Around the NHL: Detroit Evaluates Center Options, Laine in Trade Talks, Utah Monitoring Market
The NHL trade freeze officially went into effect on February 4 at 3 p.m. ET and will remain in place until February 22, temporarily preventing teams from completing trades involving players selected to Olympic rosters.
While deals cannot be finalized during this window, the freeze has done little to slow league-wide activity behind the scenes, as front offices continue to hold discussions, evaluate options, and lay the groundwork for potential moves once restrictions are lifted.
In many cases, the pause simply shifts urgency earlier in the process, allowing teams to align on value and structure so transactions can be executed quickly when the freeze ends.
Here’s what we’re hearing is still on the burner across the league:
Detroit Looking at Center With Term
The Detroit Red Wings continue to be a team looking to significantly improve down the middle.
Sources have indicated that the Red Wings not only want to grab another top-six pivot, but they want to acquire a veteran center with term and are willing to pay the big price.
Looking at the extremely competitive Atlantic Division, R.org has been told that the Red Wings view their center depth as their biggest weakness in comparison to other top teams in their division right now.
They have the experience and talent along the wings with Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond, James Van Riemsdyk, and more. They’ve even recently moved Marco Kasper, the heir apparent to the second-line center role, as recently as this training camp, to the wing; leaving Andrew Copp as the team’s current 2C.
Sources close to the situation have linked Detroit to Vincent Trocheck with the New York Rangers as a serious contender, while also hinting at backup plans in Nazem Kadri and, on the more expensive side, Elias Pettersson.
Detroit feels this is the missing piece for them to take their next step and GM Steve Yzerman has never really shied away from making that kind of big deal.
House prediction? Keep an eye on Trocheck.
Patrik Laine on the Move?
The Montreal Canadiens were decimated by injuries at the start of the season, losing Patrik Laine, Kaiden Guhle, Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, and more to injuries.
During that time, they added some key depth, signing (and extending) Alex Texier and reuniting with pivot Phil Danault. But now that the Canadiens are healthy, there’s a numbers game going on with their lineup.
Prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, teams must respect the 23-man roster limit. After waiving Sammy Blais earlier this week, the Canadiens currently sit at 22 men on the roster, but Alex Newhook looks like he’ll likely be back by the end of the month.
With Laine seemingly ready to return to play, the Montreal Canadiens have tried to move him and are willing to retain 50% of his salary to make it happen. There was talk of the Canadiens possibly being willing to add a sweetener to move Laine, on top of retaining on him, but sources have confirmed there is very little appetite for that.
Colleague Eric Engels of Sportsnet has also reported that it would be expected to see Laine moved before the Canadiens’ next game on February 26 against the New York Islanders.
“If the 27-year-old Finn sees any post-Olympics action, we expect it to be for someone other than the Canadiens.”
The Calgary Flames have just run into a lot of money with key veteran Jonathan Huberdeau out for the rest of the season, as he is set to undergo hip surgery. The Carolina Hurricanes have significant cap space and have two of Laine’s friends – Sebastian Aho and Nikolaj Ehlers – on the roster. While teams like the LA Kings and the Seattle Kraken are looking to add more firepower for a playoff run and lack true snipers on the wing.
The fact that Utah, Seattle, and the Columbus Blue Jackets are firmly in their respective playoff races will significantly hamper the already razor-thin rental market. Names like Nick Schmaltz, Jordan Eberle, Boone Jenner, Charlie Coyle, Jared McCann, and more would be removed from the conversation should these teams continue winning, which would play in Montreal’s favor.
Laine would be one of the few legitimate offensive rentals remaining on the board, and the expectation is that he will be traded prior to the Canadiens’ return at home on February 26.
Utah Mammoth Looking To Pounce
The Mammoth have been looking to make a splash on the trade market from the moment they acquired JJ Peterka last summer from the Buffalo Sabres.
Currently holding down the first Wild Card spot, sources have indicated that Utah has been in discussions for a top-six forward addition and has had talks recently about trying to give their offense a boost.
Outside of Clayton Keller (54 points in 57 games) and pending free agent Nick Schmaltz (54 points in 53 games), scoring has been hard to come by since top center Logan Cooley went down with injury.
Sources indicate that Utah has kicked tires on some of the top centres available on the market, like Nazem Kadri.
They have the assets, including their 2026 1st-round pick and a glut of prospects like Cole Beaudoin, Maveric Lamoureux, and more in their pipeline that could be sacrificed to make a deal. Though a source close to the team mentions that the likes of Tij Iginla, Danil But, and any of their higher former 1st-round picks would be off the table, unless it was for a monster move.
There has been chatter of seeing Utah make a big swing down the stretch, especially with the likes of Elias Pettersson and Robert Thomas potentially available. With Cooley’s injury history, securing the center position is key for Utah down the stretch.
Former 4th overall pick Caleb Desnoyers is impressing at the QMJHL level, but Utah is also entering its competitive window, and putting that kind of pressure on a 19-year-old might not be best for his development.
Something to keep an eye on.