As the clock ticks down to the draft and free agency, teams are starting to make some moves. The dust had barely settled on the Brady-Tkachuk-to-Florida deal when the league office was inundated with several trade calls. You are going to need a scoresheet to keep track of who is drafting when on Friday.
Speaking of the draft, we pondered a few possibilities for the Tampa Bay Lightning when it’s finally their time to draft. [Raw Charge]
While we were working on that, the rest of the league was rocking and rolling. Things started off relatively normally as some expected news was finally confirmed. Mike Babcock, recently and tepidly cleared by the NHL, was named the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers [Oilers Nation]. Will it work? Will he actually make it to the start of the season? If he does, he’ll outlast his last coaching stint.
Their Albertan neighbors didn’t even let them enjoy an entire news cycle as they nabbed one of the top names on everybody’s trade board. Simon Nemec (and Maxim Tsyplakov) head to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Eitenne Morin. a 2027 first-round pick (originally Vegas’), a 2028 first-round pick (originally Colorado’s), and a 2026 second-round pick (originally the Rangers). [All About the Jersey]
On the heels of the young defenseman heading west, a young forward jumped on a plane heading east. Ottawa didn’t let the first round pick they acquired from Florida burn too big of a hole in their pockets as they sent the ninth overall pick to the San Jose Sharks for William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen, and Brandon Svoboda. The 23-year-old Eklund should replace some of the offense lost in the Brady Tkachuk deal. San Jose now has two of the top ten picks on Friday night. [Fear the Fin]
Two picks in the first round is nice, but it’s not four picks. Which is what the St. Louis Blues now have after sending Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals. Kyrou, another player that adorned many a trade board, should have a bounce-back season in the Nation’s Capital. The Capitals sent Connor McMichael, Milton Gastrin, and a 2026 first-round pick to St. Louis. The Blues now hold the 11th, 15th, 16th, and 29th picks on Friday. We’re pretty sure at least one of those is getting dealt before the draft begins. [Russian Machine Never Breaks]
Oh yeah, and Bowen Byram was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. In a somewhat surprising move, Buffalo sent Byram and Jordan Greenway to Chicago for the fourth overall pick, the forty-fifth pick, and the very tall Louis Crevier. Buffalo not only clears out over $10 million in cap space (which they need if they want to re-sign Alex Tuch and give RFA Zach Benson a healthy raise) but picks up the fourth overall pick. Chicago gets a defenseman who occasionally forgets how to play defense. [Second City Hockey]
While all of the trades were going down, there was also some ownership news from the league. First off, the Hoffman Family of Companies was given unanimous approval to acquire the Pittsburgh Penguins. The process started back in August with HFC reportedly agreeing to buy the team from Fenway Sports Group for $1.7 billion. The approval from the league should smooth the rest of the process. [Hoffman Family of Companies]
That is a nice chunk of change, but nothing compared to $3.5 billion. That seems to be the price tag for expansion into Texas. Following a Board of Governors meeting, Commissioner (and Hall of Famer) Gary Bettman confirmed that the league is beginning a six-month evaluation of putting a second team in Texas. The Friedkin Group would be the prospective owner of the newest team, which would be located in either Houston or Austin. Both cities would need a new stadium, and that commitment, along with the expansion fee, would involve an investment of approximately $3.5 billion. [NHL.com]
Not a bad news day for the NHL.
The current draft order according to PuckPedia:
- Toronto
- San Jose
- Vancouver
- Buffalo
- New York Rangers
- Calgary Flames
- Seattle
- Winnipeg
- San Jose
- Nashville
- St. Louis
- New Jersey
- New York Islanders
- Columbus
- St. Louis
- St. Louis
- Los Angeles
- Washington
- Utah
- Buffalo
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
- Boston
- Vancouver
- Ottawa
- New York Rangers
- San Jose
- Montreal
- St. Louis
- Calgary
- Carolina
- Ottawa
