- The Hockey News listed five NHL players who should hit the trade market if their teams start slow
- Ryan O’Reilly tops it, with Vilardi, McCann, Whitecloud and Lafreniere behind him
- Read below for every cap hit and why each name fits
Training camps have not opened and the trade board is already taking shape.
Ryan Lambert of The Hockey News listed five players who should land on the market if their teams stumble out of the gate, and he wants the whole thing sorted before Halloween. Ryan O’Reilly leads it.
Nashville’s center is 35, carries a $4.5 million cap hit, and has one season left on the four-year deal he signed in 2023. Lambert wrote that the previous Predators regime treated O’Reilly like he held a full no-trade clause he never actually had, and new GM Chris MacFarland has no reason to keep pretending.
O’Reilly put up 25 goals and 74 points in 81 games last season. Contenders spend every fall hunting for a second-line center who scores 20-plus and defends, and almost nobody sells one.
MacFarland has already shown he will move a piece. Nashville shipped Luke Evangelista to New Jersey last week and took back a 2028 first-round pick, originally Colorado’s, plus a 2028 second:
Here is the full list and what each contract looks like heading into the season:
| Player | Team | Age | Cap Hit | Signed Through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan O’Reilly | Predators | 35 | $4.5M | 2026-27 |
| Zach Whitecloud | Flames | 29 | $2.75M | 2027-28 |
| Jared McCann | Kraken | 30 | $5M | 2026-27 |
| Gabriel Vilardi | Jets | 27 | $7.5M | 2030-31 |
| Alexis Lafreniere | Rangers | 24 | $7.45M | 2031-32 |
Gabriel Vilardi only lands on it because of somebody else’s situation. A Connor Hellebuyck trade would be Winnipeg waving the white flag, Lambert argued, and Vilardi becomes the next phone call after that one.
He is 27, coming off his first 30-goal season, and signed through 2030-31 at $7.5 million. Nothing blocks a deal either, because he holds no trade protection of any kind.
Hellebuyck made his request public on Aug. 27 and the Jets answered that same afternoon:
Winnipeg has not moved him since, and the market that existed at the draft has thinned out badly. Former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton called the Jets stuck in no man’s land on Daily Faceoff Live last week.
Calgary’s entry costs almost nothing to acquire. Zach Whitecloud arrived in January as part of the Rasmus Andersson trade and has two years left at $2.75 million, which is why he drew interest all summer.
Seattle’s case is the plainest of the five. Jared McCann turned 30 in May, sits in the final year of his deal at $5 million, and scored 20 goals in 52 games last season.
The Rangers name is the uncomfortable one. Alexis Lafreniere has never reached 60 points, topping out at 57, and he is signed through 2031-32 at $7.45 million. New York should still ask for plenty before it puts the 2020 first overall pick anywhere near the market.
One number buried in Lambert’s list explains why O’Reilly sits at the top. Nashville has not finished a first month over .500 in six years, going a combined 22-30-4 in those Octobers.
