2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

How much are you paying Parekh, Mckenna (or similar), Gridin, Kuznetsov, etc when their ELC run out? RFA contracts are getting pricey.

Nothing against Kuznetsov - but he's not someone I'm overly concerned with going forward. He's 6 months younger than Zary and older than Coronato. Maybe he turns out to be a top 4 guy, but he's just a guy at this point.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by MrMike

"As of mid-March 2026, the 2025-26 NHL league-average goalie save percentage is .896. This marks a historically low level of league-wide goaltending performance compared to recent seasons"

And that is on the team with the worst roster in the NHL.

Give him an average roster and hed be in the top 10 level.

The bigger issue is his goals saved above expected. Different sites measure it differently but for example:

https://evolving-hockey.com/stats/go...gl_fa=%2250%22

Cooley is 9th overall. Wolf is 36th.

His GSAA is basically even.

This year he has been at best average, but more likely below average in almost every statistic and advance statistic

[SuperMatt18]

Using Natural Stat Trick and Cooley is actually elite this year - he leads the league in GSAA/60.

Dustin Wolf is bang average this year at -0.01 GSAA

But IIRC Kevin Woodley was saying their data had Dustin Wolf having faced some of the toughest quality this year, and the public models didn't account for that fully. So something to consider as well.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

If Bedard could be had by not offer sheeting and you could get him for something like:

Coronato
Vegas 2026 1st
Vegas 2027 1st
Colorado 2028 1st
NYR 2026 2nd
OTT 2026 2nd
Avs 2026 2nd

Or something like that then I'd do it in a heartbeat - I just wouldn't want to give up the Flames own picks.

But it will never happen. Bedard will sign like $13M x 8 or something like that with Chicago this offseason.

If Bedard was smart he would sign for like 4 years and then in 4 years time when the cap is like 140 million sign a 7 year deal for like 13% of cap (18 million a year). It would be crazy for a RFA to sign a long term deal in the next 2-3 cycles.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

How much are you paying Parekh, Mckenna (or similar), Gridin, Kuznetsov, etc when their ELC run out? RFA contracts are getting pricey.

If you get a Bedard level player and he wants big money are you going to trade him because you are worried about signing Kuznetsov?

When you team becomes good you need to make choices of who to pay and who to trade.

I think the issue was paying a superstar $20M, vs say, $15M. Pay the superstar $20M and let a Farabee go.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

His save percentage is .896 this season, and his Goals Saved Above average is negative and ranks him 62nd.

He's an NHL starter, but he hasn't been very good in the NHL, much less elite. Like most goalies, sometimes he looks great, other times, not so great.

Cooley has been the better goalie this year.

I don't know how you can judge Wolf properly considering the quality of shots we seem to give up on a nightly basis.

This also makes what Cooley has done even more impressive.

[gvitaly]

https://twitter.com/user/status/2032496895827091800

[PeteMoss]

thanks for the reminder.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

If you get a Bedard level player and he wants big money are you going to trade him because you are worried about signing Kuznetsov?

When you team becomes good you need to make choices of who to pay and who to trade.

I think the issue was paying a superstar $20M, vs say, $15M. Pay the superstar $20M and let a Farabee go.

It's not a matter of one player (and you have to replace a Farabee, BTW). It's paying $20M plus $12M to Parekh, plus $15M to Mckenna, plus $9M to Gridin, plus $7M to Kuznetsov, plus whatever Reschny, et al make.

We've seen how teams to when they overpay at the top and it doesn't pan out. Plus I'm not even sure how good Bedard is going to be. He's not Celebrini level right now. Is he going to be as good ever? Is he going to be a top 5 player in the league? Or is he going to be just below that? The proposed salary says he's the number one player in the league.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

I don't know how you can judge Wolf properly considering the quality of shots we seem to give up on a nightly basis.

This also makes what Cooley has done even more impressive.

There's a goalie analyst who comes on 960 every once in a while who seems to have access to advanced goalie stats that aren't what we normally see. Cooley is performing outrageously according to those stats, and Wolf is also doing very very well.

[RedHawk12]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

It's not a matter of one player (and you have to replace a Farabee, BTW). It's paying $20M plus $12M to Parekh, plus $15M to Mckenna, plus $9M to Gridin, plus $7M to Kuznetsov, plus whatever Reschny, et al make.

We've seen how teams to when they overpay at the top and it doesn't pan out. Plus I'm not even sure how good Bedard is going to be. He's not Celebrini level right now. Is he going to be as good ever? Is he going to be a top 5 player in the league? Or is he going to be just below that? The proposed salary says he's the number one player in the league.

A LOT will need to go right for the players you named to be making the kind of money you've thrown out there. Holy smokes. I don't think we need to count our chickens yet

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

https://twitter.com/user/status/2032496895827091800

I wonder if the Flames move a contract

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

I wonder if the Flames move a contract

it would make sense to move a vet or two to a team pushing for a championship.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

It's not a matter of one player (and you have to replace a Farabee, BTW). It's paying $20M plus $12M to Parekh, plus $15M to Mckenna, plus $9M to Gridin, plus $7M to Kuznetsov, plus whatever Reschny, et al make.

We've seen how teams to when they overpay at the top and it doesn't pan out. Plus I'm not even sure how good Bedard is going to be. He's not Celebrini level right now. Is he going to be as good ever? Is he going to be a top 5 player in the league? Or is he going to be just below that? The proposed salary says he's the number one player in the league.

Rarely are the top guys the problem (unless you have a ton of them) - its not being willing to let the average players go when they age into higher contracts.

The Oilers problem is not Draisaitl and McDavid making $26.5M - its Frederic, Henrique, Nurse, Ekholm and Jarry making $27.5m

The Leafs trouble isn't Matthews, Nylander, etc. Its Domi, Maccelli, Joshua, Tanev, McCabe, Carlo.

Most of those guys could be replaced with random tweener guy with limited impact to the roster.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Rarely are the top guys the problem (unless you have a ton of them) - its not being willing to let the average players go when they age into higher contracts.

The Oilers problem is not Draisaitl and McDavid making $26.5M - its Frederic, Henrique, Nurse, Ekholm and Jarry making $27.5m

The Leafs trouble isn't Matthews, Nylander, etc. Its Domi, Maccelli, Joshua, Tanev, McCabe, Carlo.

Most of those guys could be replaced with random tweener guy with limited impact to the roster.

The big problem is rushing the rebuild requiring the team to sign more expensive older players, because you haven’t got the draft picks to sign younger players.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Rarely are the top guys the problem (unless you have a ton of them) - its not being willing to let the average players go when they age into higher contracts.

The Oilers problem is not Draisaitl and McDavid making $26.5M - its Frederic, Henrique, Nurse, Ekholm and Jarry making $27.5m

The Leafs trouble isn't Matthews, Nylander, etc. Its Domi, Maccelli, Joshua, Tanev, McCabe, Carlo.

Most of those guys could be replaced with random tweener guy with limited impact to the roster.

Don’t forget they are still paying Jack Campbell 2.5m!

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

It's not a matter of one player (and you have to replace a Farabee, BTW). It's paying $20M plus $12M to Parekh, plus $15M to Mckenna, plus $9M to Gridin, plus $7M to Kuznetsov, plus whatever Reschny, et al make.

We've seen how teams to when they overpay at the top and it doesn't pan out. Plus I'm not even sure how good Bedard is going to be. He's not Celebrini level right now. Is he going to be as good ever? Is he going to be a top 5 player in the league? Or is he going to be just below that? The proposed salary says he's the number one player in the league.

Bédard is close to a 100 point season based on his PPG. With little help. He was near the top of the league when he got injured.

Let’s see how he does once guys like Frondell and Kantserov are playing with him.

But yes, the premise I think was based on him being a top player.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Rarely are the top guys the problem (unless you have a ton of them) - its not being willing to let the average players go when they age into higher contracts.

The Oilers problem is not Draisaitl and McDavid making $26.5M - its Frederic, Henrique, Nurse, Ekholm and Jarry making $27.5m

The Leafs trouble isn't Matthews, Nylander, etc. Its Domi, Maccelli, Joshua, Tanev, McCabe, Carlo.

Most of those guys could be replaced with random tweener guy with limited impact to the roster.

You see that a bit with the Flames.

I think reality is Tkachuk and Gaudreau were the only two Stars the Flames had. With them gone the Flames fell off.

Over the last three seasons they then moved around everyone else...but it really actually hasn't made a huge difference in their play.

The key is to not overpay the middle of your lineup, as it seems like those guys are replaceable.

You need depth still and don't want to be too top heavy, but the mistakes are generally overpaying the guys in the middle of the lineup that aren't true difference makers.

[gvitaly]

https://twitter.com/user/status/2032536456758260102

https://twitter.com/user/status/2032532508550611103

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

https://twitter.com/user/status/2032536456758260102

https://twitter.com/user/status/2032532508550611103

AHL deal, so still at 49 contracts?