Wotherspoon had a breakout 2025-26 season, playing predominantly alongside Erik Karlsson in Pittsburgh, recording 30 points (3G / 27A) and a +17 plus/minus in 80 games. The 28-year-old defenseman spent his first six professional seasons playing exclusively in the AHL before making his NHL debut in 2022-23 with the New York Islanders.
Philp is an undrafted forward that made his NHL debut in the 2024-25 season with the Edmonton Oilers. The 27-year-old was acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes midseason in 2025-26, but he only suited up in two games, spending most of his campaign in the AHL, recording 17 points (8G / 9A) in 29 games with the Chicago Wolves.
Masters was a fourth-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft that has yet to play an NHL game. The 23-year-old defenseman spent the 2025-26 season in the ECHL, where he recorded three assists in 10 games with the Wichita Thunder.
Steeves is an undrafted forward who has yet to play an NHL game and will add some organizational depth to the New Jersey Devils. The 24-year-old had a solid 2025-26 season in the AHL, recording 45 points (23G / 22A) and 100 penalty minutes in 72 games with the Charlotte Checkers.
Boqvist has been a solid bottom-six forward in recent seasons and will add his talents to the New Jersey Devils in 2026-27. The 27-year-old Swedish forward averaged 11:50 time-on-ice and recorded 13 points (4G / 9A) last season in 73 games with the Florida Panthers. Boqvist has a Devils' draft pick, 36th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, and spent four seasons with the team between 2019 and 2023.
Rodrigues has been a reliable bottom-six forward for the Panthers the past few seasons, moving up the lineup when needed, but will get a fresh start in 2026-27, joining the New Jersey Devils. The 32-year-old forward has scored over 30 points in each of his past five seasons, including a 31-point campaign (11G / 20A) in 2025-26 in 69 games with the Panthers.
Crookshank has spent most of the past two seasons in the AHL and will add some organizational depth to the Florida Panthers' forward group. The 26-year-old scored 36 points (24G / 12A) last season in 60 games with the Utica Comets (AHL).
The Panthers entered the postseason with neither of their goaltenders from the previous season under contract. Now, after acquiring Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, they completed their goaltending tandem on Tuesday by acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils. The 36-year-old Markstrom has struggled with consistency throughout his career and is coming off an unencouraging 2025-26 season, during which he posted a pedestrian 3.07 GAA and .883 SV% in 44 appearances (23-19-1). That said, he will be joining a stronger defensive Florida Panthers team and hopes to return to the form he has had in previous seasons.
The Panthers entered the postseason with neither of their goaltenders from the previous season under contract, looking to revamp the position, and Schmid was their first acquisition. The 26-year-old Schmid spent most of the 2025-26 season with the Vegas Golden Knights, earning a career-high 34 starts due to numerous injuries above him on the team's goaltending depth chart. That said, he was serviceable when called upon, posting a 2.59 GAA and .893 SV% with a 16-10-6 record.
St. Ivany has split time between the AHL and NHL the past few seasons. He was on track to get a larger look with Pittsburgh in the NHL in 2025-26, but his season was derailed by injuries, playing just 20 games and recording seven assists. The 26-year-old defenseman will likely be vying for a position on Winnipeg's opening-night roster in the 2026-27 season.
Gustafsson has been unable to establish himself as a full-time NHLer and will hope a change of scenery, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins, can inspire some confidence and more consistent play. The 26-year-old forward has played 149 career NHL games, all with the Winnipeg Jets, but he spent the entire 2025-26 season in the AHL, where he scored 32 points (10G / 22A) in 48 games with the Manitoba Moose.
After three seasons in Anaheim, Gudas is set to become a UFA on Wednesday. Florida acquired his negotiating so they can get a head start on bringing him back. Gudas played with the Panthers from 2021 to 2023, where ehe had 44 points (7G / 37A) but more importantly for his brand of hockey, 917 hits and 314 blocked shots. He would likely settle into a third-pairing role if he signs with the Panthers at age-36.
The Panthers acquired Garnet Hathaway from the Flyers to be A.J. Greer's replacement on the fourth line, so it's not surprising that they shipped out his rights. Greer is set to become a UFA on Wednesday, but the expectation is that he'll sign with Anaheim after they acquired his rights on Monday. Greer is coming off of the best offensive season of his career, having scored 17 goals with 15 assists (32 points) in 78 games while compiling 200-plus hits for the second straight season.
Roy had a couple tastes of the NHL in 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons, picking up 11 points (6G / 5A) across 38 total games. He spent most of the 2026 season in the AHL, where he was second on Laval in goals (23) and fourth in points (45) in 57 games. In Utah, he will likely be fringe roster option for them as the enter training camp, with the AHL or the press box being his mostly likely landing spot early in the season.
Szuber was a sixth-round pick of the "Mammoth" in 2022 and has spent the last three seasons primarily in the AHL. In 2025-26, he had 11 goals and 16 assists (27 points) in 65 games with Tucson. This move provides some organizational depth on the blueline for the Habs, but expect Szuber to start the 2026-27 with Laval (AHL).
After 14 seasons in Montreal, Brandan Gallagher has had his wish fulfilled and has been moved to Vancouver (50% salary retention) from Montreal for future considerations on Monday. The 34-year-old scrappy forward was a healthy scratch for the majority of the 2025-26 Stanley Cup Playoffs and will look for a new start in Vancouver after just seven goals, 23 points and 39 PIMs in 77 games last season.
Hoglander had an impressive 2023-24 season in a bottom-six role with the Vancouver Canucks, scoring 36 points (24G / 12A) in 80 games, but has struggled to build off of that momentum and hopes a change of scenery can help him rediscover his scoring touch. The 25-year-old forward, the 40th-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, battled injuries last season, playing only 38 games and scoring just 5 points (2G / 3A).
Healey had just finished his fourth and senior season at Harvard (NCAA) but was trade from Minnesota to the Islanders on Saturday for cash considerations. The 22-year-old defensemen was Minnesota's 2022 4th round pick (121st overall) and had four goals, 12 points and 28 PIMs in 34 games with Harvard last season.
Carolina will make an early attempt to get a first bid at coveted free agent defensemen John Carlson after it was announced mid draft Saturday that the Hurricanes had acquired the rights to Carlson from Anaheim for Kyle Masters and the 192nd pick in the 2026 draft. At the moment, the 36-year-old had not committed to the Hurricanes but would make a massive addition if he were to sign with the Stanley Cup Champions. He is entering his 18th NHL season after putting up 14 goals and 60 points in 71 games last season.
After appearing in 10 games for Wichita (ECHL) in 2025-26, Klye Masters finds himself on his way to Anaheim after being included with the 2026 sixth round pick (192nd overall) from Carolina for the rights to John Carlson. The 23-year-old found himself on the injured reserve for the end of his 2025-26 campaign due to a severe knee injury and will hope to turn a knew page in Anaheim for the upcoming season.
NHL trades are decided between two or more team general managers. The front office’s job is building a winning team. Building a winning team means discussing trades with other general managers across the league.
During the NHL regular season, players can be traded up until the trade deadline. The deadline is the official cutoff point for when teams can no longer make moves between each other. Players can also be traded throughout the offseason.
Teams trade players in hockey for a variety of reasons, but generally, it is done to find success, whether that is in the short term or long term. Teams may trade their top players in search of draft picks if they are undergoing a rebuild, whereas contending teams may look to acquire talent to boost their playoff chances.
Trades are a common occurrence throughout the NHL and happen often. Some years feature less trades than others, it all depends on each teams needs and the availability of attractive talent.
