Source: “Teams Are Going To Have To Pay Up” Amidst Dry NHL Trade Market
The NHL is experiencing a level of parity that we haven’t seen before, and it has significantly impacted how trade talks have unfolded recently.
The lack of truly identifiable sellers has shelved trade talks between teams, as a significant portion of the league still believes in their ability to make the playoffs. By this point in previous seasons, it was easy to identify a handful of teams that would become sellers.
But now it’s really only a couple.
Just last season, the Vancouver Canucks, who held down the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with 48 points on January 11th, had five teams trailing them in the standings with a deficit of nine or more points.
In this year’s Western Conference, only the Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets seem to be the teams that look the most out of a playoff race, trailing the San Jose Sharks for the second Wild Card spot by eight and 10 points respectively.
That’s an extremely tight race in both conferences, and that means fewer sellers. But, with the heavy schedule and increased intra-divisional games yet to come in the month of January, we may see a higher level of separation in the standings, and general managers are waiting for that opportunity.
“It seems like there’s a waiting game. Many teams have told other teams to reach out if ever they decided to change course and sell close to Olympic break,” said an NHL source. “It’s created kind of a holding pattern that has carried over from the summer.”
Buyers Going To Have To Bite The Bullet
That holding pattern on the trade front has been brought on by a lack of availability, which in turn has hiked the price for any of the players that have or could become available throughout the season.
As of now, the biggest trades we’ve seen in season were the blockbuster Quinn Hughes trade to Minnesota, the Phil Danault return to Montreal, the Mason Marchment trade to Columbus, and Pittsburgh’s acquisition of Yegor Chinakhov.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi is also expected to move in the next little while, after having fallen out of favour in Carolina.
Outside of the Hughes trade rocking the hockey world, it’s not remotely close to the upwards of 12 trades we saw prior to last season’s roster freeze.
“It’s certainly been a weird year when it comes to player personnel moves,” continued the source. “We’re seeing more teams trade away their problems, rather than traditional selling, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be trades, especially for teams on the fringe of the playoffs.”
There’s certainly a worry about acquisition cost across the league; it’s one of the reasons why the Montreal Canadiens didn’t bat an eye at acquiring Danault for a second round pick.
Not only was he the only top-9 centre made available since the summer, but the acquisition cost was lower than many other forward options on the market. Marchment, who was traded a few minutes after Danault on December 19, went for a 2nd and 4th-round pick.
Both of those players were traded at fair value because there was a timeline, the NHL Trade Freeze, that the Kings and Kraken had set internally to move those players.
“It simply means that prices are going to be high for the few rentals and trade options available, and teams are going to have to pay up,” added the source.
The rest of the NHL is not rushed, especially with the low amount of high-end rental options heading into the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.
“Teams like Toronto, New Jersey, Edmonton, and Los Angeles; those are teams that have to make the playoffs this year, and they’ll be forced to pay up if they want to improve before the trade deadline, if at all,” said another NHL source. “Lots of pressure on a handful of GMs to keep pace amidst injuries and subpar performances. Should come to a head soon.”
Shopping Early Pays Off
There are teams that were aggressive early on, like the Canadiens or the Minnesota Wild.
For Minnesota, acquiring Quinn Hughes when they did is as big an addition as you can get at any point in the season.
The Wild still need to go out and find a bona fide second-line centre to truly put themselves in the contender chair, but they’re very close.
“Being aggressive early on and jumping on the Quinn Hughes trade race was a clutch move by Bill (Guerin) and now they’re off to the races,” said a Western Conference source. “He paid the big price, absolutely. But now he doesn’t have to pay a high price for a player that brings a marginal boost. The Wild are in the driver’s seat.”
And the same can be said about the emerging Canadiens, who made some timely depth acquisitions that helped them to weather the storm of injuries they’ve suffered since the start of the season.
They first signed Alex Texier, who agreed to a mutual contract termination with the St. Louis Blues in November, and then acquired Phil Danault at the 11th hour before the NHL Roster Freeze in December.
The two additions have brought solid depth and experience to an otherwise inexperienced middle-six for the Canadiens. Texier has quickly gained the favor of head coach Martin St-Louis, while Danault is back to being the team’s go-to defensive specialist and face-off man.
“Even Montreal, they were aggressive going to get help early, so they don’t have to be as aggressive down the stretch unless a can’t miss player becomes available,” continued the source. “They still want to add that rare combo of size and scoring, but that doesn’t need to happen right away. In the meantime, they’re in a playoff spot and have a bunch of guys coming back, too. It pays to be aggressive.”
The expectation is that the trade market may shake loose once the NHL standings clear up by the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline, and more sellers will join the party. However, the problem is, they will not come in to lower the high price points, but rather, to take advantage of them.
Teams like the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Rangers have already been contacted by their peers to keep them informed on their future plans.
Things can change quickly in the NHL, but for the teams currently feeling the heat of expectation and the pressure to win, that change can’t come fast enough.