The Lightning have acquired Ryder Korczak from the Rangers for Lucas Edmonds.
NHL Hockey Player News
The Rangers have acquired Lucas Edmonds from the Lightning for Ryder Korczak.
The Avalanche have acquired Jack Drury from the Hurricanes in a three-way trade that included the Blackhawks.
The 42nd overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Drury has performed well in a limited role for the Hurricanes. He tallied eight goals and 19 assists in 74 games last season despite mostly being reduced to a fourth-line role, though his production has tailed off this year with just 12 points (3G/9A) in 39 games. He brings much-needed centre depth to the Avalanche but will inevitably tied to a former franchise icon for years to come.
The Avalanche have acquired Martin Necas from the Hurricanes in a three-way trade that included the Blackhawks.
Necas had an impeccable start to the season, scoring 14 goals with 30 assists (44 points) in his first 30 games. However, he's cooled off considerably in his last 19 games, scoring just twice with nine assists (11 points). Necas should see a significant uptick in minutes in Colorado, where he could land on a line with Nathan MacKinnon.
The Hurricanes have acquired Taylor Hall from the Blackhawks in a three-way trade that included the Avalanche.
Hall goes from the basement dwelling Blackhawks to what's now become one of the most exciting teams in the NHL in the Hurricanes. It's a welcomed fresh start for Hall, who ultimately struggled to stay healthy and productive during his tenure in Chicago. The former Hart Trophy winner tallied 11 goals and 17 assists in 56 games across parts of two seasons with the Blackhawks.
The Hurricanes have acquired Mikko Rantanen from the Avalanche in a three-way trade that included the Blackhawks.
Rantanen is in the final year of a six-year, $9.25M AAV deal and is seeking a massive new contract in the summer. Rantanen has tallied 25 goals and 39 assists (64 points) in 49 games this season, putting him on-pace for 42 goals and 65 assists (107 points). It would be the third consecutive 100-plus point season for the 28-year-old, who will likely slide onto the Hurricanes' top-line next to fellow countryman Sebastian Aho.
San Jose has acquired Pavol Regenda from Anaheim for Justin Bailey.
Regenda has played 19 career NHL games, scoring three points (1G / 2A), but has primarily been an AHL player. The undrafted 25-year-old forward has 16 points (4G / 12A) in 36 games with the San Diego Gulls (AHL) this season.
Anaheim has acquired Justin Bailey from San Jose for Pavol Regenda.
Bailey played a career-high 59 games with the Sharks last season, scoring 14 points (5G / 9A), but has primarily been an AHL commodity. The 29-year-old forward scored 14 points (7G / 7A) in 33 games with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) this season.
Chicago has acquired Dmitry Kuzmin from Winnipeg for Isaak Phillips.
Kuzmin was a third-round pick, 82nd overall, of the Winnipeg Jets in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old defenseman has yet to play an NHL game. He has four points (1G / 3A) in 21 games with the Manitoba Moose (AHL) this season.
Winnipeg has acquired Isaak Phillips from Chicago for Dmitry Kuzmin.
Phillips played 33 games with the Blackhawks last season, scoring six points (0G / 6A), but has been limited to only three games with them this season, scoring one point (1G / 0A). The 23-year-old Phillips was a fifth-round pick of the Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He has spent most of the 2024-25 campaign in the AHL, tallying eight points (1G / 7A) in 28 games with the Rockford IceHogs.
Buffalo has acquired Bennett MacArthur and Joshua Jagger from Pittsburgh for Colton Poolman and future considerations.
MacArthur is an undrafted 23-year-old forward that has yet to play an NHL game. He has spent most of the past three seasons in the ECHL, including scoring seven points (3G / 4A) in 28 games with the Wheeling Nailers this season.
Buffalo has acquired Jagger Joshua and Bennett MacArthur from Pittsburgh for Colton Poolman and future considerations.
Joshua is an undrafted 25-year-old out of Michigan State University. He has spent the past three seasons in the AHL, including scoring one point (0G / 1A) in four games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season.
Pittsburgh has acquired Colton Poolman and future considerations from Buffalo for Jagger Joshua and Bennett MacArthur.
Poolman is a product of the University of North Dakota and has yet to play an NHL game. The undrafted 29-year-old defenseman has spent the past five season in the AHL. He has one point (0G / 1A) in five games with the Rochester Americans (AHL) this season.
The Avalanche have acquired Juuso Parssinen and a 2026 7th round pick from the Predators for Ondrej Pavel and a 2027 3rd round pick.
The Predators have acquired Ondrej Pavel and a 2027 3rd round pick from the Avalanche for Juuso Parssinen and a 2026 7th round pick.
The Predators acquired Barron from the Canadiens on Wednesday in exchange for defenceman Alexandre Carrier.
Originally selected in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Barron leaves Montreal after registering 13 goals and 18 assists in just 109 career games spread out across parts of four seasons. He scored just one goal and did not register an assist in 17 games with the Habs this season.
The Canadiens acquired Carrier from the Predators on Wednesday in exchange for defenceman Justin Barron.
Carrier has not played since suffering an upper-body injury on December 7th but has reportedly been cleared to play. Carrier comes to the Habs after putting up 11 goals and 58 assists in 245 career games with the Predators.
The Penguins reacquired Joseph from the Blues on Wednesday in exchange for future considerations.
Joseph returns to Pittsburgh where he spent the first four seasons of his career after just 23 games in St. Louis. Joseph failed to score as a Blue and has just two assists to his name on the season. He should see more consistent playing time for the Penguins after struggling to maintain a spot in the Blues lineup.
The Rangers acquired Borgen from the Kraken on Wednesday along with a 2025 third-round draft pick and a 2025 sixth-round draft pick in exchange for Kaapo Kakko.
Borgen had reportedly been a trade target for the Rangers for quite some time but they had to pay a steep price to acquire his services, parting ways with the former second-overall pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Kakko. Borgen has just one goal and one assist in 33 games this season with the Kraken but is expected to be able to provide a lot of valuable minutes on a thin Rangers blue-line.
The Kraken acquired Kakko from the Rangers on Wednesday in exchange for defenceman Will Borgen, a 2025 third-round draft pick, and a 2025 sixth-round draft pick.
The second-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft was never able to live up to those lofty expectations in New York, averaging just 15 goals and 17 assists per 82 games across parts of six seasons with the team. Kakko joins a much younger roster in Seattle where he should see an expanded role at 5v5 and potentially on the power-play after being limited to a bottom-six role for the majority of his time as a Ranger.
NHL Trade Tracker
Are you looking for all the latest NHL trade news from around the league? Then you’ve come to the right spot! Daily Faceoff’s NHL trade tracker provides up-to-the-minute updates on the latest personnel moves and trade rumours from all 32 franchises. When your favourite player gets dealt for future considerations, you’ll be the first to know!
Along with our NHL trade tracker, we also provide information on how hockey trades work, the strategy behind these moves, and how the latest NHL trades could impact your sports betting strategy.
It’s important for fans, sports bettors, and fantasy managers to stay informed on the latest NHL transactions. If you can keep tabs on the latest moves in the NHL, this can assist you in making intelligent pickups or trades in fantasy hockey and help shape your bets based on the new personnel added to a team.
NHL Trade Rules
NHL trades can be quite lucrative, with players, prospects, and draft capital moved to complete a deal. While there are a variety of ways to finalize trades, they all need to abide by the trade rules and regulations set by the league. Even the San Jose Sharks can’t take on everyone’s bad contracts.
Learn more about the rules around trades below so you can better understand how trades work, and the transactions made in our NHL trade tracker.
Salary Cap
In order for any NHL trade to be processed successfully, all parties involved must abide by the league’s salary cap rules. The current NHL salary cap is $88M, meaning that each team’s total payroll must fall within the budgetary restriction.
The salary cap in the NHL is considered a “hard cap,” meaning that no team can exceed it. While the limitations around roster construction can be strict, there are still ways for teams to legally exceed the set limit that won’t cost teams a first-round pick.
In the playoffs, teams are technically able to exceed their cap space through the long-term injured reserve (LTIR). The LTIR allows teams to place injured players on extended leave (24+ calendar days or 10 NHL Games) and fill their roster spots based on their cap space heading into the regular season.
If a player is on the LTIR heading into the postseason, they can be activated regardless of if their re-addition to the team puts them over the salary cap.
Roster Limit
For any active NHL roster, they can only dress 23 skaters. While they’re able to move players up and down through their farm system (AHL/ECHL/International Players), they must abide by this player limit when it comes to active players dressed in each game.
This plays a big factor in determining trades, as teams will need to make salaries work to make the move official and fit the current team’s available roster spots.
Depth is an incredibly important part of any successful NHL team, so filling out their roster with talented players is pivotal to their success. Each roster spot holds immense value.
NHL Trade Deadline
The NHL trade deadline is the last opportunity for teams to make moves between each other during the regular season. The trade deadline generally falls after the All-Star break so teams can make their last-ditch efforts before the playoffs begin. Players must be on the team’s roster by the deadline at 3 PM to be eligible for the NHL playoffs.
Technically, teams can still make trades after this point if they don’t qualify or have been eliminated from the postseason. These trades will not take effect until the next season, but the transactions can still go through.
The deadline can make or break a team’s playoff hopes, making it a dramatic and hectic period for hockey fans and managers alike. Be sure to regularly check back with our NHL trade tracker around the deadline so you don’t miss any latest moves from across the league.
Understanding the Strategy Behind NHL Trades
NHL teams may want to make a trade for a number of reasons. Often, teams make trades when they are looking to head in a certain direction, whether this means trying to improve and compete for the Stanley Cup or tank and enter a rebuild.
A team that feels it has a strong enough unit to make a deep run into the postseason will likely forgo some of its draft capital to acquire proven talent and enhance its winning capabilities.
Conversely, a team that has hit a wall in terms of success and doesn’t feel they have what it takes to compete in the playoffs may opt to trade away valuable assets in favour of draft picks or promising prospects.
Other NHL trade strategies may involve team culture/personnel fits. If a player doesn’t fit within a coach’s game plan or doesn’t have chemistry with his line mates, teams may opt to deal him to find a better fit.
For daily fantasy sports players or hockey bettors, understanding the logic behind NHL trades can play a big part in your success. If you have a solid understanding of a team’s needs and the value brought by particular players, you can use this to gain an edge on your roster moves and bets.
Check out the most recent roster moves from around the league with our NHL trade tracker, and be sure to analyze the strategy used by each team when making their next move.
How NHL Trades Impact Sports Betting
NHL trades can have a major impact on sports betting, both in terms of daily games and futures. Players moving from team to team can alter a squad’s potential success and on-ice production.
For example, if a team decides to trade their leading goal-scorer, you can rightfully assume that their overall scoring numbers may drop as a result. This means a team you once would’ve taken the Over on may be better suited for the Under due to their new lineup.
Acquiring an all-star player for futures bets can dramatically influence the betting lines, increasing one team’s value while dropping another. If you’ve already placed a futures bet and the team you wagered on makes a trade, this could possibly increase or lower the value of your original ticket, depending on the result of the roster change.
Daily fantasy hockey players can also be impacted by NHL trades as you will need to see how a player fits into their new setting before including them in your drafted lineup.Be sure to watch for any of the latest transactions by using our NHL trade tracker to stay informed on all the roster changes occurring throughout the league.
NHL Trades FAQs
Who decides NHL trades?
NHL trades are decided between two or more team general managers. The front office’s job is building a winning team. Building a winning team means discussing trades with other general managers across the league.
When can players be traded in the NHL?
During the NHL regular season, players can be traded up until the trade deadline. The deadline is the official cutoff point for when teams can no longer make moves between each other. Players can also be traded throughout the offseason.
Why do they trade players in hockey?
Teams trade players in hockey for a variety of reasons, but generally, it is done to find success, whether that is in the short term or long term. Teams may trade their top players in search of draft picks if they are undergoing a rebuild, whereas contending teams may look to acquire talent to boost their playoff chances.
How often are NHL players traded?
Trades are a common occurrence throughout the NHL and happen often. Some years feature less trades than others, it all depends on each teams needs and the availability of attractive talent.
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