NHL Trade Deadline live blog

The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline is 3 p.m. ET Friday. Follow along here for news, updates, rumors, reports, basically all of the good stuff, all the way through the deadline.

5:20 p.m. ET

I am fairly confident in my ability to wrap up this Deadline Day live blog now, a full two hours and 20 minutes after the deadline actually passed.

There might be another small move or two still in the queue for NHL Central Registry, but most general managers who were active, and some who did nothing today, have already addressed the media in their local markets. 

When they do that, you know they’re done and nothing is pending.

I’ll be writing a wrapup column about the day that you can read this evening, but to give a glimpse of it, the crux of the column will be all the reasons why today felt like a slower trade deadline day than we have experienced in previous years.

We don’t have the final list of trades and players moved, but in the past four years the deadline day average has been 25.3 trades and 42 players moved. My expectation is we’ll be below that once the dust fully settles, but even if it’s not by much, this was not your typical deadline day.

I’ll be getting into all of that in my wrapup column.

For now, let’s close out this blog with a thank you for following along, and one more stick tap to my wife, Emily, for delivering me the mid-day donut and iced tea from Dunkin.

Oh, and this:

Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final. 

Book it.

4:56 p.m. ET

The Nazem Kadri trade is official.

The Colorado Avalanche got Kadri and a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft from the Calgary Flames for forward Victor Olofsson, the rights to unsigned draft pick Max Curran, a conditional 2028 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2027 second-round draft pick.

Kadri is signed through the 2028-29 season with a $7 million average annual value, but the Flames retained 20 percent of Kadri’s AAV, which equates to $1.4 million per year, making Kadri a $5.6 million middle-six center for the Avalanche.

Kadri returns to Colorado, where he won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022. He will likely play in a third-line role to start behind Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson and ahead of Nicolas Roy.

Roy was acquired by the Avalanche on Thursday for a conditional first-round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The thought was he would be their No. 3 center. Now he’s their No. 4 center.

Some people will look at the Avalanche sideways for giving up a fourth-round pick for a No. 4 center, but when you’re on pace to finish the regular season as the best team in the NHL, it’s the price you pay to have arguably the best center depth in the League too.

The Avalanche will care about first round picks when MacKinnon and Cale Makar are not dominating the League.

4:05 p.m. ET

It’s not done yet.

Nazem Kadri is going back to the Colorado Avalanche, according to SPortnet’s Elliotte Friedman. It’s not clear yet what the Calgary Flames are getting in return for Kadri, who has three years remaining on his contract with a $7 million AAV.

But Kadri is reportedly going back to the Avalanche, the team he won the Stanley Cup with in 2022, and the same team that has a need down the middle.

Nathan MacKinnon.

Brock Nelson.

Nazem Kadri.

Nicolas Roy.

That’s some steep center depth for the team that has been the best in the League from the start of the season.

Good luck to the rest of the Western Conference. Heck, good luck to the rest of the NHL.

Also, this is probably why the Flames reportedly acquired Ryan Strome from the Anaheim Ducks.

3:40 p.m. ET

The Maple Leafs are moving Scott Laughton to the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round pick, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

So Bobby McMann goes to the Seattle Kraken and Laughton to the Kings. For a while there I was wondering if the Maple Leafs were going to trade these pending UFA forwards that they scratched for roster management purposes the past two games. 

That would have been a disaster.

It’s not a disaster if they don’t trade defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He has two years remaining on his contract with a $3.5 million AAV. 

Toronto plans to try to contend again as soon as next season and Ekman-Larsson can help with that. There was no pressure to trade him and the Maple Leafs clearly did not get the price they were hoping to get for him.

That’s the theme of the day.

3:30 p.m. ET

Sergei Bobrovsky was not traded and the Florida Panthers are reportedly discussing a contract extension with the 37-year-old goalie who is in the last year of a seven-year contract ($10 million AAV).

This makes the most sense for the Panthers. I never thought the Panthers were going to trade Bobrovsky unless it was a can’t miss deal for them. If they still had Spencer Knight maybe it would make sense, but he’s with the Chicago Blackhawks. 

They have Daniil Tarasov, but he’s more of a backup. They don’t have any other goalie who is NHL ready at this point and the last thing you want to do is go chasing goaltending when you plan on being a contending team, which is exactly what the Panthers are planning on being again next season.

3:20 p.m. ET

The New York Islanders are reportedly sending Jonathan Drouin to the St. Louis Blues in the Brayden Schenn trade.

It hasn’t quite worked for Drouin with the Islanders this season. He has 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) in 55 games. He had 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 43 games with the Colorado Avalanche last season.

3:15 p.m. ET

The Anaheim Ducks are trading Ryan Strome to the Calgary Flames, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. A seventh-round pick is going to Anaheim in return.

My first reaction was why, as in why would the Flames, a team out of the playoff race, acquire a 32-year-old center with one year remaining on his contract ($5 million AAV) who is having a down year offensively (nine points in 33 games)?

Then I thought about it quickly and, well, the Flames are also getting a reliable veteran player that can insulate them if they do end up trading Nazem Kadri at some point and they can also ship off as a rental, possibly for better than a seventh-round pick, at next year’s deadline.

If it’s only about asset management for the Flames it makes some sense.

3:11 p.m. ET

Justin Faulk to the Detroit Red Wings. Bobby McMann to the Seattle Kraken.

The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford is reporting the St. Louis Blues are trading Faulk, the 33-year-old right shot defenseman, to the Red Wings. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports the Blues are getting a first-round pick and a third-round pick for Faulk.

The Blues also reportedly got a first-round pick and a third-round pick from the New York Islanders for Brayden Schenn.

Faulk is signed through next season with a $6.5 million AAV. He has 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 61 games this season.

McMann is going from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Kraken, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Its’ reportedly a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2026.

McMann, who is a pending UFA, has 19 goals this season.

3 p.m. ET

The deadline has arrived.

Right around now is when Brad Marchand got traded from the Boston Bruins to the Florida Panthers last season.

Stay tuned.

2:50 p.m. ET

The St. Louis Blues are reportedly getting a first-round pick, a third-round pick and a prospect from the New York Islanders for Brayden Schenn.

There’s 10 minutes to go before the deadline and Schenn might be the biggest name moved today.

Vincent Trocheck? Still with the New York Rangers.

Robert Thomas, Colton Parayko, Jordan Binnington, Jordan Kyrou and Justin Faulk? Still with the Blues.

Elias Pettersson and Evander Kane? Still with the Vancouver Canucks.

Sergei Bobrovsky? Still with the Florida Panthers.

Ryan O’Reilly, Jonathan Marchessault, Erik Haula and Steven Stamkos? Still with the Nashville Predators.

Dougie Hamilton and Simon Nemec? Still with the New Jersey Devils.

Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton and Oliver Ekman-Larsson? Still with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman? Still with the Calgary Flames.

Ten minutes to go. The answers can still change.

2:35 p.m. ET

Quick little side note to the reported deal sending Brayden Schenn from the St. Louis Blues to the New York Islanders:

Andy Strickland, who covers the Blues on FanDuel Sports Network, reported that the Blues and Islanders are staying in the same hotel in San Jose.

The Blues play the Sharks at SAP Center tonight. The Islanders are there tomorrow night.

So Schenn doesn’t even have to change his hotel room to get to his new team for this trade.

That’s got to be a first.

2:30 p.m. ET

Another trade has come through with the Pittsburgh Penguins acquiring forward Elmer Soderblom from the Detroit Red Wings for a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Soderblom is signed through next season with a $1.125 million AAV. He has three points (two goals, one assist) in 39 games this season. He’s 24 years old and he’s 6-foot-8, so the Penguins are adding a young player with size that they can keep through next season.

I wonder if the Red Wings are trading Soderblom to get a third-round draft pick they will now use in a trade to get a center that they so covet?

We’ve got time before the deadline to see if that happens.

2:25 p.m. ET

Brayden Schenn to the New York Islanders. It’s not officially official yet, but it’s being widely reported now that Schenn has waived his no-trade clause to go to the Islanders.

The question is the return to the St. Louis Blues, who are trading their captain to the Islanders.

Schenn, 34, has two years remaining on his contract at a $6.5 million AAV.

He has 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 61 games this season, but it’s been a down season for the Blues and Schenn has been a part of that. 

You have to think the Islanders are acquiring him to be their second-line center provided they plan to keep Mathew Barzal at right wing on the top line with Bo Horvat. Schenn could get the chance to play between Jonathan Drouin and Emil Heineman.

The Blues may not be done. 

We’re in the last hour of deadline day and this is the time when the rubber starts to hit the road. They have a lot of players who have been in trade rumors, including forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, defensemen Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk, and goalie Jordan Binnington.

All of them have term left on their contracts.

2:15 p.m. ET

The Washington Capitals are replacing John Carlson with Timothy Liljegren, who is coming to them from the San Jose Sharks, according to TSN’s Chris Johnston. 

Liljegren is a right shot defenseman, just like Carlson. He’s a pending UFA, just like Carlson.

But the Capitals somewhat shockingly, at least when you consider his legacy in Washington, traded Carlson to the Anaheim Ducks very early this morning.

Liljegren has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) and is averaging 20:08 of ice time per game in 43 games this season for the Sharks. The 26-year-old has a $3.0 million AAV on his expiring contract.

Reports are starting to come in saying Brayden Schenn is being moved from the St. Louis Blues to the New York Islanders. It’s not official as of this minute, but if it happens the Islanders are getting the Blues captain and filling out their center depth.

More to come soon on that one.

Like I said at 1:35, we were in the calm before the storm.

The storm is coming.

2:05 p.m. ET

The Carolina Hurricanes are adding a bit of intimidation to their bottom-six forward group by acquiring Nicolas Deslauriers from the Philadelphia Flyers, according to Sportsnet.

Deslauriers has one assist in 24 games this season. He had eight points in 115 games in the past three seasons with the Flyers. 

This is a depth add for the Hurricanes, a player that might not play every game but is an option for the Hurricanes when they want to add that level of physicality and intimidation to their fourth line.

Deslaurier has carved out a long NHL career, playing in 701 games with 105 points (53 goals, 52 assists).

1:35 p.m. ET

It feels like the calm before the storm, doesn’t it?

We’re less than 90 minutes away from the deadline and there have been five trades today. 

Five. That’s it.

Odds are there will be more, and odds are they come in like a 10-minute window just before and even after 3 p.m. ET because trade news always trickle in after the deadline.

If it’s not the calm before the storm that it underlines the struggle of this year’s deadline with so many players with term still remaining on their contracts being discussed and many of them with some type of no trade protection in their contracts.

It’s a different deadline. It’s not a rental deadline. In fact, we’ve already seen two players today who could have been moved as rentals re-sign with their own teams; San Jose Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle.

Oh, and I got my donut. My wife, Emily, came through big time with a Boston Kreme from Dunkin. 

She will not be traded. Ever.

1:16 p.m. ET

The Nashville Predators are practicing today without forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Erik Haula.

It could mean nothing. It could mean something. 

Marchessault has been circulating through trade rumors as it just hasn’t been a strong fit for him in Nashville. He has this year plus three more remaining on a five year contract with a $5.5 million AAV. 

Haula is a pending UFA with a $3.15 million AAV.

The Predators have already traded forwards Michael McCarron and Michael Bunting, and defenseman Nick Blankenberg.

1 p.m. ET

Another signing on trade deadline day?

Indeed.

Jordan Eberle is signing a two-year, $11 million contract ($5.5 million AAV) to stay with the Seattle Kraken, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

It’s a raise for the Kraken’s captain, who is in the second year of a two-year, $9.5 million contract ($4.75 million AAV).

Eberle leads the Kraken with 22 goals and 42 points in 59 games. The 35-year-old is having a strong season. He has already scored the most goals in a season since his 25 with the New York Islanders in 2017-18.

But the fact that Eberle leads the Kraken in goals and points with those numbers is indicative of the real need in Seattle – a gamebreaker.

The Kraken might not be able to get that in the next two hours, but it’s a big need and has been since the team’s inaugural season.

12:47 p.m. ET

The Minnesota Wild traded future considerations to the Chicago Blackhawks to get Nick Foligno.

Now, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, the Wild are trading center Vinnie Hinostroza to the Florida Panthers in exchange for future considerations.

So, are the Wild giving the Blackhawks the future considerations they are getting from the Panthers?

I need a donut.

12:40 p.m. ET

A little more on Nick Foligno joining his brother Marcus in Minnesota:

You can imagine the excitement going on in the Foligno family now that Nick has officially been traded to the Wild from the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations.

Marcus Foligno told The Athletic’s Michael Russo that their father, former NHL player and coach Mike Foligno, is bawling, that their wives are going crazy, the family is so pumped up.

“It's a crazy moment in our family and just to know you’re going to play with your brother is a dream come true,” Marcus told Russo. “I’ve got the shakes going right now.”

Marcus also said that Nick played a little coy with him when they spoke earlier this morning about 30 minutes before the trade was announced.

Marcus told Russo that Nick told him, “I’m going to a different team.” Marcus congratulated him, and then Nick said, “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

12:20 p.m. ET

Corey Perry is going back to the Tampa Bay Lightning, according to Sportsnet.

Perry has been traded from the Los Angeles Kings to the Lightning. The return is a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, according to Sportsnet. He is a pending UFA with a $2 million cap charge.

Perry played for the Lightning from 2021-23, going to the Stanley Cup Final with them in 2022, when they lost in six games to the Colorado Avalanche.

Perry has been to the Stanley Cup Final five times since starting in 2020 with the Dallas Stars (2020), Montreal Canadiens (2021), Lightning (2022), and Edmonton Oilers each of the past two years.

None of those teams won the Stanley Cup, but when you get him it’s a good bet that you’ll have a chance.

Perry has 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 50 games for the Kings this season. He is 40 years old and still does the same things he was doing at 20, when he was a rookie with the Anaheim Ducks.

He plays hard, scores goals, is a persistent pain in the butt for the opponent and he’s going to a team that could use a little bit of all of that as it tries to re-assert itself as the best team in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.

11:54 a.m. ET

One Foligno is not enough in Minnesota. The Wild are getting another.

The Wild are acquiring Nick Foligno from the Chicago Blackhawks, according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN, giving him a chance to play with his younger brother, Marcus, for the first time in their careers.

Nick is 38. Marcus is 34.

Nick is in the last year of a two-year, $9 million contract ($4.5 million AAV). We’re not announcing anything for him, but this very well could be his last season with retirement a possibility, so getting a chance to play with his brother certainly has to mean so much to him.

He has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 37 games this season. He has played 1,270 NHL games and is still chasing the Stanley Cup. He’ll do it now with his younger brother.

What a story it would be.

11:20 a.m. ET

A signing on trade deadline day? Say it ain’t so.

It be so.

Alex Nedeljkovic has re-signed with the San Jose Sharks. The goalie got a two-year contract worth $6 million ($3 million AAV). It’s a raise for Nedeljkovic, who is in the second year of a two-year, $5 million contract.

The signing signals that the Sharks are content with their goaltending tandem of Yaroslav Askarov and Nedeljkovic, making it highly unlikely that they would be in the market for Jordan Binnington or Sergei Bobrovsky.

11:10 a.m. ET

Update: My wonderful wife said she would bring me home a coffee roll from Dunkin, and an iced tea, which is my go to.

I know all the readers of this blog were alarmed and concerned when they read my entry from 90 minutes ago, but just know everything is going to be OK here at blog headquarters in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

In other news, I keep seeing and hearing that teams won’t move their players with term remaining on their contracts unless they get their asking price. 

It’s the right way to do business if you have players in demand who are not rentals, but it makes you wonder if things will heat up in the next four hours (trades always trickle in after the Deadline passes) or if this will end up being a quiet Deadline Day.

Deadlines spur action, but in this market, with so many players who have term remaining on their contracts, it might not.

10:52 a.m. ET

The situation with Ryan O’Reilly and the Nashville Predators is similar to the position the New York Rangers are in with Vincent Trocheck.

O’Reilly is a 34-year-old No. 2 center who touches every part of the game. He leads the Predators with 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists) and is signed through next season with a $4.5 million AAV.

The asking price is likely high, at least a first-round pick and a prospect, and the Predators are under no pressure to move him.

In fact, the Predators, unlike the Rangers, are in the playoff race, three points out of the second wild card in the Western Conference.

No guesses here what happens with O’Reilly, but don’t be shocked if both he and Trocheck stay put through the Deadline.

10:34 a.m. ET

We have a trade, reportedly.

Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild. 

The Philadelphia Flyers are trading Brink, a 24-year-old forward, to the Wild for 22-year-old defenseman David Jiricek.

Brink has 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in 55 games this season. He’s on the smaller side at 5-foot-8 and 169 pounds but he has terrific speed and can use his diminutive size to get inside.

Jiricek was the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and this is the second time he has been traded. 

The Blue Jackets traded him to the Wild on Nov. 30, 2024.

Jiricek has no points in 25 games this season, averaging 11:43 of ice time per game with the Wild. 

Jiricek is a right-handed defenseman. It’s possible the Flyers are acquiring him because they’re working on trading Rasmus Ristolainen, who is also a right-shot defenseman.

10:22 a.m. ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a lot of eyes on them for reasons they didn’t see coming months ago.

The Maple Leafs are sellers in this trade market and for two straight games they have scratched forwards Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton, and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson for roster management purposes.

McMann, Laughton and Ekman-Larsson were all at Madison Square Garden on Thursday in street clothes for the Maple Leafs' 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers.

"We put ourselves in this situation so this is what happens,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said before the game in New York.

Of the three, McMann and Laughton are the rentals as each are pending UFAs. Laughton has a $1.5 million AAV and McMann has a $1.35 million AAV.

Ekman-Larsson still has two years left on his contract with a $3.5 million AAV.

The term on Ekman-Larsson’s deal could make him the most attractive of the three, but it also means he’s the most expensive of the three to acquire.

Toronto already traded forward Nicolas Roy to the Colorado Avalanche for a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 or 2028 NHL Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2026.

10:05 a.m. ET

Going by the reports, the St. Louis Blues could be trading pretty much their entire team today, or no one at all.

Potentially on the trading block or at least available in the right deal, according to various media reports, the latest coming from The Athletic, are forwards Brayden Schenn, Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, Oskar Sundqvist and Pius Suter, defensemen Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk and Cam Fowler, and goalie Jordan Binnington.

Got all that?

Now, in reality, the Blues might trade one or two of these players, but to think they’re going to move them all, or even close to them all, is wild. That said, it’s a clear indication of two things:

1. The Blues know they can’t stay status quo with the way things have gone this season, and don’t forget it took a magical run after the 4 Nations Face-Off last season to get into the playoffs.

2. General manager Doug Armstrong is intent on clearing the deck as much as he can before Alex Steen takes over the full time GM duties from him after this season with Armstrong continuing as president of hockey operations. Starting the retool or rebuild or whatever you want to call it now gives Steen a head of steam for when he takes over.

We know Parayko would not waive his no-trade clause to go to the Buffalo Sabres, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still talks about him.

Binnington is signed through next season with a $6 million AAV. The Blues are not playing big games now. Binnington is a proven big-game goalie. You wonder how a move to, say, Edmonton or Vegas, would reignite his game.

Let’s see where all this goes with the Blues, who are the most interesting team to watch today because of everybody that is or could be available.

9:40 a.m. ET

There have been zero trades announced since Sam Carrick to the Buffalo Sabres at 8 a.m. 

I am now regretting the decision not to get the coffee roll at Dunkin when I went early this morning.

Shawn Roarke always brings donuts into the office on deadline day and free agency day because, as he has said for years, “a sugared up staff is a productive staff,” or something along those lines.

Well, I did not heed his advice and now I’m full of regret.

OK, back to monitoring, waiting, hoping.

9:22 a.m. ET

Could Vincent Trocheck be staying put in New York after all?

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported a few minutes ago on X (forever Twitter to me) that they will not trade the 32-year-old center “if they don’t get what they feel they need.”

In other words, the Rangers are reportedly telling teams this is the asking price and we’re not budging.

I discussed this topic on the “NHL @TheRink” podcast this week with my esteemed co-host Shawn P. Roarke, and E.J. Hradek from NHL Network. It’s exactly the approach the Rangers should be taking with Trocheck.

The only pressure put on the Rangers to trade Trocheck before the deadline was applied by them when general manager Chris Drury released the letter to the fans on Jan. 16 stating they would be retooling the roster and that could mean saying goodbye to popular players.

The Rangers traded Artemi Panarin and Carson Soucy, who were each pending UFAs. They traded Sam Carrick a few hours ago. He has one year left on his deal, but getting two draft picks, including a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, was too good to pass up for a fourth-line center.

Trocheck is different. He’s signed for three more seasons after this one with a very reasonable $5.625 million AAV. He’s a No. 2 center who plays on their first power play unit and he’s one of the first forwards over the boards to kill penalties. 

He touches every aspect of their game and he will for a while if they don’t trade him.

To me, trading Trocheck signals more of a rebuild than a retool, which Drury said in the letter this was not going to be. He said they were going to retool around their core players. They chose not to re-sign Panarin, but Trocheck could be considered a core player.

So, short of getting their asking price, which certainly has to include a first-round pick and an A-level prospect, the Rangers might hold onto Trocheck through the deadline.

Of course, deadlines lead to action and with five and a half hours to go before this one there’s plenty of time for a team to step up and give the Rangers what they want.

Wait and see.

9:10 a.m. ET

As we wait for more trades, a little more on Conor Garland going to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Don’t be fooled by Garland’s seven goals in 50 games this season. It’s a down year for him, but it’s been a downright awful year for the Vancouver Canucks and it’s hard to be at your best when your team is not even close to it.

The change should do wonders for Garland and there’s a good chance he’ll get back to being the player he was in his first four season in Vancouver, when he averaged nearly 19 goals and 49 points per season. 

A predictable, hard-nosed, attacking player who provides 20 goals and 50 points per season is worth $6 million per in this market. Garland is 29 and he begins a six-year, $36 million contract next season.

So, this trade makes a great deal of sense for Columbus, a team that needs these types of bulldog, attacking players who can provide some important secondary scoring and play on any of the top three lines along with either of the top two power play units.

The very, very simple way of looking at this is the Blue Jackets gave the Canucks a third-round pick in the 2026 draft and a second-round pick in 2028 to get Garland for their playoff push this season and to check off one item they would have had on their shopping list on July 1.

More importantly, Garland gets a chance to get to know Columbus, the Blue Jackets, his new teammates, etc. before his new contract kicks in. That’s a luxury that players who sign as unrestricted free agents never get.

But don’t look at the seven goals next to his name for this season. That says more about the Canucks than it does about Garland.

8:30 a.m. ET

The Buffalo Sabres picked up a fourth-line center in Sam Carrick from the New York Rangers for two picks in the 2026 NHL Draft; Buffalo’s own third-round pick and the sixth-round pick that previously belonged to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Carrick is a fourth-liner, and with the Sabres already lining up Tage Thompson, Josh Norris and Ryan McLeod down the middle, their center depth improved by getting Carrick to play 10 minutes per game. 

Carrick is signed through next season with a $1 million average annual value.

The two picks give the Rangers 11 in the 2026 draft, including seven in the first three rounds, with the potential for more to come if they move center Vincent Trocheck.

There’s been a lot of talk around Trocheck, who like Carrick did not play in New York’s 6-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday because of roster management purposes.

The Detroit Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild seem to be the most popular teams when it comes to rumors about where Trocheck could go and who is interested in the 32-year-old center who is signed for three more seasons with a very reasonable $5.625 million AAV.

7:15 a.m. ET

John Carlson to the Anaheim Ducks.

I knew I should not have closed my eyes about six hours ago. I knew something big would happen if I happened to fall asleep. Last year, it nearly happened before Brock Nelson was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, but I was up for that one.

I was literally caught sleeping on Carlson to the Ducks, with the official trade email coming in from the Washington Capitals at 1:11 a.m. ET, roughly 10 minutes after I fell asleep, if I had to guess.

Anyway, the particulars: 

The Capitals move Carlson, the 36-year-old right-shot defenseman, to the Ducks for a conditional first-round pick in 2026 or 2027, along with a third-round pick in 2027. Anaheim will send Washington its first this year if it qualifies for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is looking more and more likely to happen.

Now, it will be weird to see Carlson in a Ducks uniform after watching him play for the Capitals for 17 years, but it has also been strange to see Chris Kreider in a Ducks uniform after watching him play for the New York Rangers for 13 years. 

That said, Carlson, who is in the last of an eight-year contract ($8 million AAV), might be a pure rental for Anaheim. He has plenty of game remaining too.

Carlson has 46 points (10 goals, 36 assists) in 55 games this season. 

He can slide in on the right side of the Ducks defense to play with any of Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov or Olen Zellweger. He will bring offense to an Anaheim team that is 21st in 5-on-5 scoring since Jan. 1.

From Washington’s side, well, as hard as it may be to say goodbye to a franchise icon, that might have been happening after the season anyway, so it’s instead got ahead of it and landed a first-round pick in the process. 

Does it mean the Capitals are pure sellers now even though they’re four points out of a playoff spot? I mean, it’s hard to argue against that because they just traded a defenseman who is fifth on the team in scoring and plays 22:52 per game.

However, there’s still time until the Deadline, so it’s possible Washington has more moves with the draft capital it just got. It could have two first-round picks in the 2026 draft.

1 a.m.  ET

Well, the Vancouver Canucks didn’t waste any time answering our questions about Conor Garland. The six-year, $36 million contract Garland signed with the Canucks last summer doesn’t even begin until next season, and he’s on the move in a late-night trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets for second- and third-round picks.

The Buffalo Sabres were working late too. After striking out on Colton Parayko, they closed the deal on getting defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets. Leading the return to Winnipeg is young forward Isak Rosen, Buffalo’s first-round pick (No. 14) in the 2021 NHL Draft. The Jets also received defenseman Jacob Bryson and two draft picks.

12 a.m. ET

Good morning, or good evening. Don’t say good night. Because we’re just getting started here on Trade Deadline day.

OK, I’ll be getting some sleep, and hope that nothing happens while I do, but this first entry is coming to you from Madison Square Garden, where I just wrapped up covering the New York Rangers’ 6-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a pair of “Original Six” sellers.

The Maple Leafs started their sale Thursday, trading center Nicolas Roy to the Colorado Avalanche for a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft that could push to 2028, and a fifth-round pick in 2026.

The Rangers started their sale more than a month ago, when they traded Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings and Carson Soucy to the New York Islanders.

The Rangers scratched centers Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick against the Maple Leafs for roster management purposes, so certainly they could be on the move before the deadline, as expected.

Ditto for Toronto forwards Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton, and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. They were scratched for roster management purposes for the second straight game.

Toronto got a good return for Roy, who probably will be a third-line center in Colorado behind Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson.

The return also shows you that prices in this year’s trade market are high, or at least they have been so far.

The Edmonton Oilers gave up a first-round pick to get forwards Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks. It helped, of course, that the Blackhawks also took forward Andrew Mangiapane, who has an AAV of $3.6 million through next season.

The Minnesota Wild gave up a second-round pick to get bottom-six forward Michael McCarron from the Nashville Predators.

It took the Dallas Stars giving up a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2029 (really, we’re trading 2029 picks already?) to get defenseman Tyler Myers from the Vancouver Canucks. Myers adds to Dallas’ depth.

The trade I like the most so far is the Ottawa Senators getting forward Warren Foegele from the Los Angeles Kings. The Senators also picked up a third-round pick while giving the Kings second and third round picks, all in this year’s draft.

Foegele, a 20-goal scorer the past two years, will fit perfectly in Ottawa’s middle-six forward group and he’s signed for next season at $3.5 million.

The biggest blockbuster so far is MacKenzie Weegar going from the Calgary Flames to the Utah Mammoth for three second-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, defenseman Olli Maatta and forward Jonathan Castagna.

I’m all in on the Mammoth being all in. And they still have enough draft capital and prospects to make a splash Friday.

But the big names who have been talked about as candidates to be traded haven’t moved yet, which is the most obvious indication of how high the asking prices are this year.

The Rangers could trade Trocheck, but if they don’t get the return they’re looking for they could punt that for the summer or scrap that plan altogether.

The St. Louis Blues could still trade defenseman Colton Parayko, who reportedly used his no-trade clause to nix a trade to the Buffalo Sabres. They could also trade forwards Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou, defenseman Justin Faulk and goalie Jordan Binnington.

They won’t trade them all, but the Blues are a team to watch because of those players and what the return might be for them.

So are the Sabres. They didn’t get Parayko, but it appears they’re pivoting to getting Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets, as well as Carrick from the Rangers.

Are the Florida Panthers really going to trade goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who did not play Thursday? They could, and still re-sign him in the offseason. That rarely happens, but it could in this case.

Will the Flames move Nazem Kadri, who has a $7 million cap hit for the next three years? How about forward Blake Coleman, who is signed through next season at $4.9 million?

The Predators have traded McCarron, forward Michael Bunting (Dallas) and defenseman Nick Blankenburg (Colorado).

Is Ryan O'Reilly next? Is it Steven Stamkos? Erik Haula?

Barry Trotz is in his last season as the Predators general manager and it’s his job to set things up for the next person in charge.

The New Jersey Devils could move a defenseman or two, with Simon Nemec, Dougie Hamilton and Johnathan Kovacevic on the list. But none will come cheap.

The Wild seem to be in on everybody, but are they going to do anything else? Trocheck?

And what about the Vancouver Canucks with Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland? 

Oh so many questions and so little time to get some answers.

The clock is ticking. The deadline is hours away. The prices are high. They could fall.

Wake up!