6 teams that will determine if trade deadline week is wild or mild

NHL general managers tend to take care of some important business the weekend before the trade deadline. Not in 2026 - zero deals were completed.

On Monday, the Blackhawks sent defenseman Connor Murphy to the Oilers for a second-round draft pick, giving fans something to talk about. Friday's 3 p.m. ET deadline is approaching quickly. Will this be a wild or mild deadline week?

Here are the six teams poised to determine this deadline's heat level.

St. Louis Blues

St. Louis lost in seven games to Winnipeg in the opening round of the 2025 postseason and hoped to challenge for a 2026 playoff spot. But the Blues sit 31st out of 32 teams in points and points percentage thanks to a 22-29-9 record.

General manager Doug Armstrong can completely reshape the team this week, as virtually every veteran on the Blues' roster is reportedly available for the right price.

The headliner is Robert Thomas, an above-average first-line NHL center who's in the prime of his career and attached to a completely reasonable contract ($8.125 million annually through 2030-31). Other trade chips with term on their deals: forwards Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn, defensemen Justin Faulk and Colton Parayko, and goalie Jordan Binnington. Forward Oskar Sundqvist is the club's lone pending unrestricted free agent.

The sheer quantity and quality of players potentially on the move this week or in the summer make the Blues' situation unique. Another layer: Armstrong's handing over GM duties to ex-Blues forward Alexander Steen this offseason as part of a succession plan announced in 2024. (Armstrong is set to stay on as president of hockey operations through 2028-29.)

It's in the franchise's best interest to lose as many games as possible down the stretch to increase its draft lottery odds. St. Louis has somehow picked in the top 10 only three times in two decades: Dalibor Dvorsky 10th overall in 2023, Alex Pietrangelo fourth overall in 2008, and Erik Johnson first overall in 2006.

Carolina Hurricanes

Who will be this year's equivalent to Jake Guentzel or Mikko Rantanen?

Carolina is primed to make yet another significant midseason acquisition. The Hurricanes have plenty of cap space, first-round picks, and desirable prospects, and they've got ample motivation as the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed.

Top-six center is the Hurricanes' most pressing need. St. Louis' Thomas would be the dream pickup. Vancouver's Elias Pettersson would be an a fascinating reclamation project. Calgary's Nazem Kadri would fit Carolina's playing style wonderfully. Seattle's Shane Wright would represent a bet on upside.

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs in all seven of coach Rod Brind'Amour's seasons behind the bench, advancing to the conference final in 2019, 2023, and 2025. The East is wide-open. GM Eric Tulsky can't let the deadline pass without upgrading at forward in some way.

Nashville Predators

Predators GM Barry Trotz, the longtime NHL head coach turned executive, announced his retirement in February. He'll remain GM until the organization finds his successor.

The transition period includes a deadline in which Nashville hasn't officially declared itself a major seller but should unload. The poorly built Preds are four points below the Western Conference cut line with 22 games remaining. MoneyPuck listed them as having a 26.6% chance of making the playoffs entering play Tuesday.

The roster features some useful pending UFAs in Michael Bunting, Erik Haula, Michael McCarron, and Nick Blankenburg. It's safe to assume at least three will be moved by week's end. The true intrigue involves some of the club's oldest players: Steven Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly, and Jonathan Marchessault.

Stamkos has racked up 30 goals in 60 games as a 36-year-old and is under contract through 2027-28 at an $8-million cap hit. O'Reilly, who's enjoying a tremendous two-way campaign at 35, counts for just $4.5 million against the cap this year and next. Marchessault, 35, has battled injuries and inconsistency of late but is a proven playoff performer. He's on the books for three seasons beyond this one at a digestible $5.5 million annually.

There's no guarantee any of them get traded. Stamkos and Marchessault have no-move clauses, while Trotz has assured O'Reilly he'd have some control over a potential landing spot.

The Trotz era has been disorienting. One week, the GM's seemingly ready to build a contender; the next, he's talking about a retool; and the third, he's threatening a rebuild. The on-ice product has been largely mid. Actions speak louder than words, and this week will reveal a lot about the Preds' direction.

Utah Mammoth

The Mammoth aren't the Arizona Coyotes in name, location, or attitude. Finally operating under stable ownership, GM Bill Armstrong has taken big swings during two seasons in Utah, acquiring a pair of impact players via trade in Mikhail Sergachev (June 2024) and JJ Peterka (June 2025).

With the 31-25-4 Mammoth closing in on a playoff spot following a pragmatic but lengthy rebuild, another blockbuster trade feels imminent, even though it's not June. Thomas would be a fantastic addition, and Armstrong - the Blues' director of scouting when St. Louis drafted Thomas in 2017 - has a hefty supply of tradable assets (picks, prospects) and cap space to make it happen.

Picture this: Thomas, one of the sport's slickest passers, feeding sniper Dylan Guenther perfect pucks while electric center Logan Cooley dazzles with captain Clayton Keller on the Mammoth's other top line.

New York Rangers

In mid-January, the Rangers released the so-called Letter 2.0 to formally announce a retool. Pending UFAs Carson Soucy and Artemi Panarin were shipped out within weeks. The returns were fine but ultimately unremarkable.

Next up: Vincent Trocheck, a highly sought-after two-way center fresh off an Olympic gold medal. The 32-year-old's contract runs through 2028-29 at $5.625 million a season and includes a 12-team no-trade list. Amid a miserable season on the ice, the 23-29-8 Rangers need to get a haul for Trocheck. The dominant faceoff winner's stock has never been higher.

Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere, and Braden Schneider are three other spicy trade chips, though it's possible none of them move this week and GM Chris Drury revisits each situation in the offseason. If Drury decides he's comfortable with navigating something closer to a rebuild, the seismic move would be trading 2021 Norris Trophy winner and No. 1 blue-liner Adam Fox.

Teams would be lining up to bid on a top-10 defenseman in the NHL. The career-long Ranger appeals to both contending teams and up-and-comers.

Calgary Flames

Calgary isn't planning to completely bottom out, and GM Craig Conroy already dealt one of his best assets in defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who ended up in Las Vegas in January after months of rumors. So, there's a decent chance the Flames will only make one or two moves this week.

But Calgary could also become the deadline's main character.

Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, and Ryan Lomberg are Conroy's most obvious trade chips. A top-six center, top-nine winger, and fourth-line winger can yield three or four premium assets. The Flames' less obvious but equally fascinating chips are defensemen MacKenzie Weegar and Zach Whitecloud.

Lomberg is the only pending UFA in the aforementioned group. However, all five have rugged, playoff-warrior styles and will thus find a robust market in the lead-up to Friday. Perhaps a team that's flush with current and future cap space, like Carolina or Detroit, sees an opportunity to acquire two players (say, Kadri and Weegar) and wows Conroy with a monster package.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).