Which prominent NHLer will wear a new team’s uniform by next season?
The NHL season is incredibly young, so it feels too early even for overreactions to what we’ve seen so far. We’ll save those for next week.
This week: I want you to look up and down the opening-week rosters. Flash forward to next October. Which prominent player will be wearing a different uniform a year from now? As a wrinkle: you can’t pick a 2024 UFA. Can be an RFA or someone going UFA in 2025 and beyond.
MATT LARKIN: I’ll have my eye on Travis Konecny all season. He was a frequent name in the rumor mill during the offseason as new Philadelphia Flyers GM Danny Briere began his teardown, but nothing materialized. Konecny’s blend of scoring touch and jam should make him a sought-after trade deadline commodity, especially when he’s a two-year rental, not going to market until July 2025. The $5.5 million cap hit is extremely reasonable, too, for a player talented enough to have scored at 48-goal, 98-point pace in the first half last season. Seriously, he did. Not a typo. He could fetch a lovely pick-and-prospect cocktail for Briere.
COLBY COHEN: T.J. Oshie stands out to me as a player who will find a new team at the trade deadline or this coming summer. While he has a M-NTC with a 10-team list, the fact that he has only one year left on his contract after this season, priced at a reasonable $5.75 million, makes him an enticing option. Oshie’s scoring ability, effectiveness on the power play and tenacious 200-foot game give him the ability to fetch a nice return.
His winning experience with a Cup and consistent leadership qualities in the dressing room further elevate his value. Considering these factors, there’s a distinct possibility a contender would be willing overpay for Oshie’s services at the trade deadline or the draft.
SCOTT MAXWELL: The San Jose Sharks are probably too easy of a team to pick from now that they are in a full rebuild, but I’d have to go with Tomas Hertl. Sharks GM Mike Grier has already stated that he’s open to dealing both Hertl and Logan Couture, and while you probably won’t find teams stumbling over each other to take on those two centers’ contracts, Hertl at 29 feels like a much more attractive option than Couture. Hertl had a really good season in 2022-23 that was lost in the noise surround Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier, and not enough people talk about the fact that Hertl’s defensive prowess allowed Karlsson to have the season he had in San Jose, as Hertl often covered for Karlsson when the defenseman would jump up in the play. Hertl’s $8,137,500 cap hit might make him a tougher sell than other people on this list, but I’m sure any team would have given him that contract at the time had the Sharks done the smart thing two seasons ago and dealt him at the deadline, and with Mark Scheifele officially off the market, Hertl is probably the best center available at the moment. It probably happens in the offseason when it’s easier to move the money, but he’d be an excellent addition as a strong second-line center or even a solid first-line center for a contending team (looking at you, Boston).
MIKE GOULD: I’m going to go with Mason Marchment, who just hasn’t been a fit in Dallas since signing a four-year deal with the Stars in 2022. By no means is Marchment a bad player, but his $4.5 million cap hit is a tad rich for what he provides and his no-trade clause opened up a bit over the summer after being fully restrictive in 2022–23. Here’s an idea: Marchment to the Calgary Flames, one of his dad’s former teams, in exchange for Texas product and two-time Stanley Cup champion Blake Coleman, who has one more year left on his contract at a similar dollar figure. For a Stars team looking to go all the way, Coleman could be the missing piece, while Marchment could thrive with a change of scenery — especially if he ends up playing on a line with former Panthers teammate Jonathan Huberdeau.
STEVEN ELLIS: Let’s go with Jacob Markstrom. Dustin Wolf is going to annihilate the AHL again and will have fought for Calgary’s starting gig. Markstrom’s $6 million cap hit will be difficult to handle, and there’s bound to be a team on the cusp of making the playoffs needing an experienced keeper that can still handle a heavy workload. That’s how confident I am in Dustin Wolf – and I don’t think the Flames want their expensive goalie watching from the bench.
FRANK SERAVALLI: Those are some interesting answers. I’m going to say Logan Couture. He had a pretty strong season last year relative to his career numbers, and I’d have to imagine at some point that frustration will set in with the Sharks seemingly going nowhere fast. Sharks GM Mike Grier said he would be open to moving Couture whenever his captain says the word. The difficult part is his contract. It’s not just the cap hit, it’s also the term. And here’s where it gets even trickier: the Sharks have already used two of their three retained salary transaction slots on Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns. They only have one left. But looking at Couture’s playoff track record as a clutch player, wouldn’t a contender me interested? He’s twice led the entire postseason in scoring, in points in 2016 and goals in 2019.
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