NHL Rumor Mill – January 7, 2026
Could Igor Shesterkin’s injury force the Rangers to become sellers? What’s the latest on Kiefer Sherwood’s contract talks with the Canucks. What’s going on with the Maple Leafs and Jets? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
WILL THE RANGERS BECOME SELLERS?
THE ATHLETIC: Vincent Z. Mercogliano wondered if Igor Shesterkin’s injury could force the New York Rangers into becoming sellers in the trade market. The 30-year-old goaltender injured his left leg during Monday’s game against the Utah Mammoth.
How long Shesterkin is sidelined has yet to be determined. Mecogliano believes there was already a strong case for the Rangers to take advantage of a seller’s market. A lengthy absence of their starting goalie could force them to face reality at the trade deadline.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Rangers moved Shesterkin onto their injured reserve list on Tuesday. They will reportedly continue to evaluate the severity of his injury while he’s on IR.
RG.ORG: James Murphy reports Rangers general manager Chris Drury won’t waste time shaking up his roster. An NHL source told him that Drury has let it be known that he’s willing to move a big name if he can swing an impact move, preferably a player-for-player swap.
New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin (NHL Images).
Artemi Panarin’s status as an unrestricted free agent in July has made the 34-year-old winger the subject of interest in the rumor mill. Murphy’s source wondered if the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, or Detroit Red Wings might be interested.
It’s believed Drury has been gauging interest in forwards Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. Zibanejad is in the fourth year of an eight-year contract with a full no-movement clause. Trocheck is in the fourth season of a seven-year deal with a 12-team no-trade list.
Struggling young winger Brennan Othmann is also believed to be available.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Drury reportedly attempted to move Zibanejad last season, but he declined to waive his NMC and could do the same again this season. Trocheck’s limited NTC would make him easier to move, while Othmann lacks no-trade protection.
Panarin also has a full NMC. If the Rangers are out of contention heading into March, Drury could approach the playmaking winger about waiving it, but Panarin has complete control of this situation. He might only have one or two acceptable destinations, which would limit the return.
UPDATE ON KIEFER SHERWOOD’S CONTRACT SITUATION
TSN: Chris Johnston wondered what effect Christian Dvorak’s new contract with the Philadelphia Flyers would have on Kiefer Sherwood’s recent discussions with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Flyers signed Dvorak to a five-year extension with an average annual value of $5.15 million. He’s a center while Sherwood is a winger, but they’re around the same age, and the latter has outscored Dvorak this season.
CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal reported that the Canucks’ offer to the Sherwood camp is believed to be a four or five-year deal worth an AAV of over $4 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That rumor offer from the Canucks is a considerable pay raise over Sherwood’s current $1.5 million AAV. Whether that’s sufficient enticement to keep him out of the open market in July remains to be seen.
LATEST ON THE MAPLE LEAFS AND JETS
TSN: Darren Dreger reports uncertainty over the injury status of Chris Tanev could push the Toronto Maple Leafs into the trade market for a defenseman. However, that market is thin on blueliners, with most of those available being third-pairing rearguards.
Dreger also reports that Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has acknowledged this club’s position at the bottom of the standings, but he isn’t giving up on this season. He’d like to bolster his offense, but there isn’t much available in the trade market. Dreger said it’s uncertain what Cheveldayoff is willing to part with to add a scorer to his roster.
OLYMPIC BREAK MIGHT NOT AFFECT THE TRADE DEADLINE
TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports he’s heard that some playoff contenders intend to wait until after the Olympic break in February to make their big moves in the trade market. One reason is that they don’t want to risk acquiring a player who is participating in the Olympics and then gets injured during the tournament. Additionally, most contenders have players who will be attending the Games.
LeBrun believes the moves that could take place before the Olympic break will be smaller to medium moves. However, he acknowledged there could be clubs desperate to save their seasons that could make a big move before then.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Olympic break is from Feb. 6 to 24. The annual trade deadline is March 6 at 3 pm ET.
Not only is Shesterkin heading to the IR list, but Fox will also be placed on LTIR again today. He won’t be eligible to return until January 31.
They’re only 3 points out of a WC spot, but with injuries mounting it may be time to sell.
Its a tough call. There are some tight cluster races and I understand what 2 or 3 playoff home games mean revenue wise for team, and the excitement it generates for fans … but…a team could get an a abundance of riches by getting out ahead and being first to market.
Maybe I wrote that a bit too poetic but you know what I mean.
Russian players, notably Panarin are not Olympic bound. Surely there is a better market for them NOW!
I would think during the Olympic break that would be prime time to make trades. Gives the affected players time to move families and establish residences. I Don t think many players playing in the Olympics would be moved.I concur with 1Oilerfan ,the early bird gets the worm.
The NHL has a trade freeze during the Olympic break running from February 4th to February 22, 2026.
Seems like the buyers are just as apprehensive about coughing up packages for players Olympic bound before the Olympics. Probably going to be a wild end of February.
I was in the “sell” group before the new Igor and Fox injury updates. This team hasn’t been able to pull it together and they are getting older and slower.
Drury has to do something to prepare this roster for next year.
As a side, I saw one stat today that the NYR have only played 11 games this season that contained all of JT Miller, Trocheck, Fox, and Igor. They were 7-4 in those games.
But selling is still the best option, even if everyone is projected to be healthy after the Olympic break. Sure they could make a run and sneak in the WildCard. But they are not true contenders right now.
Why would Sherwood accept less money from Vancouver- a non-contending team- than he could get on the open market this summer?
He wouldn’t. I think Rutherford and Allvin are just going through the motions here by checking back with the player one last time before proceeding to the actual trade.
Doesn’t make sense that he would to me either. He’s not a star player that has made 10’s of millions already. This could be a life changer for him and his family.
Agree that the Nucks aren’t serious about paying him over $5M for that term either. Not where they are as a team today.
Not sure they are just going through the motions, but maybe that’s the right phrase. I think they want to show a good forth effort in case the player changes his mind. I also think they let some in the press know so that their fans know they made good faith effort and the $$ and term just didn’t make sense.
I think they’re probably right about that too. Can’t blame the player, I would too in that situation.
Mercogliano reported Rangers have inquired about Sherwood. Zibanejad has made it clear he won’t waive. JT not going anywhere and I don’t see his buddy Trochek going anywhere. I’d be fine with moving Panarin now. If there’s no interest in bringing him back and they make it clear to him, maybe he waives. Dolan interviewed yesterday and gave Drury a vote of confidence.