Hanifin is coming off of the best season of his young career, picking up 10 goals and 22 assists (32 points) in 79 games. Playing on the best possession team in hockey, Hanifin had an impressive +2.8 relative Corsi. The 21-year-old is an RFA who the Flames will have to sign this summer. Matt Cane of HockeyGraphs predicts a two-year bridge deal worth $4.672M ($2.336M AAV).
Orpik has one year left on his contract that carries a $5.5M cap-hit. The Capitals wanted to get rid of his contract in order to re-sign John Carlson. The Avalanche will reportedly try to move Orpik and if they can’t they plan on buying out the 37-year-old defenseman.
Grubauer is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1st and is expected to be Semyon Varlamov’s backup in 2019. Grubauer was 15-10-3 with a 2.35 GAA, .923 SV% and three shutouts in 35 games with the Capitals last season. Grubauer even started the first two games of the playoffs before Braden Holtby took his job back in Game 3 vs. the Blue Jackets.
Bergman was a second-round pick (No.46 overall) in 2014 and just finished his third season in the AHL. The 22-year-old has good size (6-foot-1 / 205 lbs.) and set a career-high in goals (10) but picked up just 10 assists in 65 games with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) this season. He will likely report to Belleville to start 2019.
Since signing a four-year, $16.0M deal with the Sharks two years ago, Boedker has recorded just 25 goals and 38 assists (63 points) in 155 games. This comes on the heels of a four-year stretch in which he averaged 20 goals and 32 assists (52 points) per 82 games. Boedker has great speed, but will have an extremely difficult time replacing Hoffman’s production.
Donaghey turned pro this past season after four years in the QMJHL but spent the majority of the year in the ECHL, where he picked up 16 points (9G / 7A) in 54 games with the Brampton Beast. The 22-year-old defenseman will try for a spot with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL).
Hoffman has two-years left on his contract that carries a $5.187M cap-hit. Hoffman, who scored 22 goals and 34 assists (56 points) in 82 games this past season. The 28-year-old is 24th in the NHL in goals (104) and 44th in points (224) over the last four seasons. His trade value took a hit last week when Erik Karlsson’s wife, Melinda, filed for an order of protection related to allegations of harassment against Hoffman’s girlfriend, Monika Caryk.
Galchenyuk, 24, has disappointed since being picked No.3 overall in 2012. Galchenyuk had a breakout campaign in 2015-16, when he collected 30 goals and 26 assists, but is tied for 110th in points (95) in two years since. Galchenyuk has had a difficult time sticking at centre during his NHL career, but the Coyotes are expected to use him as a pivot, likely on the second line behind Derek Stepan.
Domi was acquired from the Coyotes in a straight-up trade for Alex Galchenyuk. Domi was selected No.12 overall in 2013 and has yet to fully live up to expectations after a great rookie season—18 goals and 34 assists in 81 games. Since then he has scored just 18 goals with 65 assists (83 points) in 141 games. Domi brings some physicality along with great playmaking ability to the left-side of the Canadiens’ lineup, where he figures to slot in behind Max Pacioretty.
Budaj, who was acquired from the Kings back in February of 2017, appeared in just 15 games over a season and a half in Tampa Bay. Budaj was limited to just eight starts due to injury and poor play last season and was ultimately passed on the depth chart by Louis Domingue, who projects as Andrei Vaslievskiy’s backup next season. Budaj returns to Los Angeles, where he will be Jonathan Quick’s backup and where he was 27-20-3 with a 2.12 GAA, .917 SV% and seven shutouts while Quick was hurt in 2017.
Andreoff, 27, was drafted in the third-round (No.80 overall) in 2011 and has picked up just 24 points (13G / 11A) in 159 career NHL games. Andreoff, who had nine points in 45 games last season, will have to fight among one of the deepest forward groups for playing time in Tampa Bay in 2019. Andreoff may take the spot of Chris Kunitz, who will be a free agent in July, on the Lightning’s fourth line.
Marody, 21, was a sixth round pick of the Flyers in 2015 and just wrapped up his junior year at the University of Michigan. Marody led Michigan in points, picking up 14 goals and 32 assists (46 points) in 37 games.
Wingels recently saw a bump in playing time in Chicago, but has just 12 points (7G / 5A) in 57 games this season. He will likely have a hard time finding playing time on a talented Bruins roster.
Reilly was a prospect with a lot of offensive potential when he reached the NHL, but it has not materialized. The 24-year-old has just 18 points (4G / 14A) in 84 career NHL games, but should get his best shot at playing time with a Montreal team that is out of the playoff picture.
Morrow has picked up five goals and six assists (11 points) in 38 games with the Canadiens this season. Morrow was drafted with a lower of offensive potential but it hasn’t really developed as expected on the NHL level. He will serve as a depth defenseman on a good Winnipeg team.
McKegg, 25, has split his season between the AHL and NHL this season. The former third-round draft pick (No.62 in 2010) has two goals and two assists in 26 NHL games and 12 points (5G / 7A) in 28 AHL contests. He is expected to report to Charlotte (AHL).
Jooris has just six points (3G / 3A) in 31 games this season and is expected to go to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) right away. This is a minor trade and Jooris will likely serve as wing depth during the postseason.
Namestnikov had a blistering start to the season picking up 33 points (15G / 18A) in his first 38 games but has struggled with just 11 points (5G / 6A) in his last 24. In New York he won’t have the luxury of playing with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, but he should still play a top-6 role.
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.
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.
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.
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.