Minnesota has acquired Justin Brazeau from Boston for Marat Khusnutdinov, Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth-round pick.
NHL Trades
The Rangers acquired Soucy from the Canucks on Thursday in exchange for a 2025 third-round draft pick.
With the emergence of Elias Nils Pettersson on the Canucks blue-line this season, Soucy was deemed to be an expendable asset by Vancouver. Soucy leaves the Canucks after appearing in 99 games across parts of two seasons, registering five goals and 11 assists.
The Jets have acquired Chris Driedger from the Panthers for Kaapo Kahkonen.
Driedger has struggled at the AHL level this season and will be hoping for better results with a change of scenery, likely reporting to the Manitoba Moose (AHL). The 30-year-old Driedger has a 2.97 GAA and .878 SV% in 20 games with Charlotte (AHL) this season (10-6-4).
The Panthers have acquired Kaapo Kahkonen from the Jets for Chris Driedger.
Kahkonen has spent most of the previous two seasons in the AHL but is no stranger to the NHL, providing some solid goaltending depth for the Panthers. The 28-year-old goalie has a 3.34 GAA and .898 SV% in 140 career NHL games (49-68-15)
The Rangers have acquired Brendan Brisson and a 2025 3rd Round Pick from the Golden Knights for Reilly Smith.
Brisson was a first-round pick, 29th overall, of the Golden Knights in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old forward played nine games with the Golden Knights this season but has spent most of the 2024-25 campaign in the AHL, tallying 19 points (5G / 14A) in 45 games with the Henderson Silver Knights.
The Golden Knights have acquired Reilly Smith from the Rangers for Brendan Brisson and a 2025 3rd Round Pick.
Smith was held out of the Rangers lineup for their previous few games as they anticipated trading the impending UFA, a move that came to fruition on Thursday, sending him to his former club, the Golden Knights. The 33-year-old Smith averaged 15:36 time-on-ice and scored 29 points (10G / 19A) in 58 games with the Rangers this season.
The Panthers have acquired Nico Sturm and a 2027 7th Round Pick from the Sharks for a 2026 4th Round Pick.
The acquisition of Sturm will add some depth to the Panthers' bottom-six forward group. The 29-year-old Sturm averaged 10:08 time-on-ice and scored 13 points (7G / 6A) in 47 games with the Sharks this season.
The Ducks have acquired Herman Traff and a 2025 conditional 2nd Round Pick from the Devils for Brian Dumoulin.
Traff was a third-round pick, 91st overall, of the Devils in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old forward has yet to play and NHL game. He scored seven points (3G / 4A) in 25 games with HV7a Jonkoping (SweHL) this season.
The Devils have acquired Brian Dumoulin from the Ducks for Herman Traff and a 2025 conditional 2nd Round Pick.
Dumoulin will add some defensive depth and Stanley Cup pedigree to the Devils blueline. The 33-year-old defenseman averaged 19:48 time-on-ice and scored 16 points (2G / 14A) through 61 games with the Ducks this season.
The Penguins have acquired Luke Schenn and Tommy Novak from the Predators for Michael Bunting and a 2026 4th Round Pick.
Assuming he isn't flipped elsewhere ahead of Friday's Trade Deadline, the Penguins will become the ninth team Schenn has suited up for across his remarkable 17-year-career. The Predators signed Schenn to a three-year contract with an AAV of $2.75-million ahead of the 2023-24 season. The 35-year-old defenceman leaves Nashville after registering two goals, ten assists, 152 blocked shots and 430 hits across 124 games.
The Penguins have acquired Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn from the Predators for Michael Bunting and a 2026 4th Round Pick.
The Penguins will be hoping the 27-year-old Novak will be able to regain the form he flashed in the 2022-23 season, when he scored 17 goals and added 26 assists in just 51 regular season games. Novak leaves Nashville after amassing 117 points with the franchise across 201 career games.
The Predators have acquired Michael Bunting and a 2026 4th Round Pick from the Penguins for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn.
Bunting is currently injured after undergoing an appendectomy last week. The 29-year-old Bunting's tenure as a Penguin comes to an end after just 79 games with the franchise, where he tallied 20 goals and 28 assists.
The Sharks acquired Desharnais from the Penguins on Wednesday in exchange for a 2028 fifth-round draft pick.
Desharnais leaves the Penguins after playing just ten games for the franchise. He was acquired from the Canucks just last month in the trade that sent Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver. The 28-year-old Desharnais has zero goals and three assists in 44 games this season.
The Kraken have acquired Michael Eyssimont, a 2026 1st Round Pick, a 2027 1st Round Pick and a 2025 2nd Round Pick from the Lightning for Oliver Bjorkstrand, Yanni Gourde and a 2026 5th Round Pick.
Eyssimont has established himself as a reliable role player of the past few seasons and will likely continue to fill that role with Seattle. The 28-year-old was averaging 10:41 time-on-ice and scored 10 points (5G / 5A) in 57 games with Tampa Bay this season.
The Lightning have acquired Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand and a 2026 5th Round Pick from the Kraken for Michael Eyssimont, a 2026 1st Round Pick, a 2027 1st Round Pick and a 2025 2nd Round Pick.
Gourde has struggled with consistency while battling injuries this season but could see a boost in production returning to his former club, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 33-year-old Gourde scored 17 points (6G / 11A) in 36 games with Seattle this season.
The Lightning have acquired Oliver Bjorkstrand, Yanni Gourde and a 2026 5th Round Pick from the Kraken for Michael Eyssimont, a 2026 1st Round Pick, a 2027 1st Round Pick and a 2025 2nd Round Pick.
Bjorkstrand brings significant offensive depth to a Tampa Bay Lightning team in the running for first place in the Atlantic Division. The 29-year-old Bjorkstrand tallied 37 points (16G / 21A) and 124 shots while averaging 15:28 time-on-ice through 61 games with Seattle this season.
Florida has acquired Vitek Vancek from San Jose for Patrick Giles.
The Sharks opted not to play Vanecek on Tuesday in anticipation of a trade, which was realized on Wednesday morning, sending him to Florida in exchange for Patrick Giles. Vanecek posted an unimpressive 3.88 GAA and .882 SV% in 18 games with the Sharks this season (3-10-3). Though he will be predominantly backing up Sergei Bobrovsky, Vanecek should see an improvement in his statistics on a much stronger Florida team.
San Jose has acquired Patrick Giles from Florida for Vitek Vanecek.
Giles is an undrafted 25-year-old forward out of Boston College. He made his NHL debut this season, playing nine games with the Panthers and scoring zero points. He scored seven points (5G / 2A) in 39 games with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) this season.
The Devils acquired Shane LaChance from the Oilers in a three-way trade that also included the Bruins.
LaChance was a sixth-round pick, 186th overall, of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old forward has spent the previous two seasons playing Collegiate hockey with Boston University, scoring 52 points (23G / 29A) in 72 games.
The Bruins acquired Max Wanner from the Oilers in a three-way trade that also included the Devils.
Wanner was a seventh-round pick, 212th overall, of the Oilers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old defenseman scored two points (1G / 1A) in 22 games with the Bakersfield Condors (AHL) this season.
NHL Trade Tracker
Are you looking for all the latest NHL trade news from around the league? Then you’ve come to the right spot! Daily Faceoff’s NHL trade tracker provides up-to-the-minute updates on the latest personnel moves and trade rumours from all 32 franchises. When your favourite player gets dealt for future considerations, you’ll be the first to know!
Along with our NHL trade tracker, we also provide information on how hockey trades work, the strategy behind these moves, and how the latest NHL trades could impact your sports betting strategy.
It’s important for fans, sports bettors, and fantasy managers to stay informed on the latest NHL transactions. If you can keep tabs on the latest moves in the NHL, this can assist you in making intelligent pickups or trades in fantasy hockey and help shape your bets based on the new personnel added to a team.
NHL Trade Rules
NHL trades can be quite lucrative, with players, prospects, and draft capital moved to complete a deal. While there are a variety of ways to finalize trades, they all need to abide by the trade rules and regulations set by the league. Even the San Jose Sharks can’t take on everyone’s bad contracts.
Learn more about the rules around trades below so you can better understand how trades work, and the transactions made in our NHL trade tracker.
Salary Cap
In order for any NHL trade to be processed successfully, all parties involved must abide by the league’s salary cap rules. The current NHL salary cap is $88M, meaning that each team’s total payroll must fall within the budgetary restriction.
The salary cap in the NHL is considered a “hard cap,” meaning that no team can exceed it. While the limitations around roster construction can be strict, there are still ways for teams to legally exceed the set limit that won’t cost teams a first-round pick.
In the playoffs, teams are technically able to exceed their cap space through the long-term injured reserve (LTIR). The LTIR allows teams to place injured players on extended leave (24+ calendar days or 10 NHL Games) and fill their roster spots based on their cap space heading into the regular season.
If a player is on the LTIR heading into the postseason, they can be activated regardless of if their re-addition to the team puts them over the salary cap.
Roster Limit
For any active NHL roster, they can only dress 23 skaters. While they’re able to move players up and down through their farm system (AHL/ECHL/International Players), they must abide by this player limit when it comes to active players dressed in each game.
This plays a big factor in determining trades, as teams will need to make salaries work to make the move official and fit the current team’s available roster spots.
Depth is an incredibly important part of any successful NHL team, so filling out their roster with talented players is pivotal to their success. Each roster spot holds immense value.
NHL Trade Deadline
The NHL trade deadline is the last opportunity for teams to make moves between each other during the regular season. The trade deadline generally falls after the All-Star break so teams can make their last-ditch efforts before the playoffs begin. Players must be on the team’s roster by the deadline at 3 PM to be eligible for the NHL playoffs.
Technically, teams can still make trades after this point if they don’t qualify or have been eliminated from the postseason. These trades will not take effect until the next season, but the transactions can still go through.
The deadline can make or break a team’s playoff hopes, making it a dramatic and hectic period for hockey fans and managers alike. Be sure to regularly check back with our NHL trade tracker around the deadline so you don’t miss any latest moves from across the league.
Understanding the Strategy Behind NHL Trades
NHL teams may want to make a trade for a number of reasons. Often, teams make trades when they are looking to head in a certain direction, whether this means trying to improve and compete for the Stanley Cup or tank and enter a rebuild.
A team that feels it has a strong enough unit to make a deep run into the postseason will likely forgo some of its draft capital to acquire proven talent and enhance its winning capabilities.
Conversely, a team that has hit a wall in terms of success and doesn’t feel they have what it takes to compete in the playoffs may opt to trade away valuable assets in favour of draft picks or promising prospects.
Other NHL trade strategies may involve team culture/personnel fits. If a player doesn’t fit within a coach’s game plan or doesn’t have chemistry with his line mates, teams may opt to deal him to find a better fit.
For daily fantasy sports players or hockey bettors, understanding the logic behind NHL trades can play a big part in your success. If you have a solid understanding of a team’s needs and the value brought by particular players, you can use this to gain an edge on your roster moves and bets.
Check out the most recent roster moves from around the league with our NHL trade tracker, and be sure to analyze the strategy used by each team when making their next move.
How NHL Trades Impact Sports Betting
NHL trades can have a major impact on sports betting, both in terms of daily games and futures. Players moving from team to team can alter a squad’s potential success and on-ice production.
For example, if a team decides to trade their leading goal-scorer, you can rightfully assume that their overall scoring numbers may drop as a result. This means a team you once would’ve taken the Over on may be better suited for the Under due to their new lineup.
Acquiring an all-star player for futures bets can dramatically influence the betting lines, increasing one team’s value while dropping another. If you’ve already placed a futures bet and the team you wagered on makes a trade, this could possibly increase or lower the value of your original ticket, depending on the result of the roster change.
Daily fantasy hockey players can also be impacted by NHL trades as you will need to see how a player fits into their new setting before including them in your drafted lineup.Be sure to watch for any of the latest transactions by using our NHL trade tracker to stay informed on all the roster changes occurring throughout the league.
NHL Trades FAQs
Who decides NHL trades?
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.
When can players be traded in the NHL?
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.
Why do they trade players in hockey?
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.
How often are NHL players traded?
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.