Examining Latest NHL Trade Rumors Amid 2025 Opening Week

The 2025-26 NHL season is underway but that has not stopped the trade rumor mill from churning, with some teams looking to fix weak spots on their rosters, others seeking partners for underwhelming draft picks, and yet another hearing buzz of interest in one of their top forwards.

Dive deeper into each of those topics with this collection of rumors from some of the industry's top and most respected insiders.

Latest on Calgary Trading Nazem Kadri

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There are any number of teams in the NHL who could benefit from having a forward like Nazem Kadri but to pry him away from the Calgary Flames will not be easy. Or cheap.

TSN's Darren Dreger reported that he believes it will take a "tremendous overpay" for a team to trade for Kadri before March. Even then, the season would have had to go against the Flames' expectations for them to give him up easily.

It is not difficult to see why Calgary would play hardball with potential trade partners, either.

Kadri had 35 goals and 32 assists last season and averaged 19:21 minutes on ice per game. He is a strong player at a position of need for many teams looking for both starters and depth players. He is a high-end scorer and a physical one at that, a player who can play defense and create turnovers.

Dreger specifically noted that Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal would all be suitors for Kadri, but so would 24 other teams in the league, realistically.

Ultimately, it looks like it very well could depend on how well Calgary's season goes as to whether or not Kadri finishes the season with the Flame or continues his career elsewhere.

The Flyers Search for Defense

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Elliotte Friedman reported in his 32 Thoughts column, "Not sure we're going to see much trade action too early, but Philadelphia is definitely checking what's out there on defence."

Nothing about the team's philosophy to this point suggests they are going to hand over young prospects for an older, veteran player. The team explored the possibility of adding Bowen Bynam during the off-season in a trade with Buffalo, but that did not come to fruition.

Cam York and Jamie Drysdale remain players the team wants to build around and focus on, but it badly needs to enhance the roster around them. Unfortunately, that will be easier said than done and will likely result in more of the same for Philly: trading for a young player with upside.

There will be options available, such as Thomas Harley in Dallas, who is on an expiring deal; however, any deal for him will likely wait until later in the season. Harley had a 50-point season in 2024-25 and led all Stars defensemen in goals with 16. He would be an interesting fit in Philadelphia and at 24 years old, a potential high-potential contributor for the next decade.

The Flyers have put themselves in a position where fixing their biggest weakness will likely have to wait. Considering how loaded the Eastern Conference is, that could put them in an unenviable position early on.

Latest on Chicago and Lukas Reichel

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The Chicago Blackhawks are looking for a trade partner for Lukas Reichel, the former 21st-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft who has struggled to put his game together. He has yet to score 10 goals or 15 assists to this point and his inconsistency has made him expendable.

The team likely hoped to have traded him before the start of the season, when rosters were set, but he remains in the lineup.

Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News reported that there is no indication the team is any closer to trading him, despite him clearly being on the trade block.

Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal reported that the Oilers and general manager Stan Bowman were "kicking the tires" on adding Reichel.

Bowman was at the helm of the Blackhawks five years ago when they selected the German-born player, so it makes sense that he would still see something in him worth trying to fix or rejuvenate.

Considering the string of success Edmonton has had in recent years, and the exact opposite that the Blackhawks have, it may be a more advantageous landing spot for a young player who, at one point, flashed enough potential to be selected as highly as he was.