The 2026-27 NHL season could bring a fresh wave of movement, and a few big names already look like possible trade chips if the right deal comes along.
Dylan Larkin is one of the most obvious names to watch. The Detroit Red Wings captain has asked for a change of scenery, and multiple teams have already checked in on him.
For now, he’s still in Detroit, but his mix of speed, vision and scoring touch makes him a tempting target for teams hunting for a center who can tilt a game. His big-bodied style only adds to the appeal.
Elias Petterson is another star whose future could shift. He’s now the final piece of Vancouver’s core still in place after Quinn Hughes was dealt to Minnesota and JT Miller went to the Rangers.
Petterson hasn’t matched his top-end production lately, but a new setting could change that quickly. If a team can get him back to the form he showed in 2023, when he put up 89 points, that would be a major win.
Kirill Marchenko has built real value in Columbus, and that makes him a name worth monitoring. He’s been the Blue Jackets’ leading scorer for three straight seasons, yet the team still hasn’t broken through to the playoffs. At 25, he offers the kind of offensive upside contenders always chase, and his steady production gives him plenty of trade appeal.
Ryan O’Rielly could also become available if Nashville decides to move in a different direction. He turned in a strong season for the Predators last year and still has enough left to matter, especially when the games get tighter in the postseason. If Nashville isn’t in the playoff mix, trading him would make sense.
Connor Hellebuyck rounds out the list, and his situation feels especially worth watching as the deadline approaches. Last season was tough for the Jets, and Hellebuyck has already spoken about the team’s future in a way that suggests a trade is at least possible.
Buffalo had interest before but never closed the deal. With the way Buffalo’s path is trending, those talks could come back up.
If the goal is a deep playoff run, landing Hellebuyck would be a major addition and would make an already strong lineup even tougher to handle.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets No. 36 Brings Back One Player Fans Still Lament
Jersey No. 36 has had a familiar kind of churn for the Blue Jackets, a number that has passed through several short tenures and a few different career paths since the franchises early years. The history includes players whose Columbus stays were brief, then followed by moves elsewhere in North America or stints overseas, which is part of why the number has become more of a memory bank than a permanent home.
Among the more notable names in that line is Jonathan Marchessault, whose time in the sweater still draws a reaction from fans who remember what might have been. His Columbus stop was short, but it tied the number to a player whose later rise made the early exit linger even more, and it fits the broader pattern around No. 36: a jersey that keeps resurfacing with another new chapter before the last one ever quite fades. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Still Have A National Respect Problem
The NHLs 2026/27 national TV schedule offered another reminder of where the Blue Jackets sit in the leagues pecking order. Columbus landed just a pair of appearances across TNT and ESPN combined, a total that puts it near the bottom among U.S. teams and leaves it sharing that lowly spot with Nashville. For a franchise trying to widen its footprint beyond Ohio, it is not the kind of signal that helps.
The disparity becomes starker when the rest of the Eastern Conference is laid alongside it. Carolina drew 12 national broadcasts and Florida was given 15, a gap that speaks to how much more attention some contenders command before a season even starts. For the Blue Jackets, the schedule is less about marquee exposure than another measure of how much national respect still has to be earned. [Read more 🡒]