NHL Trade Buzz: Stamkos says 'zero' chance he waives no movement clause

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are six days remaining until the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline (Friday, 3 p.m. ET). Here's a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:

Nashville Predators

Steven Stamkos said that there's "zero" chance that he would be willing to waive his full no movement clause for a trade, according to the Tennessean.

"I haven't talked to (GM Barry Trotz) at all about that," Stamkos told the newspaper, also saying there is zero chance of him lifting his no movement clause. "Obviously there's stuff that gets reported," Stamkos said. "But what I'll say, with this group, we want to be together. I can only control what I can control, but I love being here."

After starting the season slowly, Stamkos has 45 points (29 goals, 16 assists) in 58 games, including a goal in a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

The 36-year-old has two more seasons after this one on the four-year, $32 million contract ($8 million average annual value) he signed July 1, 2024.

The Predators were last in the NHL on Dec. 1 (8-13-4) but are currently fifth in the Central Division (27-24-7) two points behind the Seattle Kraken for the second wild card in the Western Conference.

"We want to play in meaningful hockey games and we're playing in meaningful hockey games right now," Stamkos told The Tennessean.

Boston Bruins

Morgan Geekie thinks that the Bruins have put themselves in a position to be buyers ahead of the Deadline.

It's a change from last season when Boston traded forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Brandon Carlo, and failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015-16.

"It kind of feels polar opposite, to be honest," Geekie told NESN.com after a 4-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. "I think this group's done a great job of kind of putting ourselves in the position to stand pat or add guys, whatever they see fit. We have put in a good enough season where we are able to (add)."

The Bruins (33-20-5) currently hold the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Montreal Canadiens and two ahead of the Washington Capitals.

Geekie is a big reason for the turnaround. The 27-year-old forward leads the Bruins with 33 goals and is second in points (55) in 57 games.

Philadelphia Flyers

Rasmus Ristolainen knows his name is being talked about as a possible trade target by teams that covet a big (6-foot-4, 208 pounds), right-hand shot defenseman, just like last season.

"Yeah, obviously, those are things that you really can't control," Ristolainen told the Philadelphia Inquirer in a story published on Friday. "You obviously try to do your part, get better every day, and what happens, happens."

Ristolainen is in the fourth year of a five-year contract with an annual average value of $5.1 million. He had triceps surgery that caused him to miss the final four weeks of last season and the first two months of this season.  

He has six points (one goal, five assists) in 21 games with Philadelphia and is averaging 20:07 minutes of ice time.

The 31-year-old is also coming off an impressive performance at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 with a tournament-tying plus-nine rating playing for Finland, which won the bronze medal.

Ristolainen has played 797 regular-season games over 13 seasons but has never reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"I feel like that's why you play the game," he told reporters. "You want to win. That's where I feel I'm at my best. In the tournament (Olympics) it was nice to obviously play games that mean so much."

The Flyers (26-21-11) are sixth in the Metropolitan Division, eight points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Scott Laughton said he wants to remain with the Maple Leafs.

Toronto (27-23-9) is last in the Atlantic Division, eight points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card in the Eastern conference.

"I want to be in the fight with these guys," Laughton told reporters on Saturday. "I've loved my time here and I've loved playing with these guys, so I want to be in the fight with these guys and continue to move forward."

Laughton was acquired by Toronto in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 7, 2025 along with two draft picks for forward prospect Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional first-round draft pick.

"I've been in the rumors since as long as I can remember in Philly since I signed my deal so it's always there," Laughton said. "You try and clear your mind but at the end of the day it is your life, it's where you live, it's where your family is and it is different when you have a family now. I'm just going to continue to try to play my game, help these guys as best I can and hopefully I'm here."

The 31-year-old forward is in the final year of a five-year contract ($3 million average annual value) he signed with the Flyers on April 12, 2021, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

He has 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 41 games this season and is averaging 13:42 of ice time per game.

"I haven't really changed much," Laughton said. "I take pride in trying to be consistent in every facet of coming into the rink, being positive around the guys. It's out of our control. It's in nobody's control except the staff and we have to go out and do a job and play for each other and hold each other accountable and make it difficult on teams and make it hard for them to come back in games."

Minnesota Wild

Bill Guerin was surrounded by NHL brass while at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. But the Wild general manager, who was also GM for the gold medal-winning Team USA in Italy, said there wasn't a much trade talk during his time there. 

"We would have informal conversations but more in a group. We didn't really get into it," Guerin told Dan Barreiro of KFAN 100.3 on Thursday. "We were so focused on what was going on. You hot stove it some nights but no, we were really just focused on the Olympics and what was going on there." 

Minnesota made a splash well before the deadline when it acquired defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks for center Marco Rossi, forward Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and a first-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft on Dec. 12. Hughes, who also won gold with the United States at the Olympics, has 35 points (three goals, 32 assists) in 27 games since joining the Wild.

The Wild (35-15-10) are second in the Central Division, five points behind the first-place Colorado Avalanche, who they defeated 5-2 on Thursday. 

"We have work to do. No rest for the weary but hey look, this is my day job, and we've got something else we want to accomplish and we want to make our team better if we can," Guerin told KFAN. "It is what it is. We'll keep working."