has more on Team USA’s busy week, which included an appearance on “SNL” and, last night, “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon. Michael Russo had behind-the-scenes access for both.
3️⃣ Which top lines have been the best this season? And which have been worst? The Colorado Avalanche are unsurprisingly lapping the field. But it gets more interesting pretty quickly after that.
🔮 We’ve got your bold deadline predictions for all 32 teams.
🎙️ On a busy Monday episode of “The Athletic Hockey Show,” Pierre LeBrun sets the table for the trade deadline. Plus, Jim Hiller is out as Kings head coach, Matthew Schaefer makes history, and Jesse Granger and some nerd debate where Connor Hellebuyck ranks in the pantheon of goaltenders. Listen here.
📺 Golden Knights @ Sabres
7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
We flagged this one back in January on our list of best matchups we hadn’t seen yet this season, and it’s finally here. It’s the first time in the post-Jack Eichel era that the Sabres get to host their former franchise player in a season where they’re actually good. Even better, it’s the first game in Buffalo since the Olympics, meaning Sabres fans will get to thank Tage Thompson, their new American hero who hasn’t bailed on them (yet).
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📺 Lightning @ Wild
9:30 p.m. ET on TNT / HBO Max / truTV
You don’t have to squint too hard to see this as a potential Stanley Cup final preview. Or maybe it’s just Jon Cooper versus Bill Guerin, the rematch. Either way, it’s two of the best teams in the league, and several of the league’s most exciting players on one rink. Yes please.
📺 Avalanche @ Ducks
10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
The Ducks are red-hot and the Avs have been stumbling since January, so this one feels like a great opportunity for a young Anaheim roster to send a message that it’s for real. (By the way, if you’re up this late, then don’t sleep on Habs/Sharks as another fun matchup.)
Full NHL schedule here. Try streaming games like these for free on Fubo.
We believe that in hockey, as in life, there are no dumb questions. So if you have something you’ve always wondered about the sport, ask away by emailing us at redlight@theathletic.com.
Can a team put both goalies on the ice to defend the net at the same time? — Tom B.
I kind of love this question, because the answer is obvious: No, of course teams can’t do this. It would be ridiculous. And we never see it, so it’s clearly not an option.
OK, sure … but why? What does the rulebook actually say here?
It turns out the answer comes fairly early on, in one of my favorite rules. It’s in Section 2, Rule 5.3, and it spends fewer than 300 words answering a lot of questions you might have about a goaltender.
First, the specific passage Tom is asking about, which leads off the rule: “Each team shall be allowed one goalkeeper on the ice at one time.” Pretty cut and dried there. You can’t put two goalies out at the same time.
Ah ha, you might reply, putting your Roger Nielson loophole cap on: But what if I sent a forward or a defenseman out there wearing goalie equipment? Let him block point shots with full pads. Way ahead of you, says the rulebook: “Except when both goalkeepers are incapacitated, no skater on the playing roster in the game shall be permitted to wear the equipment of the goalkeeper.”
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The section also gets into the two remaining scenarios where a goaltender entering a game still gets an old-fashioned warmup: When the starter gets pulled by a concussion spotter, or when both goalies are injured in quick succession and a third goalie has to get dressed and come in cold.
And the section also includes this passage: “Each team shall have on its bench, or on a chair immediately beside the bench (or nearby), a substitute goalkeeper who shall, at all times, be fully equipped and ready to play.” I kind of love that it specifies a bench or chair. You cannot make your backup goalie stand, it’s against the rules. And don’t try to get him a little stool or an ottoman, it has to be a chair.
One last thing that maybe only I find interesting: The words “goalie” or “goaltender” do not appear anywhere in the NHL rulebook. According to the strict letter of the law, they’re called “goalkeepers.”
And yes, you can only have one of them at a time. Now you know why.
The Hall of Famer who was traded at last year’s deadline was Shea Weber, who went from Utah to Chicago despite last playing in 2021 and being inducted into the HHOF in 2024. The deal also saw Aku Räty and Victor Söderström head to the Hawks, who gave up a fifth-round pick in exchange.
OK, sure, it might be more accurate to say that Weber’s contract was traded — and in fact, it’s still there today, sitting on the LTIR section of the Blackhawks’ cap. Weber has now been part of four teams in retirement, with the Golden Knights, Coyotes, Mammoth and Blackhawks all owning his rights. That’s twice as many teams as he actually suited up for in his 16-season career.
And hey, with the contract finally expiring this summer, maybe he could even get moved again this week.
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Sean McIndoe has been a senior NHL writer with The Athletic since 2018. He launched Down Goes Brown in 2008 and has been writing about hockey ever since, with stops including Grantland, Sportsnet and Vice Sports. His book, “The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL,” is available in book stores now. Follow Sean on Twitter @DownGoesBrown
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