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Greg Wyshynski, ESPNSep 20, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
The NHL offseason is a time when teams bolster their rosters through signings and trades. Sometimes that’s for the long haul, but often the player is a stopgap whose eventual fate is pulling on another team’s jersey at the next trade deadline.
Look at Jason Zucker last season. He signed a one-year deal for a good amount of money with the Arizona Coyotes after four seasons in Pittsburgh. Arizona knew it would get some solid veteran play from the 32-year-old. Zucker knew his pedigree and pending free agent status meant he’d probably be flipped at the deadline. Sure enough, the Coyotes traded Zucker to the Nashville Predators, whom he helped reach the Western Conference playoffs.
Here are 10 players who signed deals or were acquired in the 2024 offseason who could end up on the move by the 2025 trade deadline — some of them by design; others out of necessity because conditions changed.
Cap hit: $3.25 million
When the Edmonton Oilers moved Ceci, the assumption was that it was meant to create financial flexibility to match the St. Louis Blues‘ offer sheets tendered to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. Getting Ceci’s $3.25 million cap hit off the books did give the Oilers some breathing room, although it ended up not being in service of matching either offer sheet. Instead, general manager Stan Bowman was just trying to get younger, having acquired 24-year-old Ty Emberson from the Sharks in the Ceci trade.
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Although Sharks GM Mike Grier called him a “high-character kid,” Ceci turns 31 in December. He gives the Sharks a much-needed veteran presence on their blue line and Grier says he believes he will improve their penalty kill. But he’s in the last year of his contract, which makes him an obvious rental play for a Sharks team that’s still amassing future assets in their rebuild.
Ceci averaged more than 20 minutes per game in his three seasons with the Oilers, rarely sitting out as a stay-at-home defenseman. In the regular season, he was one of those players who was never as bad as his detractors claimed, and never as good as his team would declare. But in the playoffs, the fans’ skepticism was validated — Ceci and Darnell Nurse combined for an atrocious 33.8% expected goals percentage at 5-on-5.
Cap hit: $3.5 million
Mantha has some reputation mending to do. His four seasons in Washington were a disappointment after breaking out in his early 20s with the Detroit Red Wings. They traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights at the 2024 NHL deadline, and between the two teams he posted a respectable 23 goals and 21 assists in 74 games. But Mantha was a healthy scratch for the last four games of the Knights’ first-round playoff loss to the Dallas Stars.
He found a home with the Flames in the offseason, who gave him a one-year-deal with a $3.5 million cap hit. The Flames need offense. Mantha needs a chance to play in situations where he can create offense and pump up his numbers. GM Craig Conroy said Mantha was expected to get power-play time. Speculation is that he could end up on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau, speaking of players whose numbers could use inflating.
Given his age (30) and the current state of the Flames, this seems like a classic “pump and dump” scenario if Mantha produces. Some team will want his size (6-foot-5) and shot. Heck, Vegas did. Hopefully Mantha doesn’t end up in the postseason press box this time.
Cap hit: $4 million
Martinez joined the growing list of players who were sent packing from the desert after the Golden Knights either upgraded their position or decided they were too old for the roster. Once 27-year-old Noah Hanifin was signed for the long term, the 37-year-old Martinez had to cash in his chips with the Blackhawks in the offseason.
Martinez had finished a three-year, $15.75 million deal with Vegas. The Blackhawks landed him on a one-year deal worth $4 million against the salary cap. It’s a great fit for both: Martinez can get oodles of playing time while tutoring the Blackhawks’ young defensemen; and GM Kyle Davidson can have a valuable veteran defenseman to dangle at the trade deadline.
Martinez is physical with 131 games of playoff experience and three Stanley Cup rings. That’s like catnip for general managers at the trade deadline.
Cap hit: $1 million
Kahkonen, 28, was a late-season goaltending solution for the New Jersey Devils, who acquired him from the Sharks. He posted a .923 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average in six games for that porous defensive team.
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He’s in an interesting spot with the Jets, where Connor Hellebuyck will get the majority of starts. They figure to be a strong defensive team again, and look no further than Laurent Brossoit‘s numbers last season (.927 save percentage, 2.00 GAA) to see how that can benefit a backup goaltender.
But Winnipeg also has Eric Comrie back on a two-year contract for his third tour of duty with the Jets. One of them will stick and one of them probably will dip down to the AHL to mentor top prospect Thomas Milic.
Kahkonen counts $1 million against the cap. Last season was the second time in his career he was moved at the trade deadline, which is where the Sharks acquired him from the Minnesota Wild in 2022. If the right situation presents itself, it could be a deadline trade hat trick for the Finnish goalie.
Cap hit: $4 million
Fabbri, 28, had 18 goals and 14 assists for the Red Wings last season, his fifth season with the franchise. That was his highest goal total since his rookie season. His 68 games were the most he has played since 2019-20. But GM Steve Yzerman had some things on his to-do list — re-signing Patrick Kane and signing Vladimir Tarasenko — that resulted in Fabbri’s being dealt to Anaheim.
He’s in the last year of his contract, with a cap hit of $4 million. Fabbri will get a chance to play with some terrifically talented young offensive players in Anaheim. But he turns 29 next January and doesn’t really seem to fit into the Ducks’ long-term plans.
The trade earned GM Pat Verbeek a fourth-round pick and a tradable player for a minor league goalie and some salary cap space. Fabbri could bolster someone’s bottom-six forwards, and Anaheim could retain salary in his contract if necessary.
Cap hit: $2.4 million
Another season, another chance for Kakko to deliver on his lofty expectations as the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft.
Rangers GM Chris Drury said Kakko was injured last season, contributing to his 19 points in 61 games. Coach Peter Laviolette said Kakko would have the chance to “take hold of what he wants to take hold of” this season.
Kakko, 23, signed a one-year contract worth $2.4 million last June. He’s a restricted free agent next summer. His name has been in the rumor mill for the last year, but the Rangers haven’t been compelled to move him. So they took the alternative, which was to run it back with him for a sixth season in hopes that something unlocks with him the same way it did for Alexis Lafrenière.
If it doesn’t … well, potential is still potential, so someone would be willing to take a chance at cracking Kakko. And $2.4 million in cap space is $2.4 million in cap space for a Rangers team that has never been shy about being aggressive at the deadline.
Cap hit: $3.15 million
Dumoulin is a prototypical trade deadline defenseman: physical, experienced, “rings in the room” thanks to the two Stanley Cups he won with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and an expiring contract with a manageable $3.15 million cap hit.
He signed with Seattle in 2023 and played 80 games last season, averaging 17 minutes — down over three minutes from his Penguins days. His pairings with Justin Schultz and Adam Larsson were both north of 53% in expected goals at 5-on-5. But the Portland Press Herald reported Dumoulin had asked the Kraken for a trade, preferably to a team on the East Coast. Instead, they shipped him down the West Coast to Anaheim.
That alone would indicate Dumoulin is making a mere cameo appearance with the Ducks this season. He’s exactly the kind of blueliner a contender would covet — hopefully, for him, one back East.
Cap hit: $3.25 million
Faksa seemed like a logical trade candidate this summer. He was 30 years old, entering the final season of his contract and Dallas needed all the cap space it could muster.
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The Blues were in the market for a bottom-six center having traded Kevin Hayes and with Oskar Sundqvist on the mend from an ACL injury. Faksa fit the need and the Blues aesthetic: He brings size (6-foot-3) and physicality down the lineup.
Faksa’s ice time had declined for three straight seasons in Dallas, but he still mustered his usual blend of blocked shots, faceoff wins and occasional offense (19 points in 74 games). He has 79 career playoff games to his credit, all with the Stars.
If the Blues are contending in the Central Division around the trade deadline, they probably hang onto someone like Faksa. If they aren’t, he’s an ideal third- or fourth-line center addition for a contending team, if that team can fit his $3.25 million cap hit. Considering the Blues acquired him for “future considerations,” anything they get back is gravy.
Cap hit: $6.5 million
The trade rumors surrounding Necas echoed through Las Vegas at the NHL draft. He was a pending restricted free agent coming off a down season, dropping from 71 points to 53 points. Speculation was the Hurricanes could trade him to address other lineup needs rather than hand him a contract extension. There was also talk Necas might have been moved had it not been for his refusal to sign a new contract with certain suitors.
Necas ended up signing a two-year deal with Carolina worth $13 million. The 25-year-old center has a world of talent but can be maddeningly inconsistent. He has 243 points in 362 career games, as well as 30 points in 59 playoff games.
There would be a considerable market for him at the deadline with a $6.5 million cap hit and another year of contractual control. But when GM Eric Tulsky signed Necas, he said the center “will play a key role in the continued success of our franchise.” We shall see.
Cap hit: $4.6 million
It wouldn’t be an NHL trade deadline if Jakob Chychrun’s name wasn’t in circulation. The Capitals acquired him from the Ottawa Senators for defenseman Nick Jensen and a third-round pick on July 1, as Washington seeks to add some offensive pop to its blue line.
Chychrun, 26, had 41 points in 82 games for the Senators last season. He spent only 94 games with Ottawa over two seasons after they landed him from the Arizona Coyotes. The Sens were willing to move him rather than extend his contract. Now, the Capitals are facing the same situation, as Chychrun is an unrestricted free agent next summer.
An offensive defenseman like Chychrun will always have a market, and his $4.6 million cap hit is manageable. He has a 10-team no-trade list, which could complicate things. But if new Capitals GM Chris Patrick decides the defenseman is one-and-done, the Chychrun trade rumors will again become a rite of the deadline.
