NHL Rumor Mill – May 9, 2026
What options do the Sharks, Jets, Panthers, Devils, and Penguins have with their first-round picks in this year’s draft? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
THE ATHLETIC: Mark Lazerus wondered what the San Jose Sharks might do with the second-overall pick in this year’s draft.
The lack of quality depth in this summer’s unrestricted free agent market could create more activity in the trade market.
Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson (NHL Images).
Lazerus mused over whether the Dallas Stars might be willing to part with Jason Robertson for the Sharks’ first-rounder. The 26-year-old winger is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. If unable to re-sign Robertson, swapping him for the second-overall pick would give the Stars the chance to replenish their prospect pool.
If Robertson isn’t available, Lazerus suggested looking into the availability of St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas or Toronto Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies. He also wondered if Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse might be available.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oilers general manager Stan Bowman would be thrilled to get the second-overall pick in this year’s draft for Nurse. However, the latter has a full no-movement clause, and his declining performance won’t make him enticing for the Sharks.
SPORTSNET: Ryan Dixon believes Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff must consider all his options with his first-round pick (eighth overall) in this year’s draft.
It’s rare for a top-10 draft pick to be moved ahead of the draft. However, the Jets have a long-running need for a reliable second-line center. Given their high aspirations to become a Stanley Cup contender, it would make sense to see what their pick might fetch in this summer’s trade market.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Dixon expects Cheveldayoff to retain that pick and use it to select a promising young player who could help the Jets down the road. Still, one has to believe that he would be intrigued if he got a solid offer for that pick.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: George Richards pondered the possibility of the Panthers using their first-round pick (ninth overall) to bolster their current roster.
Richards reports there’s speculation that Panthers GM Bill Zito could use that pick as trade capital. He pointed out that Zito has traded every first-round pick since selecting Mackie Samoskevich in 2021. The Panthers won’t have another first-rounder again until 2029.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Panthers remain in “win-now” mode and could move that pick for an established player who would provide an immediate, significant boost to their roster. However, Richards would not be surprised if Zito retains that pick. He envisioned a scenario in which the Panthers GM bundles his first-rounder with a couple of second-rounders to move up in the draft order.
NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: James Nichols believes the Devils should use their 2026 first-rounder (12th overall) to pursue a scoring forward. Their 2.76 goals-per-game average ranked 27th overall this season.
Nicholls’ suggested trade targets include Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jordan Kyrou of the St. Louis Blues, Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars, and Alex DeBrincat of the Detroit Red Wings.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kyrou might be the only player on this list who might be available in this summer’s trade market. However, that depends on whether he’ll waive his full no-trade clause.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Kelsey Surmacz wondered if this would be the summer when the Pittsburgh Penguins would trade their first-round pick. They hold the 22nd-overall pick, which they could use as a trade chip to add a young NHL-ready player.
Surmacz noted that there are some opportunities in this summer’s trade market. She believes the Dallas Stars will find a way to re-sign RFA winger Jason Robertson, but that could expose other high-upside players such as defenseman Thomas Harley or center Mavrik Bourque.
There’s uncertainty about Auston Matthews’ future with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even if he’s unavailable, Matthew Knies or Nick Robertson might be trade possibilities.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bourque and Nick Robertson seem more likely to be available than Harley or Knies. Regardless, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas could be open to moving his first-rounder if a suitable young player becomes obtainable in this summer’s trade market.
Harley won’t go anywhere. Jim Nill hasn’t been GM of the year for 3 years running because he makes stupid moves.
Jamie Benn retires, Seguin waives his no movement (there’s your salary dump)…Stars sign Robo, Harley stays…Marchment comes back with the money saved on Seguin’s contract….all is good.
No I don’t believe any of that either….but I do believe in Nil!
HA! Seguin if he goes anywhere it will be to LTIR…..But all points to him being healthy by training camp.
A better move might be to offer #2 OA for Harley.
NJ could offer Nemec and Mercer for ##2 OA.
Imagine a world where a 9.25 million dollar turnstile is worth a 1st round pick.
Meanwhile back here on planet earth said turnstile may fetch you a 3rd rounder if you’re lucky.
Who dreams this stuff up?
Lol seriously they could draft a better defenceman immediately on elc.
And yet he’s been named to Team Canada for the upcoming Worlds …and Thomas Chabot wasn’t. Ostensibly because “he has not reached the top Norris-level of play projected for him.”
But Nurse, Rielly, Wotherspoon and Mayeychuk HAVE? When and where?
George O – great comment. When it comes to Bouchard and Nurse the narrative that has been built about their defensive play is ridiculous.
Lol nurse stinks. He rivals Hubie for the worst contract. Oilers are toast. They’re built worse than the Leafs. Declaring playing for Canada at the worlds isn’t some explanation point to him being good.
Wow, H, you seem to like throwing bombs without any explanation attached.
He sucks, Oilers toast, worse than Leafs. Trolling?
Canada likes a mix of you players and vets, and ya it’s not an all star selection. But sh*tty players don’t get selected for it. Seriously H.
C’mon now, they are trying to do well after all and would like to win it. Nurse is likely selected because of his leadership and his skating.
I have defended Nurse on here of late, but I don’t think the writer Lyle quoted was suggesting for the 2nd OA straight up. It was a separate sentence. Guessing part of a package.
H, which is why I don’t get the Chabot reasoning as to why he wasn’t invited to play for Canada at the Worlds.
Who would you rather have out there purely from a defensive perspective? Chabot or either of Nurse or Rielly?
Nurse 7g 17a 24 pts minus12
Rielly 11g 25a 36 pts minus 18
Chabot 7g 24a 31 pts plus 8
Helly waives for FLA:
#9 OA, Rodriguez, and Cole Schwindt for Helly!
Plan the parade!
I can certainly see the Sharks trading the 2nd pick i have to think the corner stone back is going to be Defense.
The idea of Nurse to SJ i can buy into. The idea that the cost is the 2nd overall is nuts.
San Jose should trade their #2 OA pick, they are young, have a good pipeline and they have the upper hand in a trade and they have #20 OA this year.
In no particular order they can go for:
Harley + 2027 1st
Seider + 2027 1st
Hronek + 2026 1st (3)
Faber + 2027 1st
Nemec + 2026 1st (12)
Robertson + 2027 1st
Should not have to add for Harley, Seider, Faber or Robo
The Sharks apparently have only 2 Dmen signed right now. So that is most likely would suggest either picking one of the 2 top defence prospects, or trading for one in his early 20s.
There is no talk about how close current sharks d prospects may be to being NHL ready.
Nemec would likely be the best option if they are trading #2, Jersey is keen on adding scoring…Steenberg would be a great fit. Because of the huge potential cap difference, I would expect the Sharks to demand NJ’s first in the trade with other picks being part of a package on both sides.
Ottawa, might be a similar partner as they are looking to add one more talented forward and have lots of quality young dmen.
.
habfan30, I seriously doubt whoever Canucks new GM would give up their best defensemen and 3OA to move up one position to 2OA. I imagine they’ll stay at 3OA and take the BPA.
Just be thankful he isn’t trying to trade Ghule.
If they want McKenna they’ll pay, otherwise SJS can be “stuck” with him.
It’s a strong draft but 1 and 2 are a cut above the rest.
As I have previously mentioned the 1st over all in the last 20 years has been a bust only one time
Almost all of them have become franchise players so it really isn’t much of a gamble.
He doesn’t need to be a generational player to be worth a top 4 D and a 1st round pick.
None of you naysayers out there would trade the franchise players on your team for just a top 4 D or Robertson straight up.
LJ,
Guhle isn’t good enough to be in the conversation.
And yet the Habs happily signed him for 6 years, HF30.
I am fine with you disagreeing with what I say. Depending on the issue you have at a minimum a decent chance to be right.
But when you incessantly try to peddle a player Gorton and Hughes clearly believe in … well, we can all fill in the rest of the sentence.
LJ,
I ” incessantly try to peddle” Guhle for either a 2C or a RHD of equal quality.
While the Habs happily signed him for 6 years, the guys I have suggested trading him for have already gotten multi year contracts except for one, who is RFA and will sign a multi year contract this summer.
Habs have 3 positions of need:
2C
RHD
2LW
Habs have one position of strength: LD
If you want to get a quality player to fill one of those roles who is a real upgrade, you have to give up a quality player.
Guhle is a good solid LD, very far from untouchable, you make it sound like I keep suggesting trades of Guhle for a bag of hockey pucks.
Are there any quality players you’d like to make a trade for???
Do you really think there are upgrades right now among prospects who can step in next year to fill the 3 spots?
Which player are you willing to trade to upgrade the team?
Unlike you, Hughes and Gorton do not want to stand pat and they make trades on draft day, pre-season and during the season despite your aversion to change.
We here can only speculate what those changes can or will be.
HF30: We all know that just about any player is tradeable depending on the return. That doesn’t make them tradeable in any sensible way.
My pushback is generally on the basis that I don’t agree with the returns or scenarios you propose – particularly with Ghule. Nor have I seen any of your trade proposals come to be. I don’t expect you to have insider knowledge, of course, but have I missed any player you would trade, or trade for, come to be? I’d like to make amends if so.
The Habs have one position of strength, LD? Rude surprise to Dobes and Fowler.
The Habs need a RHD? Sure: Reinbacher, who we all know will get a serious shot at training camp next year. So there is one position that has a high change of being filled by a prospect.
I do concede that Kapanen faded in the 2C role. Not sure whether that is to be expected of a rookie (Demidov is struggling too), or whether he is a 3C. And then Hage declared he is going back to college so that also altered my view on the need for a 2C. Let’s agree I got that wrong.
As for proposing trades, sure I understand it’s fun to play GM and it generates a lot of exchanges. But for all the trade proposals here I recall only one that happened, where the irrepressible Johnny Z called Laine to the Habs.
People here can find value in my contributions excluding trade suggestions, or not. They stand or fall on their merit.
And again, HF30, I get that my pushback on your posts can get annoying, it’s not personal.
Leafs trade Matthews retain 50% of his salary for both Robertson and Bourque.
I like it.! 👍
And pay Roberson as nearly as much as they did Matthews! After paying Robo, Bourque and Matthews retained salary, it would eat up all but a couple million of their cap space!!! LOL
LMFAO Nurse for the 2nd overall pick.!?!? Someone is highhhh.!! Nurse couldn’t even get Edmonton a 2nd round pick let alone the 2nd overall pick.!! Edmonton doesn’t have what it takes to trade for the 2nd overall pick.! Facts.!! Unless DRAISATL is involved.! As their cupboards are bare and no don’t say Savvy as he isn’t even a starting point as he isn’t anything but a 3rd liner.
Nurse lol
Matthews and a 2nd rounder, Robertson for Clarke, Byfield and Greentree .!
Yay or Nay.?
Greentree is a Ranger prospect.
Somewhere between this site and Mieses it occurs to me that the value system of hockey may be changing. Consider elements of the currency: draft picks, no movement/no trade/limited trade clauses, money and term.
Some GM’s have long devalued draft picks, especially picks in the second half of the first round. Both the Florida GM’s fit here.
Some give out player control clauses easily, others consider them the devil’s spawn. And lately, some agents have been willing to go big on money for a short term, betting the Free agency will get crazier and the cap has resumed it’s upward march.
Wherever there is disagreement on value there is room for arbitrage! I think the training of young players, their level of coaching, the amount of international play, and the overall quality of opposition makes the draft less of a crapshoot than in years past, and that for a significant subset of players the necessary development time has been reduced, thus picks are more valuable to clubs that put in the work. I think the negative value of no movement clauses is increasing, along with the risk the forcing a player to exercise one impacts both team chemistry, and attractiveness to free agents. If there are “steal deals” to be had in this economic system, they may well come between a club willing to lay out a welcome mat for a useful piece that has his current team over a barrel with a no movement clause.
Just hand out NMC’s for the 1st half of a long-term deal, then reduce to a NTC. Only give a NMC to a franchise player throughout the contract.
Richard, some good thoughts, particularly about the NMC and their impact on the individual team and the league as a whole.
Regarding draft pick quality improving, it is true that the pre pro development has increased both with private coaching and with initiatives like the USNDP. But seemingly, stats don’t back up the notion that today’s players chances of making the NHL increase. Maybe it’s because many players are better as a cohort.
Here is what an AI answer to the question produced:
The chances of an NHL draft pick making the NHL have generally stayed consistent, with around 60–63% of first-rounders becoming long-term NHLers, while second-round and later picks remain a “crapshoot” with much lower odds.
While analytics have improved scouting, the overall probability of a drafted player becoming a regular NHLer hasn’t drastically increased.
Reddit·r/Habs +1Key insights on draft success:First-Round Stability: Around 80-90% of first-round picks play at least one NHL game, with a high percentage having 100+ game careers.
Second Round and Below: Success rates drop significantly after the first round, with less than 25% of second-rounders becoming impact players.Draft Class Variability: Stronger draft classes can increase odds in the top 15, while weaker classes reduce success rates in the later first round.Scouting Improvements:
Some teams have improved success by reducing “low probability” picks in rounds 2–7, focusing instead on higher-potential players.
Historical Trends: A study indicates that while more teams exist (32), the probability of success for picks in specific rounds hasn’t changed dramatically over time. DobberProspects +4Ultimately, for elite prospects (top 15), the likelihood of reaching the NHL is high and steady, but for the majority of the 7-round draft, the odds remain challenging.
If you want do disappear down a rabbit hole, go to puckpedia and see how picks are ranked in value, starting with Toronto’s now know first overall pick (value: 100) and then go to teams in the playoffs and see the dramatic difference (ie Montreal:14.463). This seems to suggest the AI summary is correct.
The rabbithole I was thinking of is whether or not there is a statistically significant difference between the success of various teams in drafting players who eventually play, as well as the mystery of a meaningful number of undrafted players who come in and have useful careers.
Essentially, after about the middle of the second round, every player is available to every team and the universe of the undrafted is evenly available to all.
If we can’t demonstrate that there is skill involved in the front office, we might as well play each year with a random draw .
Richard,
A few things to consider
Not all scouts and systems are equally astute.
Not all teams are equally proficient in player development.
We often see players move to different teams and they take off, like Sam Bennett in Florida, Martin St. Louis in Tampa or the most one sided trade in history, Phil Esposito to Boston.
Not all teams scout in the same place specifically in Europe at all levels.
While in some respects it’s a crap shoot and odds are longer that’s where character, drive and determination come in ergo the gems.
I still don’t see Knies going anywhere. Why would you trade a promising young player like that, unless somebody is willing to greatly overpay.
Minnesota needs 2 big D-men so they can protect their smaller much quicker scorers. Bet you mackinnon wouldn’t be taken liberties on Hughes if a Cat like Darius Kaspariatus or Scott Stevens roamed the ice. Colorado are str8 punks
Then please find me about 6 or 7 punks like that for Ottawa!