2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Tampa doesn’t have a 1st until 2028

Didn’t realize they had traded their next two firsts. Brutal. Definitely makes them not much of a fit.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by stemit14

But they have their own as well I think. So they could potentially trade their 1st round pick+ the Dallas 1st.

Wrong again. They traded that for K’Andre Miller

[Harry Lime]

From the little that Kadri has said on the matter, it sounds as though he would prefer to keep the family in Canada. Eliminating Vancouver and Edmonton, that leaves four potential suiters.

Winnipeg - why they would do it : it would push Namestnikov back to the wing, and Pearson down to the fourth line. Slots everyone better. What they could offer : Brad Lambert and 2027 1st.

Toronto - why they would do it : desperation. What they have to offer : who on earth knows? Cap doesn't work.

Montreal - why they would do it : playoff dreams and a hole at 2C. What they have to offer : lots of prospect capital.

Ottawa - why they would do it : fits team identity. Don't really need a center. What they have to give : Pinto? Grieg?

[Roko]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

From the little that Kadri has said on the matter, it sounds as though he would prefer to keep the family in Canada. Eliminating Vancouver and Edmonton, that leaves four potential suiters.

Winnipeg - why they would do it : it would push Namestnikov back to the wing, and Pearson down to the fourth line. Slots everyone better. What they could offer : Brad Lambert and 2027 1st.

Toronto - why they would do it : desperation. What they have to offer : who on earth knows? Cap doesn't work.

Montreal - why they would do it : playoff dreams and a hole at 2C. What they have to offer : lots of prospect capital.

Ottawa - why they would do it : fits team identity. Don't really need a center. What they have to give : Pinto? Grieg?

Lambert wants out. Look bigger. Ottawa players are older. Montreal is the right fit for everyone. Just need them to pay up.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

From the little that Kadri has said on the matter, it sounds as though he would prefer to keep the family in Canada. Eliminating Vancouver and Edmonton, that leaves four potential suiters.

Winnipeg - why they would do it : it would push Namestnikov back to the wing, and Pearson down to the fourth line. Slots everyone better. What they could offer : Brad Lambert and 2027 1st.

Toronto - why they would do it : desperation. What they have to offer : who on earth knows? Cap doesn't work.

Montreal - why they would do it : playoff dreams and a hole at 2C. What they have to offer : lots of prospect capital.

Ottawa - why they would do it : fits team identity. Don't really need a center. What they have to give : Pinto? Grieg?

He has a 13 team no trade list. We can trade him to any of the other 18 teams.

[Vinny01]

Ottawa just signed Pinto to a $7.5M extension. They have Stutzle and Cozens up the middle. We can take them off the list.

The Jets are interesting. Toews was bumped down to the 4th line and they have that big hole at the 2C spot. I want a lot more than Lambert+1st though

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Wrong again. They traded that for K’Andre Miller

Oh wow. You’re right. My bad. Didn’t realize that trade cost them a first.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Roko

Lambert wants out. Look bigger. Ottawa players are older. Montreal is the right fit for everyone. Just need them to pay up.

Montreal makes the most sense. They basically have a 4 year window for the Cup. Have tonnes of cap space. Won’t be able to sign somebody as good as Kadri for 7 million or less on the UFA market with the cap going up and the UFA market sucking. And they don’t have anybody who would be a reliable 2nd line center for this season or probably even next season.

Teams that are in Montreal’s position usually decide to try to make a run when they have a window like that.

[Roko]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Montreal makes the most sense. They basically have a 4 year window for the Cup. Have tonnes of cap space. Won’t be able to sign somebody as good as Kadri for 7 million or less on the UFA market with the cap going up and the UFA market sucking. And they don’t have anybody who would be a reliable 2nd line center for this season or probably even next season.

Teams that are in Montreal’s position usually decide to try to make a run when they have a window like that.

Exactly. It’s perfect on paper. They also have Zharovsky coming who looks solid. He is friends with Demidov allegedly. I feel like Hage would hurt to give up but he won’t have a roll for a bit in my eyes.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Roko

Exactly. It’s perfect on paper. They also have Zharovsky coming who looks solid. He is friends with Demidov allegedly. I feel like Hage would hurt to give up but he won’t have a roll for a bit in my eyes.

Montreal also has the largest Lebanese community in Canada. I think that is important to Kadri. But at 7 million a year he is actually a value contract in a 9 figure cap league.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

He has a 13 team no trade list. We can trade him to any of the other 18 teams.

We can but we won't unless he wants to go there. I trust that info I got on that.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

We can but we won't unless he wants to go there. I trust that info I got on that.

Oh, I believe you 100%. I just don't agree with catering to the players, and think we should take the best offer regardless.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Montreal makes the most sense. They basically have a 4 year window for the Cup. Have tonnes of cap space. Won’t be able to sign somebody as good as Kadri for 7 million or less on the UFA market with the cap going up and the UFA market sucking. And they don’t have anybody who would be a reliable 2nd line center for this season or probably even next season.

Teams that are in Montreal’s position usually decide to try to make a run when they have a window like that.

They barely made the playoffs last year and are out of a spot now. Not sure the Habs are ready to move a bunch of futures for a 35-38 year old? If they get back on track we will see.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

They barely made the playoffs last year and are out of a spot now. Not sure the Habs are ready to move a bunch of futures for a 35-38 year old? If they get back on track we will see.

Kadri will be better and cheaper than anything they can get on the UFA market in the next 4 years. There is not really a rational reason to be too worried about Kadri becoming significantly worse than a 60 point second line center over that time. And they have nobody who projects to be a good NHL second line center in the next 2-3 seasons. It would be puzzling to me not to be seriously in the market for Kadri, most teams don’t just continue to build and build without adding any vets.

They started the process of trading assets in the Dobson trade, expect them to continue that process this season. They also are in a playoff spot by points percentage and will likely be back in the playoffs by the end of tonight.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Kadri will be better and cheaper than anything they can get on the UFA market in the next 4 years. There is not really a rational reason to be too worried about Kadri becoming significantly worse than a 60 point second line center over that time. And they have nobody who projects to be a good NHL second line center in the next 2-3 seasons. It would be puzzling to me not to be seriously in the market for Kadri, most teams don’t just continue to build and build without adding any vets.

They started the process of trading assets in the Dobson trade, expect them to continue that process this season.

If the Habs get back on track they might spend a bunch of futures again but I just don’t see it. Dobson is a 25 year old 8 year piece that they used extra assets they acquired from the flames in 2 separate deals plus their first.

If they are on the bubble I don’t see them stepping up and paying the price to get Kadri. Brad Treliving works in Toronto not Montreal. I can’t see them spending 3 1st in less than a year with where they are. Personally I think their legit window is likely 2-3 years out so not the best fit for Kadri in my opinion. With that said if they are comfortably in a playoff spot come the deadline it could be different for sure

[traptor]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Montreal makes the most sense. They basically have a 4 year window for the Cup. Have tonnes of cap space. Won’t be able to sign somebody as good as Kadri for 7 million or less on the UFA market with the cap going up and the UFA market sucking. And they don’t have anybody who would be a reliable 2nd line center for this season or probably even next season.

Teams that are in Montreal’s position usually decide to try to make a run when they have a window like that.

Why is the Habs window 4 years?

The core of Suzuki, Demidov, Slafkovsky, Hutson and Dobson has an average age of like 22.

Then they also have young guys like Kapanen, Bolduc, Dobes and Guhle.

Then they still have lots of good prospects.

They're window right now is like 10+ years potentially.

[Sandman]

I'm not sure about any of you, but I am not enamored by Brad Lambert at all. Don't want.

[This post is terrible]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I'm not sure about any of you, but I am not enamored by Brad Lambert at all. Don't want.

I would think Yager and or a First would be the actual target, Lambert is a smaller piece

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by traptor

Why is the Habs window 4 years?

The core of Suzuki, Demidov, Slafkovsky, Hutson and Dobson has an average age of like 22.

Then they also have young guys like Kapanen, Bolduc, Dobes and Guhle.

Then they still have lots of good prospects.

They're window right now is like 10+ years potentially.

They currently spend about 4.5% or cap on goaltending, most teams spend closer to 10% cap on goaltending. They will spend that low amount for two more years and then will likely be at the league average as they will have to sign two goalies for the 27/28 season.

They will need to sign Demidov and Kapanen to contracts in two seasons as well and they will take up all the room that Gallagher and Anderson currently take up (about 12.8% of the cap) and then probably add on a couple percentage points.

They have cap pressure coming when the the areas of the roster that they are underspending on now naturally become higher percentages of their cap spend. Add in the fact that none of the prospects they might trade will help them this year or almost certainly next year, it would make sense for them to trade for a player who will help them in those two years and is on a contract that is below market value. Just my opinion, suspect they will make a splash this year because the vast majority of teams in the NHL are actually trying to win when they get the opportunity.

It would be more accurate for me to say that they would be blowing the next two years of their window when they know they have value contracts if they did not trade for a vet like Kadri. They would be hoping that their next batch of prospects also has the outsized value that Demidov and Kapanen do and they would be hoping they fall into another situation where they were paying far below market value (like they currently are in goal). That seems unlikely to occur so to me the next two years are a better part of their window.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I'm not sure about any of you, but I am not enamored by Brad Lambert at all. Don't want.

I may be misremembering, but wasn’t the draft knock on him his effort and give-a-#### levels? All the skill, no drive to improve or use it?