Larkin, Kyrou... Matthews? Ranking NHL trade candi...

playSources: Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin requests trade (0:34) 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 ages are current as of June 4. Which blockbuster trade do you want to see? Age: 29 | 2025-26 cap hit: $8.7 million/NTC 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. 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 like him 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 certainly could use a No. 1 center. The Wild had goalie Jesper Wallstedt and forward Danila Yurov in trade offer for Robert Thomas last season, as an FYI. Age: 29 | 2025-26 cap hit: $5.5 million/NMC One of the most mentioned names in NHL circles when it comes to players expected to move, DeBrusk is signed through 2030-31. He's one season removed from a career high in goals (28) for Vancouver. Having DeBrusk as part of their rebuild benefits neither the team nor the player himself, who turns 30 in October. Age: 30 | 2025-26 cap hit: $6.25 million/M-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 said. "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. Age: 28 | 2025-26 cap hit: $8.125 million/NTC The time to trade Kyrou was last June before his no-trade clause kicked in, as he was coming off three straight 30-goals seasons. Instead, he played 72 games for St. Louis last season and had his most mediocre offensive showing since 2020-21. That doesn't mean the ask gets any lower from new GM Alex Steen to acquire Kyrou, whose speed and goal-scoring history would make him a top-liner on most NHL teams. He's also signed through 2030-31 with a reasonable cap hit, assuming he regains his offensive form. The Ducks just signed McTavish to a six-year extension last September but followed that with a rough ride in an otherwise fantastic season for Anaheim. McTavish had 41 points in 75 games, including 17 goals, and saw his average ice time plummet from 16:53 in 2024-25 to 15:19 last season -- his first under coach Joel Quenneville. That was enough to get the rumor mill churning again about McTavish, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 draft. 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 would have to approve given his no-movement clause. Age: 32 | 2025-26 cap hit: $7.5 million/NMC Like most Toronto players, Rielly has said he'd like to remain with the Maple Leafs, but he's also a realist: After a disappointing season and sweeping changes to the front office he said, "change is going to happen, and as an athlete you have to be prepared for that." What's interesting 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. Age: 32 | 2025-26 cap hit: $5.625

Larkin, Kyrou... Matthews? Ranking NHL trade candi...

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