Buy or Sell Jordan Kyrou, Bowen Byram and the Major Trades Made So Far During the 2026 NHL Offseason

Happy Wednesday, hockey fans.

We are two days out from the 2026 draft, and, whew, the pre-free-agent trade market has been absolutely popping so far.

It all started with Brady Tkachuk's move to Florida on Sunday, which was a big enough bombshell on its own. The deal set off a domino effect of draft week deals slightly ahead of schedule, and things really started to rev up Tuesday night.

Now that we've reached the middle of the week, let's take stock of the trades that have already occurred as we prepare for what promises to be a wild draft on the trade front.

Spoiler alert: Most deals have been pretty good, except for the one that really wasn't. Let's get into it.

Darren Raddysh to the Maple Leafs

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Darren Raddysh's breakout last season with the Lightning was a great story. His next chapter will be with his hometown Maple Leafs, where the Lightning traded him and his expiring contract for a fifth-round pick. The Leafs immediately extended his contract for eight years with an $8.5 million AAV.

It's a pretty significant bet with meaningful upside. The 30-year-old had career highs in goals (22), assists (48), points (70), and plus-minus (+21) while playing a career-high 22:41 through 73 games last season. He also spent time on the power play, an area where the Leafs need improvement.

Buy or Sell: Buy

It's a tall task for Raddysh to repeat what he did last season, scoring at almost a point per game clip for the first and only time in his career. But if he comes anywhere close to that, the Leafs get a gigantic upgrade in the exact spot on defense they urgently need.

Plus, we need to remember more than ever this offseason that the salary cap has jumped significantly, and contracts are going to "look" inflated in a way we aren't used to until we all adjust. If Raddysh performs even halfway between how he had before last season and last season, an $8.5 million AAV would shake out to be a solid contract for him, give-or-take.

Lastly, this is the brutal Eastern Conference we're talking about. The Leafs took a potential game-changer off the market for opponents in exchange for a fifth-round pick. That alone is a move in a positive direction.

Brady Tkachuk to the Panthers

What else can be said about the blockbuster of the week?

Brady Tkachuk is a Florida Panther.

After Tkachuk gave the Senators a list of four teams he would move to with the power of his No Movement Clause, the Senators sent their former captain to his brother's Panthers for three first-round picks and a second-rounder.

There's been much ado about what this means for the Senators, the league as a whole, and the trade landscape this offseason, but what does it mean for the Panthers?

They get another skilled player who could be on a first line elsewhere, who will likely slot in on a second or third line on what could be the deepest team in the league.

Buy or Sell: Buy

Does the acquisition of Tkachuk solve the Panthers' most urgent need to replace Sergei Bobrovsky in net? Of course not. Is Tkachuk worth three first-round picks and an additional second-rounder? Not in my humble opinion. Are the Panthers going for a dynasty, and does Tkachuk move the needle in that context, on and off the ice?

Absolutely.

Per usual, the Panthers will just figure out the rest as they go. Needle-movers are the name of the game these days, and they've done that again.

William Eklund to Senators

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The Senators were in a pickle from the second they shipped Tkachuk off. Three first-round picks are always nice to acquire, but this is a team looking to advance to the second round after two years of making the playoffs and improving as a franchise.

Suddenly needing to replace your high-scoring, first-line captain is tricky, especially when the return did not include a player at all. The Senators were going to have to flip some of these picks, fast, as the offseason is clearly already here.

They wasted no time in acquiring Eklund (and some prospects) from the Sharks for the No. 9 pick, the highest they had acquired. Eklund was the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft, and he's shown positive potential in the NHL so far as a two-way winger who can hang in the top six. He scored 15 goals and 53 points in 78 games with the Sharks last season.

Buy or Sell: Buy

Replacing Tkachuk isn't going to be a one-for-one sort of thing; Tkachuk's combination of grit and skill is unique. Instead of thinking in terms of a one-for-one replacement, the Senators are more likely to need multiple moves to improve the roster and get back to the playoffs.

The No. 9 overall pick for the draft coming up in just a few days is a very steep price for a player that hasn't made it to the 20-goal mark yet, but the Senators don't need a No. 9 overall prospect; they need an NHL player, now. The objective of getting these picks was to flip them for the best players they could, and Eklund has some serious upside.

When you take a look at the rest of the market, there aren't many Tkachuk-caliber players out there this offseason, and it looks like Jason Robertson wouldn't be game to play in Ottawa.

It isn't perfect, but the Senators don't have time for perfection. The market is unpredictable right now, and Eklund's a good gamble at $5.6 million AAV. Ottawa will still have funds to replace Tkachuk by committee, which needs to be the plan.

Jordan Kyrou to Capitals

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The will-they-won't-they surrounding Jordan Kyrou is finally over after an abysmal season for the St. Louis Blues. They traded him to the Capitals for pending RFA Connor McMichael, forward prospect Milton Gastrin, and the 16th pick in the 2026 draft. Kyrou has five years remaining on his deal with an $8.125 million AAV. He also waived his no-trade clause to head to Washington.

The Capitals have sort of been in limbo as a franchise. On one hand, they've got Alex Ovechkin's twilight and a core aging alongside him. On the other hand, they've got a new core budding with tons of enticing up-and-comers, led by exciting, young head coach Spencer Carbery.

Acquiring Kyrou, who had 18 goals and 46 points for the struggling Blues last season, shows that the Capitals are dedicated to returning to the playoffs next season (which could be Ovechkin's last).

Buy or Sell: Buy

Why shouldn't the Capitals try to do everything they can to squeeze the most out of this core while Ovechkin's still playing? Logan Thompson is a superb goaltender, and there are too many gems on this roster to throw in the towel just yet.

Bowen Byram to Blackhawks

The latest blockbuster of the week saw the Sabres shipping off offensive defenseman Bowen Byram and winger Jordan Greenway to the Blackhawks for the No. 4 pick and the No. 45 pick in the 2026 draft and defenseman Louis Crevier. 

Buy or Sell: Sell

We've got to get right into the analysis, here, because this has been by far the most lopsided return of all in a week of wild trades. The last time a top-five pick in the draft was traded (with both teams knowing it was top-five) was in 2008.

For the right price, a Byram-to-the-Blackhawks deal could've been lovely. He had 42 points in 82 games last season, matching his career high with 11 goals. That would have made him the highest-scoring defenseman on the Blackhawks this past season. He could've added some leadership and undeniable talent to that defense, and could've added to the production of their highest-scoring defenseman from last season: Oh, uh, that was Crevier, who went to the Sabres in the deal.

The Blackhawks could really use a player with power play potential and the proven skill Byram has shown at 25 years old, which could even improve with more opportunity on this roster. But trading away what would've been the second-highest scorer on the blue line behind him and a No. 45 pick on top of the No. 4 overall pick is way too much for a team that is very much still rebuilding.

The Blackhawks could've used the No. 4 pick to draft a viable winger for years to come alongside Connor Bedard. Instead, they were the first team in two decades to trade a top-five pick, and they traded it for a player who scored 11 goals last season, which is his career high. It's just baffling.

Simon Nemec to the Flames

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The Devils traded defenseman Simon Nemec and forward Maxim Tsyplakov to the Flames for prospect Etienne Morin, a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2028 first-round pick.

Keep in mind the Devils drafted Nemec No. 2 overall in 2022; He's a young up-and-comer who has yet to even sniff his ceiling. The problem is, he was essentially vying for the same role as same-aged Luke Hughes, who the Devils have clearly chosen as the player they want to invest in and develop for that quarterbacking role.

The Devils wanted to get more out of this top prospect with a high ceiling than they were with their logjam of high-scoring defensemen on the ice. And boy, did they get something out of him.

Buy or Sell: Sell

Again, there's a good chance Nemec will become a star in the league, and that's exactly what the Flames are seeking in this rebuild. It's also true that they have stockpiled a lot of draft capital and assets to build a team for the future.

Nemec could give them arguably the most important piece of that.

Still, two first-round picks and more for a player who scored 11 goals last season is a lot. Yes, Nemec was limited in his role and will likely have a better chance at success elsewhere. But there's just as likely a chance we'll look back and wonder if the Flames should've had more patience.