3 trades that must happen in the NHL offseason but won’t

The NHL offseason is fast approaching for teams that have already been eliminated from contention or will likely find themselves out of the running at some point over the next week or so. These teams will have a high-end player or two who they can move this summer and either obtain some much-needed compensation or give them a fresh start elsewhere. 

But there is a good chance none of them will be traded for a multitude of reasons. In this slideshow, you will meet three players whose teams should trade them elsewhere to either finish or continue their respective careers. 

As always, expect player movement galore when July 2024 rolls around that should include names like goaltender Jacob Markstrom, forward Frank Vatrano, and defenseman David Savard, to name a few. We will also see plenty of surprise trades, as they occur in nearly every offseason, and even youngsters moving from one organization to the next when their respective organizations opt not to re-sign them.

A few players should be traded in the 2024 NHL offseason won’t be

The free agent frenzy in July will bring even more player movement, and it’s always fun to see who ends up where and how they will help their new team. Some previous “rentals” from this season’s trade deadline will be ones to watch, especially if they end up with another surefire contender. Anyway, let’s get back to the initial discussion: Who should get traded, but won’t? 

One player listed is almost guaranteed to remain with his current organization, despite the influx of talent moving him elsewhere will bring. The next player has, while enjoying a productive stint with both respective franchises he’s played for, yet to see his team win consistently. The third player needs a change of scenery, but there is little to no likelihood he will get one. 

The Penguins need to trade Sidney Crosby to kickstart a rebuild

Sidney Crosby is still one of the league’s best players, and you only need to take one look at his stat line to see that. Through 71 games with the ailing Pittsburgh Penguins, Crosby has 76 points and 35 goals, good for 16.7 percent of the 209 times Pittsburgh’s skaters have found the back of the net this season. 

Since he will be eligible for an extension this July, expect general manager Kyle Dubas to sign him to a reasonable contract so he can finish his storied career with one team. But we also need to ask ourselves, “How many more good years does Crosby have left, and how much of a window does he really give the Penguins?”

Wouldn’t it be great for Pittsburgh, long-term, to trade Crosby elsewhere and to collect what would be top-notch value for the future Hall of Famer? Crosby would definitely be worth two first-round picks, at least one NHL-ready A-prospect, plus a couple of high-potential B-prospects at minimum, and it would kickstart a rebuild under one of the NHL’s best general managers. 

It won’t happen, as Crosby has been too valuable for the Penguins over the nearly two decades he’s been with the team, and he’s been a fixture in the city of Pittsburgh since his rookie year in 2005-06. But Dubas will be passing up on a golden opportunity to bring in a new, successful era of Penguins hockey that will, in time, perennially make them one of the league’s most relevant teams well into the 2030s. 

Jakob Chychrun will likely remain stuck in Ottawa for the foreseeable future

What the Ottawa Senators are doing hasn’t worked, and it’s a travesty because this organization has so much talent that, on paper, they should be at least somewhat competitive with their Atlantic Division rivals. Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Claude Giroux, Drake Batherson, and others should have taken this team further than being on the brink of playoff elimination toward the end of March, but it hasn’t happened. 

The Senators could have moved Chychrun at the deadline and gotten a premium for the blueliner. But they kept him in town, and with a full season as part of a young, but underperforming core, it’s tough to see him moving this summer unless the Senators decide to embark on an all-out rebuilding campaign. 

Thanks to Chychrun’s performance, the Senators still have time to warrant a premium return, as he has 36 points and 12 goals in 71 matchups, putting him on pace to secure over a half-point per game. Beyond that, he’s fifth on the team in offensive points shares among active players, and he still contributes defensively with 135 blocks or nearly two per contest. 

You can make the case that Ottawa should move more than just Chychrun this summer and start over. But until they send more than just Vladimir Tarasenko elsewhere - traded to Florida earlier this month - expect what could be a top trade piece to remain with a struggling Ottawa Senators franchise.