NHL trade rumors: Top 5 trade candidates this offseason

According to the latest NHL trade rumors, here are 5 players who are likely on the move.

This offseason will be one of the weirdest in NHL history. And not just because the offseason won’t start until potentially as late as early October. There has already been quite a bit of action and even during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL trade rumors market is buzzing.

On the same day the Colorado Avalanche forced Game 7 against the Dallas Stars, the biggest news of the day was a trade. That says a lot about this offseason. There are going to be trades, even though teams are dealing with an unexpected flat salary cap ceiling of $81.5 million.

Yes, trades will require a bit more work than usual. However, with the uncertainty of the free agent market and teams not wanting to wait to fill holes, the trade market could be significant this offseason. Even more so than usual.

Which players could be on the move? Why are they on the move? Who would be good fits for them? I hope to answer all of those questions in this piece. Without further ado, here are the top five trade candidates. These candidates are ranked based on both how good they are and how likely it is they’ll be traded.

All contract information is courtesy of Cap Friendly.

5. Shayne Gostisbehere

Team: Philadelphia Flyers

Position: Defense

Cap hit: $4.5 million

Term: 3 more years

No-trade clauses: None

When he’s at his best, Shayne Gostisbehere is an impactful defenseman who can take over games. But at his worst, he’s frustratingly inconsistent. The Philadelphia Flyers have seen more of the latter lately.

Though he’s just two years removed from putting up 65 points in 73 games, Gostisbehere has 49 points in 120 games since then. He has been a fairly regular healthy scratch in the Flyers lineup.

This offseason, the Flyers would probably like to add a top-six forward. On top of that, they have to re-sign some key restricted free agents, such as Robert Hagg and Philippe Myers. The Flyers probably can’t afford to keep Gostisbehere if he’s not going to one of their top four defensemen.

Potential Suitors

Gostisbehere has been tied to the Montreal Canadiens in the past. They need a left-handed defenseman and they have some forwards the Flyers might be interested in. Even after the Jake Allen trade, the Canadiens have enough cap space to add Gostisbehere.

Much like the Canadiens, the Winnipeg Jets match up well with the Flyers as far as trades are concerned. They need defense and the Flyers want offense. Each side has exactly what the other side wants.

The Flyers would have to add more to the trade, but Gostisbehere would be a good starting point if they’re interested in New Jersey Devils forward Kyle Palmieri. New Jersey could certainly stand to improve their defense as well.

4. Max Domi

Team: Montreal Canadiens

Position: Center, Left Wing

Cap hit: N/A (restricted free agent)*

Term: N/A (restricted free agent)

*$2.9 million qualifying offer and he’s eligible for arbitration

No-trade clauses: None

Max Domi‘s a pretty interesting trade candidate. He’s a productive player who seems to have find his game with the Montreal Canadiens. After being traded to the Canadiens for Alex Galchenyuk, Domi did what he couldn’t do in Arizona – he proved he’s an NHL-caliber center.

The Canadiens are open to trading him because Domi’s value to them is starting to shrink. While he’s a fine center, the Canadiens already have Philipp Dannault, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Nick Suzuki as options. At best, Domi’s their number three center. So unless he’s willing to move to wing, keeping him makes little sense. Keep in mind centers get paid more than wings and Domi has proven himself as a center.

Unlike Gostisbehere, Domi’s not on the trade block because of his performance. He’s on it because he’s probably more valuable to another team than he is to the Montreal Canadiens.

Potential Suitors

The Winnipeg Jets are also looking for a center or two. Domi would make sense. And the Jets have several wings Montreal would probably be interested in. But would Winnipeg be willing to move any of those wings?

Domi was pretty much born to play under John Tortorella. He’s skilled and he plays with a chip on his shoulder. The Columbus Blue Jackets need to add some offense and I think Domi would be a good fit for them. But would they be willing to part with what Montreal wants?

3. Vince Dunn

Team: St. Louis Blues

Position: Defense

Cap hit: N/A (restricted free agent)*

Term: N/A (restricted free agent)

No-trade clauses: None

*$813,750 qualifying offer and arbitration eligible

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Vince Dunn is the first true salary cap casualty on the list. The St. Louis Blues are currently in quite a pickle with their cap situation. They have roughly $6 million in cap space after trading backup goaltender Jake Allen. If the Blues want to re-sign team captain Alex Pietrangelo, they’ve got more work to do.

And if the Blues re-sign Pietrangelo, it likely means Vince Dunn’s on his way out of St. Louis. It will take the Blues roughly $8.5 million a year to re-sign him. Probably more.

Now, there’s one thing that helps out the Blues. Dunn isn’t arbitration eligible yet. He’s only completed three professional seasons and he needs four before he hits arbitration. So the Blues could try to sign Dunn to a cheap contract. As in, probably less than $2 million a year. But if he says no, the Blues won’t have much of a choice.

Dunn’s a very good defensemen and he’s only 23 years old. So if he’s on the market, he won’t have a shortage of suitors.

Potential Suitors

The Devils would be very wise to take advantage of their cap space. It could help them get someone like Dunn. The Devils defense desperately needs a talent infusion and Dunn would provide that.

I could see the Canadiens being interested in him as well. As stated earlier, the Canadiens need left-handed defenseman. Dunn’s a southpaw. Montreal has plenty of draft picks to offer St. Louis and they have plenty of cap space. St. Louis won’t want to take back any salary if they trade Dunn, so those draft picks could give the Canadiens a huge advantage.

The Minnesota Wild are looking to get younger and Dunn would make a lot of sense for them. Their blue line currently doesn’t have any players under the age of 25. Carson Soucy (26 years old) is their youngest defenseman. But the Blues might not be keen on trading Dunn to a division rival, especially if they have other options.

If the Detroit Red Wings want to give their rebuild a jump start, trading for Dunn could provide a spark. They have a lot of RFAs to re-sign, but if they play their cards right, they should still have enough left over to add someone like Dunn on a long-term deal. He’s young enough that it would make sense to give up assets to get him.

2. Matt Murray

Team: Pittsburgh Penguins

Position: Goaltender

Cap hit: N/A (restricted free agent)*

Term: N/A (restricted free agent)

No-trade clauses: None

*$3.75 million qualifying offer and arbitration eligible

Matt Murray‘s the first goaltender to appear on this list. And the only one, for that matter. Back in 2017, the Pittsburgh Penguins had to make the difficult decision to part ways with Marc-Andre Fleury. It was Matt Murray’s time to take over the net. Three years later, it’s Tristan Jarry’s time to take over the net and Murray’s time to leave.

Even in a goalie market saturated with options, Murray should have no shortage of suitors. His numbers since winning his second Stanley Cup in 2017 haven’t been that great, but when healthy, Murray has proven to be at worst an average goaltender.

What makes Murray especially intriguing is he’s still relatively young at just 26 years old. Almost all of, if not all of, the other goalies on the market, both free agent and trade, are older than that. Murray could serve as a short-term option for teams hoping to find their long-term option. One can assume an extension would be a part of any trade for him.

Potential Suitors

The Calgary Flames need to add a goaltender, as it appears Cam Talbot will test the free agent market. Murray would make sense for them, especially if the Flames don’t want to sign Robin Lehner or Braden Holtby to a long-term deal.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Vancouver Canucks enter the goalie market if they don’t re-sign Jacob Markstrom. They likely wouldn’t be going after the big-ticket goalies, so Murray would probably make sense for them.