NHL Rumor Mill – March 2, 2026
As the Friday trade deadline approaches, check out the latest on Vincent Trocheck, Robert Thomas, Auston Matthews, Nazem Kadri, Sergei Bobrovsky, Patrik Laine, and more in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
LATEST ON TROCHECK, THOMAS, MATTHEWS, AND KADRI
NHL ON TNT: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Vincent Trocheck has let it be known that he wants to stay as close to the East Coast as possible. The 32-year-old New York Rangers center has a 12-team no-trade list and three years left on his contract with an average annual value of $5.625 million.
Friedman thinks the Minnesota Wild are still in the Trocheck sweepstakes, sitting in the Central time zone. It’s believed the Wild have a standing offer for him, but we’ll have to wait and see what they do. Failing that, they could look at someone like Charlie Coyle of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Detroit Red Wings could also be among the suitors. It’s believed the Rangers have set a high asking price for him.
St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Trocheck’s salary, two-way play, and modified NTC make him the center most likely to move by the trade deadline, depending on what the Rangers want in return. His contract also works to the Rangers’ advantage. If no one is willing to meet their price, they can wait until the offseason for the market to improve.
The teams that are in on Trocheck could also be pursuing Robert Thomas of the St. Louis Blues. The 26-year-old center has a full no-trade clause, giving him full control over this situation. Friedman thinks the Red Wings and the Utah Mammoth could be linked to Thomas, but he doesn’t put stock into rumors linking him to the Montreal Canadiens.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Thomas’ NTC and his $8.125 million AAV are significant stumbling blocks in the path to a trade, as is the Blues’ asking price. They reportedly seek “three first-half-of-the-first-round” assets.
The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t looking to move Auston Matthews or William Nylander. Matthews’ representatives met with Leafs management before the Olympics, and there’s no issue with him returning next season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs will attempt to move pending UFAs like Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton. They could also look at moving some players with term on their contracts, such as Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Friedman is skeptical that the Colorado Avalanche will bring back Nazem Kadri from the Calgary Flames. He pointed out that the club has to re-sign Cale Makar before his contract expires in 2027. Taking on Kadri’s $7 million cap hit through 2028-29 would complicate efforts to re-sign Makar.
Friedman said the Flames aren’t interested in retaining part of Kadri’s salary. He thinks the Avs could look more toward adding an affordable rental center, such as Scott Laughton of the Maple Leafs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I thought a Kadri reunion with the Avalanche was possible, but Friedman’s comments about the cost of re-signing Makar make that unlikely if the Flames won’t retain salary.
COULD THE PANTHERS MOVE SERGEI BOBROVSKY?
NHL ON TNT: Elliotte Friedman reports he’s heard it’s been challenging for the Florida Panthers to re-sign Sergei Bobrovsky, giving rise to rumors that they might trade the 37-year-old goaltender.
Bobrovsky has a 16-team no-trade list. Friedman said he’s heard speculation linking the netminder to the San Jose Sharks, but he can’t currently can’t confirm that.
SPORTSNET: Michael Amato thinks the Panthers should try to trade Bobrovsky. He suggested they try to get younger and deeper in goal while getting some kind of asset for Bobrovsky at the trade deadline. They could also look at trading him now and re-signing him in the offseason, though that sort of thing rarely occurs.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: George Richards recently reported that Bobrovsky wants to stay with the Panthers despite the lack of negotiations for a contract extension. “I’m fine with that, to be honest,” Bobrovsky said.
According to Richards, it would be very surprising if the Panthers trade Bobrovsky. The general feeling around the team is that he remains a big part of their future plans, and he wants to be part of it.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Unless something radically changes leading up to Friday, expect Bobrovsky to remain with the Panthers when the trade deadline has passed.
LATEST CANADIENS SPECULATION
THE ATHLETIC: Arpon Basu reports the Canadiens are actively working on moving Patrik Laine before the trade deadline. The 27-year-old winger is eligible for unrestricted free-agent status in July. He carries an $8.7 million cap hit for this season. Management has permitted Laine’s agent to speak with other teams about a trade.
Basu thinks the Canadiens are trying to include Laine in a trade that frees up some cap space while also bringing back a useful player. The other option is including a sweetener in the deal to convince another club to take on the remainder of his contract, or half of it.
TVA SPORTS: Renaud Lavoie doubts there’s much of a market for Laine. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be with the Canadiens now. He wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still with the Habs after the trade deadline.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has a well-earned reputation for pulling off deals that few would’ve thought possible. However, trading Laine could prove to be a challenge too difficult to pull off.
NHL ON TNT: Friedman touched on the growing interest in Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen following his solid performance for Finland in the Olympics. He’d heard the Montreal Canadiens looked into it, but it didn’t go very far. The Toronto Maple Leafs were linked to Ristolainen, but the Leafs are more of a seller than a buyer.
UPDATE ON THE OILERS
NHL ON TNT: Elliotte Friedman said he recently looked into whether the Edmonton Oilers might make another foray into the goalie market. He said the answer was no, that they’re going to stick with what they’ve got.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There really wasn’t a lot for the Oilers to get in the trade market this season. They sent Stuart Skinner to Pittsburgh for Tristan Jarry, but that hasn’t really improved things. So, they’ll have to stick with Jarry, Connor Ingram, and Calvin Pickard and hope for the best.
Friedman also reported that the Oilers need to move Andrew Mangiapane and his $3.6 million cap hit. However, they found it difficult to do, which is why they placed him on waivers.
He also said that the Oilers were interested in St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk. Unless the Blues are willing to retain salary, it would be too difficult to acquire him. Faulk carries an AAV of $6.5 million through next season. They’ve also looked at Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Maple Leafs, but he would have to agree to go to Edmonton.
TSN: The Oilers can forget about trying to trade Adam Henrique to free up cap space. Darren Dreger reports he hasn’t told them that he’s willing to waive his no-movement clause.
Boston is said to be rather interested in Thomas. It has been a while since they have had a Thomas on the roster.
Johnny Z
Don Sweeney’s comments should put that rumor to an end. Also his actions going’s after Andersson from Cal. The Bruins don’t need scoring at this point as they get it regularly from up and down the lineup consistently. Defense team D and PK are the areas of weakness. To land Thomas you are talking Minten Lohrei and the Toronto 1st. Plus they don’t have the cap to fit him on the team. I expect depth moves on forward lines at best. There’s still a chance they could land a top 4 right D. The Hampas Lindholm trade came out of left field. If they make a move it will be a similar situation imo. There’s been a lot of talk about Hagens signing with the big club once his season is over.the Bruins have been ranked top 10 almost all season in goals scored. Tgey will focus on overall D
Bruins absolutely have the assets with two firsts most likely this year and next plus prospects Lysell , Laterneau etc. to obtain Thomas. Possibly Lohrei also. The problem is cap space/money.
Agree Paul, their upper tier prospects are up front too, and they can get a spot in the NHL sooner than the D typically do.
Plenty of D ranked in the top 10 of this years draft, but those are likely 4 years away from contributing in a meaningful way. I don’t see any Schaefer’s in the group and lighting up the NHL at 18.
A kid like RD Daxon Rudolph could be available when that Leafs pick comes around as I don’t see them falling into a lottery pick unless they get super lucky with the ping pong ball.
Barryp, Lysell is merely a throw in at this point and not a great asset. It would be Lohrei has value, but they want that Leafs 1st and Minten is my guess or he ain’t coming to Boston.
Wow, Utah could give this year’s 1st, a 2nd, and a 3rd + Cole Beaudoin for Thomas and still have 2 2nds and a 3rd in this year’s draft!
Yeah, that’s how it works when you’re bad for years. You sell off players to acquire assets so that when the time comes, you can sell off the assets to acquire players.
Bobrovsky From Florida to California would be a pay cut, courtesy of the Taxman. Bob to the Oilers would be the trade of the year, just speculating.
TSP, I am sure that thought has entered every Oiler fan’s mind.
I can see the Oil wanting to do it if FLA ate half the salary and took Jarry back to make the #’s work.
Not sure why FLA would do that, as I am guessing they don’t think Jarry is a cup caliber tender as he is signed for 2 more seasons after this one. I don’t think he is and I am rooting for the guy.
Not sure what they do with Bob if he asks for big $ with some term, the guys has been good for them, but he’s getting up there in age.
I was thinking similar Ray, but wouldn’t it be a gas to see Bob move to Edmonton and lead the Oilers to a Cup? Edmonton would have to give up a lot to make it happen. But we have to start to look at McDavid’s window and whether the Oilers should be willing to make such a daring move. I’d bet Connor would welcome it.
I also put no stock in rumors linking Thomas to the Habs. While I’d love to see him on the Habs, the asking price is way too high and would weaken the team in other areas. I still maintain that the Blues would be nuts to trade him. He’s a legitimate first line center who’s still young and has a reasonable cap hit.
I’m also not surprised that the Habs inquiry into Ristoleinen didn’t go far. The Flyers are undoubtedly asking for a lot. Cheaper short term options are available.
As to Laine, retaining salary on a trade would be acceptable but I would not add a sweetener unless cap space is needed to bring in someone else. Otherwise it’s best to keep him around in case of an injury and let him walk at years end,
Yeah, Howard all these rumours, including speculation by some that still includes Khadri to the Habs.
Laine’s 8 million cap hit disappears after this year, but any significant acquisition like Thomas immediately takes that cap space. Then there are interesting decisions to make on Dach and Bolduc for next season, with Demidov and Kapanen following the year after next.
On the one hand I sympathize with reporters who have to continually generate content; on the other hand too little actual thought goes into some of this stuff. Sure, it gets us worked up and commenting but … fatiguing.
The top goals-scored per-game averages range from a low of 3.4 per (Anaheim, Pittsburgh, Vegas, Dallas, Boston, Minnesota, Buffalo) to 3.5 (Carolina, Montreal, Edmonton), 3.6 per (Tampa) & 3.8 Colorado.
The mid-range averages range from a low of 2.9 per (Detroit, Seattle, Winnipeg), to 3.0 (Philadelphia, Nashville, NY Islanders), 3.1 (Florida, San Jose), 3.2 (Columbus, Utah, Toronto, Washington) to 3.3 (Ottawa).
The lowest averages range from a low of 2.5 per (Calgary, New Jersey), 2.6 (Vancouver, St. Louis, Los Angeles, NY Rangers) to 2.7 per (Chicago).
At the other end
the lowest goals-allowed per game averages range from a low of 2.5 per (Colorado), 2.6 (Tampa), 2.8 (Dallas. NY Islanders, Utah), to 2.9 per (Carolina, Minnesota, Pittsburgh).
The mid-range averages range from 3.0 allowed per (Buffalo, Washington, Seattle, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Calgary. Detroit), 3.1 (NY Rangers, Winnipeg), 3.2 (Boston, Vegas, Columbus, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Chicago), to 3.3 allowed per (Montreal, Florida).
The highest averages per game in goals allowed range from 3.4 per (St. Louis, Nashville, Edmonton), 3.5 (San Jose, Toronto, Anaheim) to 3.7 per (Vancouver).
From the above, if any teams are going to be active on the trade front between now and Friday at 3:00pm, the above should at least help give you some idea what parts of their rosters (F, D, G) on which they’ll likely be focused.
Those are great numbers and averages George, thanks for sharing that information. I think we will be able to look back on Friday and see which team addressed their weaknesses the most.
I don’t see how Minny would have enough assets to trade for Trocheck.
Rangers don’t need Wahlstrom. Everyone keeps throwing out Stramel, Jiricek and a 2027 1st.
Rangers need picks in 2026, not end of round picks in 2027.
And Stramel seems like another not-swift mid-6 player while Jiricek seems to be fading as a slow, negative player.
Not sure that package gets it done. I just keep Trocheck in that case.
With Minnesota having Hlavaj in their system and considering how well he played at the Olympics….what if Minnesota sent one of their goalies to Florida, plus a prospect like David Juricek and a 2nd rounder for Bob, would that be a move that Guerrin would.make to make sure he has the best goaltender available for a team in win now mode?
Toronto’s trash heap of players who DON’T have a no move, or no trade are just a who’s who of….expensive depth dung.
Who has actual value?
Macelli? Carreer euro minor leaguer with a cup of coffee in the NHL on a weak team that gave him minutes. Also a career minus player. Value? 5th round pick.
Roy? Serviceable 3rd liner who was in the right place at the right time in Vegas. With the right linemates, plus player. 4th round pick.
Robertson? Not his brother potential. Thinks he’s his brother. Career minus prospect who doesn’t listen. Maybe a 3rd rounder if you can upsell.
Laughton? Roughish 3rd line center who wins faceoffs. Viewed as a durable 2 way player, he’s anything but. Often injured career minus player. Avoid. 5th round pick.
McMann? Potentially the best of the bunch. I might consider a 2nd rounder except he’s UFA and suddenly 30 or will be.
curiously outlier….Matt Benning. Buried in the minors. Wasn’t terrible until he started getting stuck on terrible teams. Would take a flyer on.
And the Leafs cannot afford to tank, because they don’t have first rounders the next two years. No second this year too. So the Leaf Nation has to just rough it out for a few more seasons and get what they can for their pending UFAs.
Latest from St. Louis this morning is the Thomas deal is down to Boston and Utah.
Utah sends Desnoyers, Shimashev and a 1st for Thomas.
Boston sends Lohrei, either Poitras or Letoureneau and a 1st. I think Boston would be nuts to do this but if I’m the Blues I would jump all over it.
Utah has enough young talent that they could make this deal and Bill Armstrong loves Thomas. Again the Blues should take the deal.
Schenn to LA for Turcotte and a 3rd.
Who wants Pius Suter, Binnington, Parayko, Sundqvist, Fowler let the sell off begin.
How about some trade ideas guys don’t force Johnny Z to do all the heavy lifting.
Also Faulk as good as gone as is Kyrou.
If that Utah deal is on the table they should grab it! Shimashev if an A+ prospect imho.
Snold49, in that scenario Boston should try to move either Lindholm or Zacha to make room for Thomas. I m ok with the first being their pick and not Torontos.
Wish the leafs had the balls to do what the wild did when they bought out Parise and Suter. They recognized they need to change the culture and bought those 2 out. Short term pain for long term gain. Look at the wild where they are today. Not sure if they would be in this position if they waited until those contracts expired. Luckily for the Leafs, Matthews and Nylander are still in their prime and would get a significant return for them. This will be 10 years with these two and still no success. I do believe they are awesome players but it is just time to try something new. I hope they go to teams and have all the success in the world. Pelly have the balls to do a complete reset this organization from top to bottom. Armstrong would be a great starter someone who is not afraid to make the big decisions.
If Rangers trade Trochek for futures, I could see them flipping some for the younger Thomas
“Kent Hughes has a well-earned reputation for pulling off deals that few would’ve thought possible.”… what trades has he made to earn this? I’m assuming there’s at least a handful but I can’t think of one that “few would think possible”.
Guys?
Well, Ron, with minimal effort I came up with this synopsis of his history of deals:
“Has accumulated massive amounts of draft capital and young talent, resulting in a net gain of multiple first- and second-round picks over his first three trade deadlines, while simultaneously improving the immediate roster since becoming the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens in January 2022. These moves are widely recognized for “asset management,” focusing on rebuilding through draft picks and acquiring younger players with potential.
The Sean Monahan “Double Dip”
August 2022 – Acquired Sean Monahan and a conditional 2025 first-round pick from the Calgary Flames for future considerations.
Feb 2024 – Traded Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2027 third-round pick. This is widely considered Hughes’ masterpiece, essentially turning “nothing” into two first-round picks (one used to move up for Michael Hage) by leveraging cap space and rehabilitating Monahan’s value.
The Jeff Petry/Mike Matheson Shuffle
July 2022 – Traded defenseman Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth-round pick.
August 2023 – As part of a three-team trade, acquired Jeff Petry back (with 25% salary retained) from Pittsburgh, then quickly flipped him to Detroit for Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional 2025 4th-round pick.
This sequence allowed the Canadiens to shed long-term money, acquire a top-pairing defenseman in Matheson, and eventually move on from Petry’s contract while picking up additional assets.
The Kirby Dach Three-Way Deal
July 2022 (Draft Day) Traded defenseman Alexander Romanov and a 2022 4th-round pick (acquired from Vegas) to the New York Islanders. Montreal then used the 13th overall pick from that deal to acquire Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks. A major gamble by Hughes to acquire a high-potential young center (3rd overall pick in 2019) to fit the team’s rebuild timeline, sacrificing a established young defender to do so.
The 2022 Deadline Sell-Offs (Chiarot & Lehkonen)
Ben Chiarot – March 2022 – Sent to the Florida Panthers for a 2023 1st-round pick, Ty Smilanic, and a 2022 4th-round pick.
Artturi Lehkonen March 2022 Sent to the Colorado Avalanche for Justin Barron and a 2024 2nd-round pick. These trades were crucial in initiating the rebuild, netting a high-value return (first-round picks) for players in their final contract years.
The Alex Newhook Acquisition June 2023 – Traded the 31st overall pick (from the Chiarot trade), a 2023 2nd-round pick, and defenseman Gianni Fairbrother to the Colorado Avalanche for forward Alex Newhook. Similar to the Dach trade, this move was designed to bring in a younger, “closer-to-maturity” player to accelerate the team’s development.
The 2024 Trade Deadline (Jake Allen) – Traded veteran goalie Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils for a conditional 2025 third-round pick. This move resolved a challenging three-goalie rotation in Montreal and allowed the team to move forward with younger goaltenders.
The 2024 August Trade (Patrik Laine) – Traded defenseman Jordan Harris and a 2026 second-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Patrik Laine and a 2026 second-round pick. A high-risk, high-reward move to add top-six scoring talent to the roster while managing salary cap space.”
All in all, I would say decidedly better than anything done by recent Leafs or Oilers management. By a country mile and without putting themselves in Cap Hell.
Ron, not bad eh! Great work as always George!!
Well, George O., you forgot the best of them all.
March 2022. Traded Brett Kulak to Oilers for a 2022 second-round draft pick (used to pick-up 2025 Calder trophy winner Lane Hutson).
“Kent Hughes has a well-earned reputation for pulling off deals that few would’ve thought possible.”
Is an over the top assessment that is really a lazy way to credit him.
Hughes AND Gorton took a bottom team in January 2022 and restructured, rebuilt it into a playoff team in 3 years and a contender in 4.
A combination of moving assets, unloading impossible contracts, collecting picks with a big picture in mind.
Is he unique? No.
Is he a top-tier GM? Yes