NHL Trade Frenzy Brewing: Which Stars Could Flip the Ice in the Season’s Opening Weeks?

As soon as camps swing open their doors, you might expect a flurry of trades—but is it really the prime time for big deals? I caught up with Dave Pagnotta from The Fourth Period during his recent TSN Radio chat in Montreal, where the question loomed large: are teams ready to shake things up this early, or is everyone still sizing up their squads? Turns out, many clubs are swimming in talent, juggling more players than a fitting room can handle—like the Toronto Maple Leafs, practically rolling five lines deep, stuck figuring out who stays and who goes. Meanwhile, teams like the Canadiens are still playing the long game, testing the waters before deciding who fits the puzzle. Sure, some teams with gaps or injury woes might feel early pressure, but judging by the offseason buzz (or the lack thereof), major upheavals seem unlikely before the puck drops come October 7. Instead, keep your eyes peeled for waiver wire movement—that’s where the real whispers might stir. Intriguing, right? Dive deeper into the nuances of this early-season chess match and why patience might be the most strategic move yet. LEARN MORE

Is Training Camp Too Soon For Trades To Happen?

Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined TSN Radio in Montreal on Monday. He was asked if there is a chance of movement early in training camp and if there are some teams ready to make a move.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

Host: “Chatting with Dave Pagnotta of  The Fourth Period Hockey Heaven at 11 every Monday here on Campbell versus Gallo. Dave, how busy could some teams be in training camp? You just mentioned about the (Montreal) Canadiens, kind of waiting to see what they have, but are there teams that really want to make a move?”

Dave Pagnotta: “Well, yes, I mean, there are teams that have, and it’s more so,  a lot of teams, like, half the teams, are basically overloaded with depth. There are too many pieces in place that they’ve got, like, I’m here in Toronto, they’ve got, effectively, five lines that they can roll. You got three extra forwards here that the Leafs are going to have to figure out what to do with.

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Canadiens have a lot of depth. Other teams have a lot of depth. Those are the teams that are eventually going to say, Okay, let’s give it another five days of camp and then determine which pieces may fit for this coming season and the ones that don’t. Alright, let’s make some calls and see if we can get some assets for them.

And then you have the other side of the spectrum, where some teams thought they filled some holes or were dealing with injury, and need to fill those voids.

To this point, based on how the offseason went, I don’t know if I’d be really optimistic to see anything significant shake-ups here. Usually around this time of year, if anything, it’s that type of movement. And the waiver wire could be the most interesting thing that we see here going into October 7, when the puck drops on the season.”

NHLRumors.com Note: There was a lot of talk in the offseason about how active it was going to be, then nothing. However, there is a belief going around that there could be moves happening in the NHL similar to what we saw last year, early in the season.

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Teams like the Montreal Canadiens are still looking to add and could pull off a similar move as they did in December when they acquired Alexandre Carrier. It will be interesting to see how teams navigate LTIR and the changing landscape. However, it’s too early now because some teams don’t know who they are or what they have. Expect some movement early into the season.

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