Trade Buzz: Maple Leafs won’t withhold players from lineup against Devils

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are two 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:

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs players will not hold any players out of their lineup for roster management purposes against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), coach Craig Berube said after the morning skate at Prudential Center.

Toronto (27-24-10) has lost four in a row (0-3-1) and 10 of its past 13 games (3-8-2) to fall nine points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“Not tonight,” Berube said. "But it could happen, obviously. “But it’s not going to happen tonight.”

The Maple Leafs visit the New York Rangers on Thursday before the Trade Deadline on Friday.

"It's obviously a tough time for everybody, no matter what team you're on,” defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said. “At the same time, you know what you sign up for, and you know that that's the case around the League. But I think control what you can control and go from there."

St. Louis Blues

Brayden Schenn admits the days leading into the Trade Deadline have been difficult.

St. Louis (22-29-9) has lost seven of its past 10 games and trails the Seattle Kraken by 14 points for the second wild card in the Western Conference. The Blues visit the Kraken on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+).

“It's an uneasy time for everyone, especially the position we've put ourselves in,” Schenn said. “We obviously see names out there, but at the end of the day, you have a job to do and you come out, you practice hard, you play hard, you put your head down and you be a pro. That's what it boils down to.

“Some guys have full control, some guys have some control and some guys have none. But at the end of the day, it's part of the business. No one likes going through it. But we know what we signed up for.”

Schenn, the Blues captain, is in the fifth season of an eight-year, $52 million contract ($6.5 million AAV) signed on Oct. 4, 2019, which has dropped from full no-trade protection to a 15-team no-trade clause. The 34-year-old center has 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 60 games.

Other players who have been mentioned in trade rumors include forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, and defenseman Justin Faulk. Any potential deals involving Thomas and/or Kyrou would require the player waiving his full no-trade clause.

“You understand the human element,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “Sometimes peoples’ minds might be somewhere else, so you talk to them in between whistles while the other group is going instead of blowing it down and slowing down practice because you understand that you need to get through practice and you also understand the human element of it. Everybody knows it’s coming.”

Vancouver Canucks

Jake DeBrusk made it clear in an interview with The Province in Vancouver that he’s not a fan of playing on a team that is rebuilding and could be willing to waive his no-movement clause to play for a contender.

“Obviously, that (rebuild) is not something I would be OK with or accepting,” DeBrusk told the newspaper. “My game doesn’t fit that.”

DeBrusk is in the second of a seven-year, $38.5 million contract ($5.5 million average annual value) he signed with the Canucks on July 1, 2024.

The 29-year-old forward has 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) in 59 games this season. He had an NHL-high 28 goals and 48 points in 82 games last season.

DeBrusk has scored more than 20 goals four times in his career, including three times with the Boston Bruins, who he played for from 2017-24.

Vancouver (18-35-7) is last in the NHL and traded defenseman Tyler Myers to the Dallas Stars for two draft picks on Wednesday.

“I think a rebuild is hard for every player, but at the same point it’s a great opportunity for younger guys,” DeBrusk said. “This game humbles everybody, and it’s been a little bit more than humbling this year.”