Playing Hockey’s Doctor Love: 2025 Trade Deadline Matchmaker

Credit: Jan 24, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders center Brock Nelson (29) skates against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

We’ve got a break in the 4 Nations Face-Off action and we’re now less than one month away from the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline. Today, in the true spirit of Valentine’s Day, we’re going to play a little game.

2025 Trade Deadline Countdown: 3 weeks

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match. Find me a find, catch me a catch.

Since love is in the air, we’re going to play the role of Trade Deadline Matchmaker, lining up a team with their hockey crush by using a combination of intelligence and intuition, with an emphasis on entertainment value. We’re not “reporting” these matches, merely connecting dots where there is the potential for more than a casual encounter.

💘 Scott Laughton: Washington Capitals 💘

Who swipes left?
To Washington: Scott Laughton
To Philadelphia: 2026 1st Round Pick

There are more than a handful of teams currently engaged with the Philadelphia Flyers on center Scott Laughton and it’s easy to see why. He’s a nice fit in just about any lineup around the league. We’ve heard Toronto and Winnipeg connected, but what are the Metropolitan-leading Capitals cooking up? They have a 10-point lead in the division and they likely want to take a run at another Stanley Cup with Alex Ovechkin. They’re in the market for a third-line center to upgrade on Lars Eller and Laughton is a quality fit. Perhaps Washington could play the deadline more conservatively than this, but it seems to fit on a number of levels. Laughton, 30, is not a rental. They do not need to have the Flyers retain money – he can fit this season and next at $3 million. As for the pick, if I’m the Flyers, I’m more interested in 2026 for a number of reasons. I already have three first-rounders this year in what is perceived to be a weaker Draft class. I want an additional first for next year, when it’s projected to be a deeper class, plus I want to bet on the possibility that Washington regresses next regular season and the pick is higher in 2026 than it will be in 2025. First team to put a first-round pick (or equivalent) on the table will land Laughton.

💘 Brock Nelson: Winnipeg Jets 💘

Who swipes left?
To Winnipeg: Brock Nelson
To New York Islanders: 2025 1st Round Pick, Rasmus Kupari, 2026 3rd Round Pick (50% Retained)

There’s been so much smoke connecting Nelson to the Minnesota Wild that makes that prediction too obvious. The Jets are just as good a fit – if not better – for Nelson. While Winnipeg has been rumored to be interested in Laughton (see above), they need to swing bigger to fill that need at second-line center. Nelson produces at not only a higher clip, but he’s a bigger body and could fit in quite well. We did a deep dive on Nelson’s game and he does not appear to be slowing down – but his numbers have been a victim of New York’s 32nd-ranked power play this year. The appeal is easy. Suddenly, the Jets could go Mark Scheifele, Nelson and Adam Lowry down the middle. That’s legit power and depth. The Islanders would get first-round capital back for a rental, plus a younger player in Kupari that they could plug into the lineup now, and a third-round sweetener for both the retainment and to complete the deal. The struggle for Winnipeg hasn’t been in making deals to acquire players. It’s been retaining them afterward. Winnipeg has a ton of cap space. And yes, Nelson is American, but Winnipeg is closer to his hometown of Warroad, Minn., than St. Paul where the Wild play.

💘 Rasmus Ristolainen: Dallas Stars 💘

Who swipes left?
To Dallas: Rasmus Ristolainen
To Philadelphia: Lian Bichsel

This one isn’t easy to swallow from a Stars perspective and admittedly may well be swatted by Dallas. However, when you peel back a few layers on the onion, it starts to make sense for both teams. The biggest thing is the Stars need better balance on the right side of their defense. Even with the addition of Cody Ceci from San Jose, it’s not a Stanley Cup caliber blueline. Ristolainen would bring them closer to that. He’s a massive human and he’d join a team with four other prominent Finns. Plus, he’s under contract for one additional year, which de-risks the deal from Dallas’ perspective. For the Flyers, they’d get another large defender (6-foot-6) back who is just 20, with first-round pedigree and equivalency. The Stars are high on Bichsel. So why would they give him up? Just looking toward the future, Dallas has Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell and Thomas Harley all on the left side. Yes, there is always possibility they move one of them to their off-hand side, but there doesn’t appear to be a path for Bichsel in that group. It’s a fascinating straight-up swap with risk for Dallas, but makes their team stronger for the next two years without giving up any additional draft capital, and they have LTIR space to burn with Heiskanen potentially out for the remainder of the regular season.

💘 Michael McCarron: Edmonton Oilers 💘

Who swipes left?
To Edmonton: Michael McCarron
To Nashville: 2026 2nd Round Pick

One of the unwritten stories of this Oilers lead-up to the trade deadline: What happens if Evander Kane isn’t going to remain on LTIR for the remainder of the regular season? That means Edmonton will have very limited cap space to deal from, likely creating a dollar-in, dollar-out scenario that used to be GM Ken Holland’s tag line. Short of moving a more established (expensive) roster player, such as Jeff Skinner or Viktor Arvidsson, both of whom have full ‘no-trade’ blocking capability, it will be difficult to add a true game-changer in that case. The Oilers have been looking for a fourth-line center all season long, preferably one that would provide a little speed. But McCarron would bring an entirely different element. He’s 6-foot-6, he skates well for a big man, and he would add a dash of truculence to the Oilers’ lineup not seen since Zack Kassian. In this deal, I chose to move Edmonton’s own second-round pick in 2026 as opposed to the second-rounder from the Blues this season that came from the offer sheets. McCarron’s production isn’t eye-popping by any stretch, but he’s the rare bottom of the lineup player who actually becomes a little more valuable in the postseason.

💘 Kyle Palmieri: New Jersey Devils 💘

Who swipes left?
To New Jersey: Kyle Palmieri
To New York Islanders: 2025 EDM 2nd Round Pick, 2025 VGK 3rd Round Pick

This is too easy, right? Kyle Palmieri heads back home to New Jersey, where he not only starred for St. Peter’s Prep, but also spent parts of six seasons already as a Devil. The Devils are looking for a secondary scoring bump and Palmieri provides that. He won’t get to last season’s career-high of 30 goals, but he’s on-track for 24 this year, when he’s been a victim of an awful Islander power play that has suffocated goal and point totals for himself and others. This deal is right in line with market price for other rental scoring wingers. Plus, the Devils have two extra second-round picks this year (Islanders get the slightly better of the two here) and another third-rounder to deal. It’s a manageable return for New York, who would also do right by Palmieri with his 16-team ‘no-trade,’ and there’s a high probability of comfortability (and success?) in this bet for the Devils.

💘 Jake Evans: Toronto Maple Leafs 💘

Who swipes left?
To Toronto: Jake Evans
To Montréal: 2025 FLA 2nd Round Pick, Roni Hirvonen

This feels unholy completing a deal between the Leafs and Habs, but it wasn’t that long ago that Montréal sent another third-line center to Toronto (Tomas Plekanec) at the deadline in 2018. It doesn’t sound the Canadiens are on a path to getting an extension done with Evans, who is now more likely to move than not. The biggest motivator here is fit as the Leafs look to reinvent their third line. GM Brad Treliving has been very clear that he wants a defensively responsible player – and Evans has been playing that role on Marty St. Louis’ shutdown line with Emil Heineman and Joel Armia. Their numbers were very impressive as Montréal played their best hockey of the year before Heineman was randomly hit by a car as a pedestrian in Salt Lake City, knocking him out of the lineup. Evans is also on pace for a career high 16 goals, so he can chip in offense. He has played in three Stanley Cup Final games, so he won’t be overwhelmed by the moment. Plus, he’s a Toronto kid, so there is definite re-signing potential that makes this late second-round pick a worthy expedition. From the Canadiens’ perspective, if Evans isn’t coming back, they’ll want to maximize value. They had a mid-second round pick on the table for Evans at last June’s Draft; this isn’t that, being a Florida pick, but maybe a flier on another Finnish forward who was a second-rounder in 2020 will be enough.

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