Who will be the biggest name traded in the NHL this season?
Welcome back to the Daily Faceoff Roundtable. To kick off the 2025-26 NHL calendar, let’s peer way ahead at what should be a dramatic season, especially with the 2026 free-agent class looking so interesting. Roundtable members:give me an early crystal-ball pick: who will be the biggest name traded between now and the 2026 NHL Draft in June?
MATT LARKIN: I think it’s Artemi Panarin. The fit between him and the New York Rangers no longer makes sense long-term unless he takes a team-friendly discount, which I don’t expect him to do. The Blueshirts are coming off a playoff miss and, while Mike Sullivan is a great get behind the bench, their roster actively got worse over the summer. I envision New York missing the playoffs again, and GM Chris Drury could move ‘The Bread Man’ to a contender before the Trade Deadline as a rental for a nice haul of picks and/or prospects. Then the Rangers can prepare to spend big on the class of 2026 with more than $11 million of Panarin money coming off the books.
ANTHONY TRUDEAU: I’m going with Dougie Hamilton, and I don’t think we’ll have to wait until 2026. After fellow blueliner Luke Hughes’s big-league payday, GM Tom Fitzgerald only has a few months to make room to activate $4 million worth of Johnny Kovacevic off the IR. Dangling a power-play ace like Hamilton could not only clean up Jersey’s books but also net a badly needed top-six winger. The tricky parts of a Hamilton trade will be finding a third team to eat some of his $9-million salary and working around his 10-team no-trade list, but the hard-shooting former Norris contender won’t be short on suitors; the Devils, who have Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey waiting in the wings, might be the only team in the NHL that doesn’t need another right-shot puck mover.
SCOTT MAXWELL: While Evgeni Malkin isn’t nearly as much of an impact player as he used to be, he is still a “big name” and is entering the final year of his contract, with the Pittsburgh Penguins likely not looking to re-sign him after this season. While it’s likely he sticks around for the balance of this season with the Pens so his stats sheet can say just one team, Malkin has also commented on the success Brad Marchand had switching teams and winning somewhere else with the Florida Panthers. Whether Malkin does so with the Panthers themselves as they look to bandage the hole left by Aleksander Barkov, or with another contender looking for center depth like the Toronto Maple Leafs or Vancouver Canucks, teams will certainly consider acquiring the 39-year-old. The choice is ultimately his, but I think he gives in and tries to take one last run at a Stanley Cup before retiring.
PAUL PIDUTTI: I’m thinking it’s got to be a famous Pittsburgh Penguin. Future Hall of Famer. Desperately seeking a Stanley Cup. Rumors swirling around him all summer. Full no-movement clause. Signed through 2027. You know the guy? It’s Erik Karlsson, of course. Kidding aside, it won’t make any sense for the Penguins’ future to have a 35-year-old defenseman eating major minutes on a team that feels years away from being competitive. Karlsson holds all the cards, which may limit the potential destinations and therefore the return on the deal. My gut is that a prideful Pittsburgh team may win just enough games early on to hold off the fire sale until mid-season. And teams need some veterans to sell tickets and mentor young rosters. But if Karlsson, Malkin, Rickard Rakell, and Bryan Rust are all in the lineup for the entire season, it’s only further delaying the rebuild.
STEVEN ELLIS: I’m going to go with a way different outlook and say Mario Ferraro. I have a hard time buying into the hype of all the major players on the market each year. It’s a boring topic, honestly. Mikko Rantanen was traded twice last year, yeah. But a star of that magnitude moving is such an oddity in today’s NHL. In Ferraro’s case, I think he’ll be a valuable trade deadline pickup for someone hoping to find magic like Edmonton did with Jake Walman last year. Ferraro has played some solid hockey in San Jose (easier said than done) and can be a great second or third-pairing option for a contender. He’s a pending UFA, as well.
MIKE GOULD: Can I take the easy way out of this and say Rasmus Andersson? The veteran blueliner is highly unlikely to sign an extension with the Calgary Flames, especially now that Zayne Parekh is on his way into the stratosphere, and Craig Conroy has preached the importance of getting assets for players on their way out since taking over as general manager in 2023. Andersson is coming off a very difficult year in which he posted a minus-38 rating, but he should command a premium as one of the only right-handed defenders of note on the trade market.
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