Trade Market Focused On Danault, Sherwood, Marchment, And Andersson as Holiday Roster Freeze Looms
The 2025-26 NHL Holiday Roster Freeze begins on Friday at 11:59 pm ET and runs until Dec. 28 at 12:01 AM ET.
After a flurry of trades took the NHL world by storm last weekend, will the same thing happen before the roster freeze sets in?
“Your guess is as good as mine,” an NHL executive told R.org recently. “I think there’s definitely plenty of trade chatter out there, and there are some players that have been the subject of the chatter where they may finally get moved. I’m just not sure it’s before the freeze. Maybe in the weeks right after it.”
The players who continue to be bantered about on the NHL trade market are Los Angeles Kings center Phillip Danault, Vancouver Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood, Seattle Kraken forward Mason Marchment, and Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
Marco D’Amico of RG reported on Tuesday that the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Carolina Hurricanes have all done their due diligence on and expressed interest in Danault. The 32-year-old pivot is in the penultimate season of a six-year, $33 million ($5.5M AAV) contract. The Victoriaville, QC native is off to the worst start of his career with just five assists in 30 games.
“Talks have definitely picked up on Danault, but as you know, the Kings aren’t just going to move him because he may want out or for the sake of moving him,” the source above pointed out. “This is going to be a center-for-center deal if and when it happens.”
On that note, numerous sources have conveyed to R.org that if the Kings were to trade Dannault back to the Canadiens, center Jake Evans would be a likely return. Evans, 29, is in the first year of a four-year, $11.4 million ($2.85M AAV) contract.
As reported by RG just after American Thanksgiving, the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings had all inquired about 6-foot, 190-pound Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood. That was right after Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford made it known he was open for business. Of course, just two weeks later, Rutherford wound up trading his captain Quinn Hughes, but Sherwood is still available, and the price tag has apparently gone down.
“Originally, the Canucks were asking for a first-rounder and a prospect, but unfortunately Sherwood’s production has gone down, and now the price has too,” the source told RG.
Another NHL source has confirmed to R.org that the Bruins have circled back on Sherwood.
As for Kraken forward Mason Marchment, another NHL executive told R.org recently that he is suddenly becoming a “buzz name” on the NHL trade market.
“I’m hearing his name more and more, and I think there’s a growing market for him,” the NHL executive source said of the 6-foot-5, 212-pound Marchment.
Marchment, 30, is in the final season of a four-year, $18 million ($4.5M AAV) contract. He has four goals and nine assists in 28 games this season.
Another key name that has once again resurfaced in NHL trade rumors is Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. It was originally reported here, as far back as the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, and twice since that the Toronto Maple Leafs, along with the Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Montreal Canadiens, were pursuing Andersson. The Canadiens wound up trading for Noah Dobson, so they’re clearly not trying to acquire the 29-year-old, 6-foot-1, 203-pound rearguard anymore.
However, TSN NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun recently reported the Leafs and Flames have started talking Andersson again, and R.org has confirmed that the Senators and Blue Jackets are still in the hunt. As for the Bruins, as reported here last month, their focus remains on a top-6 scoring forward.
Ironically, RG reporter Andrew Knoll got a recent 1-on-1 interview with Rasmus Andersson, who is in the final season of a six-year, $27.3 million ($4.5M AAV) contract, and Andersson acknowledged he’s aware of the trade rumors swirling around him again.
“I can’t speak to what’s gonna happen,” Andersson conceded. “Obviously, I only have a six-team no-trade [clause], so there’s a lot of stuff outside my control. As I said, I just try to take it day by day, and then we’ll see what happens.”