NHL free agency arrived with the kind of noise that usually means someone’s about to swing big - or make a mistake they’ll be talking about all summer. The blue-line market is driving a lot of that chatter, with Bowen Byram, Zach Werenski, Darnell Nurse and Connor Hellebuyck all tied into the early-day buzz.
One of the loudest storylines centers on Byram and Chicago. Darren Dreger said, “An intriguing day ahead.
The D market is wild. Toronto is “all-in” on Werenski.
Carolina is still working on [John] Carlson while considering [Alexander] Nikishin trade options. Plus, Chicago is eager to drop what is expected to be a 6-year deal on Bowen Byram at $12.5 mil. per.
Fun times.”
Chris Johnston backed up that expectation, saying, “Bowen Byram is eligible to sign an extension with the Blackhawks today, which would commence with the 2027-28 season, and the expectation is that the deal will land around $12.5M per season.”
The Oilers, meanwhile, may be headed for a quieter day than some had hoped. Bob Stauffer said there is no update on a Darnell Nurse trade in Edmonton, which matters because the club’s cap picture is already tight.
He wrote, “Given the uncertainty of the Darnell Nurse situation, it is quite possible that today may be a very quiet day for the @EdmontonOilers on the Free Agent front. EDM will need another goalie…at some point, still need to sign RFA’s C.
Dach/S. Stastney and have limited cap space.”
That situation could also push Edmonton out of the mix for Sergei Bobrovsky. Elliotte Friedman said the Oilers had interest, but he’s now focused on Toronto.
He added, “Believe his last ask of Florida was three years, $21 million. So I’d expect the overall dollars to come in around there.”
Another goaltending name in the rumor mill is Connor Hellebuyck. Dreger reported, “Carolina remains a contender for Connor Hellebuyck, while it’s fair to wonder if Buffalo circles back.
Nothing imminent with Hellebuyck. The Jets are focused on Free Agency today, but will engage if trade talks intensify.”
Mason Marchment should have plenty of suitors once the market settles in. Dreger said San Jose looks like a strong fit, while Pierre LeBrun added, “Montreal has interest but I don’t think the Canadiens want to go long term (don’t want to block younger players in pipeline). Sharks make a lot of sense.”
San Jose is also still hunting for help on defense. The Sharks have shown interest in Nurse, though the Oilers defenseman has not yet added them to his preferred list.
As for Werenski, Friedman laid out how messy things have gotten between the Blue Jackets and the defenseman. In a prediction column about the situation from Tuesday, he wrote, “One rumour making the rounds Tuesday night is that Werenski’s camp is so upset at recent developments that all trade possibilities will be rejected. (I absolutely believe that’s part of what happened with Dallas.)”
Friedman added that a deal could still come together if things cool off, and if Dallas is truly out, the remaining front-runners appear to be Tampa Bay and Toronto.
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