2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by traptor

Really? Them saying Kadri won't be traded generates more clicks then saying he will get traded?


Seems like a bit of a reach

I mean, Vinny quoted it

[traptor]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

When everyone zigs, you draw more attention by zagging.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

All of the media insiders have said we do not have interest in trading Kadri or Coleman. It is not a surprise.

Man, these goalposts just can't stay still.

Coleman only gets traded if Coleman wants to be traded. He has that much trade protection.

Kadri's 13 team NTL is also a LOT of protection. There are some posters on this board who try to imply the opposite but I think that is because they have put zero effort into trying to use a 13 team list to block all of the viable trade partners and leave the unviable trade partners unblocked. Kadri likely only moves with his consent.

Trying to blame this on management or the ownership is absurd. Unless your suggestion is that they go all toxic and try to force these guys to take trades, then it is just you being absurd. (Not saying you specifically, just anyone who is taking that position of trying to override the player's contracted protection)

Expecting Andersson to be traded is fair and consistent with Conroy's actions as GM. The other two are not, unless they ask to go.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by Wolven

Trying to blame this on management or the ownership is absurd. Unless your suggestion is that they go all toxic and try to force these guys to take trades, then it is just you being absurd. (Not saying you specifically, just anyone who is taking that position of trying to override the player's contracted protection)

Well management and ownership gave these players these contracts.

So I guess we can blame BT and ME as I dont blame Conroy for NTC he didnt negotiate ?

Is anyone ever expected to be held accountable for the sorry state of this franchise?

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Well management and ownership gave these players these contracts.

So I guess we can blame BT and ME as I dont blame Conroy for NTC he didnt negotiate ?

Is anyone ever expected to be held accountable for the sorry state of this franchise?

Pretty much every important player in the NHL gets some form of trade protection clause in his contract as soon as he reaches UFA eligibility. You can blame Treliving or even Edwards if you like, but the fact is that the players, agents, and NHLPA are sticking together on this point and none of them will budge. If you aren't willing to hand out NTCs or NMCs, you don't get to sign good veteran players, and that's all there is to it.

[Sandman]

Some tidbits from nhltraderumors:

-The Habs have called up G Jacob Fowler, who has been excellent in the AHL, and that may signal a goalie trade to come- both Montembeault and Dobes have struggled.

-Kypreos says that Chris Tanev and the Leafs are deciding on whether or not surgery is an option, in order to get him back "before the end of the season". Damn.

-4 teams in the Quinn Hughes sweepstakes are the Devils (of course), Rangers, Penguins, and Red Wings.

-Dillon Dube has signed an AHL contract with the Blues' affiliate in Springfield.

-3 destinations for the Blues' D Justin Faulk: Carolina, Detroit, and Dallas.

-Michael DeRosa list 3 teams he thinks are in the hunt for Blake Coleman: Colorado, Dallas, New Jersey.

-LA is looking for secondary scoring.

-Buffalo might trade G Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen before next year's draft, as his no-trade protection starts in July.

-Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports says the Avs will search for a 3C, and a 7th defenseman.

-Rob Couch lists 4 players that the Sabres should move on from: G Alex Lyon, D Owen Power, LW Jordan Greenway, and LW Beck Malenstyn.

-Pagnotta suggests that with injuries to Seguin, who may go on LTIR, the Dallas Stars may try to add Coleman AND Andersson.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by traptor

Really? Them saying Kadri won't be traded generates more clicks then saying he will get traded?


Seems like a bit of a reach

Well they can’t say he will get traded because then people point fingers if he doesn’t and say their info was bad. Plus it causes issues for players (like with Markstrom). There’s less risk if they say he won’t and then he does because they can just say Conroy got a good offer.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

There’s less risk if they say he won’t and then he does because they can just say Conroy got a good offer.

Nobody makes a good offer for a player until they’re on the market - it’s just a waste of time and resources to bring in the half-dozen GMs, scouts, capologists, analytics guys, etc it takes to formulate a deal if a player isn’t genuinely available. Kadri and Coleman are not on the market.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Nobody makes a good offer for a player until they’re on the market - it’s just a waste of time and resources to bring in half-dozen GMs, scouts, capologists, analytics guys, etc if a player isn’t genuinely available. Kadri and Coleman are not on the market.

They are available to be traded - everyone knows this. And no one is bringing in all these guys to scout Kadri - they know how he plays, how much he makes and what his analytics are.

You want them to hang a fire sale sign out, and that’s just not how good GMs operate.

[Bingo]

We've said this many times but you have to take the insider stuff with a grain of salt.

Look at Andersson last week making fun of Friedman and others for the back and forth comments, which he said is news to him and that he hasn't even talked to his agent since the season started.

Andersson also refuted the summer stuff to LA for the most part.

There could be truth to the Flames not having those players available. There may be nothing to it. Likely it's a partial ... and that means the Flames haven't started shopping them. We've heard stories from others about conversations with Kadri and Coleman so to say they haven't been approached may be incorrect. But once again those reports could be wrong too.

I'm going to wait until I hear something to be upset about to get upset. Novel as that may sound.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

They are available to be traded - everyone knows this. And no one is bringing in all these guys to scout Kadri - they know how he plays, how much he makes and what his analytics are.

You want them to hang a fire sale sign out, and that’s just not how good GMs operate.

The NHL doesn’t operate like a videogame. GMs aren’t constantly firing out trade proposals to one another. From the accounts and interviews I’ve read, there are several stages to a deal coming together.

Stage 1

GMs calling each other and keeping the channels of communication open. They ask how the wife and kids are, how their golf games are coming, if they’re hearing anything about who might be available or who’s interested in buying. The figure cited in an interview by one GM is 90 per cent of calls are just this kind of shooting the ####.

Stage 2

GM 1: I’m looking for help on the wing, veteran middle-six. Anyone on your roster available?

GM 2: We’re still not at a place where we’re looking to sell. Who are you interested in?

GM 1: We like Coleman. He’s a good fit.

GM 2: He’s a great fit for a lot of teams. You’d love him. We’ll get back to you if he’s available.

In media insider parlance, this is “Team X has expressed an interest in player Y.”

Stage 3

GM 2: We’re not shopping Coleman, but we’re open to moving him if we get the right offer.

GM 1: We’re expecting to go on a run this year, so we’re mainly interested in moving picks. Our 2026 2nd is probably in play for the right guy.

GM 2: We like Coleman, and we’re happy to keep him through the year if we don’t get a 1st.

GM 1: Understood. Keep in touch.

In media insider parlance, this is “kicking tires.” Teams rarely make their best offer at this stage. And few deals ever get beyond this stage.

Stage 4

GM 1: We want to bring in a guy before the Olympic break. We have some other irons in the fire, but we still like Coleman. Is he’s available, and he’s willing to move out east, we can move our 2026 second and a B tier prospect. But we’re ready to move on to other options if this doesn’t come together by end of week.

GM 2: We’ll approach Coleman about this NTC if you firm things up. But a 2026 second and prospect sound like the outlines of a deal.

At this point a group of 6-8 people on each team - GM, AGMs, presidents, pro scouts, amateur scouts, capologists, analystics guys - start crunching the numbers on valuations of any draft picks involved, projections of prospects, contract and cap implications. Coaches might be brought in for their input. Counter-offers are formulated and proposed.

In media parlance, this is “team X has made a serious pitch for player Y” or “negotiations are underway between team X and team Z.”

Few deals reach this stage because it’s very resource-intensive. And when they reach this stage, someone almost always leaks, it becomes a big media talking point, and agents and players can get pissed if this is the first they’ve heard about it.

When teams put a player on the market, they’re saying “we’re serious about moving this guy, it’s worth investing resources in hashing out a deal, and we’re prepared for the fallout when this becomes common knowledge. So let’s skip directly to stage 4 and give me your best offer.”



It’s not clear the Flames are even at stage 3 with Kadri and Coleman. They certainly aren’t at stage 4, which is when teams get serious about offers.

[Shazam]

But when does it get to E5?

[Robbob]

GMing in the NHL is a game of chicken and misdirection, it always has been. The only constant is the trade deadline, that is the only thing that will not change through the year so GMs will naturally play game and play the media until then. Not making them available to me is GM code for I have a price in mind and it has not been met or no serious offers that would make me want to talk to a player with trade protection.

[Groot]

https://flamesnation.ca/news/a-marke...elias-lindholm

Dec. 22, 2023

Pierre LeBrun discussed possible trade fits for Lindholm. He noted that discussions between the Flames and Lindholm’s camp have been quiet, but cautioned that it might not necessarily mean anything:

“The Flames haven’t told him they’re definitely moving him. And Lindholm hasn’t told the Flames he definitely wants out, so there is that. But I do think he’s going to get dealt closer to March 8, and the two teams that come to mind for me are the Boston Bruins and the Colorado Avalanche, both could use that fit.”

So they never planted the For Sale sign for Lindholm according to Insider. Less than 6 weeis later...

https://www.nhl.com/news/elias-lindh...calgary-flames

"Obviously I've been communicating with teams all year, but probably after Saturday morning, I talked to Patrik and they came with an offer," Calgary general manager Craig Conroy told NHL.com Wednesday. "I think I talked to a lot of teams and it was more, 'What are you looking for?' and 'What are you thinking about?' conversations. They threw a real offer at me, and I circled back with all the other teams just to kind of work through to see where we were at.

"[We] went back to Vancouver, we added things. We went back and forth, the negotiation process, trying to get more to see what deal worked for both sides. Probably today we got right down to the end. I circled back with all the other teams and they put their best offers forward, and this deal just made the most sense to me."

Crazy that the best return that Conroy has received so far as GM didn't follow some weird fan-fiction script someone made up to support being angry. That's so weird to me.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Groot

https://flamesnation.ca/news/a-marke...elias-lindholm

Dec. 22, 2023



So they never planted the For Sale sign for Lindholm according to Insider. Less than 6 weeis later...

https://www.nhl.com/news/elias-lindh...calgary-flames



Crazy that the best return that Conroy has received so far as GM didn't follow some weird fan-fiction script someone made up to support being angry. That's so weird to me.

I think above illustrated how it typically works. GMs chatter and go in circles and then one GM steps up and it is like chum in the water and things get serious.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Groot

https://flamesnation.ca/news/a-marke...elias-lindholm

Dec. 22, 2023



So they never planted the For Sale sign for Lindholm according to Insider. Less than 6 weeis later...

https://www.nhl.com/news/elias-lindh...calgary-flames

That doesn’t contradict my outline at all. As I said, the vast majority of interactions between GMs are feeling out questions and non-serious proposals. They aren’t routinely firing off genuine trade proposals.

GMs sometimes cut to the chase and make a serious offer for a player who isn’t on the market. But most guys who are dealt are known to be available.

Crazy that the best return that Conroy has received so far as GM didn't follow some weird fan-fiction script someone made up to support being angry. That's so weird to me.

What makes you think I’m angry?

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Some tidbits from nhltraderumors:

-The Habs have called up G Jacob Fowler, who has been excellent in the AHL, and that may signal a goalie trade to come- both Montembeault and Dobes have struggled.

-Kypreos says that Chris Tanev and the Leafs are deciding on whether or not surgery is an option, in order to get him back "before the end of the season". Damn.

-4 teams in the Quinn Hughes sweepstakes are the Devils (of course), Rangers, Penguins, and Red Wings.

-Dillon Dube has signed an AHL contract with the Blues' affiliate in Springfield.

-3 destinations for the Blues' D Justin Faulk: Carolina, Detroit, and Dallas.

-Michael DeRosa list 3 teams he thinks are in the hunt for Blake Coleman: Colorado, Dallas, New Jersey.

-LA is looking for secondary scoring.

-Buffalo might trade G Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen before next year's draft, as his no-trade protection starts in July.

-Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports says the Avs will search for a 3C, and a 7th defenseman.

-Rob Couch lists 4 players that the Sabres should move on from: G Alex Lyon, D Owen Power, LW Jordan Greenway, and LW Beck Malenstyn.

-Pagnotta suggests that with injuries to Seguin, who may go on LTIR, the Dallas Stars may try to add Coleman AND Andersson.

Not a clue what Power would cost but I bet he looks like a completely different player once he’s out of there. Would love to add him to the d core

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Nobody makes a good offer for a player until they’re on the market - it’s just a waste of time and resources to bring in the half-dozen GMs, scouts, capologists, analytics guys, etc it takes to formulate a deal if a player isn’t genuinely available. Kadri and Coleman are not on the market.

Sorry, but this is a ridiculous take.

Each organization has TEAMS of people working on these things full time. The cap implications of every possible deal they might be considering, are already calculated, for instance - you don't sit around waiting until you're about to make a trade before saying "hey Bob, what are the cap implications if we trade XXXX?"

Teams know who may be available, and are scouting them regularly, discussing what each might cost, what the cap implications are, etc.

Constantly.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I'm curious how folks in this thread can state with such confidence how trading in the NHL works.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I'm curious how folks in this thread can state with such confidence how trading in the NHL works.

There was an article a while back that followed Tre around as he worked, I think that's where CliffFletcher is getting most of that info from.

Tre did say that there's a crazy amount of tire-kicking that happens.