2024 Top NHL Trade Targets and Rumours: Will Canadian teams buy or sell at the deadline?
With less than a week to go before the March 8 trade deadline, we’re taking a look at the top trade targets in the NHL as well as what each Canadian team is rumoured to be planning for deadline day.
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Top available trade targets
Here’s a look at our list of the top trade targets who we believe are most likely to be moved by the trade deadline:
*Updated 4:44 p.m. ET, March 6
| No. | Player | Team | Position | Games Played | Points/GAA/SV | Cap Hit | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Matt Dumba (Traded to Tampa Bay) | ARI | RD | 58 | 10 (4G, 6A) | $3.9M | UFA |
| 2. | Nic Dowd | WSH | C | 45 | 16 (8G, 8A) | $1.3M | 1 Year |
| 3. | Max Pacioretty | WSH | LW | 26 | 15 (3G, 12A) | $2M | UFA |
| 4. | Jake DeBrusk | BOS | LW | 63 | 31 (14G, 17A) | $4M | UFA |
| 5. | Reilly Smith | PIT | LW | 55 | 29 (11G, 18A) | $5M | 1 Year |
| 6. | Jakob Chychrun | OTT | LD | 61 | 31 (9G, 22A) | $4.6M | 1 Year |
| 7. | Lars Eller | PIT | LW | 61 | 21 (12G, 9A) | $2.45M | 1 Year |
| 8. | Elias Lindholm | VAN | C | 65 | 39 (13G, 26A) | $4.85M | UFA |
| 9. | Jacob Markstrom | CGY | G | 40 | 2.63 GAA, .911 SV | $6M | 2 Years |
| 10. | Erik Brannstrom | OTT | LD | 55 | 13 (3G, 10A) | $2M | RFA |
Click here for our updated 2024 NHL trade tracker.
NHL trade deadline rumours
Calgary Flames
Status: Sellers
The Flames are in a really interesting spot because they’ve already committed to being sellers, but they’ve also won five of their last six games and they’re within striking distance of a wild card spot in the standings.
With Elias Lindholm and Chris Tanev shipped out, the next domino to fall will almost certainly be Noah Hanifin. The latest rumours are connecting Hanifin to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where it is believed he is willing to sign a longterm contract extension. Boston is also thought to be in the mix for Hanifin, but keep an eye on the Bolts as the frontrunners.
Calgary netminder Jacob Markstrom turned heads last week when he made it clear he wasn’t happy with how Flames management has handled the trade rumours surrounding him this year. New Jersey is reported to have expressed the most interest in acquiring Markstrom and it’s believed they could make a move without requiring salary retention. The main question with Markstrom is likely, will he be traded at the deadline or in the summer?
Edmonton Oilers
Status: Buyers
The Edmonton Oilers should be all-in every year they have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in their prime years, but salary cap problems means they will need to get creative to make any trades.
One player linked to the Oilers recently is Anaheim’s Adam Henrique, who would really bolster the team’s depth at centre. Henrique is a dependable, steady, veteran presence with experience playing in the Stanley Cup Final and he could move in and out of the top-six up front. A trio of McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Henrique as the top three centres would be hard to contain in the playoffs.
Other forwards linked to Edmonton include Vladimir Tarasenko, Nic Dowd, Sam Carrick, Pavel Buchnevich and even former Oiler Jordan Eberle, who is three games away from hitting 1,000 for his career. How cool would it be to see Eberle get his silver stick from the team that drafted him over 15 years ago?
Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators
Status: Sellers
We’re lumping these two teams together because they’re each in the same boat: they won’t make the playoffs this season, but they’re not going to blow apart the roster at the trade deadline.
Montreal worked some serious magic with Sean Monahan, picking up a first round draft pick just to take his contract then trading that contract less than two years later for another first round pick. As far as current trade pieces, Jake Allen is believed to be the odd man out among the Canadiens’ trio of goalies, so he could be moved to a contender looking for depth in net, while pending UFAs Tanner Pearson and Chris Wideman could fetch mid to low level draft picks.
Ottawa hasn’t made a single trade under the new regime of rookie owner Michael Andlauer and first-time GM Steve Staios, so it’s hard to predict their deadline plan. Trading Vladimir Tarasenko is the most likely move the Sens will make. Several contenders have shown interest in Tarasenko, with Florida and Edmonton believed to be the front-runners. Jakob Chychrun’s name has also come up, although the Sens gave up a lot to acquire him last year, so teams would need to make a sizeable pitch.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Status: Buyers
The Toronto Maple Leafs are clearly headed to the playoffs and with a potential 70-goal scorer already on the roster in Auston Matthews, the team is believed to be focusing on adding defensive depth at the traded deadline.
Toronto already acquired a right-shot defenceman in Ilya Lyubushkin last week, but another righty could be targeted. Arizona’s Matt Dumba is a former 50-point defenceman who has had a resurgence this season after multiple injuries over the last few years.
Noah Hanifin has also been linked to Toronto, but that seems like a stretch for a few reasons. First, the cost alone would be tough to swing given the Leafs are reluctant to give up their 2024 first round draft pick for a potential rental. The salary cap is also an issue and Toronto would need to clear up nearly $5 million in cap space to fit Hanifin’s contract. And finally, does it really make sense for the Leafs to add another left-shot on defence when the only relatively healthy righties currently on the blue line are Lyubushkin and Timothy Liljegren?
Vancouver Canucks
Status: Buyers
Vancouver has already done a lot of the heavy lifting by trading for defenceman Nikita Zadorov and forward Elias Lindholm in seperate deals with Calgary earlier this year, but could they continue to add before the deadline?
The Canucks are reportedly in the mix for Penguins winger Jake Guentzel. Vancouver would certainly need to include a first round pick as part of a package for Guentzel, so the deal will likely need to come with a contract extension for it to be worthwhile for the Canucks.
In the end, Vancouver’s biggest move ahead of the deadline could end up being a trade they didn’t make. After rumours emerged that Carolina was seriously kicking tires on Elias Pettersson, the Canucks were finally able to lock up the superstar centre to an eight-year contract extension and end the speculation the two sides were headed for a split in the summer.
Winnipeg Jets
Status: Buyers
Sean Monahan has provided tremendous value, scoring eight goals in 12 games since being traded to Winnipeg from Montreal in early February., but with a great chance to win the Central Division this year, you have to think the Jets are planning to make more moves before the deadline.
Pinpointing what Winnipeg will target is trickier. They already have the Vezina favourite goalie in Connor Hellebuyck, they’re strong on defence with Josh Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo, while Kyle Connor leads one of the deepest forward groups in the NHL.
A depth defenceman seems to be the most likely target for the Jets. Someone like Buffalo’s Erik Johnson would provide dependable veteran leadership and valuable Stanley Cup winning experience for a team that doesn’t have a history of deep playoff runs.