The stretch run of The NHL season is upon us. Every team has played between 58 and 62 of its 82 games, so roughly three-quarters of the season has gone by. And now, this Friday, March 6, 2026, is the annual Trade Deadline. 

Artemi Panarin has already been traded to the Kings and Quinn Hughes has gone from Vancouver to Minnesota. 

We know that the Free Agent class on July 1st will lack star-power since all the “Big Guys” have signed contract extensions. So, will there be an extra emphasis put on Friday’s deadline by GMs who are desperate to make team-altering moves? 

Vincent Trocheck is on the market. A 32-year-old second-line center who is under contract for three more years and carries a cap hit of $5.625M, Trocheck is on a lot of teams’ radars. However, he does have a 12-team No-Trade list and given his comments on Monday, he does not want to go West. He prefers to stay in the Eastern part of the country (he’s a family man after all) and he also wants to go to a team with a legitimate chance to win (not that he was looking to leave New York). 

Minnesota is rumored to be the frontrunner for Trocheck and the Wild certainly have the pieces necessary to get him. The question is, are they willing to part with what it will take to land him after already giving up quite a bit to acquire Quinn Hughes?

Trocheck’s Rangers teammate, Adam Fox, made waves with his non-committal answers on Monday, but that’s something that will need to be handled during the off-season. 

Dougie Hamilton has been on the trade block going back to last summer, but does Devils’ GM Tom Fitzgerald have the greenlight to make such a move with his job reportedly in jeopardy? Plus, Hamilton has some trade protection and has already vetoed at least one potential move, so it’s not like that’s an easy situation to deal with.

Nazem Kadri and Robert Thomas are both known to be on the market. But Kadri is 35-years-old, with three more years left on his deal and has a cap hit of $7M. Meanwhile, Thomas is just 26-years-old and has five years left on his deal with a cap hit of $8.125M. 

Is Steven Stamkos still a game-breaker? Maybe not, but he did score his 30th goal of the season the other day, so he still has a nose for the net at 36-years-old. He has two more years left on his deal and carries a cap hit of $8M. He also has a No-Move clause that means he has the final say on the matter. 

Ryan O’Reilly is another older player who could be on the move, but his short-term deal and reasonable cap hit mean he’ll be much easier to move if Nashville chooses to go that route. 

The Vancouver Canucks clearly have buyer’s remorse when it comes to Elias Pettersson, but would they really move him at this stage? And, more importantly, who would even pony up the pieces necessary to get him and take on his huge $11.6M cap hit for the next six years? Sure, he’s still just 27-years-old and has shown he can be a great player, but his on- and off-ice issues in Vancouver might scare away some potential suitors. 

There’s no way Buffalo wants to trade Alex Tuch now, not after they’ve turned their season around. But it’s worrisome that the two sides have yet to agree to a contract extension. If Tuch or his representatives tell Buffalo they refuse to re-sign, then the Sabres will almost have to trade him and live with the consequences. 

The full list of players who could get moved is much longer than the list of players who will get moved by Friday’s 3pm(ET) deadline. But don’t be surprised if there’s at least a couple mini-blockbusters that unfold. At the same time, knowing how NHL GMs like to operate, this could all just be a big buildup to a letdown. 

The sea of trade rumors is churning, but the category of the storm is yet to be declared.