The Hockey PDOcast - Trades We'd Like To See At The 2026 Trade Deadline

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

Dimitri Filipovic is joined by Thomas Drance and Jack Fraser to help cook up a collection of fake trades that we'd like to see at this year's trade deadline. If you'd like to gain access to the two extra shows we're doing each week this season, you can subscribe to our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thehockeypdocast/membership If you'd like to participate in the conversation and join the community we're building over on Discord, you can do so by signing up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here: https://discord.gg/a2QGRpJc84 The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

dressing to the mean since 2015. It's the Hockey PEDEOCast with your host, Dmitri Filippovich. Welcome to the HockeyPedioCast. My name's Demetri Filippovich. And joining me, as always, for our Sunday specials, my good buddy Thomas Trans. Tom, what's going on, man? I'm doing well.

I'm electrified. I went down the I-5 to watch the Seattle Cracken absolutely flatten the Vancouver Canucks. But I made a pit stop in Everett where I was wildly impressed by the Everett Silver Tips and especially Landon Dup punt. I don't think we can hype this up enough. This is going to be such a fun gauntlet to watch over the next 18 months before he's the first overall pick in,

in 2026. Blown away. Like honestly, it was one of those viewings where I left the rink a little bit rattled by what I'd seen. He was that good. I think he is that good. So exciting stuff for me, Dimitri, this weekend. I'm glad you added that addendum because once you started with, I'm electrified and then you mentioned crack and canucks, I was going to say, you need to start watching other hockey. Yeah, no, that was not a highlight. You clarified that, you know what? It is a very special Sunday special, particularly so,

because we are less than a week out from the trade deadline now, and we had to enlist the help of a third member to join us today, and that third member is our pal, Jack, Razor. Jack, what's going on, man? Oh, I'm doing great. I'm honored to be gracing the Sunday special this week. Look forward to it every year. I've went through in my notes that I have trades for Dim, 2025, trades for dim

2024, trades for dim 20203. So just glad to add another tick in the box here. Let's go. It's an annual tradition like no other. I got to be honest. Like we have a lot of landmark events here on the schedule for the PDO cast each year.

This is one that I feel like I hear from listeners about more than any other. As soon as we started getting about a month out, I started getting DMs and questions from listeners asking when the show is dropping and it is finally here. The three of us are getting together with the sole mission. of cooking up as many fun, fake trades as we can ahead of next week's deadline between us. These are trades we'd like to see, not necessarily ones we will see,

although we have had a pretty shockingly good track record over the years of at least identifying ones that happened in some form. The only rule we have is they have to make sense and be legally possible against the cap. Otherwise, there's no restraints. I think this is the fifth year in a row now that we're doing this, as Jack mentioned, with referencing his notes app and so I'm excited to keep it going I hope we keep doing this

until the end of time. It's a PDO cast staple. Let's get into it. Tom, I'm going to give you the floor first. What is the first fake trade you'd like to see this here? I feel like starting with something pathetic and dusty, but no, let's start with the big fish, right?

Because Buzz is building around the Robert Thomas possibility. There's been reports that if Doug Armstrong and this is true to form, right? The St. Louis Blues GM, the architect of Team Canada, the 2026 Olympics. He typically does sell in seasons where the blues are spinning their wheels, right? Like that is his MO. He typically is an aggressive seller when the Blues don't have it.

He's got a 26-year-old center signed long term to a pretty appealing contract. He's a legit top of the lineup guy. I'm talking, of course, about Rob Thomas. And there's real buzz around. him. Reports have been that if Doug Armstrong's going to be made to move on Robert Thomas, he's going to want a package not unlike that, which Dallas paid for Miko Ranton last deadline. Now, you might quibble with that, but let's be real, positional premium and the scarce availability of other 26-year-old centers of Robert Thomas's caliber.

Makes that a pretty reasonable ask. So I have built a trade package around that to a team. that has the cap space to easily do it, and in my opinion, the incentive to push in big time for a difference maker like that. The Detroit Red Wings send Nate Danielson, a 2026 first round pick

and a 27 first round pick top 10 protected to the St. Louis Blues for Robert Thomas. I think if you're the Detroit Red Wings, first of all, you've been waiting seven years. But it's not just that they've been waiting, and they've been waiting longer,

but they've been waiting seven years since Eiserman took over. And it's not just that they've been waiting and that they've arrived and that they have a chance to make the playoffs. I think what we're seeing with Moritz-Sider leveling up to be like a Norris caliber guy, right?

Like in the conversation with Ross Mistallien and Zach Werenski for the best defender in the East, with Dylan Larkin's emergence over the last 18 months is, you know, a fringe top 10, NHL Centerman, with the Lucas Raymond coming out party where he looked like Sweden's clearly most dynamic and cool forward at the Olympics, something that frankly, you know, I think matches what we're seeing at the NHL level with

Simone Edvenson becoming a complete unit and with, you know, the fact that they have a lot coming. Like, they can spend futures in this manner at this point in their rebuild, especially if what they're returning is a 26-year-old center. You know, you can wait around for Marco Casper to bounce back, which I think he will. or, you know, Nate Danielson to level up if you want and develop. I mean, they have the flexibility to do that. They can keep their powder dry if they want.

But why? I mean, all you're hoping for is one of those guys to become Robert Thomas. Go by now. Go by now. This team is cool enough to take a big swing, in my opinion, without it compromising what they're trying to build. Like, what's the point of amassing this embarrassment of futures, if you're not at some point going to swing. They didn't swing for Quinn Hughes. I think they were keeping their powder

dry for a chance to land a player exactly like this. It's time. It's time for Steve Eiserman to push some chips into the center of the table. You know he's not going to be hesitant to do it for the right piece. Robert Thomas is the right piece. Let's go. Detroit pays the ranting in price to get Robert Thomas. I think it's very reasonable. I had a big Red Wing section that maybe I can save a little bit later. It was for a defenseman instead, but it was a general argument of what you just said in that they're sitting in a playoff spot right now. I know some of the models are slightly skeptical that they're as firmly entrenched as they appear to be in the standings. I think Jack's model has around 60% playoff probability at the moment yet. I think they have a lot going in their favor.

I think all the leveling up of those core members at the Olympics certainly helps or should help emboldened Steve Eiserman here. And they're in a unique spot where they have, have so much future cap flexibility. I believe they have nearly 40 million in real estate to fill this summer. Now Simon Edvinson's second contract is going to take a good chunk of that, but still so much to play with. They have all of these former first round picks. They've accumulated over the past couple years that aren't even contributing to this team that's sitting in a playoffs bar right now. And so the idea that you could add a member who fits the timeline of this core in his prime, at a cost control number for all of his most productive years, makes a ton of sense for me.

I think stylistically, Robert Thomas would be a great fit as a 1A, 1B to Dylan Larkin, where I don't think either guy is necessarily going to be the best player in a series if you go up against one of the premier centers in the league or like the true apex guys, but the combination of them, I think, can almost match that, especially since Larkin is so comfortable eating up defensive zone starts and doing all the dirty work to free Thomas up to cook offensively. And there's a clear need because they're waiting for some of these guys to come along, but Andrew Cobb has one year left, J.D. Comfer is two.

I think they need to figure that out here sooner rather than later. So I like that. They were my second favorite Robert Thomas destination. I'm going to save my first one for my first fake trade. But what's your initial take on Tom's proposed offer there, Jack? Well, I would place a mammoth bet on who I think your preferred Robert Thomas' destination is. But I totally agree with everything that you both said. I think Robert Thomas would be an excellent ad for the wings.

I think it solves the kind of ticking clock age issue with Dylan Larkin being a bit older than the rest of their core. I know there's been conversations in the past about, like, is this team going to be competing for cups? How old is Larkin going to be? Is he going to be 31? Is he going to be 33? You know, how much of a real top window are you going to get? But you add a 26-year-old Robert Thomas locked up at a very good deal that lines up pretty much perfectly with all of the Red Wings other big-name contract. And I mean, I love the player.

I've been watching a ton of them this past week, just preparing for the deadline. You know, you talk about guys who make the players around them better. Like, there's few that do it better than Thomas, not just because of that flashy slot passing ability, but he just supports the ice. Like, he supports every one of his teammates all over the zone. He's not fast, but he keeps his feet moving. He's always there to provide an outlet, always keeps the puck moving. You know, he's one of those players that knows where he wants to put the puck. before it ends up on a stick.

And I think he also has a lot that he's had to leave on the table in terms of his own scoring ability. I know he doesn't shoot the puck very much at all, but he does go to the right spots. And I feel like if he does end up in a position where he's, you know, in the short term, playing with Patrick Kane on one side and Alex DeBringkin on the other, or, you know, long term, if he ends up with Lucas Raymond at some points, I think that that's a great fit. That's not where I had him going either. I think I might have had a third destination in mind.

But I think that's exactly the kind of move that the Red Wings should make. And if they play it safe and quiet for another year, I would be a little bit concerned about that. Here's my only question, Thomas, because I think it's fair to start with Rob Thomas. He's very clearly the best player reportedly available, at least in some capacity, at this year's deadline because he's a right shot, center in the position he plays, his age being 27 in July for Emilio's prime, the contract 8.1.25, million for five more years after this one, especially with how it's structured. And for some teams, it might not matter as much, but there's declining payouts where he makes like six and a half

million for the final four years of that deal. And it's going to be such a bargain for whichever team is picking up the tab on that. It's very rare you see a player of this caliber at this stage of their contractual arc become available like this. And my question is, why is St. Louis so eager to at this point in time specifically move off of Robert Thomas and Jordan Cairo. Kairu, obviously dates back to last off season. I know it's been a disastrous year. In St. Louis, they're 31st in the league,

only ahead of the Vancouver Canucks. But I think they're positioned pretty well, honestly, to turn this into a bit of a one-off and bounce back next year. I think I'd certainly try to trade Justin Falk, Braden, Jordan Bennington, if I could at this year's deadline

or this off-season. But they're going to add a top-four pick, almost guaranteed. They've already been in the process of integrating some of these young, exciting players like a Dahlabour Dvorski, like a Jimmy Snuggaroo. They got obviously Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, who are similarly in their prime from Edmonton two off seasons ago, and they have a ton of cap flexibility moving forward themselves as well. So there's a lot of work

to be done, but this isn't your typical team that's bottoming out and has to really just clear the deck and start over. Like I'd argue they've already initiated that process over the past couple years. And if anything, you'd think that once they move some of those veterans, guys like Thomas and Kairu would almost be the perfect next wave of veterans to commandeer the next era of blues hockey, because there's still going to be really good top of the line of players who are going to be making very cost-effective numbers in future salary cap situations. So I don't understand unless it's a godfather offer, and that's a very fair offer you presented from Detroit. I don't think it's necessarily one that blows me out of the water. And so if I were the blues, I'd almost be like,

I'd rather just have Robert Thomas. And if this happens again next year, next year's deadline, I'm pretty sure I could get something similar, if not even more. I agree with you for what it's worth. But it does seem like there's smoke there. You know, if you're the blues, you know,

it feels like every deadline for the last couple of years, whether they've been in the playoff mix or not, they've at least flirted with the idea of trading Braden Shen, right? You've got guys who are center capable, like Pavel Boosnevich. You've got the young center. in Dahlibor Dvorsky and in this trade you'd get

a Danielson back. Now, are Dvorsky and Danielson ever going to be Robert Thomas caliber guys? I think that's a fair thing to wonder about, right? And even a fair thing to fade. But from their perspective, you're adding multiple firsts. You're kind of

in the middle, right? I mean, short of winning the draft lottery and getting a Stenberg or a McKenna to pair with Thomas, you know, I mean, you might be happy with how the blues are positioned, but you're happy with how the blues are positioned to like take a run at the Utah mammoth for the title of six best team in the West.

You're not liking them to be better than a Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild team or to hang with the Colorado Avalanche. Like at some point, you know, what are the blues short at the moment, right? Multiple heart trophy level players when compared with the other three teams in their division. You know, at some point, don't you have to be, willing to accept that you need to reload and maybe take a more volatile path, even if that includes courting uncertainty. I think that would be the logic of them considering something like this. I don't know that I'd do it, but I can understand the argument for it. Okay, I'm going to

give you my Robert Thomas trade. And I wish I had verification of a timestamp here because I put together my list on Saturday morning and I had the Utah mammoth right at the top of it for Robert Thomas. And then, of course, Elliot Bremen comes out on Saturday headlines, hockey day in Canada, connects the two, you know, prophesizing an Armstrong collaboration here between the two former colleagues with the last name. I think the Utah Mammoth are similarly positioned to make a genuinely meaningful move because they strike me as a bit of a sleeping giant. I know it's a running bit for you and I, Thomas, to be positioning them as such, but every underlying metric suggests it. Like defensively, they're one of the best five or six

teams in the league. Their 5-1-5 offense has been prolific as well. Logan Cooley's back now. Really the only thing dragging them back is their power play, which I think is 30th in the league. And all of these guys are in their prime years as well for the most part. And Robert Thomas would fit perfectly for that. And so here's the package I put together because I'm of the belief that you really need to provide an undeniable package to make this happen at this point. And I hope it does because it adds fodder for us. And a lot of my fake trades involved, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kairu, so I sure hope the blues are genuinely entertaining this. Barrett Hayden, who will be a 26-year-old RFA, so still team-controlled this offseason.

Daniel Boot, Maverick Lamarou, Utah's first, the Rangers second this year, which is functionally a late first. Wow. I'm going complete Godfather offer because I feel like that's going to be required what it takes. Now, I think they could trim that if they included either Teja Ginla or obviously Caleb, Denoye, I think they're going to prefer to keep both those guys. They're certainly going to keep Demetri Simashev. And so that makes a guy like Lamarou or an Ardumduda more expendable within their organization. And so you can take or leave that extra first, but that's a godfather offer, in my opinion,

of multiple actual first round picks, not like guys who used to be a first seven years ago and aren't actually that caliber anymore. and we lump it together as you got an equivalent of four first here. This is a genuine package. And so I feel like Utah makes the most sense for a player of Robert Thomas' caliber. And you're going down the middle with him, Logan Cooley, our guy Jack McBain. As soon as this year, if not next year, he's an immediate Nick Schmaltz replacement because I don't think they want to pay him market value as a 30 plus year old this off season.

And so it sets them up not only for a playoff run this year, but for the rest of Robert Thomas's contract. well i think if both of those offers are on the table for dug armstrong he would prefer yours so i suppose you've won the bidding of the you've won the fake robert thomas trade bidding uh which is smooth so so well played the yeah i mean look the like you're going over all the chips that the mammoth have to play with and it's kind of hilarious right i mean coming out of being the laundromat arizona coyotes and then getting stable ownership and a bunch of these bets that they placed while they lived in hockey purgatory in Glendale, all sort of hitting at the right time while they also have just like a virtually unlimited

store of premium assets to trade. Yeah, I mean, it does feel like that's worth pushing in on. Would you, you know, I mean, we expect them to be a real player in the bidding for Thomas based off of the reporting. I still expect them to extend Nick Schmaltz, right? Like, I wouldn't be shocked if they did both ahead of the deadline based off of sort of what people around the business seem to be talking about. So, you know, I mean, they'd be a very dynamic forward group, no question. And I'd love to see them swing big on something. Not much better to swing on than, you know, a 26-year-old playmaking center of Thomas's

ability and with that demonstrated track record of being a playoff X factor. So I like it. I'm here for it. Well played. although what if what if those rumors about schmalt's extending are just Bill Armstrong playing the leverage game in the media to put a little pressure on the the Thomas trade I mean I I like it I the idea of you know I think there would be weekly PDO cast segments about Robert Thomas Dylan Gunther goals

oh let's go I will say the one thing that I find devastating about your author for Dimitri is that I love the idea of Utah having a blue line where every defenseman is 6-5 or taller and the incalable Utah Mammoth and the fact that you unloaded two of them including one of my favorite players in hockey Maverick Lamarou is a little devastating

but I guess you do have to give to get a player of Robert Thomas Calibur. I just feel like if there's a conversation between these two I imagine the Blues would certainly be pushing for Dan Y.A. or Simashev because they're the two most premium assets of a bunch and so retaining both I feel like you kind of need to give up a little volume as a concession, especially with other

teams are making serious bids. I was kind of expecting to see Simashev in your offer, but I understand why you went for the bulk over. Well, I think the one potential area of weakness for the mammoth is that their blue line is on the older side relatively compared to their forwards at least. And so I feel like Sima Shev just at this point is the highest upside in terms of a potential top barren guy. and I'd want to make sure I try to retain that

because that's probably your cleanest path because they're not going to be picking that high in the draft anymore moving forward hopefully. And so that would be my logic for that. And Thomas, fair enough. Are there any veteran defense or defenseman on the Utah mammoth at the moment? Like an Ian Cole?

You're right. He could play up lineup. You're right. And also either side. I, yeah, Robert Thomas with Gunther would be so fun. I also think like what he did on the blue

last year Thomas, like operating down low off the goal line to set up Zach Bolduke for a million power play goals. I feel like that could actually be an immediate fix for this 30th rank unit. And if their power play started being a top 10 one, it's very few flaws. And they're probably Jack going to finish with the Wild Card one spot in the West, right, which would put them in a position to enter the Pacific Division bracket heading to the West final. And they have more regulation wins than the Vegas Golden Knights. If that was a round one matchup, Vegas would be favorite.

I'm not sure they're actually the better team at this point. And so you don't even have to necessarily go through Colorado, Minnesota, Dallas in division this year to make a long extended run to the West Final at the very least. And so I feel like there's a bit of an opening here for Utah, not that they should be making any decisions based on how far they can go this year, but it's a nice little, I guess, feather in their cap for being aggressive now as opposed to waiting until the summer.

Yeah, do you want me to unload my Robert Thomas? Let's go. Right here. All right. So I see the logic of Detroit and Utah, but I'm going to throw the Boston Bruins into the ring here. Just because we've talked a lot in the past couple years about, you know, the timeline running out for the Bruins. You know, they have these star players that, you know, when Jeremy Swayman's on, they have a star player at every position with Pashtraeck being a heart trophy level player, especially now that he's an elite playmaker, well, which is just unfair. Charlie McAvoy, you know, they have other good pieces on the blue line

and then sway in a net. And these are all guys who are prime-aged. So the idea of their window closing when these guys are still at the top of their game is a little ridiculous. But the problem is that they didn't have a center and they just kept bringing in these overrated, overpaid guys to sit in the middle of the ice and not really do anything. You know, Robert Thomas, I have a package that basically takes advantage of the fact that, like, I don't know if there's any more found money trade in the past 10 years or so. than that Toronto Maple Leafs first round pick that they got for Brandon Carlo. And the idea of turning around and swinging that as a key piece for a player that basically

solves the massive gaping issues that's been existing in your lineup since Patrice Bergeron, you know, entered the second half of his 30s is too inviting. So I think there's probably more that you have to add to that. I would also throw Fraser Minton in the mix just because I do, I am high on him, but I'm not high high on him, and I think this might be a bit of a selling high opportunity for that player. Mason Luray, not a player that I rate that much, but he does have some vaguely interesting tools that maybe could be put to use

on a rebuilding St. Louis defense. And then that Toronto first round pick that could be as high as number six or could go over to next year, as well as Boston's own first round pick. And there may need to be more things involved in there, especially if Dmitri Filipovich is manning the phones for the Utah mammoth. But just the idea of having Robert Thomas, I mean, we keep casting Thomas with these elite snipers, just replacing Elias Lindholm with Robert Thomas

and having him enter the zone with Morgan D.Kee on one side and David Pasternak on the other is just an insane idea. And I'd really like to see it. And I mean, is there anybody who has more of a Boston Bruins name than Robert Thomas? That man was born to play for the Boston Bruins. I like it. What do you think, Thomas? Can't argue with any of that.

I definitely want to see him setting up preposterous angle, geeky finishes. That sounds like an absolute blast. The thing I like the most about Jack's package, though, is this, you know, I'm sure a lot of Bruins fans, while recognizing that rooting for a team with Robert Thomas on it would be sick, will hear Fraser Mitton's name and be like, no, what? You couldn't possibly, right? And I do think it's worth sort of considering what the fat part of the bell curve outcome for Fraser Minton is despite how nasty he's been, right? Like, is he ever going to be a top of the lineup caliber center the way Thomas is, right?

The odds are probably stacked against it despite the fact that he's already sort of, I suppose, beaten the odds or arrived at the NHL well ahead of what we would have expected his developmental curve to be. I'm a huge Fraser Minton fan, but I like the idea of selling high not on like a player who's, you know, productions like PDO inflated or who doesn't have sort of other outs to be an exceptional NHL talent. But like, you know, really paying the price required to land the star. And, you know, one thing I'd note, as much volume is Dmitri manning the phones for the mammoth has thrown at the blue. there's a world where they'd just be like, we prefer Fraser Minton, right? I mean, he's that caliber

of guy. So I like that aggression in Jack's fake package. And maybe some excitement from their own scouts that they might be able to pick six or seventh overall or something like that in the next draft. Yes. Listen, I love Razor Minton. I disagree with the notion

that any hockey person is going to prefer that over the six foot seven behemoths that I listed in my package. I feel like that's going to win the day anytime. All right, Tom, you're next stop. Hopefully you can similarly include a player that creates a chain of trades for us here

that we can build off of. Yeah, well, so I mean, I'd imagine I can or should I get a little more funky? No, let's stick with the big names first. Or should I do an Ian Cole type. This whole deadline is Ian Cole type, so. Yeah, 100%. You know what?

In fact, I want to keep talking about the central because I kept trying to find matches for central division teams to go get high-end four checkers. And here's my logic. The big three in the central that gauntlet central division playoff bracket, the side of the playoff bracket, doesn't just feature three contender tier teams, but features Quinn Hughes, McCar and Mero Hayskinnan. Right? Like to advance to the conference final, the teams that finish second and third in the central will have to beat two of the three best defensemen on the planet.

And the Colorado Avalanche will have to beat at least one of the best defensemen on the planet, assuming that they can hold on and finish first. And when I look through what should those teams add? I keep coming back to this idea really demonstrated to us by the Florida Panthers. right there's there's many lessons we can take from the florida panthers but i don't think we should lose sight of one of the oldest hockey lessons in the book which the florida panthers have reminded us which is that there is real value to hurting your opponents there is real fundamental value in this sport to doing so and and you need to be a high-end four checker if you're going to catch up and tag

kelmikar or quinn hughes or mirro haskinan right like you have to be fast you have to be willing to throw the body. So I've been trying to find ways to get high-end four-checkers to these three teams. And the truth is, is that there just aren't that many guys that match those specifications who, you know, could even conceivably be available. If you look over any of the tradeboards published by any of the major media outlets, you know, like the guys that best match this description are like Boone Jenner, who haven't been high-end four-checkers in years, right? Like, it's been years since that was true. I do think there's one guy, though.

So here's my fake trade. The Minnesota Wild send Nico Sturm a 2027 first round pick unprotected. David and David Eurechick to the Toronto Maple Leafs

for Bobby McMahon and Scott Lotton they have to retain 50% on Lotton to make it roughly cap neutral. Wow. Is this the second time that Drance has proposed of Scott Lawton trade involving a first round pick on this? And it left us speechless. I had to do it. Here's the thing, right? Like, you bring in McMahon, you're putting in with Yole Ericksonek, and you're bumping Mojo, Marcus Johansson, down to that sort of fourth line spot currently occupied by Hinnisroza. When you look

through this wild roster, they're so sick, but what do they not have? They don't have an absolute piss missile on the wings. Bobby McMahon is the best that they can get in terms of a guy who might actually move before the deadline that can skate a million miles per hour and actually track down and hit your Kail Makar, Miro Heiskenen players. Otherwise, you're going to go into these playoffs series and it's like Teresenko and Zuccarello and like those guys aren't going to do the job. You're not going to make Miro Heiskenen or Kail Makar black and blue with who the, like, Hineshroza honestly, is probably the best. best F1 on the wild. They need a mover and by throwing Scott Lawton in it cushions the blow of losing

Nico Sturm, which whatever. But you know, my point is, is their forward group 1 through 12 would be insane and it would add the only element in their forward group that I don't think they have, which is the piss missile element, a vital element this year in the Central Division. That is an unbelievable offer for the trauma police. If that's available to them for those guys, they should be running out to the podium. I guess they're not making draft picks yet. But running to the league central offices to not even fax over the offers,

but make sure they personally hand deliver them so that nothing gets lost in translation because they can't afford to mess this stuff. Cushing the blow of losing Nico Serb is maybe the most drance sentence I've heard in my entire life. I mean, I love the rationale. I mean, you're spot on. As soon as you started describing the traits of this guy,

I knew that you were talking about Bobby McMahon. I feel like there's no way that he does. doesn't end up on a Western Conference playoff team. You know, I, like, I had a trade that involved him and going to Edmonton, and it seems like there's a lot of rumors about Edmonton going around, which, you know, in one sense it's strange because it seems like Edmonton has gotten rid of, like, five different forwards with decent scoring touch that skate really fast and forecheck in the past three seasons.

But, yeah, you're definitely right that, like, there are a lot of the same type of guy at this deadline, which is defensemen who doesn't really do very much with the puck, and not very much of this four-checker type, which is a little strange, considering that it seems like if there's one thing that every team of the league can agree right now, it's that we need to have four checkers who finish their checks in the corners. Yeah, I like the fit. I think there's probably a way that you could get Nico Sturman and Scott Lodden out of there and then just make it a first-round pick for Bobby McMahon.

Yeah, the thing that I like about it is it supports. I had to do it for the brand. Come on. I wasn't going to not trade for Scott Lawton if I had a shot. Well, what it does, it supports what I've been saying, where everyone is so preoccupied with the Minnesota Wilde a center because everyone keeps pulling up their daily base off page and seeing Ryan Maritman as their one C.

But this is a team with Stanley Cup aspirations that is very heavily reliant on Marcus Johansson, Matt Zuccarello, and Vlad Tarasenko, three guys who are mid-30s, wingers at different stages of their career. Zuccarello is still awesome, of course, with the prezov. But guys who are very susceptible, I think, to being banged up all UFAs this summer as well. And rolling it over to next year when you still have Quinn Hughes on this team, I'd like to have something in place beyond just this year as well. And so I feel like that would be an interesting way to do it.

I think the price is a bit rich for me. I don't think it needs Scott Lotton in there, but I think it's a point well taken. Well, I got them a center upgrade as well. I mean, you know, to cushion the blow of losing Nico's term. Yeah. And the penalty kill has generally been a weakness for them the last couple years. Lottin also gives them some insurance. Like he can play third line minutes if you need it.

I just thought this would make them deeper at center. And then I really do think when I look at the wild, I think they are a contender to your team. I think they're nasty. And yet I sort of think through who. they have to play if they're going to make it to the Eastern Conference final and I just want a little more sandpaper on the wings in particular. Bobby McMahon for me is almost like a must have if they're going to actually reach their ceiling as a team. Now another another team I've seen linked to Bobby McMahon is a central division rival of theirs, the Colorado Avalanche and my next trade

for the abs is swinging a bit richer than just settling for a Bobby McMahon or a Warren Fogel type of winger that can play middle six minutes for them. And the abs earlier this week made the San Gerrard Brett Kulak swap, shaved off an extra $2.25 million up against this year's cap. And then Gerard's $5 million. He's owed next year. We'll see what happens with Logan O'Connor in terms of his availability, but they have around $5.ish million at the very least now to add and can create even more.

I think it's closer to 11 in functional space. Right. but in terms of the playoff roster though getting it to 95 and a half and there's ways around that which we can obviously get into this is a move that I personally

enjoyed Scott Lodin being included in a deal is very on brand for you Thomas I'm going to go with one that I'd love to see just for my own selfish rooting interests and it is Owen Tippett going to the Colorado Avalanche for your guys of Karbarikov Colorado's

2027 first and their 2027 second. Now, the only real question is depending on who you ask, how available Owen Tippett is, I've seen in some circles, the flyers are entertaining it quite actively. Others, not really, his name's just being floated around

because he's kind of playing, as their six most frequently used winger, has so much ability and upside. If you catch him on the right night, he's amazing. And then he kind of floats through the next five or six games, and there's a bit of disappointment in that. I think that's a perfect type of player for Colorado because not only would he look unbelievable in their North-South system, especially in their home games where they can just

catch teams on their back foot, but they wouldn't be relying on him. And so if you're telling me every seventh game, Owen Tippett is going to look like one of the best players in the world for the Colorado avalanche. That's kind of the X factor they need. And if you get one of those games per playoff series, that could be enough to help win them a Stanley Cup. And I think, it gives them a bit of optionality as well in terms of how they're using Landisog and Achushkin and Lechidon and kind of mixing around their top three lines

essentially. So I think I'd prefer for them to add a center because then you could bump Jack Dury down to the fourth line and keep Ross Colton on the wing. But if you're just talking about the most fun potential player in this system and a guy who fits longer term as well beyond just the rental,

I feel like Owen Tippett is almost a perfect second line, right wing essentially for the Colorado Lavunch moving forward. I like it. I haven't heard anything about Tippett at all. Like, and I've been scouring these tradeboards, basically. I've been using them to decide who to watch carefully the past couple weeks. Tippet really just bewilders me because it's like you said, like he does have these stretches where he's not super visible, but it also seems like every Flyers fan hates his guts. And also he plays like third line minutes most of the time. And you would think based on his outputs,

but also based on his skill set, based on what he's capable of, that he would be somebody that's higher, you know, higher in the lineup. I do like the fit in Colorado a lot. And, you know, I think there is a route for him to actually be a pretty solid two-way contributor as well that hasn't always been his game throughout his career. But, you know, you watch him, it's not just this kind of zero calorie, like rush up by trade rush chances kind of thing. I think he used to be more of that player.

but he does, you know, when he's engaged defensively, I think he is good at disrupting plays in his own zone. He's a good zone exit player as well. You know, like I think he could really contribute all over the ice and that makes him, you know, more, I think, feasible in kind of a middle six role in Colorado. And like you said, like, you know, they won't be relying on him as heavily as a talent star Philadelphia Flyers forward group has been for years. So it's out of left field for me. I wasn't even really looking at him. But I, I like the idea and I think it would be exciting to watch. Tom, would anyone be more excited than Rick talking about Zikar Bartakov?

Yeah, no. I guess. Well, I think I passed out a little bit after you said Zikar Bhartikov. What was the other parts of the deal? It was a 27 first and a 27 second because they're pretty much out of 26 picks. Yeah, and I think that probably would appeal. I mean, Philadelphia, I'm sure, is feeling a little bit stuck, right? I mean, they have to be.

You know, they're, they've been rebuilding for a bit. They had a lot of draft capital at last year's draft, but a lot of their bets on, you know, like toolsy, athletic guys with a lot of size, haven't tracked the way you'd like them to, right? In terms of that 2026 class. You know, at some point, like, I think their floor is probably too high to get into sort of the tanking battle,

especially given the state of the team that like I cover and the New York Rangers. But, you know, how do they sort of build a championship team, right? Like everything's got to be about finding and identifying a couple of heart trophy level guys, not sort of being too preoccupied with how you fill out the bottom end of a roster around Mitchcov. Like, they need Mitchcov and Martone and those types of guys to be absolute monsters, right? that they need it or they have to have more high-end draft capital or more shots generally to find guys that can become those guys so i i think it actually makes more sense for philadelphia than you'd think from a or then like superficially it might seem at first glance

tip it i like for for the avalanche because for two main reasons one is you know he's a classic avs profile i think and that a lot of his process indicates are better than his results, right? So that's, you know, the way they won their first cup was betting in bulk on guys with exactly that profile. So, I mean, it feels like it fits with how they typically like to go about their player recruitment selection. I also, you know, I mean, I've seen Tippett live a couple times this year where he's been

his absolute best self, where you watch him and wonder why he's not like a high-end play driver. I sort of struggle a little bit with him. And this is a guy like I worked for the Panthers when they drafted him. I've seen his, I saw his first NHL goal. Like I've seen Tippett. I've seen Tippett play in the OHL.

I've seen, I've seen him throughout his entire career. And I've always been sort of my take matching some of what Jackson analysis was used to be that this guy is going to be the guy who in his next stop becomes like what Benoit Pouliott was with the Rangers, right? Like the highly drafted guy that ends up being the perfect third liner. And I still think that's probably

the fat part of the bell curve outcome for him. But I also, having seen him play so well, maybe, I've probably seen, I've probably been in the building for like two of his five best games this season. So that's sort of also colored my perception where I'm just like with his tools, speed, size, the shot.

Sometimes his playmaking even looks really good. It's not consistent, but when it is, it looks awesome. I've even thought, like, if you were going to bet on which 27-year-old, who's never really played at this level to this point in his career, has one of those random J.T. Miller-like glow-ups and becomes just a bona fide top-of-the-line-up guy for a three- or four-year stretch, kind of out of nowhere. I mean, I feel like Tippett would be on my short list.

So I kind of like that as a gamble for the avalanche, right? They've had a lot of success with those types of profiles. Obviously, Nachushkin, Lekinen, go down the list. So yeah, I mean, look, I'm in. And I love the argument that what they need more than anything is like the hot hand guy. The once every seven days, they are seven games, they look like the best player in the world guy. I love that argument or that logic behind this. They don't need his consistency.

They need the upside of him every handful of games scoring two goals and just dominating and rocking. And I think he's very capable of that. The one concern is the 6.2 he's owed for each of the next six years. and not that I think he's not worth it, but for the Aves perspective, and this is why I think Nazim Kodry makes a lot of sense for them, maybe even more so from up here fitting into their lineup perspective at the moment, not only because he plays center, but we've seen him on that power play, work the middle of the ice,

and be a bit of an interior either facilitator or score, and their power play is reaching on tenable levels in terms of how bad it is and how it's sapping a lot of the momentum from their games heading into the playoffs. Tippett's obviously younger but both guys are owed enough money to the point where with Natchez's extension kicking in with Malinski's extension kicking in the abs are going to be

at around like 97, 98 million in commitments heading into the off season in a 104 cap where they still burns if he goes they're going to need to fill that spot on their blue line. Jack Jewry is going to be up for a new deal and so all of a sudden now they're very committed to this team

and also pushing up against the cap with still things they need figure out. And so it removes a lot of the flexibility. They just afforded themselves with the Sam Gerard trade heading into the offseason. And so it is pretty pot committed. But if you win a Stanley Cup this year, I feel like it makes it a lot easier to figure that out or just roll it over next year. So I don't know if you guys have any notes on that part of the equation, whether it's cadre or any center that they've been linked to or just kind of the process of how they would approach ironing out the rest of this team heading into the deadline. Yeah. Like I,

I'm a little skeptical. People keep connecting the dots with Cadre. The fact that he's a center with all that term when they've already got Brock Nelson locked up. Like they basically, they solved that second line center. And I get that there's stuff that Cadry could do on the powerplay for them. You know, I don't love that fit. I just have two more quick notes. I wonder, I have no idea what Tippett is worth market value-wise because he doesn't play that much.

He doesn't seem to be rated super highly. His hockey card numbers aren't really that high. like his career high is something like 50 something points. So it might be the first and a second. Actually might end up being a little bit too rich for them. They might be willing to let him go for a bit less. The second thing is that I hope the avalanche would provide free ear plugs to anybody in the first couple of rows behind their net

because the idea of Ross Colton, Owen Tippett, and Brent Burns being on the ice at the same time, ringing pucks off the N-glass and N-boards is just upsetting to me as somebody who occasionally gets a bit of tinnitus. I love that. That's a great scouting note. All right, Jack, what's your next trade? All right. Do we want to do it with Jordan Kairu? Yes.

Okay. This one, I'm a little off the board here. I think in terms of trades we'd like to see for Jordan Kairu, we would like to see him go to a proper contender. You know, I was going to say, I remember us having some conversations about him potentially looking fun on the devils. And, you know, I guess we don't put them into the contender category anymore, do we? Also, no one looks fun on the devils.

No one looks fun on the Devils. The tricky part, I have a lot of trouble finding a match for Jordan Kairu. I think he's actually sneakily a little bit tough to fit in. The one that I found somewhat interesting, especially if the blues are just going for kind of a pure futures situation, was actually Seattle. Now, I do not like Seattle's outlook whatsoever. They drive me insane.

you know, I've, I've tweeted about this a billion times before. But it seems like a player like Jordan Kyrie who's able to drive offense on his own can maybe give a little bit more support, give a running mate to Maddie Baneers, would be pretty helpful. And they do have Shane Wright, who the rumor is that they are only willing to trade for a dynamic top six difference making forward. You know, you chuck in, look, I'm no prospects guy. saw that Carson Rakehoff was like their fourth rated prospect or something.

Chuck him in there too. Why not? Chuck at 2026. You know, if you want to check in their current first, you can go ahead. If that's too rich, then you can make it a second. You know, futures are futures. But the idea of St. Louis may be adding Shane Wright, giving him a new lease on life, especially with Robert Thomas out of the mix.

There's aspects I like about Shane Wright's game. You know, I watched him a decent bit this past week as well. You know, I think there's issues. when he was a prospect that he's addressed, you know, and he's a very hardworking kind of behind the net, net front player. He's not really showing off the dynamic skill

that I think people hoped would emerge at some point. But, you know, I think that he could be like a good two-way, competitive, you know, maybe where's the letter at some point, middle six center. And, you know, Seattle might be a good opportunity for him to get a chance there.

And meanwhile, Kairu in Seattle, you know, this might be just yet another case if Seattle keeps trying to compete for the second wildcard spot every year. But at least it would give them something that fills the profile of what they're looking for. Well, here's the thing.

Seattle is clearly in the market and very interested based on all their Temi Panarin reporting in terms of their desire to add like a flashy dynamic scoring winger and Kyrie makes more sense for them because of his age. You're going to like this, Jack. I have a very similar trade,

but I'm going to blow it out. into a three-teamer. Excellent. So Seattle does get Jordan Kairu. St. Louis gets Yanni Newman from Seattle. They get Winnipeg's 2026 second and New Jersey's 2027 third. Now, you're probably on Puckpedia being like, Seattle doesn't own those picks. And that's because those picks are coming from the Pittsburgh Penguins,

who are also going to include their top five protected 2026, first, and they're going to be the team that gets Shane Wright. I appreciate that. I tried so hard to get Shane Wright to Pittsburgh, and I'm glad that you found a way to do it. So Pittsburgh gets Shane Wright, Seattle gets Jordan Cairo, St. Louis gets a prospect and a bunch of draft capital. And the reason why Shane Wright makes sense is everything you just said. I love his high danger area game, and I'd like to see that under the way the penguins are

playing right now under Dan Mews. I feel like a 22-year-old center or whatever he is right now fits nicely as a one-two punch moving forward with Ben Kindle based on what we've seen gives them a bit of optionality post Malkin and Crosby. And I feel like that would be a really fun one. I have no idea which direction Pittsburgh is going to go in. But if the past year and a half are indication, they're going to be very active and they have a ton of resources to accomplish whatever they want. And so if you want to add more picks there or whatever you think those guys are worth. be my guest, but I feel like that would be a really fun one in terms of including a three teamer here finally and opening the floodgates for that hopefully moving forward and getting Shane Wright to

Pittsburgh and giving each of those teams something nice to get excited about. Love it. Very here for it. You know, I think Shane Wright's a classic case of he's probably never going to be a top line center, but I still think he competes and skates, defends, I think he's got enough finish and skill to be, you know, one of those like Sam Bennett type glowups, you know, one of those guys who becomes a winner

and a genuine top six, like he can't be the guy, but I think he can be a vital piece on a really good team. I think he should be a vital piece in Seattle, to be totally honest with you. But for whatever reason, it's not working out. or it doesn't seem to have been and there's been, you know, lots of reporting about unhappiness over a role.

And I think that's regrettable. You know, I think Seattle's, you know, best path is to ultimately sort of fail spectacularly one season with both Wright and Baneers still on this side of 25 and get the one sort of difference-making piece that would slot it all appropriately. You know, I'd rather have Wright than Cairo if I'm them. But we know that they've been,

aggressively pushing for offense. They do need it. So I like it. I love the fit for Pittsburgh. I mean, that's sick. I have a Shane Wright trade, but it's so convoluted. He's like the fifth of a moving sequence. So we'll bookmark it and get back to it. Do you have any Kyrie ones? Because Jack said that he was struggling to find a fit. I had a lot of Kyrie trades.

I think he makes a lot of sense for Washington moving forward, even if they don't make the playoffs this year. We know they were very hot on Nikolaeilers this past off season and free agency. They could get creative while still keeping, you know, Cole Hudson and Ilya Proto certainly because they're very high on those guys, but some package involving Connor McMichael, Hendrix, LaPierre, and Andrew Crystal picks. Like, I think there's a lot to play with there. They have quite a bit of resources and they're a team that is much better than their results indicate. I know they're around

35% to make the playoffs this year, but I like them moving forward. I think they're in a pretty good spot. They're going to have a lot of cap space and it should not be. beat to the point where a 40-year-old Alex Ovechkin still leads this team in goals and points. And so adding a guy who actually could top that as soon as immediately, I think, would go a long way moving forward for the Caps trajectory. So I like them. I had a Buffalo trade as well. I don't know, Tom, do you add any joint Kyru trades or do you want to get into a different topic? I didn't have any Kyru trades, but I'm happy to talk some Sabres if you want to throw that one at us.

Watching them put the boot into the Tampa Bay Lightning over the weekend, I did have the thought that, you know, I've pretty much restricted my tier of teams that I think can win the cup to like the three central teams, the two in the Pacific, and kind of one each from the Atlantic and the Metro. And I don't think we have to go too far and identifying who all those teams are. Like, it's very obvious. And I do think if there's a team that. can upset the apple card.

I think it's the Sabres, man. Like, I think, I think they've played too well that this worry is off the table, but I thought if they were one of the wild card spots, that they could have legitimately pulled a first round upset, that their depth, all of the stuff that's hitting for them,

including Byram and Power playing like top pair, um, top pair defenders, right? Obviously, Dahlene's huge season. I mean, genuinely a top five defenseman in the league now, no question about it.

it and then just the critical mass of forward talent. I mean, they've just got so much working in their direction. This isn't like a fun story anymore, right? Like, this is a, this is a wagon hockey team, flat out. So I'd be curious to hear your Cairo concept for them. And then I'm happy to pitch. I'll give you an option. I've got tons of, tons of different varietals of deals I can get into thereafter.

All right. Jack Quinn, who makes 3.375 next year. they're 26 first Isaac Rosean and St. Louis has to take on Jordan Greenway's 4 million owed next year to get ahead of their cap crunch

heading into the offseason and you're essentially from your main roster just upgrading the Jackwin spot to Jordan Cairo you can play him with McLeod and Zucker you can get creative because they mix and match their forwards quite a bit

in the top three lines and I'm with you I think we need to stop framing Sabre's conversations says, this is a cool story. They're good enough to end the drought, too. This is just a flat out, good team outright. The only team with more regulation wins than this year are the abs.

Not only do they put the boots to the lightning, but that was a second of a back-to-back this weekend. And the first one, they handily outplayed a pretty desperate Panthers team at 5-1-5 in beating them in regulation. And they're up to seventh in points percentage. I think they could plausibly earn home ice in round one at this rate. And so taking a big swing to upgrade. a spot like that is valuable because

I don't know if you guys feel this way but you know you go through this accumulation phase as an organization when you're as bad as they were for a long time and you're just trying to get as many guys who could become a guy for you and now I think we've pretty clearly delineated like who their core pieces up front are moving forward and it's Tage Thompson, Josh Done,

Zach Benson, Noah O'Slin, Ryan McLeod Josh Norris went healthy Payton Krebs assuming he can be retained on a cheap deal as an RFA this summer just because he's versatile and useful in other areas. Yuri Kulik, if you can come back healthy next year from the blood clot issue he's had and then caused the Hellenius. We've seen about 10 games worth at the NHL. That's 9, 10 guys right there. And so how do you sort of with there's such a barrier to entry in terms of being a meaningful player up front for this team moving forward. and so leveling up, consolidating a couple of these pieces,

which are useful to other organizations, but maybe not as much to Buffalo for the purposes of this year and next year, and turning it into Jordan Kairu, who could be an impact player for them as a scorer, I feel like is the direction I'd want to see the Sabres go in at this year's deadline. And so that's the trade I had for them. What do you think about that? So if they did that,

would you have them moving out tuck or keeping them as an own rental or extending him? I think the logical decision is to play it out, thank him for his five years of service. and let someone else sign him to whatever regrettable eight-year deal comes with it. Because, you know, I'd go along on Benson this year the way they did with Joan, Don previously. And it's going to be the peak of Skinner's buyout. And so all of a sudden, like, they're actually going to start bumping up to something

resembling the cap ceiling pretty soon with that. And so I don't think you could justify the tuck trade. And if you're saying, well, Jordan Cairo is essentially going to be the Alex stock replacement moving forward. I much prefer that than retaining tuck just because you feel invested because he's your guy and he's been there for five years. I do like, and I actually wonder how many teams we'll see. Like I'll get into one, I'll get into some concept trade that's like multi-step later on in the show.

But I do wonder how many teams with really good pending UFAs that are probably going to be prohibitive to sign will consider that type of pivot, where, you know, whether you prefer Tucker Cairo, the fact that Kairu, the fact that Kairi, is locked in to a contract that made more sense to sign for a player to sign two years ago than what Tuck's next deal, especially if he hits unrestricted for agency, will look like. You know, there is a lot of value in locking up that player, especially if you get a meaningful playoff run, especially if you get a meaningful playoff run with a team that actually might have the juice to go deep, right, to like actually threaten here. So, no, I sign me up for that. Kyru on this Buffalo Sabres team sounds absurd.

Here's the one issue with it. I think they might be better off making more sensible, smaller additions on the margins, at least that first blush, that wind up making massive gains because they clearly don't trust their third pair. And so throughout this run, they've essentially just been using four defensemen for like 24 plus minutes a night. and those guys are great and all young and in their prime,

but it's a pretty tall task with how active they are all across the ice. And then the other is like I kind of feel like what makes this Sabres team special. And I think they're second of the league in rush goals, so they're already good there, but is what Benson and Donne brought to the table as dogs who can extend possessions and just make life difficult for you and forecheck and backcheck and win battles and get the puck off the wall. And so I'd almost like to see them just go and get like a Blake Coleman type

with Zach Whiteclough, for example, and use that package for that instead to kind of go two birds, one stone that fits the identity of this team moving forward. And the reason why I'm very comfortable, including Jack Quinn here, and I think he'd be appealing to a lot of organizations, especially a Calgary, because he's still young and cheap for the most part, and he has skill and he creates chances. But Jack, you look at his player card or just even watch him play, I don't think he's efficient enough offensively or as much of a difference maker to cover

for all the defensive flaws in his game and so when I watch the Sabres team play I actually feel like he kind of sticks out a little bit as the antithesis of what's made them so good this year and so it's okay to have some of those guys sprinkled throughout your lineup but I would like that spot to be a little bit better moving forward

and that's probably the most logical way they can level this team up. Yep, makes sense. Yeah, and the Greenway thing I mean I think it's only like 14 million in cab space after this season. With Tuck, Krebs, and Benson to

go. Like, you basically can't go long on Benson if you sign Tuck almost regardless, but Kairu's at what, 8.1 something, right? Yep. So that would leave space to do it if you were to grind Krebs. And I think that's,

I mean, I think that's how you have to play it if you're Buffalo in my mind, just because at some point the results are going to catch up to all that you're generating with Benson on the ice. And I think if you risk bridging that in the cap growth era, that's where I think you really could get into trouble if he continues to improve at the rate that he has in his first three NHL season. So for me, anyway, that's a real danger from a Sabre's point of view. That's like one of the most risky sort of second contract guys that we've got going. All right.

Okay, one more note on the Sabres. Okay. I love talking Sabres. My one concern. Go two more notes. You got two more notes? I do actually. Yeah, they kind of go hand in hand.

But my other concern for this team is I really like Josh Norris and he's come back and been awesome post-Olympics for them. I think the idea of relying on him to be healthy and available for multiple playoff rounds is a tough sell for me, unfortunately. Now, they have a built-in safety net if they can bump Osland or a cross-off. Krebs to center if they need to in a pinch. And I don't think they should be paying a premium for a center to account for that. I'm okay moving those guys, assuming you have a Kyru who can step up and just be a difference maker on the wing in that vacated spot by those guys, assuming they have to make that switch. So that's kind of why I liked Connor Garland for them as well, because he's built in as a

tuck replacement at a fraction of the cost. And the idea of him, Benson and Joan, in the same team and just building the most annoying team possible is an intriguing one to me. So that's kind of the route that I'd like to see them. go, all right, that's all I had on the Sabres. I'll give you the floor here, Tom. What were you going to say? Well, I was going to pitch a trade.

You're, you guys ready? Let's go. I'm sure we all have trades for this guy. So, you know, increasingly in an 896 save percentage league, I think one thing that we need to change as analysts, right, as people who like the game and talk about the game and think in depth about the game and produce sick graphics about the game and models, is, you know, we've long had this idea, had this idea that, like, the best built team,

the most efficient team, the team with the best third line, right, is going to be a handful come playoff time. And look, hockey's still a weakling sport. There's still an element of that. But at the end of the day, you know, in a world where McDavid rolls through the playoffs the way he has the last two years, like, you need the heart trophy level guys. you need to go big.

You can't sweat your third line and your third pair. You need to go take a bazooka, you know, to the issue, right? So it was with that in mind that I was thinking through the Dallas Stars needs on the right side of their defense, which, as we know, are significant, more than significant, right? Like borderline cataclysmic might be a reason why, I'm. I'm picking them to get upset come the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. And so I devise this to take a bazooka to the issue. The Dallas stars send Elia Lubushkin, of course.

Leon, is it Bisckel? Bishol. Help me out. Bishol? Maverick Bork, a 2027 first round pick, top 10 protected, and a 2026. I think it's second. Yeah, 2026 seconds. So a huge package to the New York Rangers for Adam Fox and Tray Fix Wollansky.

Because, you know, I'm sure the Rangers will want to shed another contract. And I wanted to include a completely random player to make it a little more realistic. I don't understand why the Rangers would trade Adam Fox. They shouldn't trade Adam Fox. But the five. Can you recap the price? Does Bischel, Bork?

A first, a second. You think I'm light? It's got to be way more than that, I think. What do you think, Jack? Yeah, I think so. Although I will say I went on HF boards this morning just to try to really, I was, you know, say no more. Just get some last minute, you know, wheels turning. And everybody there is convinced that Adam Fox is like a passable number four defensemen at this point. So, you know, they were laughing offers out of the room that are appalling to me. Hey, Emil Hemming, come on down. Amel Hemming, come on down. You can be included in the package.

I mean, yeah. The concept more than anything is we saw the CC exercise, right? I mean, we could see the Tyler Myers exercise between now and the trade deadline. And Myers is a good player. Like, that's fine. You know, the stars shouldn't be after fine. Go solve this problem forever. Like, go solve this problem well and good.

Go turn it into a strength. Like, this team is young. This team has a window that's been open for. a long time. This team's exceptional at drafting. They've got to pay Jason Robertson this summer. Like, there's a lot of things that are going to be more difficult for them going forward. At some point, you've got to take a shot.

And Adam Fox isn't just a shot for this year. It's, you know, oh, wow, we have two of the top 10 defensemen on the planet on a roster that also has Jake Ottinger and an embarrassment of talent up front. Like, at some point, I feel like right now, too, as loaded as the Central is, you know, swinging big and swinging big on a player that addresses this team's biggest weakness and solves it, you know, for as long as this window is open, you know, there's, Emil Hemming, 2009 first round pick, like, whatever, like, if you think it's a little light, Demetri, Chris Drury, Filipovich, then I'll add whatever else you need.

But, you know, I'm also familiar with Chris Drury's work, so he might agree with the HF board's posters. Well, Chris is probably like, I'm trying to improve the PR and my standing in the league. And so I'll actually take less to show what a good guy I am and how I treat players right and get Adam Fox the winning situation. So I'll just take just Emil Hemming. I think two of the same, two of the top 10 defensemen is almost selling it short because you're three of the top 20 defensemen of the league probably, right? I mean, the idea, yeah, like, you know, I won't burn my Adam Fox trade. But like, you know, obviously I was looking at the right side of the ice.

next to Thomas Harley. I think there's like the safe option where you're looking at guys like Connor Murphy, you know, I think probably... Good player. I think probably like the Lamborghini of Connor Murphy's would be Zach White Cloud just because he has that little bit of passing ability. And I think you do want to give Thomas Harley the option

to blow the zone and do Thomas Harley things. And that's why he looks so good with Drew Doughty, you know, not only at the Olympics, but also at the Four Nations. And if you're asking Connor Murphy to make breakup, passes, then you are in for a world of hurt for all the things that Connor Murphy is amazing at in his own zone. I mean, the idea of Adam Fox making a first pass to Thomas Harley, who's flying up the neutral zone is pretty impressive to me.

I mean, if that's the price, how are the Red Wings not topping that by like 10 fold? Or are the Stamesey Sharks? Right. I just feel like for the Red Wings, and we'll see. what happens with the Tyler Meyer saga, which I can't believe is taken on this much importance in our day-to-day conversations. But I watched the Red Wings on Saturday,

and they went into Carolina with a second pair of Ben Chirot and Jacob Bernard Docker. And for all the stuff we said about Robert Thomas, honestly, Steve Isam has enough ammo to acquire both Thomas and Adam Fox. If he decided to just go full alpha, this trade headline, I feel like that would be such a no-brainer and then just having Fox and cider

as your two right shot to, for the next, whatever, three, four years, the Fox is under contract. If he went to Dallas for anything remotely that price and the Red Wings weren't the team that landed him after missing out on Quinn Hughes, I feel like that would be indefensible for me. Fair. Yeah, but I do like the idea of just completely stacking all the good defensemen in the league. I can't even imagine how jealous Vegas would be seeing that Dallas had three of the top 20 defense went on their blue line.

Can I pitch a Dallas trade? Yeah. So listen, I think it's scary for Dallas to take on anyone with money owed next year because of trying to maintain some leverage with whatever happens with Jason Robertson heading into the summer. If it's a player of Fox's caliber, you just do it right now, try to win a cup and then figure it out this summer. I don't think it's a big deal.

I'm going to pitch the trade that I did a couple weeks ago when it first became, when Dougie Hamilton initially got scratched by the devils. and it is Dougie Hamilton to the stars for a 2026 second and a 2027 second, which isn't a big price, but because clearly it's been tough to move him, he's owed a $9 million cap hit. This gives them an out and essentially clears some valuable real estate for the devils moving forward. The stars play Dougie Hamilton with Thomas Harley for the rest of this season

and into the playoffs, try to win a cup. They pay Dougie Hamilton's $7.4 million signing bonus this summer. he winds up being owed 1 million in base salary heading into next season all of a sudden the stars can go and flip him for much more than they just paid

because all of a sudden that'll be very intriguing to anyone in the league they recoup what they paid wind up actually getting more picks they can use down the road in return wherever they move them and then retain as much money

as they need to sign Jason Roberts and long term and find another fit for Thomas Harley moving forward. So it's a bit more convoluted it seems like Dougie Hamilton just wants to stay out east and so that probably would take this off the board but that's what I

feel like is the most cost effective approach and meaningful upgrade they can make at the deadline this year. I like it. That's spiritually the exact opposite of training for Connor Murphy. It'd be super fun. I mean the stars are good enough and credible enough organizationally too that even you know players that typically wouldn't want to go west might might consider it for Dallas, right? So, but yeah, an interesting one for sure. I guess the, I look, I love a flip.

I love the idea of a rental that you also are able, like, it's the Charlie Coil thing. Right? Like, I love the idea of buying at the deadline and then recouping the price you paid. I'd love to see teams being way more aggressive on that front. I mean, also, if your, if your owner is going to pick up the tab on that signing bonus, I think so many more teams would be willing to trade for Dougie Arnold and some are making $1 million because Casp space is not going to be as big of an issue for

for more than half the league. All right, Jack, what's next in your list? Oh, man. I guess I could go for my own Fox trade since I first shouted it. So the one that I had written down involved Will Smith hockey. And I don't think that San Jose would do that. If him and Celebrity didn't get along,

then they would probably do it. But the idea of, you know, there's trading Colby Armstrong away from the Penguins for for Marion Hosa. And then there's, you know, getting rid of celebrating his best friends. So I feel like you could maybe make up some of the gap with Eklund and, you know, maybe musty or some of their kind of secondary guys. And then 26 first, unprotected, 27 second, you know, some other stuff. I'm not too fussed about it.

but I just, the idea of Adam Fox going to the San Jose Sharks is something, Demetri, as you know, that I've been fixated on for a while. You know, I just don't really see a short-term path for them to pick up an elite defenseman in the next little bit. And, you know, Zach Wrenski stays in Columbus or, you know, he'll have an endless number of suitors if he decides to leave. You know, I see kind of a depressed value fox who, the people who aren't paying attention, they think is at a low ebb right now.

And to those who have been, they know that he's having one of the best seasons of his career and basically propping up the New York Rangers when he's on the ice, you know, from utter catastrophe. You know, he's a decent age. I think he gives you suddenly a window that you can compete in Celebrini's early 20s and not have to wait much longer.

And, you know, he speeds things up. I mean, it's not an exact analog. I guess the more things, adding analog for, you know, to make a penguin's comparison again, to getting Sergei Gonshark to tie things over. Well, as it turned out, that Chris Lattain was coming as a second round pick. You know, you could probably get really crazy and come up with like a Roman U.S. Trey to the San Jose Sharks to fill that Sergey Gonsar role. But just the idea of adding in Adam Fox would answer so many questions for the San Jose Sharks and the fact that it's even

on the table right now and they have the asses, makes me feel like. they should really jump on it if they have the opportunity. I mean, I love the fit, Thomas. Don't you think if it's anywhere or a moly the price you two guys are listing? And I think it would be higher than that, but maybe I'm out to lunch on it. Another California team and the Anaheim duck should be all over this, considering they are three points back now, Vegas with two games in hand for first in the Pacific. And beyond this year, with Truba and Goudis being UFAs, they really have no one on the right

side they can play atop the lineup. All their defensemen and young guys are lefties. Is Fox strike as a verbi-type player, though? Not really, but he does have a clearly a great working relationship with Chris Drury, making trades. And so, um, yeah, that's true. Yeah, he doesn't necessarily, but man, I mean, he would look awesome in that system and would fix an immediate hole for a team that's closer, honestly, to competing than the sharks are at this point based on where the two teams are in the standings. So, um, I would, um, I would fix an immediate hole for a team that's close. And I would, would like the ducks for that, but I don't know, what do you think Thomas about?

Do you have any other Fox trades? It's fitting that you two guys are both underselling Fox in this conversation, considering the rivalry you have involved in Twere being very polite. Oh, yeah. Adam Fox right now. Look, the fact that Dran's even included him in the list of the top 10 defensemen of the league, I'm just going to take that and we'll walk away. Well, my point was just not top three, right?

Now we've, the pendulum swings too far, right? I was always trying to put the right amount of spin on the ball, Jack. But no, the pendulum swung way too far on this guy. I mean, he's an elite defenseman and a Lacombe fox pair playing that uptempo style of hockey that the Anaheim Ducks have been playing all season. Yeah, I'm going to watch 70 of their games next year, right? Like, that sounds delightful. Plus, you'd get Fox in a bright orange jersey, which should be very, very, very,

It would be. All right. I've got a trade that I hate, but that I'm going to, that I'm going to pitch. Way to sell it. Well, no, I mean, I think this is the right way to sell it. I sometimes think it makes sense for a team that is holding a high upside ticket that's flawed, right? like if you draft a player really high and they're really talented but they're also really flawed right their ceilings high their floor is low i think you have to be careful about holding that lottery ticket at certain moments in your team building cycle right and i also think that in managing that risk teams are sometimes not aggressive enough monetizing a player while he's still viewed as a premium future before the moment comes where he's just an offensive defenseman or like the

Braden Schneider thing, right? Where all of a sudden it's like, oh yeah, he's a four or five defenseman. That's not as exciting as big right handed guy who could play atop your lineup in a couple years time, right? You have to be careful about timing that right. Another good example is like Vegas with Brantstrom, right? Part of the Mark Stone package, right? Like sometimes it pays to monetize these guys.

before the reality sets in. And I think the Ottawa senators are a team in a position like that. I look at this lineup, you know, Nick Cousins in the top nine, a top four defensive group, like a second pair of defensive group that I think's pretty iffy. And I think they're good. Like, I know they haven't had the goaltending, but I think this team is nasty, like really, really good. I think their ceiling as a unit is really high as a team.

but I think they're short a top 9-4 and a top 4D and I was trying and racking my brain to figure out how I could address both issues credibly before the deadline and here's what I came up with with the qualifier before I presented to you that I hated already.

Nick Jensen and his expiring $4 million contract and Carter Yakumchuk to the Calgary Flames he's a Fort McMurray kid I think too. right so he'd be going home the flames are way better positioned to hold the volatility of his profile for zach white cloud samuel hansick and conner zary so look i know i know it's it's it's i hate it too but connor zerry has sort of

flatlined a bit uh over the last 18 months yeah but i still think he's sick i still think he's Bad knee injuries kind of stunting his momentum. 100%. And that's part of the story. But I also think he would be a way better fit as a guy who plays on a team where you always have the puck and you always have zone time. And the issue is converting that zone time into offense. Like I think he'd be a way better fit in Ottawa than he could ever be in Calgary as

that team stands at the moment. So for me, I like it as like a by low on Zay. You take the injury risk if you're Ottawa. Your risk on that front is offset by the fact that you're getting a pretty safe, you know, like at the very least, we think Hansick's going to be a bottom six checker type. That size defensive responsibility motor. Travis Green's going to love that. That fits with how the Ottawa senators play and sort of cushions the blow of using Yakim Chucks offensive upside,

given what he's accomplished, you know, throughout his WHL career and in the American League as a 20-year-old this season. and then you get White Cloud, who's just a huge mobility upgrade over, over Jensen at this point in Jensen's career. And Zary and White Cloud both have three years left on their deal, like this season and two more after, lining them up perfectly with Brady Kachuk's contract. Like, I just feel like with a complete roster and some saves,

the Senators team could be actually a pretty fearsome playoff dark horse this year with sealing to contend in the years to come. You know, obviously Yakimchuk becoming a capital D dude would be better for them, but is he really going to access that ceiling? And is that a bet, which I consider to be pretty volatile, the sort of bet that the senators can afford to hold during this sort of critical two and a half year juncture, this, this little Brady Kachuk window that they've got opening right now? Now, what do you think about going, um,

Mackenzie Weger instead of Zach White Club there, who is from Ottawa, I believe, and I think is, you know, a superior player costs more and is more onerous in terms of the commitment. Yeah, the senators would need to shed more money to make it work, too. So then you get into eating into the depth advantage. I don't think the flames are going to eat or retain any to help you. So that was, I mean, I definitely considered it at length. but I just don't know how you make the Uyghur thing fit without weakening the senator's roster to the point where it's not like a trade some upside for some sort of safer floor depth type bet which is the type of bet I'm trying to engineer for the sabres. I was looking at this any number of ways with like St. Louis.

It's just really hard to make the money work even if you are willing to put a Yakumchuk on the on the table. And also, you know, so anyway, I liked this deal, but I also absolutely despised it. That's a fun one. What do you think, Jack? Yeah. Yeah, I was absolutely shocked that after like the Yakumchuk, you know, the introduction and then kind of having Yakim Chuck, who's, you know, I mean, two years ago was drafted seventh overall.

Like that's, you know, even more prospect hype than, you know, like Brayden Schneider. having all that lead up and then having it be three guys like having it be Zari who's like a guy and White Cloud who's like maybe a decent number four maybe like a number five and then who's the other one it was Hansik yeah who again is the guy I feel like if we're talking about the senators having this window that they really need to maximize the idea that they send out their most expendable blue chip piece and kind of solidify depth rather than really gunning for it, which is why I like, you know, I had basically, you know, identical.

I just had the classic Uyghur for Jensen plus futures thing. I'm surprised that Wigger and, you know, Jensen can't work under the cab. I have to admit, I did not go through the full armchair GM, you know, nonsense there. I just kind of figured that like whatever it is, there's like 2.2.2. to five million between the two of them. Yeah. Well, Zeri's extension is quite... 3.75 or whatever.

Oh, yeah. In my situation, I'm just shocking Zeri and sorry for the deal. But yeah, you know, I like the idea of these two teams looking up. I mean, you know, in more innocent pre-Dillin-Cousins times, I would be engineering an incredibly elaborate deal involving Nazim Kodry and McKenzie Weeger both going to the Ottawa senators, even though teams never seem to like the PDA. cast thing of including two expendable players to solve two needs in one go. But in principle, I do like the idea of Yakumchuk being a guy that the senators

deemed expendable, especially considering the talent that they have on their blue line. I would just maybe go in a different direction, even though I do like Zari, I do like, I do like White Cloud, and I have heard of Hanzek. It undoubtedly makes the senators better, and I'm with you, Tom, that I think they're clearly better underlying profile-wise than they have results-wise because the goaltending this year in a division where battling with the sabres and the HABs moving forward, though, these types of moves that whatever your evaluation of Yakom-Chuk is, and I get the logic of, like, cashing in before he doesn't hit if you're feeling that way. I think he still carries upside

because he was a seventh overall pick and he hasn't failed at the NHL level yet. And I feel like these types of moves that the senators have been doing for a long time now is why they're in this position and why I feel like their ceiling is just so much lower than those division rivals who are kind of on a similar timeline as them. So in terms of what the ultimate end goal is, I don't love it because it's very in line with what they've done. But because they've done moves like that, maybe it makes it more likely to actually happen. Yeah. More than anything, illustrating a concept, it's not perfect. And I knew that going in, but I do think it's an interesting one to think through.

We haven't had any lightning or hurricanes trades. Do either of you have anything for clearly the two best teams in the East? I don't have anything for the lightning. I do have one for the hurricanes, but it's not super, super fleshed out. It's just that of them, of the teams that are being bandied around for Dawson Cadre, that is the team that makes the most sense for me. You know, I think we often talk about with the hurricanes, we try to, send them guys who will completely break their system wide open.

And Nazam Khadri is kind of the exact opposite of that. I feel like he's just the guy who like fits like a glove in their system. You know, like just wins pucks, sends them low high, puts pucks on net, gets to the slot. You know, I think they've kind of added enough skilled players that break their system wide open. And he would just be a solid piece in the middle. And obviously the money works for them in a way that it doesn't for some other teams. I like it. I mean,

I like it just because it makes sense to as like a successor to Jordan Stahl. You know, like the next five years, we'd have the Anasm Cadry minutes for the Hurricanes. It just feels spiritually right to me, Jack. I've got a Carolina Hurricanes trade, but it's the first step of a six-step trade deadline illustration. So I will save it for now.

Let's say that. Yeah, you're like hinting of this like, Jesus of Suburbia type like multi-part suite. I do. I do have a Jesus of Suburbia multi-part suite. I'll get to it at some point soon. I like the contrary one because I think a lot of teams are going to balk him

at his stage of his career being owed $7 million for three more years. The Cains have so much financial flexibility that it's not as big of a risk for them. I think a line with him Eilers and Blake, for example, would be a dope second line. And then you could move Stancoe and back to the wing and use him situationally or haul,

on what you need in a given game with Stahl and Martinuk, so I think that'd be fun. And the flames, above all else, I think at this point, have Telegraph that they really want prime age, cost-effective contributors that aren't going to be expensive but are going to keep them somewhat competitive.

They don't want to truly bottom out and putting together a package that involves like Codconeemi, even like a Joel Nystrom, who the Hurricanes, very sneakily in Hurricanes fashion, played for 30-ish games this year. and then got him to commit to this $1.25 million extension for four more years, not getting under the radar. So good.

I think the Flames would love that. And then you could take your pick of European prospect from the fourth round. It breaks every NHLE model. Yeah. Yeah. The like 10 part like Noel Gunler. Gleb Tricazov, Alexander Passion. Excellent.

The, you know, too, that if Nystrom went out the door, look, go would have a four-time. times 1.5, like, ready to, like, in the, it's in the drawer ready to go in case they monetize an ice cream. We've got a Joel Nystrom at home. Do you have a Tampa Bay one there, Demetri? I do, a quick one. Can I take a guess? Does Oliver Buredorke and get traded in this? Hell yes. But I made it a three-teamer just for the purposes of this show. Excellent. To Tampa Bay, Stephen Stamp goes. Oh, let's go. To Nashville, Samo, Riley a 26 second and a 28 second to Minnesota Oliver Brooks Rand. Give them another guy, what we said earlier, another middle six winger that can step up if they

have injury. You get Steven Stamckos on that left flank back in his old comfortable stomping grounds finishing one-timers from Kuturov. That's really the only thing they can fix at this point with their team. It's more likely they make this in the summer because they have a run under contract and the cap's going to go up and they can just keep your at this point, but they're the best team in the east probably, and they used to try to upgrade that now and try to win a cup while they can. And so I like doing it now. It makes sense. I know it's very convenient, but I feel like it's a fun one that actually makes sense. Can you do a like just classic Tampa Bay thing and just send 50 picks to get Nashville to retain

money on that Stamcoast deal? Because like when I said that this exercise is harder this year, I feel than it has been in the past, part of it is that there's all these guys. who are older guys who have term and a lot of money. And it's just hard to make that work. Like, Stamco's deal, like the idea of, you know,

how many years does he have on it? He makes like $8 million. Three more. Yeah. Three more years, which is... For two more after this one. Yeah.

Two more after this one, which, you know, that could be a bit of it. If you're Tampa Bay and you're still square in the middle of your competitive window and the wheels completely fall off, that is a little bit scary. So if you get them at like $5 million or something, that would be like,

that would be worth, you know, the equivalent of two Tanner Genoes, I think. I mean, the thing that's been keeping me up at the night, and this is an insight into how I need to get a life, I think. The Lightning have nine defensemen that should just be

playing every night, and Victor Edmund is probably in the lower end of that list. And I get it in terms of what he's meant at our organization, how good he's been. I think he's still, he scored that goal against Buffalo. I think his shot is still useful. and they're going to use them in moderation.

But I'm just trying to figure out what's going to happen with this team because they have so many guys who should be playing at every position in the playoffs. And I believe Dasstu, who I think just has to play, is one of the only waiver-exempt guys on that list. It's him and Crozier. And they're not going to want to lose, like, Lilleberg and Carlisle, but I just don't know what they're going to do if they're going to try to consolidate some of those guys because they're going to be valuable to other teams.

But they like them and have been good for them this year. So I don't know what the lightning are going to do, but they can just keep Rattis this summer if they want to, because they have so, they have 60 million in cap space. And so they can replace Björch strand and keep Radish and bring this whole team back and be the best team in the East again. And I'm fascinated to see what Julian Breezwon does with that. Well, so two concepts that you're getting at too is like, let's not forget the lightning are ruthless, right? Like they will tell Ryan McDonough he's going on waivers if he doesn't waive his NMC.

But they're also very interested in repatriating the guys they've been ruthless to, which is why, you know, I have Coleman too. Yeah. So the headman and Stamcoast of this is such a funny contrast where the lightning will do what they need to do, right? At the expense of star players and long-serving franchise legends and also, you know, they seem to be able to do it in a way that doesn't burn that bridge to the point that they can't traverse it again. It's actually a pretty remarkable balancing act among the many things that the Tampa Bay Lightning seem to nail. All right. Jack, unless you have anything else, to squeeze in before Tom sends us home here with a six-part trade. I think I'm pretty much done my list for the most part. Yeah, do you want me to just run through a bunch of quick ones?

Yeah, lightning round. Okay. All right. So, Evanton needs a goalie. Edmonton trades Tristan Jarry and a second round pick. And in return, they get Stuart Skinner from Pittsburgh. No. So you had, to be true, you had Anaheim,

getting a right-handed defenseman. For me, it was Colton Pereko, sending Pavlov Minchikov a second and something else. Pretty straightforward. I had two Pittsburgh trades where both of which they get an Alex laugh. They send Anthony Manta or whatever draft picks they get for Anthony Manta from a third team to L.A. for Alex LaFerrier. I've heard that apparently the Kings are cap conscious right now and they're not super jazzed about. Lafairier. I saw his name come up a couple times, and he's such a dubest type player. And then the other one, I've wanted Lafranier on the panos for quite a while.

I think he would look really good next to Ben Kindle. I used to say he would look good next to Sidney Crosby. I just had the 2026 Pittsburgh first drum pick, top, you know, 10 protected or whatever. I had an Elias Pedersen trade to Columbus, Kent Johnson, Danton Hyndon. And then I think I'm just going to drop, this one did not. make it across the finish line, but I'm going to drop my insane three-teamer, which I always have one insane three-teamer that I dropped at the end. It involved Vancouver getting Leanne Bischel, is that he pronounced it. Francesco Pinelli, Henry, Henry,

Ritzkovian, Henry Lusician. And I don't know, some, Jack, I just saw Tom how to pronounce Riscovean a couple weeks ago. I'm so excited about it. everyone. And also, and also, uh, and also there's, uh, his brother is like a top NCAA free agent. I've been like dropping his name as if he's like the top NCAA free agent on the radio just because I'm excited to say it. Sorry, Jack. Uh, Dallas gets Quentin Byfield. They also get, they also get Drew Dowdy at $6 million to play with Thomas Harley. And they get

Teddy Bluger and Los Angeles gets Jason Robertson and a lees Patterson. Wow. You really buried a lead there. You like slow playt us. So I don't think that one, I was really like down to the last second on that one. And I'm sure it is, I'm sure it would have been cap compliant in 2003. I don't think it is in this environment. But anyway, I really tried to make that one work and just ran out of a road. Well, let's not let it get a window in the way of a good time.

And speaking of a good time, Tom, bring us home. Okay. So we've talked a lot on this program about the fascinating spot that the Columbus Blue Jackets find themselves in. Right. And amping the sort of difficulty about this deadline from a Columbus perspective up, right? And I'm just going to quickly go over all the factors. Fantilli needs a new contract and Kent Johnson needs a new contract. Does Matejach need a new contract or is he just extension eligible?

He's extension eligible. Okay. He's extension eligible. But so is Marchenko and so is for Hankov. So they've got a lot of contract work to do. At the same time, they're in the playoff mix and they can't exactly just like, sell to the studs when they've got five young players to convince, not to mention the Zach Werenski factor, that they're a place that is serious about winning.

But Coil, Boone Jenner, and Mason Marchman of all, like, played well and put up points. Like all of these guys, even Marchment from the time he was acquired on the eve of the holiday freeze has, like, played well enough to increase his value. So there's a huge sale opportunity available. to them and yet one that they're kind of like not really able to completely avail themselves of or at least not without sort of delicately managing the internal dynamics of not waving a white flag at this critical moment in their team building cycle beyond that you know own renting coil and jenner and marchment when you're only what 40ish percent jack

what's your model say 40ish percent to make the playoffs i mean outside looking in, probably less likely than it is probable, but like absolutely realistic because that team has juice. I mean, this is just a fascinating scenario for me. And so I designed a six-part hybrid trade deadline, my dream trade deadline for the Columbus Blue Jackets. You all ready for this? It begins with Columbus sending Charlie Coil to the Carolina hurricanes.

Columbus may attach like a mid-round pick in order to get a Carolina Hurricanes 2027 first top 10 protected. Big center for the Carolina Hurricanes cheaper to acquire, I'm sure, than Trocheck and Nazim Cadry. They then send Mason Marchment to the Anaheim Ducks. He can be an upgrade on Jansen Harkins on the third line

for a 2026 second round pick. And you know what? I'm just going to give them two second round picks. 2026 and 2027 second round pick. That's a slight upgrade over the second and a fourth that Marchman has gone for two times already in the past calendar year. Then they send Boone Jenner at 50% retained to the Edmonton Oilers for Andrew

Mangiopani and a 2027 first round pick top 10 protected. Now they're loaded with picks. I've acquired two firsts, two seconds. So I go to the Seattle Cracken with Cole Cillinger and the Carolina First that I just acquired in 2026, 7 for Shane Wright and a 2027 third round pick. I then go to Calgary and I ask for a second round pick as payment for me taking on the contract of Yeager, Sharon Govich. and that second burns a hole in my pocket, and I immediately flip it to Chicago for Ilya McAev. As the dust settles,

the Columbus Blue Jackets have now added, Shane Wright, Yeager Sharon Govich, Ilya McAev and Andrew Mangiopani, a first round pick and two second round draft picks, and this is going to be at the expense of a $9 million ad in their commitments for the 2026-27 league year, even though it's like roughly cap neutral for this season.

still leaving them 35 plus for the Fantilli KJ extensions, which would kick in immediately. And obviously, you know, the Mangupani would expire, giving them additional flexibility on Varankov, Marchenko and Co. Out Boone Jenner, Charlie Coil, Cole, Cole, Cillinger, Mason Marchman.

I've picked up assets. I've bought, uh, just to sort of bolster my team. And I've, and I've taken on a younger player in Sharon Govich with some size, right, with some ability.

to avoid while avoiding some sure-to-be high-risk commitments to guys in their early 30s that I'm sending out the door. This is my hybrid Columbus Blue Jackets, super aggressive deadline plan. We'll never see it. But I feel like that's the sort of thing. I'd love to see teams consider executing. Well, that's all the time we have for today's show. Thomas, only you could do a 12-minute 6-team trade suite where the best. player that gets traded just Charlie Coil.

I feel like the Sharon Govich, McAev of it all, was just very self-indulgent. What do you mean? Yeah, it insisted upon itself. I don't know why it's related to this at all. Well, because you got to bring in bodies. Yeah.

I mean, with all those seconds they would just acquire, they could get Mason Marchman back if they want. I also, like, I think Sharon Govich, I'm sure Calgary would love to move. move him. I mean, I think there's something in there. If you can get paid and take a dice roll on Sharon Govich, who would be like the third best UFA, I'm pretty confident you can get paid to take him, too. Like, I don't understand why teams don't think he could bounce back if he goes to a better situation. I'm pretty confident. He's still like long and talented. He's just inconsistent.

Boone Jenner is definitely a very Stenbowman type pickup, especially Boone Jenner, whose shoulder doesn't work anymore and can't take faceoffs. 100%. Yeah. I mean, I certainly prefer this to the alternative of just keeping

coil marchment, Jenner, and not doing anything else or even retaining those guys this summer. So... Yeah, but you couldn't have

like slipped Jamie Alexiak in there so we can have him getting traded for the fifth year in a row. I'm actually big. I think someone should buy Alexiak. I just don't expect

the Seattle cracking to sell him. Look, history vindicates that opinion. Since we've been trading him for half a decade. Yeah, this sequence of trades would have been way too unlandish if you also included J-MLX. Yeah, there's no way. That's where it really falls through.

Wow, I love that. Perfect way to end this show. You guys both as always understood the assignment. I appreciate the work and the debauchery that you put into this. I appreciate Sports Night as well because I told them we were doing this. They're like, don't worry about the usual time restrictions for radio. Just go as long as you guys are going to go. And we certainly did that.

Tom, all you play. some stuff on the way out and then Jack you can jump in and promote whatever you want. Oh man. So much deadline coverage on Canucks Talk and at the athletic check it all out. I'll have a banger notebook from my Seattle trip up at the athletic on Monday. So really excited to dig into that and have that shared with everybody, including a lengthy filipporonic 101, the rare lengthy filipporonic one-on-one and and, you know, notes on Landon-Dupon.

So yeah, check that out at the Athletic on Monday morning. Jack, what do on a problem? Well, I have a lengthy six-part self-promotion suite here, if we have time for it. J-Freshockey on Twitter, HockeyStats.com, the home for player cards, stats, playoff projections, and I'll especially put a note on our scouting reports for NHL players. We just reached 300 on the page after I've been doing a lot of focus on trade deadline targets. Entirely, I test-test-based, no explicit reference to any stats whatsoever. filling in a gap, you know, in pros scouting in the public sphere that I think has been around for a while.

So definitely make sure to check that out. It's been a pleasure working on those this week, discovering that Rassister Salina and Tyler Myers are basically the exact same player at this point in their careers. So make sure to check that out. And of course, on deadline day itself, I will be extensively following every single trade. Let's go. Well, good stuff, boys. Hardly co-assigned both, especially Tom. I want everyone to check out your piece from your trip through the Pacific Northwest and checking out Land and DuPont because a little behind the scenes, you and I hopped on this call.

We had a couple minutes of spare. You were telling me all about it. Jack jumps in on the Zoom call and immediately is like, I feel like I'm just listening to a Sunday special because you were telling me about Carter Bear and all the takes you had from watching them. So I'm sure that piece is going to deliver. Give us a five-star review. Wherever you listen, subscribe to the Patreon. Lots of trade breakdowns come in, newsletter, extra shows, all that. good stuff. That is all for today.

I'm already looking forward to the 27 edition of the show with the two of you. Good luck navigating everything that happens throughout trade deadline week. Hopefully everyone enjoyed our shenanigans here. And hopefully you feel more prepared for all the festivities. Thank you for listening to the Hockey P.D. Okas

streaming on the SportsNode radio network.