The trade chatter around the league is already loud, and it’s only October 21, 2026.
Connor Hellebuyck still hasn’t reported to Winnipeg, Dylan Larkin has expanded his list of approved destinations to 10 teams, and a pair of unsigned young defensemen in Simon Edvinsson and Alexander Nikishin are sitting in situations that could turn messy quickly. Pittsburgh also sounds ready to start listening seriously on veterans such as Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson if the return is picks and prospects.
Elsewhere, Toronto has been checking in on Calgary’s Zach Whitecloud, while names like Jake DeBrusk and Travis Konecny could become more prominent if their clubs decide to head in a different direction. The market is warming up fast.
DeBrusk, in particular, looks like a player who may want to get in front of the conversation in Vancouver. The Canucks appear to be leaning toward selling, and Chris Johnston has DeBrusk on his trade board.
The key detail is his contract situation: this is the final season with a full no-movement clause. After that, it becomes a 15-team no-trade list, giving Vancouver far more freedom to move him.
That makes a quiet heads-up to the Canucks seem like a smart play. Not an official trade demand, just a signal that he’s open to a move and would prefer a short list of destinations.
He’s not in the same tier as Larkin or Hellebuyck, but at $5.5 million through 2031, he’s the kind of contract teams can handle. If he gets ahead of it now, he gets some say in where he lands instead of waiting to see what happens.
In Edmonton, meanwhile, the focus is on a player coming back rather than one potentially leaving.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is set to make his season debut Thursday night against the Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes, and the Oilers are welcoming him back with open arms. He’s missed the entire year so far with a lower-body injury, and Mike Babcock made it clear how much he values him, calling him maybe the best man in the middle on the power play in the whole league. Edmonton has powered through without him at 7-1-1, but his return gives them a full second line and adds another layer to a power play that was already rolling.
It also changes how the Oilers can deploy their stars. With Nugent-Hopkins handling that second-unit role, Babcock can spread the ice time around and keep McDavid and Draisaitl away from opposing top matchups more often.
The scoring depth still isn’t deep beyond the top names - nobody other than the big guns has more than five points - so having Nugent-Hopkins back is a timely boost. Thursday will be an early test, both for Edmonton and for Babcock in his first season behind the bench.
In Other News...
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Gives Oilers A Big Lineup Question
The Oilers are getting a familiar face back in the middle of the lineup, and it comes at a time when the team could use another layer of stability up front. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been activated off injured reserve after missing the first nine games with a lower-body injury, giving Edmonton another seasoned option as it continues to sort through its forward usage early in the season.
What makes his return especially interesting is where he is slated to land. Nugent-Hopkins is expected to slide in as the clubs No. 2 center alongside Zach Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen, which immediately gives the Oilers a different look down the middle and adds another lineup wrinkle for the coaching staff to manage. Related roster moves have opened the door for the return, and now the focus shifts to how quickly the new combination settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Just Got New Uncertainty Around A Possible Top-Six Upgrade
A possible top-six winger target for Edmonton has suddenly come with more uncertainty attached. Bryan Rust, one of the veteran players Pittsburgh could move as it tries to get younger, had been loosely connected to the Oilers as a potential upgrade, but his status took a turn when the Penguins put him on injured reserve because of a lower-body injury.
For Edmonton, the intrigue was always based more on fit than anything concrete, since there have been no confirmed trade talks between the two clubs. Now the picture is even murkier, with Rust expected to miss at least six weeks, leaving the Oilers to wait on whether a player who fit their need could even become part of a real market later on. [Read more 🡒]
Connor McDavids Latest Comment Sparked More Leafs Noise Again
Connor McDavid found himself back in the center of Maple Leafs chatter after a lighthearted question from a young fan about his favorite arena outside Edmonton. The Oilers captain kept it simple, answering Toronto, and the response was enough to stir up familiar speculation online about a possible future with the hometown team.
There is still no real evidence that McDavid is angling for an exit, and plenty to suggest the opposite. He has not shown any intention of leaving Edmonton, where he remains heavily involved in team decisions and part of a group that is pushing to win now, while his ties to the city continue to run deep. [Read more 🡒]