- 83 players changed teams during a 13-day stretch around the 2026 draft and free agency
- A rising cap, a dead free agent market, and stars forcing their way out are all fueling it
- Read below for why the NHL’s two-decade trade freeze finally cracked
The NHL just ran through its wildest trade stretch in two decades.
From June 19 to July 1, a total of 83 players switched teams. That’s four full rosters swapped in under two weeks. Brady Tkachuk, Bowen Byram, Jordan Kyrou, JJ Peterka, Vincent Trocheck, Darnell Nurse and Marcus Pettersson all got moved. Yardbarker’s Paul Pidutti made the case that the league is entering its “Trade Era,” and the math is tough to argue with.
Insiders could barely keep their heads above water. Chris Johnston summed up the chaos while trying to grab a bite:
Big trades used to be extinct in the cap world. GMs spent years stickhandling around buyout calculators and LTIR math just to move a middle-six winger. Not anymore.
Start with the cap. It crawled up an average of 2.4% a year from 2013-14 through 2023-24. Now it jumps to $95.5 million this season, $104 million next year and $113.5 million in 2027-28. Teams have room to spend and a road map telling them more is on the way.
That extra room is already showing up in the numbers. Per NHLTrades.com, this past season moved the second-most players ever, trailing only the post-pandemic rush of 2022-23.
Free agency stopped being the fix. Teams lock up their stars early and long, so the names that actually reach July 1 skew old and overpriced. The biggest UFA deal this summer went to Rasmus Andersson at $59.5 million. A 29-year-old journeyman with 15 career points got five years and $12.5 million. If you want to get better, you make a trade.
Then there are the players. Quinn Hughes, Dylan Larkin and Brady Tkachuk all pushed their way out of the teams that drafted them, and the ripple hit everyone. Zach Werenski rumors caught fire. Connor Hellebuyck’s future turned into a summer-long story.
Werenski hasn’t been shy about steering it, either. Chris Johnston reported the Blue Jackets defenseman vetoed a move to Dallas while staying open to Toronto or Tampa Bay:
It’s the same energy everywhere. The Penguins have spent this week chasing their own splash, floating an Elias Pettersson trade with Vancouver.
The freeze that locked up the NHL for 20 years is over. With the cap climbing and stars comfortable calling their own shots, the trade market is the most fun part of the summer again.
