5 Bold Trade Predictions Ahead of the 2026-27 NHL Season

It's been a busy offseason of blockbuster trades across the NHL with notable players like Brady Tkachuk, Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Dorofeyev and Vincent Trocheck all changing teams in blockbuster deals.

There still might be more to come before the season, and perhaps even during it.

Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck still have unsettled trade requests, and Quinn Hughes is entering the final year of his contract with no long-term deal in sight.

You know at some point the Carolina Hurricanes are going to do something with their remaining salary-cap space and draft pick capital.

So let's take a minute and make some bold trade predictions ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Keep in mind, these are just predictions based on needs, what teams have to potentially offer and what could make sense.

Let's get into it.

The Minnesota Wild Will Trade Quinn Hughes...Somewhere

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This seems like it could be one of the biggest storylines of the season.

Hughes is one of the best players in the league, is entering the final year of his contract, has no new contract in place, and there is an assumption that he is just waiting for an opportunity to get to the New Jersey Devils so he can play alongside his brothers, Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes.

He will get that opportunity when his contract expires after this season (assuming he does not sign a new deal before then).

How the Wild handle things before then is going to be fascinating to watch. They traded for him a year ago in the hopes he could help make them a Stanley Cup contender, and that maybe they could convince him to re-sign. They didn't win a Stanley Cup a year ago, and to this point he hasn't re-signed.

General manager Bill Guerin appeared on a Minnesota radio show this week and refused to commit to not trading him, and when told he "couldn't" trade Quinn Hughes, Guerin jokingly responded by saying he can do whatever he wants.

Are the Wild convinced this team is good enough as constructed to take an all-or-nothing approach for one season with Hughes? They might be close, but given their lack of center depth they are probably a step below the top-tier Stanley Cup contenders. The Colorado Avalanche showed a couple of years ago that a contending team can trade a pending UFA star player and come out looking good with it (Mikko Rantanen). Maybe Minnesota follows in that direction.

Now, does that mean they are going to trade him to New Jersey? Not at all. The Wild would be under no obligation to do that given Hughes' lack of a no-trade clause in his contract, and could seek out the best possible deal for their team. There would almost certainly be a market, and it might be something they feel they need to explore rather than risk losing him in free agency after the season.

Connor Hellebuyck Gets Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes

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Just because Carolina has won recently without elite goaltending does not mean they have to keep doing that.

They could be an ideal fit to potentially go after Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck given their available salary cap space (still over $9 million as of early September) and the fact they have a lot of potential trade capital. Not only does Carolina have four first-round picks over the next three years, it also has defenseman Alexander Nikishin who remains unsigned as a restricted free agent and may not have a big enough role with the Hurricanes. There are a lot of things here that could intrigue Winnipeg if it honors Hellebuyck's trade request. And it seems likely that he is going to do everything in his power to force their hands and make sure they do honor it.

Hellebuyck is getting deeper into his 30s and is going to want a chance to win a Stanley Cup, and Carolina, as the defending Stanley Cup champions, would give him a great opportunity to do that.

There might be some concern regarding his ability to maintain the level of play he has been at over his prime years, but he should still be an elite goalie for another couple of years. That would make an already great Carolina team even better, and likely make them the top favorites to win it all once again.

Dylan Larkin Doesn't Get Traded

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Not all trade predictions have to involve an actual trade. Sometimes, it can just be the simple reality that a trade doesn't happen.

If Larkin's concerns are tied more to the Red Wings' current direction than to the organization itself, a change in the front office could create an opportunity to repair the relationship with the team captain and persuade him to remain in Detroit.

Even if he is ultimately traded, a deal may not materialize immediately. A new general manager would likely need time to assess the roster, speak with interested teams, evaluate offers and establish a direction for the franchise.

If Larkin remains with the club, a strong start to the season and a clear vision from the front office could help stabilize the situation.

Although reactions could vary, many teammates would likely understand the business side of the situation and welcome him back.

Winning could help repair the relationship with some fans.

Columbus Eventually Trades Kirill Marchenko to Montreal

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Even though it has not resulted in many major roster moves, the Columbus Blue Jackets have still had a chaotic offseason thanks to rumors of Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko, two of their best players, not being interested in staying beyond their current contracts.

Things appear to have been smoothed over between Werenski and the Blue Jackets, at least for now, but Marchenko's future in Columbus remains uncertain. Because he will be eligible for restricted free agency after this season, the situation could move trade discussions to the forefront sooner rather than later.

The Montreal Canadiens have been the most-rumored destination, and it makes a ton of sense for them. They have a need for another top-six winger, and because they have all of their core players already locked into place on long-term deals that are also very cap-friendly, they have the financial flexibility to swing for a major deal like this.

Montreal has all of its first-round draft picks over the next three years and plenty of prospect depth it can deal from. There might not be a team in the NHL better positioned to make a move like this in terms of need and having the type of assets Columbus might be interested in.

Chris Kreider Is the Player Anaheim Trades to Open Salary-Cap Space

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The Anaheim Ducks' salary-cap situation got thrown into chaos this offseason when the Philadelphia Flyers signed center Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet, which was then followed by the threat of an offer sheet for defenseman Pavel Mintyukov.

Between the two of them, the Ducks have over $25 million in cap space invested and still have to get Cutter Gauthier re-signed.

They have just $9 million in salary-cap space to do it. That is almost certainly not going to be enough given where contracts around the league are going this offseason and the type of season Gauthier is coming off of with the Ducks.

That almost certainly means somebody is going to have to go.

The most likely trade candidates are Chris Kreider, Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano.

Vatrano, in theory, would be the easiest to trade simply because he doesn't have any no-trade protections in his contract. But he is coming off a brutal season, and NHL teams are not usually interested in trading for veteran wingers in their 30s that have term remaining on their contracts. The two years on his deal might be a deterrent for another team, even if the salary cap number ($4.5 million per season) is not that significant.

Killorn could be an option and is coming off a 15-goal season, but I don't know how much of a market there would be for him given his age (37) and the fact that he makes $6.2 million. That is a situation where Anaheim might have to throw in a sweetener to find a taker.

The 35-year-old is similar to Killorn in terms of salary-cap number ($6.5 million), term remaining (final season of current contract), trade protections (15-team trade list) and age, but there might be a slightly bigger market for him without having to throw in a sweetener.

Kreider is coming off a bounce-back year offensively, scoring 22 goals with 50 total points, and has been a better player more recently. He can still help them, but they are going to have to shed some money somewhere, and he might be the most logical candidate at the moment.