The NHL rumor mill is already spinning toward camp, and three teams keep landing in the middle of it: Montreal, Edmonton, and Toronto. The details are different, but the pressure point is the same. Roster choices are getting sharper, and the price of making a move keeps climbing.
In Montreal, the names to watch are Arber Xhekaj and Zachary Bolduc. Both remain unsigned as restricted free agents, and Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan suggests that could mean more than just contract housekeeping. His read is that the Canadiens may be treating both players as possible trade pieces, with the idea that they could even be included in sign-and-trade situations before Sept. 16, when the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement takes effect and changes how contracts can be structured.
That theory lines up with what Canadiens GM Kent Hughes is believed to be chasing. Cowan says Hughes is looking for a top-six forward and a right-shot defenseman, which means Montreal would likely have to part with real assets to get the kind of upgrade it wants.
Xhekaj and Bolduc both carry value around the league and neither has trade protection. Bolduc’s playoff showing only adds to the intrigue.
If Hughes finds the right fit, this could get complicated in a hurry.
Patrik Laine has also become one of the league’s louder talking points, and the reason is less mysterious than it first looked. One unconfirmed report tied him to a long list of teams: the Rangers, Wild, Lightning, Maple Leafs, and Flyers. Once that list started circulating, it snowballed fast, especially when Toronto was added to the mix.
The timing matters here. Training camp is getting close, which means teams have to stop floating ideas and start deciding whether they actually want to make room for Laine.
The question isn’t whether there’s interest. It clearly exists.
The real issue is whether a team is willing to take the gamble on his injury history and see if his fit, especially on the power play, is enough to justify a roster spot.
Then there’s Edmonton, where the Oilers’ search for a long-term answer after Zach Hyman has opened the door to a bigger swing. Matthew Knies keeps coming up as the kind of player who makes sense: big, physical, dangerous around the net, and capable of growing into a top-six role. But he’s not the type of target you can steal cheaply.
Any move to pry Knies out of Toronto would come with a heavy cost. He is signed long-term and is described as a “real player,” not a rental.
One proposed package would send Matthew Savoie, Kasperi Kapanen, Josh Samanski, and a top-10 protected 2028 first-round pick to the Maple Leafs. Edmonton would be getting a controlled winger in his prime years, while Toronto would collect younger pieces plus a premium draft asset.
It would be a blockbuster, no question. But if the Oilers believe Knies can become the kind of power forward who fits next to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the kind of price being floated is exactly what that kind of player costs.
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The target in question is a restricted free agent whose next contract could come with a hefty price tag, which is why any deal of this sort would require real conviction from both sides. For Toronto, the attraction is the chance to add a defenseman who could better match the age timeline of the roster and address an area of obvious need, but the cost of making that happen is exactly what makes the discussion so difficult to pin down. [Read more 🡒]
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What makes it even more interesting is the way McKenna stacks up against the rest of the rookie class. He is viewed as one of the top contenders for the Calder Trophy, with projected production that puts him in the thick of the race alongside several other notable first-year players. For the Maple Leafs, the bigger question may not be whether he belongs, but how quickly he can turn expectation into impact in a season where every young contribution matters. [Read more 🡒]