NHL Trade Deadline Drama: Shocking Moves Brewing Before U.S. Thanksgiving?

You know, the hockey world’s chatter lately has me thinking: Could teams be gearing up to shake things up on the trade front way earlier than we’ve traditionally seen? I caught up with Dave Pagnotta from The Fourth Period recently on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio’s Power Play, where the conversation zeroed in on the timing of trade moves this season. It’s fascinating because while U.S. Thanksgiving has long been the benchmark for teams to evaluate their rosters and nudge the market, this season brings a twist. The cap landscape is shifting, and many clubs now have more breathing room—and that flexibility could tip the scales into earlier, more aggressive deal-making. From Pittsburgh’s patience around veterans like Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell to Calgary’s watchful eye on Rasmus Andersson, the conventional wisdom may no longer hold. Honestly, it feels like we’re on the cusp of a new era where front offices might pull the trigger well before the usual deadlines. The intrigue here isn’t just what trades will happen, but when—and that’s enough to keep any NHL observer on the edge of their seat. LEARN MORE

Teams Could Be Making Moves Sooner Than We Think

Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined Sirius XM NHL Network Radio’s Power Play with Steve Kouleas and Craig Button, and he was asked when we might see teams this season pull the trigger on trades.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

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Craig Button: “Okay, so we moved past the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sorry, David, we don’t move past the Pittsburgh Penguins. We move past Sidney Crosby. At what point in time do you anticipate and Pittsburgh is just one of these teams, we hear about Bryan Rust. We hear about Rickard Rakell. We know that Kyle Dubas wants to push the youth there, because that’s what they have to do. Where do you see the demarcation point for these teams around the league, Rasmus Andersson in Calgary, for these players to perhaps have more prominence in terms of trade talks?”

Dave Pagnotta: “Everyone knows that U.S. Thanksgiving, that timeframe has traditionally been when teams feel comfortable with fully evaluating their squad. And I think it’s a combination, especially in recent years, in the cap era, that teams, yeah, they mark that, but they can’t really do too much, because everybody’s against the cap. This year is a little bit different, and I’m curious to see how some of these clubs utilize their space.

Typically, teams will wait, they’ll push, and they’ll try to accrue more cap space by adding a player later on in the season. Yes, we all know that the cap game has changed a little bit, especially come playoff time you got to ice your roster or lineup that game has to be cap compliant, this, that and the other. But it still gives teams and teams have more flexibility this year to do it, plus a lot of teams are cap compliant and have the extra space to play with a lot sooner than they have had in the past.

And I think depending on how some of these clubs go like I think we all all know what direction Pittsburgh is going to go in. If the Calgary Flames, for example, you mentioned Rasmus Andersson, if things don’t work out there in the first 15-20, games of the season, do they engage more seriously in talks in the earlier part of the year? That’s what I’m curious to see.

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And I think there is a sense that some of these teams are willing to at least escalate some of those talks early. Ultimately, they got, they’re the ones that have to pull the trigger. We expected a busy offseason. We got nothing. So things obviously it takes two to tango. These guys are going to have to; these managers are going to have to decide when to ultimately pull the trigger.

But I do anticipate in talking to people around the league, it sounds like teams are more willing to have those more serious talks sooner in the season, because so many teams have that cap wiggle room

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