8 NHL Players Most Likely to Be Traded During the 2026 Offseason
And down the stretch they come.
The final "mark that date" on the NHL's 2025-26 regular-season calendar came and went with the league's trade deadline on Friday, with a flurry of moves that'll make the good teams better and the bad teams a tad more optimistic for the future.
But not everyone the experts thought would be moved actually was.
Which shifts the transactional focus to the offseason, when another wave of players who've worn out their welcome or simply need a change of scenery for other reasons will creep onto the "will they or won't they" radar.
B/R's hockey team scanned the horizon for those who would-be movers and came up with an alphabetical list of players (along with a handful of honorable mentions) most likely to be traded in the weeks between the Stanley Cup hoist in June and the drop of 2026-27 pucks in October.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.
Honorable Mentions
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Blake Coleman, Calgary Flames
The two-time Cup winner with nine straight double-digit goal-scoring seasons was a hot topic at the deadline as the Flames skidded to 15th in the 16-team Western Conference. He didn't get moved, but having one just year left on a deal paying him $4.9 million annually keeps him in prime candidate territory come summer.
Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville Predators
A 35-year-old center with a Cup ring of his own made O'Reilly the topic of a lot of deadline-week chatter, too, but the respected veteran—who's also got a Conn Smythe, a Lady Byng and a Selke in his trophy case—reportedly wanted to stay with the Predators as they clung to a spot in the Western playoff race.
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
It's a tougher sell when it comes to Pettersson, who signed a $92.5 million pact with a no-move clause two years ago as the Canucks closed in on a Pacific Division title. To say things have gone south would be an understatement but you've got to think it'd be a done deal if GM Patrik Allvin could find a taker and convince the player.
Rasmus Ristolainen, Philadelphia Flyers
A lot of teams could use a skilled right-shot defenseman with good size, another year on his contract and a no-movement clause, but Flyers GM Daniel Briere decided after taking a series of calls that the player meant more in house than out. Whether that changes if a juicy pre-draft offer arrives remains to be seen.
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
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Fans of the Edmonton Oilers may want to look away here.
Though Binnington has both a Stanley Cup and an Olympic silver medal on his resume, the 32-year-old has skidded to No. 2 on the St. Louis goaltending depth chart behind Joel Hofer. And given the number of teams in need of a reliable puck-stopper, a deadline trade seemed imminent by desperation alone.
It didn't happen. But unless Hofer completely flames out with the Blues and Binnington takes back over, the league-wide chase for a goalie as good as him—with another year left on the books at $5.1 million—won't be going anywhere.
Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks
3 of 9
Call it Pettersson, Part II.
As mentioned earlier, Allvin is in full rebuild mode with the Canucks and was plenty active before and at the deadline, sending defensemen Quinn Hughes and Tyler Myers, and wingers Kiefer Sherwood and Conor Garland out of town.
Pettersson was more of a task given his huge deal, and it's similar, but not as bad with Boeser, a 29-year-old winger with four seasons of 25 goals or more and a contract that'll pay him "only" $7.25 million per year through 2029-30.
Proven scorer. $4.35 million cheaper. Do the math.
Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils
4 of 9
Another year, another inclusion of Hamilton on a would-be moves list.
The big-bodied defenseman with eight 10-plus goal seasons in the NHL has been traded twice and was among the league's most coveted free agents before he ultimately signed a seven-year, $63 million deal with the Devils in 2021.
But he missed 18 or more games in three of his first four seasons with the team and seems to be nearing the end of the line in New Jersey if GM Tom Fitzgerald can find a suitor who'd be willing and able to add $9 million in payroll.
Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers
5 of 9
Look away, again, Oilers fans.
The team and its fanbase were flush with optimism in 2021 when the sturdy Nurse, a 6'4", 216-pounder, was locked down for eight more seasons at $9.25 million apiece and solidified a young foundation alongside guys named McDavid and Draisaitl.
Five years later, and there's probably no one the Edmonton faithful would rather get rid of, given Nurse's maddening inconsistency on the blue line and the lack of available funds to supplement depth scoring and solidify inconsistent goaltending.
But it's no easy task, given a full no-move clause through next season and the fact that Nurse's wife just gave birth to their third child. Still, he's conceded lately that he's disappointed in his own play, and the idea of a new team might appeal to him.
Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues
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Just when it looked like Parayko, a veteran right-shot defenseman with a Stanley Cup on his resume, would be on every "Most Significant Players to Be Moved" list this weekend, the 32-year-old pumped the brakes.
Blues GM Doug Armstrong had apparently agreed to send the Alberta native to Buffalo, but the deal was scrapped when Parayko invoked the no-move clause he'd bargained into the eight-year, $52 million contract he signed in 2021.
It's easy to see why the Sabres would have been interested in a sturdy blue liner with significant playoff experience, and it'll be completely understandable if the St. Louis brass continues its retooling by sending the player elsewhere—to a destination he'd agree to—come summertime.
Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
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It ain't easy being Brad Treliving.
His departure from Calgary came shortly after the Flames had traded Matthew Tkachuk and seen Johnny Gaudreau leave as a free agent, hastening the franchise's plummet. And the GM's life hasn't gotten easier since ditching Alberta for Ontario, given Toronto's skid from an Atlantic title last spring to current irrelevance.
Like the aforementioned situation with Nurse in Edmonton, among the crosses Treliving bears these days is Rielly's contract, a 31-year-old defenseman who'll be paid $7.5 million per season under a no-movement clause through 2029-30.
No team was willing to pull the trigger to wrench Rielly out of the Maple Leafs' hands prior to the deadline, and it'll take some clever deal-making on Treliving's part to both find a trade partner and convince the player to go along with it.
Steven Stamkos, Nashville Predators
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It's not as if Barry Trotz wasn't active during his final deadline as GM in Nashville, stockpiling draft picks while sending Nick Blankenburg, Michael Bunting, Cole Smith, and Michael McCarron away before Friday's final horn.
But neither O'Reilly nor Stamkos exited, perhaps a nod to the Predators' still-relevant position in the Western playoff race or maybe a decision by Trotz and Co. to leave decisions on the decorated veterans to his eventual successor.
Stamkos has two more seasons left at $8 million apiece and could be a valuable summertime addition for a young team looking to make a step up, though he's one of the players on our list who's a better fit in March than June or July.
Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers
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No player had more buzz or was included on more lists prior to the deadline, but somehow Trocheck remained on the Blueshirts' roster into the weekend.
But that doesn't mean he'll be there come opening night in the fall.
The 32-year-old two-way forward is owed $5.63 million a season through 2028-29, has scored 20-plus goals in his last four full seasons, and is among the league's best face-off men with a better than 50 percent win rate in each of his last 10 seasons.
Moderate contract. Versatile player. Put it together with just a 10-team no-movement clause, and it seems a lock that the Pittsburgh native will still be a coveted commodity as the start of the 2026-27 season approaches.
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