Hoefenmayer was a fourth-round pick, 108th overall, of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The 25-year-old defenseman has yet to play an NHL game and has seven points (1G / 6A) in 11 games with the Bakersfield Condors (AHL) this season.
Rolston was the 139th overall pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old product of Notre Dame has not played an NHL game and has 20 points (11G / 9A) in 66 combined games with the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) over the past two seasons.
After a disappointing start to the season, ranking 29th with 17 points (7-11-3), the Predators have shaken things up by trading Tomasino to the Penguins for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old Tomasino only has one point (0G / 1A) in 11 games this season after scoring 20 (7G / 13A) in 41 last season.
The trade may signify Pittsburgh's position as sellers and comes on the heels of a 7-1 blowout defeat at the hands of the Stars on Monday. Eller tallied 19 goals and 19 assists in 99 regular season games across two seasons in Pittsburgh. He returns to Washington where he's previously spent parts of seven seasons, registering 208 points in 488 games from 2016 to 2023.
Sprong heads back to Seattle where he spent parts of 2021-22 season and the entire 2022-23 season. He played just nine games with the Canucks after signing a one-year deal with them in the off-season, scoring one goal and adding two assists. Sprong enjoyed the most productive season of his career with the Kraken, tallying 21 goals and 25 assists in 66 games in 2022-23.
Gleason has just four career games to his name and has not appeared in an NHL game since the 2018-19 season with the Dallas Stars. He has one goal and three assists through seven AHL games this season.
Attard played just 12 games with the Flyers last year and is yet to play in an NHL game this season. Attard compiled two goals and four assists in 29 career games across parts of three seasons with the Flyers.
The 17th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Liljegren had fallen out of favour under new Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube. He appeared in just 1 game this season after playing in 183 regular season games over the last three seasons. He amassed 14 goals and 51 assists in 197 career games with the Maple Leafs and should be afforded plenty more playing time in San Jose.
Benning will likely fill a depth role for the Maple Leafs and does not figure to earn a lot of immediate playing time. He was yet to register a point and was a -5 through seven games with the Sharks this season. Benning leaves San Jose after totaling one goal and 25 assists in 98 games over parts of three seasons.
Utah's blueline has been shorthanded after John Marino went back surgery and Sean Durzi had shoulder surgery, so they've added an NHL-calibre defenseman to help fill the void. Maatta, who is in the final year of a two-year, $3.0M AAV deal, has no points, three SOG, seven blocked shots and three hits in seven games this season.
Burke was acquired by San Jose alongside Yaroslav Askarov, and a 2025 3rd-round pick from Nashville for Magnus Chrona, David Edstrom and a 2025 1st-round pick (VGK - Top 10 protected). Burke is an undrafted rookie who signed in the offseason after a successful season with Atlanta (ECHL) after four years of junior hockey in Sarnia (OHL). The 21-year-old center had five goals, 15 points and 32 PIMs in 2023-24 with Atlanta and is expected to be a depth player for the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) after this trade.
Chrona was acquired by the Predators alongside David Edstrom and a 2025 1st-round pick (VGK - Top 10 protected) from San Jose for Yaroslav Askarov, Nolan Burke and a 2025 3rd-round pick on Friday. The 23-year-old goaltender made his NHL debut in 2023-24 but struggled behind a weak San Jose team with a 1-6-1 record, 4.71 GAA and .859 SV%. He is expected to be the Predators' third goaltender behind Juuse Saros and Scott Wedgewood.
Edstrom was acquired by Nashville alongside Magnus Chrona, and a 2025 1st-round pick (Top 10 protected) from San Jose for Yaroslav Askarov, Nolan Burke and a 2025 3rd-round pick on Friday. The 19-year-old Swedish center was drafted in the 1st round of the 2023 NHL Draft (32nd overall) and has spent his last two seasons in the SHL with Frolunda HC. In 2023-24, he had seven goals and 19 points in 44 games with the Swedish club.
The Askarov trade sweepstakes finally ended on Friday as San Jose acquired the goaltender alongside Nolan Burke and a 2025 3rd-round pick from Nashville for David Edstrom, a 2025 1st-round pick (VGK- Top 10 protected) and Magnus Chrona. The 22-year-old goaltender was Nashville's 2020 1st-round pick (11th overall) and had an impressive 30-13-1 record, 2.39 GAA and .911 SV% with Milwaukee (AHL) last season.
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.
