2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[metroneck]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

My guess is that yzerman wants an extension before the trade and conroy won’t let them talk to Anderson until after the trade. Plus my gut tells me Conroy knows exactly which team or teams Anderson would sign an extension with and Detroit is not one of them.

I think the process is that the negotiate the trade, agree, then Detroit gets permission to talk. There may be a couple senarios pre-negotiated.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by mile

https://twitter.com/user/status/2010905153415823788

So the Devils are at the point where they are throwing each other under the bus - changes will be coming soon.

You only start pointing the finger at ownership when you know you're being fired anyway (or you're stupid)

[sureLoss]

Yes, what has been brought forward by Friedman is that Conroy learned a lesson from the Hanifin trade: don't let teams talk to the player until all the pieces in the trade have been agreed to.

Apparently Vegas was given permission to talk to Hanifin and after that happened Hanifin was focused only on re-signing with Vegas, which hampered trade talks with other teams.

So now Conroy wants everything agreed to before anyone talks to the player.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I think if that Danielson and a 1st deal was legitimate something would have already gone down and teams like the Sharks would have had to make an offer. That's a circle around the league and see if anyone wants to beat it level deal to get a recent 9th overall pick and a 1st rounder. Obviously we are all guessing but a few days on, it feels like it was either more made up internet fluff or Rasmus wouldn't sign there.

Considering the number of teams involved in the bidding war, I wouldn't read too heavily into a few days slipping by after a rumour like that.

Conroy could be getting final pitches from other teams before pulling the trigger and he could be managing the Andersson extension portion of the trade. I would be super curious as to how he is handling that portion of the transaction. Is he sitting back and letting each team pitch their deal to the Flames and their deal to Andersson? Or is he telling the GMs the price the need to beat for both the Flames and Andersson's extension?

Either way, I can see this taking time to work through. Conroy will want to treat the other GMs fairly because he has a couple more assets that he would like to sell off.

But none of that is as interesting as what the Sharks could offer as one of the most asset rich teams interested in Andersson.

[Pickle Juice]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Yes, what has been brought forward by Friedman is that Conroy learned a lesson from the Hanifin trade: don't let teams talk to the player until all the pieces in the trade have been agreed to.

Apparently Vegas was given permission to talk to Hanifin and after that happened Hanifin was focused only on re-signing with Vegas, which hampered trade talks with other teams.

So now Conroy wants everything agreed to before anyone talks to the player.

Looks like BT wasn't the greatest mentor if Conroy is just learning this tactic.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Beyond Hamilton’s disaffection from hockey culture, he’s a very flawed player on the ice. Skating and shooting are high-end. Pretty good passer too. But his play away from the puck is often a gong show. And he’s never shown any desire to get better at the parts of his game where he’s weak (I guess that’s part of the stubborn “I know best” attitude).

When people dismiss criticisms of Parekh’s play without the puck with airy assumptions that he’ll get better, a d-man like Hamilton is a counterpoint. Some guys don’t get better without the puck. Some guys have 15 year careers in the NHL as offensive specialists who get exposed defensively when the heat it is on. And a lot of times, as is the case with Hamilton, it’s because they simply have zero interest in working on that part of their game. Must make coaches tear their hair out.

That’s why four teams have been willing to part with Hamilton, and why he’s never been seriously considered for a best-on-best team since he’s been in the NHL.

True, But the reason (usually) that those players don't get better is that they don't want to. But that does NOT apply to Parekh, which is why people resist so strongly when fans throw out these comparisons.

Hamilton simply doesn't care about the defensive aspects that his game lacks. That's why they haven't gotten better. Everything we have seen and heard from Parekh so far suggests that he very much cares, and he desires to be the best he can be.

That is why the Bouchard example is also a terrible one. Bouchard has the hockey IQ of a potato. And he has shown over and over, that he has no interest in playing defense - he wants to score goals. In that sense alone, they are similar, but the big - huge - difference between Parekh and Bouchard is that Parekh's hockey IQ is ELITE. And because it is elite (along with the fact that he wants to be the best he can be), it is pretty same to assume his game will continue to improve.

So yeah, some people never improve. But most do. Is there any evidence to suggest that Parekh is like either of these two, and we should be concerned? I don't see any.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Pickle Juice

Looks like BT wasn't the greatest mentor if Conroy is just learning this tactic.

I thought it came out that he wasn’t a mentor at all. Kept things close to his chest, didn’t share a lot of info, etc… maybe I’m misremembering, but I have it in my brain as a fact.

[Major Major]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Yes, what has been brought forward by Friedman is that Conroy learned a lesson from the Hanifin trade: don't let teams talk to the player until all the pieces in the trade have been agreed to.

Apparently Vegas was given permission to talk to Hanifin and after that happened Hanifin was focused only on re-signing with Vegas, which hampered trade talks with other teams.

So now Conroy wants everything agreed to before anyone talks to the player.

I feel like this may be collectively misrembered but it could be me.

My recollection based on rumors and reports at time:

-Hanifin wants to go to TB
- Lightning negotiates with Hanifin on an extension
- Hanifin indicates he'll only re-sign with TB
- TB gives substandard offer to CGY knowing they're the only one
- Conny pivots LV
- Hanifin takes weeks to sign with Vegas
- LVK reportedly surprised it took so long and that Hanifin was difficult to persuade

This leads me to believe conny blew up the tb deal to make a rental deal. Perhaps even taking less. Should bode well for these negotiations. Teams know he's not ####ing around.

[Frequitude]

How do these sign-and-trade or trade-and-sign deals go down to mitigate the risk of step one happening but not step two?

Like in a sign-and-trade, what's to stop the Flames from signing him then saying to the player & other team "just kidding we're keeping you". Or in a trade-and-sign, what's to stop a player from saying post-trade to the other team "just kidding I'm not re-signing"?

Is there actual contract language built in to reverse everything if the second step doesn't happen? Or does it all rely on a small element of trust and not wanting to look bad?

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

How do these sign-and-trade or trade-and-sign deals go down to mitigate the risk of step one happening but not step two?

Like in a sign-and-trade, what's to stop the Flames from signing him then saying to the player & other team "just kidding we're keeping you". Or in a trade-and-sign, what's to stop a player from saying post-trade to the other team "just kidding I'm not re-signing"?

Is there actual contract language built in to reverse everything if the second step doesn't happen? Or does it all rely on a small element of trust and not wanting to look bad?

Whole NHLPA association would bring down hell on the team.

Wouldn't be surprised if the league canceled the contract to appease them.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by Wolven

Considering the number of teams involved in the bidding war, I wouldn't read too heavily into a few days slipping by after a rumour like that.

Conroy could be getting final pitches from other teams before pulling the trigger and he could be managing the Andersson extension portion of the trade. I would be super curious as to how he is handling that portion of the transaction. Is he sitting back and letting each team pitch their deal to the Flames and their deal to Andersson? Or is he telling the GMs the price the need to beat for both the Flames and Andersson's extension?

Either way, I can see this taking time to work through. Conroy will want to treat the other GMs fairly because he has a couple more assets that he would like to sell off.

But none of that is as interesting as what the Sharks could offer as one of the most asset rich teams interested in Andersson.

I 100% could be mistaken but I took the statements earlier in the season that Conroy was not allowing Rasmus to talk contract with other teams prior to making a trade at all to mean that this was a buyer beware type situation like how Colorado handled Rantanen to Carolina - not a rental but not a sure fire extension either - you can trade for him and then try to re-sign him after.

I'm sure the other teams would have some inkling of whether or not he'd engage in extension talks through the agent even though they are not supposed to, but hashing out the actual deal is their problem not the Flames.

The Wings rumors all obviously said Yzerman wanted an extension first. So maybe that is the delay and Conroy is saying, no we won't do that yet?

Obviously any club trading for him wants to have an extension done but from the flames POV I don't really see a huge benefit where the flames do allow them to talk contract unless you know he is open to multiple markets, because even if you have established a trade value first, he can simply say no to teams that step up and box the flames into the exact same corner Hanifin did. I get that you maybe get slightly better trade value than Hanifin returned because you're having more talks, but it is completely pointless if the Sharks and Wings are the teams that meet your valuation and he just refuses to sign there and you're left having to trade with Vegas who have you over a barrel again (#### Vegas).

[OILFAN #81]

Following up from last week: Blues/Sharks had talks on Kyrou. Ask was too high from St. Louis. They wanted a 1st plus Wennberg (who recently re-signed) plus a top prospect. Sharks said no thanks.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

True, But the reason (usually) that those players don't get better is that they don't want to. But that does NOT apply to Parekh, which is why people resist so strongly when fans throw out these comparisons.

Hamilton simply doesn't care about the defensive aspects that his game lacks. That's why they haven't gotten better. Everything we have seen and heard from Parekh so far suggests that he very much cares, and he desires to be the best he can be.

That is why the Bouchard example is also a terrible one. Bouchard has the hockey IQ of a potato. And he has shown over and over, that he has no interest in playing defense - he wants to score goals. In that sense alone, they are similar, but the big - huge - difference between Parekh and Bouchard is that Parekh's hockey IQ is ELITE. And because it is elite (along with the fact that he wants to be the best he can be), it is pretty same to assume his game will continue to improve.

So yeah, some people never improve. But most do. Is there any evidence to suggest that Parekh is like either of these two, and we should be concerned? I don't see any.

I think it’s the opposite . I think by 18 it’s very hard to reinvent yourself as a player . I think learning the defensive side of the game if you are an offensive dynamo and not ruining your offensive game is rare .

Offensive players go off instinct . When they start thinking about what to do next vs reacting I think most of the time you get the worse of both worlds

I have a hard time believing Bouchard, Hamilton , Phaneuf is another that jumps to mind all choose to not play good D and make boneheaded mistakes . And all 3 seemed to get worse as they got harped on to play better D .

It’s just really really hard to be good on both sides of the puck in the NHL at the same time .

It reminds me of when JG , MT and Lindholm were the best line and we were still hearing Sutter complain about their defensive side of the game . And I personally believe after G1 vs Oilers Sutter was so annoyed by the goals against he preached better D and it hurt our offence . They played passive the rest of the way that series instead of accepting a 7-5 win counts the same as a 3-1 win .

I don’t believe Parekh will or can develop a good
Defensive side to his game . But if he ends up as Erik Karlsson who cares . Play to his strengths and accept his weaknesses .

It’s great we all want to next Cale Makar , but we can do a lot worse then a Bouchard type defencemen .

[Lewis_D]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Following up from last week: Blues/Sharks had talks on Kyrou. Ask was too high from St. Louis. They wanted a 1st plus Wennberg (who recently re-signed) plus a top prospect. Sharks said no thanks.

Makes sense, I'd also say no thanks if I were the Sharks. I'd also probably wait it out a season or two before I decide who I'd need to add to that offensive core, and it probably wouldn't be Kyrou.

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Following up from last week: Blues/Sharks had talks on Kyrou. Ask was too high from St. Louis. They wanted a 1st plus Wennberg (who recently re-signed) plus a top prospect. Sharks said no thanks.

Not the most surprising ask but not really what the sharks need either! Any idea what their offer (trade and $) is on Ras?

[OILFAN #81]

Only other info for now.

Sharks continue to have Andersson and Hamilton of high interest. Devils/Sharks had a trade agreed to but Hamilton had blocked a trade to SJ over the summer (as first reported by Friedman, source confirmed this to be true). Hamilton loves the area but blocked the trade because he didn't want to play for a bottom feeder. With the Sharks turning it around I'm told he is more receptive to a move here.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Lewis_D

Makes sense, I'd also say no thanks if I were the Sharks. I'd also probably wait it out a season or two before I decide who I'd need to add to that offensive core, and it probably wouldn't be Kyrou.

I’d pay that price for Thomas if I were SJ, but not for Kyrou.

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

I think it’s the opposite . I think by 18 it’s very hard to reinvent yourself as a player . I think learning the defensive side of the game if you are an offensive dynamo and not ruining your offensive game is rare .

Offensive players go off instinct . When they start thinking about what to do next vs reacting I think most of the time you get the worse of both worlds

I have a hard time believing Bouchard, Hamilton , Phaneuf is another that jumps to mind all choose to not play good D and make boneheaded mistakes . And all 3 seemed to get worse as they got harped on to play better D .

It’s just really really hard to be good on both sides of the puck in the NHL at the same time .

It reminds me of when JG , MT and Lindholm were the best line and we were still hearing Sutter complain about their defensive side of the game . And I personally believe after G1 vs Oilers Sutter was so annoyed by the goals against he preached better D and it hurt our offence . They played passive the rest of the way that series instead of accepting a 7-5 win counts the same as a 3-1 win .

I don’t believe Parekh will or can develop a good
Defensive side to his game . But if he ends up as Erik Karlsson who cares . Play to his strengths and accept his weaknesses .

It’s great we all want to next Cale Makar , but we can do a lot worse then a Bouchard type defencemen .

And if we pair him with the right guy (kuzy, Bahl, Bichsel???), I'm not too concerned

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Following up from last week: Blues/Sharks had talks on Kyrou. Ask was too high from St. Louis. They wanted a 1st plus Wennberg (who recently re-signed) plus a top prospect. Sharks said no thanks.

Thanks Oilfan!

[indes]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

I think it’s the opposite . I think by 18 it’s very hard to reinvent yourself as a player . I think learning the defensive side of the game if you are an offensive dynamo and not ruining your offensive game is rare .

Offensive players go off instinct . When they start thinking about what to do next vs reacting I think most of the time you get the worse of both worlds

I have a hard time believing Bouchard, Hamilton , Phaneuf is another that jumps to mind all choose to not play good D and make boneheaded mistakes . And all 3 seemed to get worse as they got harped on to play better D .

It’s just really really hard to be good on both sides of the puck in the NHL at the same time .

It reminds me of when JG , MT and Lindholm were the best line and we were still hearing Sutter complain about their defensive side of the game . And I personally believe after G1 vs Oilers Sutter was so annoyed by the goals against he preached better D and it hurt our offence . They played passive the rest of the way that series instead of accepting a 7-5 win counts the same as a 3-1 win .

I don’t believe Parekh will or can develop a good
Defensive side to his game . But if he ends up as Erik Karlsson who cares . Play to his strengths and accept his weaknesses .

It’s great we all want to next Cale Makar , but we can do a lot worse then a Bouchard type defencemen .

Defenseman usually don't peak until around 27-29 years old. There's a ton of growth from their rookie years - defense has a very steep learning curve. I couldn't disagree more that an 19 year old offensive defenseman won't improve defensively. Makar and Hughes have improved every single year since they stepped into the league.