6 NHL Players Who Could Be Traded During the 2022 Offseason

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The 2022 NHL trade deadline gave us a new record for transactions, but few trades could be characterized as a “blockbuster.” Marc-Andre Fleury going to the Minnesota Wild was probably the biggest one completed on March 21, and Claude Giroux and Hampus Lindholm were the biggest names to move teams in the weekend leading up to the deadline.

But there were a few notable players that stayed put. John Klingberg and Filip Forsberg remained with the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators, respectively, even though they don’t have contracts past this season.

The New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes couldn’t find suitors for P.K. Subban or Phil Kessel, respectively, and the Vancouver Canucks opted against moving J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser with the hopes of scratching their way into playoff contention in the coming days.

With the exception of Miller and Boeser, the others are all pending unrestricted free agents, though Boeser is a restricted free agent. There were a few other players with years left on their contracts that many thought might get traded but were not. These players will be of particular interest to teams during the NHL draft in July.

With things appearing to go back to normal after three straight seasons of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, you can expect the first in-person draft since 2019 to be a big one. Another year of a flat salary cap could be a big boon for the summer trading season. 

Here’s a look at six players who could find themselves on the trading block this summer. 

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Jakob Chychrun, Arizona Coyotes D

Jakob Chychrun has been attached to several teams in need of defense help since as far back as last summer. A left-shot defenseman who will only be 24 on March 31, Chychrun had a two-year run with strong offensive production.

He’s a good size for a puck-moving defenseman at 6’2″ and 211 pounds, a great skater and has a bomb of a point shot that is an asset on the power play.

Most importantly, he has three years left on his contract with a cap hit of $4.6 million. It’s a relatively affordable deal for a player that some teams might want to build around.

Chychrun has been out with an ankle injury since March 12, which may have hurt his value on the market. His offensive numbers also took a dip this season, which didn’t help either. Last year, he recorded 18 goals and 23 assists in a shortened 56-game season.

However, some of that can be attributed to a lack of talent around him. The Coyotes are once again in full rebuild mode, and his power-play distribution skills aren’t quite as effective without quality forwards to get the puck to. Arizona has the second-worst power play rate in the league (13.5 percent). 

Maybe there was going to be some regression to the mean after such a strong season in 2021, but the overall profile is still there, and getting him away from a tanking team will likely benefit him.

Meanwhile, the potential return for a 24-year-old offensive-minded defenseman should expedite Arizona’s rebuild.

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Jake DeBrusk, Boston Bruins LW

Jake DeBrusk requested a trade out of Boston earlier this season and hasn’t rescinded it. The Bruins gave him a two-year, $8 million extension the morning of March 21, many expected a trade to follow, especially since the deal is slightly below his market value.

However, the winger is still in Boston, making him a prime candidate for a draft-day deal.

The 25-year-old hasn’t been the same player since he was taken off of David Krejci’s line last season. He failed to live up to his first- and second-year numbers when he averaged 42.5 points.

He still scored 19 goals in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season—one year after scoring 27—but his scoring diminished as his role on the team did.

This season, DeBrusk has 16 goals and 11 assists in 60 games. He was benched at one point, but then he had a stretch where he scored seven goals in five games, including a hat trick against the Los Angeles Kings.

DeBrusk is producing for a playoff-bound Stanley Cup Contender, and while he may be stuck in Boston, a good performance in the postseason could help his summer trade stock.

“I sent a clear message to Jake, and he sent one to us, that he just wants to play hockey,” general manager Don Sweeney said after the deadline passed. “The bottom line is, he knows he’s an important part, and if he plays to his capabilities, he’s going to help us out.”

Matt Dumba, Minnesota Wild D

The Wild have been rumored to be shopping Dumba since 2016, mostly for salary cap purposes. Trading him and his $6 million cap hit became a little more difficult when his modified no-trade clause kicked in this year. 

Buffalo Sabres beat writer John Vogl of The Athletic recently wrote that Dumba would be a good partner for Owen Power, the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, while Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News did the same.

Power recently competed for Canada in the Beijing Olympics and is currently headed to the Frozen Four with Michigan. He is expected to sign an entry-level contract with Buffalo once the tournament concludes and would likely get a cup of coffee in the NHL season to prep him for a bigger role next season.

However, the Sabres will need to partner him with a more experienced veteran, and Dumba is as well respected as any. He’ll be 28 this summer and is a solid two-way blueliner.

Will he want to go to Buffalo? The franchise isn’t close to contending anytime soon, so few would blame him if the answer is no. But a chance to skate next to an emerging young defenseman like that may be somewhat enticing.

Dumba has one more year on his contract before he hits free agency, so the Wild would likely get a decent package in return. But that modified no-trade does give Dumba some leverage over the situation.

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J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks F

Summer trades are typically more lucrative because the market is usually bigger. The asking price for J.T. Miller was reportedly too high for those inquiring at the deadline, and rightfully so.

The forward is a reliable 20-goal scorer who has averaged more than a point-per-game since the Tampa Bay Lightning traded him to Vancouver. 

But the Canucks will soon feel the salary cap squeeze like many other teams, and he’ll need a new contract after next season. The general manager that traded a first-round pick for him, Jim Benning, is now gone, and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin may not have Miller in their future plans.

The Canucks could find someone more willing to match their ask in the summer when there could be more suitors.

Maybe he’s the established piece the Detroit Red Wings are looking for. A trade to Detroit would accelerate their rebuild and reunite him with Steve Yzerman, the former Tampa Bay GM that acquired him from the New York Rangers in 2018. The Red Wings have plenty of cap space, and he would get to be a part of a team on the rise.

If not Miller, watch for Boeser or even Conor Garland, who has four years left on his contract at $4.95 AAV, to be traded.

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James Reimer, San Jose Sharks G

The Minnesota Wild needed to make room for Fleury, so they sent Kaapo Kahkonen to the Sharks in what felt like a move to get the goalie a change of scenery. Kahkonen has been good but not great this year and is coming up on restricted free agency.

San Jose also has Adin Hill under contract through next season, so Reimer could be the odd man out since teams tend to prioritize youth, especially in net. At 34, Reimer is nine years older than both Hill and Kahkonen.

The veteran goalie is under contract through 2022-23 at a very team-friendly $2.25 million deal and has been a model of consistency throughout his 12-year NHL career. He has a .917 save percentage this season in 38 starts, the latter of which is his third-highest total in a single season.

Reimer has a modified no-trade clause, but should he be willing to wave it, he would be a good option to pair with a young, emerging goalie. 

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Mackenzie Blackwood, New Jersey Devils G

This one might be a wild card—rarely do teams trade young No. 1 goalies, though Blackwood has not yet established that he is a true No. 1.

The Devils came into the season with high hopes for Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier. However, Bernier went down with a hip injury in December, and Blackwood hasn’t played since mid-January with a lingering heel injury that required surgery last the summer.

Perhaps it’s unfair to judge him on this year’s performance alone, but he’s been streaky at best since the 2019-20 season when he took over as the team’s preferred goalie.

The club has been impressed with the way Nico Daws has stepped up this season. Giving Daws NHL time was not in the plan this season, but management had little choice. The development of one of their goalies was going to have to be disrupted, and the Devils chose to keep Akira Schmid in the American Hockey League. 

There have also been off-ice incidents that have called into question Blackwood’s maturity. He had disciplinary incidents in junior hockey and the AHL, and the team was encouraged by his improved practice habits since getting to the NHL.

Nonetheless, the questions about his conduct have always lingered.

Much like Kahkonen, Blackwood could be a great “change-of-scenery” candidate. The club is desperately trying to get back to the playoffs, and general manager Tom Fitzgerald has shown shrewdness in dealing players like Blake Coleman and signing Dougie Hamilton.

The Devils are ready to take the next step in their rebuild, but it’s unclear whether or not they’ll do it with Blackwood.