Rumor: 2026 Trade Rumors and Free Agency: Offseason Edition

[RoyIsALegend]

I feel like they did this with a lot of guys last off season too.

Didnt they do something like this before before they kept the player? Notice they didnt do one for Ross lol

They did this for like 2 days with Brock Nelson before re-signing him last summer.

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

Without Nuke at his best what does the scoring look like in the middle 6?

Landy, Roy, Kadri and Nelson?

Who's going to drive play and make this a difficult team to beat? There's a lot of oldness and slowness there.

For any short stretch the guys like Kadri or Landy are gamers and can contribute by sheer willpower.

But over a 25 game playoff run is that really asking a lot from these guys.

Nuke and Colton were two of the better play drivers from the middle lines during the playoffs. Now they'll be gone.

If it's to add a legit solution to the #3 defense and its a reallocation of cap resources I'm all for it.

If they just dumped Nuke so they can run back Kulak again it's going to end in sorrow.

 

[EdAVSfan]

Our defense is going to look different from most traditional defenses, because we already have 4 guys who are Top 4 Dmen... But 3 of them make up the right Side of the defense.

They can afford to go "cheaper" or lower quality on the left side because we have the stronger guys for each pairing playing on the right side.

Also whats the difference in how this team started last year. Ilya Solovyov was our #6D for basically the first month and a half of this year. Middleton played a few games.

There's a few decent LD they could target for around $3M IMO that would compliment our Right side pretty well.

Siegenthaler or Lohrei are the guys I like the most.

I won’t be surprised either way they go with this. If they end up going the cheaper route, it’s not that i doubt it, it’s that i think it’s the wrong move.

IMO, the biggest hole and issue on our lineup is that LD for the 2nd pairing. And considering they were rumored to be after Miller last year, I’m thinking they’re aiming higher again this offseason.

It even in your scenario where they trade for a Siegenthaler or Lohrei, the Avs are running paper thin in cap with a 21 man roster. Injuries will eat any little cap space we have and we won’t accumulate anything during the year.

It seems way too tight on the cap to be right at the limit and still only counting 21 players. There’s no real buffer there.

I don’t really want to sacrifice Nuke’s quality for a lower player. But to be fair, I’d rather sacrifice the winger quality, than the 2LD quality. Wingers are always available in abundance at the deadline if it becomes an issue over the season.

 

[The AntiBob]

We could still re-sign kulak around 3.5, and go get Lohrei.. Just run Hughes, Brindley, ivan² most of the season.

Key detail is moving out Nuke

 

[S E P H]

Not sure what the eff Buffalo is doing, just to move up seven spots. Was it for cap space?

 

[EdAVSfan]

Not sure what the eff Buffalo is doing, just to move up seven spots. Was it for cap space?

could be. They have Krebs and Benson as RFAs, plus they still may bring back Tuch.

Kesselring may have priced himself out

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

SJ got a defender!

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Avs social media have just been spamming posts about Brett Kulak for the past two hours…

Now the Avs account liked the crazy Kulak fan’s post wanting him re-signed.

 

[S E P H]

Now the Avs account liked the crazy Kulak fan’s post wanting him re-signed.

It's a chick who cares more about what Kim Kardashian is doing than what bald front office officials are doing with the Avs.

 

[hockeyfish]

Now the Avs account liked the crazy Kulak fan’s post wanting him re-signed.

Yes, but was about the Czech Facebook posters or grocery baggers.

 

[The AntiBob]

I want a Nuke trade done tomorrow...

 

[zxczxczxczxczxcz]

I agree with the idea that Nichushkin does have value around the league. Right now Tuch is one of the hottest UFA's and pushing for a 7x10M+ contract. He's a 65 point guy. Nuke is a 50 point guy. Nuke is 1 year older and has 4 years left at 6M. Both are big guys. Nuke is good on the PK and is pretty good defensively. I think a lot of GM's would find him just the type of player they want to fill their 2nd line wing.

I think the idea of trading him now is that his regression has started and he might not be able to be that 2nd line guy anymore. This year was the worst he has looked on the ice. He never takes over games like he used to. He wasn't a big factor in the playoffs.

I don't think his off-ice issues are relevant to GM's anymore. He has played two full seasons since then. Two years ago they would have affected his value negatively, but not today.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I want a Nuke trade done tomorrow...

Probably not going to happen yet, but free agency starts exactly 2 weeks from today.

The window to move him is within the next 2 weeks.

I don’t think this is a move that drags into the summer, because we have so many dependent moves based on what we do or don’t do with Val.

 

[AvsWraith]

Not sure what the eff Buffalo is doing, just to move up seven spots. Was it for cap space?

Go look at Buffalo's roster and prospect pool. They are stacked as hell on defensemen.

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

I hope Kulak comes cheap. But I doubt it.

Sakic is really going to run it back with this dcore?

 

[S E P H]

Go look at Buffalo's roster and prospect pool. They are stacked as hell on defensemen.

Kesselring is very good and they decided to keep Logan Stanley.

 

[BaconNater]

Remember the infamous Carl Soderberg 14 points in 80 games graphic. That was darkness

 

[AvsWraith]

Kesselring is very good and they decided to keep Logan Stanley.

They'll probably give Mrtka a shot.

 

[dahrougem2]

It seems like about 20 teams in the league are looking for a 2C

Lundell + 9th overall sounds about perfect for both teams.

 

[AvsWraith]

Lundell + 9th overall sounds about perfect for both teams.

Didn't Hellebuyck request a trade? I'd only do one or the other, but not both.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Lundell + 9th overall sounds about perfect for both teams.

Too much, IMO. Helly controls his destiny.

Top 10 pick + 2C would be the highest return, pretty much ever, for a goaltender.

#9 + ERod($3m to offset cap) seems more fair to me.

 

[S E P H]

Didn't Hellebuyck request a trade? I'd only do one or the other, but not both.

I don't think he did. He just had comments about fixing the club for the playoffs, but they might be on trade from entering a retool.

 

[Lawrence Oates]

I liked the world better when we just found out about trades when they were announced.

This f***ing speculation, especially in conjunction with NHL teams' official media... well, they are getting the ideas to do this from their predictive media market partners.

1980s WWF had more real outcomes than the NHL in 2026.

The NHL has two functions these days:
1. Ensure every game is close... no matter what it takes, if you know what I mean.
2. Make sure the officials understand what odds are at stake.

 

[dahrougem2]

Too much, IMO. Helly controls his destiny.

Top 10 pick + 2C would be the highest return, pretty much ever, for a goaltender.

#9 + ERod($3m to offset cap) seems more fair to me.

Hey, in a non-cap world Dominik Hasek was once traded for Slava Kozlov, a 1st and a 2nd lol.

I think in a rising cap world where Helleybuck has 5 more years left and is 1.5M cheaper than their previous goaltender while winning 3 Vezinas over the last 7 years, the Jets should be holding out for this kind of gargantuan offer.

There's no sense getting someone like ERod in a deal like this. You have to shoot for the moon, and I'll bet Florida is willing to pony up big time to fix their goaltending.

 

[atreyuavenged]

Wouldn't even answer the phone unless the offer starts with 9th + Lundell.