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The NHL’s March 6 trade deadline is just 10 weeks away.
That leaves enough runway for the needs of buyers and sellers to shift before the biggest decisions are made — or for buyers and sellers to switch places. Still, it’s never too early to start identifying potential fits between teams and players available on our latest NHL trade big board.
With that in mind, enjoy part two of trade-board matchmaker.
Jonathan Marchessault
Team: Nashville Predators
Position: Winger
Shoots: Right
Age: 34
Contract term: 2029 UFA
Current cap hit: $5,500,000
Trade Board ranking: No. 23
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LeBrun: Toronto Maple Leafs
One can argue the last thing the struggling Leafs need is another aging player. But hear me out. The Leafs don’t have many assets to trade. For the Predators, this would be more about moving the remainder of the contract — three more seasons after this one at a $5.5 million cap hit. The Leafs would still have to trade assets, but it wouldn’t be as costly as other trade targets they’ve looked at.
Marchessault, 34, would have to consent via his full no-movement clause, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he would consider the Leafs, where he would get a top-six role skating alongside either Auston Matthews or John Tavares.
Again, I can see how some Leafs fans just want the whole thing rebuilt now and no more trades for veterans. But with the team not having its first-round picks in 2026 or 2027, and the standings still very tight, general manager Brad Treliving isn’t ready to wave the white flag just yet.
Johnston: Montreal Canadiens
This is a move that would certainly sit well with Marchessault, which is important given the fact he’s got that NMC in his contract. The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner would bring some experience to the NHL’s youngest roster and should be able to add offensive pop to the Habs’ top-six forward group.
Facilitating a trade for Marchessault would necessitate some money going out the door, with Patrik Laine’s $8.7 million cap hit the most obvious candidate to go.
The Quebec native would be a popular addition for the fanbase.
Connor Murphy
Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Age: 32
Contract term: 2026 UFA
Current cap hit: $4,400,000
Trade Board ranking: No. 18
LeBrun: Florida Panthers
The Jeff Petry flyer for $775,000 hasn’t turned out as good as hoped in South Florida, and my sense is the two-time Stanley Cup champs will try to upgrade on the right side of their third pairing. Murphy, 32, is a pending unrestricted free agent and fits the bill.
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The hurdle for Florida would be finding the cap space. Murphy’s $4.4 million cap hit is rich, but obviously it would require Chicago retaining some, plus the Panthers have $3.8 million in long-term-injured-reserve money at their disposal with captain Aleksander Barkov out. The Panthers and Blackhawks made a trade a year ago involving Seth Jones. Obviously, this wouldn’t be at the same level, but it could be beneficial.
I also think the Blackhawks will want to do right by Murphy, who has long been respected in that room. He’s only played nine career playoff games and they were in the Edmonton pandemic bubble in 2020, so he hasn’t experienced a traditional playoff run with fans. Joining the Cup champs would be perfect.
Johnston: Vegas Golden Knights
The Blackhawks could certainly do right by Murphy by sending him to an organization that’s always aggressively chasing the Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights still haven’t replaced the hole left on the right side of their blue line left by Alex Pietrangelo’s injury and would be looking at a more reasonable acquisition cost by chasing Murphy rather than Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson.
They’re a little thin on trade capital after years of going all-in.
Yegor Chinakhov
Team: Columbus Blue Jackets
Position: Winger
Shoots: Left
Age: 24
Contract term: 2026 RFA
Current cap hit: $2,100,000
Trade Board ranking: No. 15
LeBrun: San Jose Sharks
Chinakhov asked for a trade before the season and that request hasn’t gone anywhere. Now, with the Mason Marchment acquisition, Chinakhov’s role in the Jackets’ lineup is shaky again.
When teams called earlier this year, I don’t think Columbus wanted just a draft pick for Chinakhov. They wanted a player. But now that they’ve spent a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick on Marchment, they might be OK recouping a second-round pick for the 2020 No. 21 pick. It just so happens the Sharks have two second-round picks this year, their own and the Colorado Avalanche’s.
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And given Chinakhov’s age, he fits San Jose’s young group. And he’s the kind of reclamation project that could turn into a player.
Why not if you’re the Sharks?
Johnston: Buffalo Sabres
You won’t find anyone in the NHL more familiar with Chinakhov than Jarmo Kekäläinen, the man who drafted him in Columbus. With Kekäläinen now in charge of the Sabres front office, it’s not unreasonable to expect him to lean on some known quantities as he starts to put his own stamp on the Buffalo roster.
The Sabres have the draft capital needed to make a future-focused trade, but they also have young roster players who could be moved in a more traditional hockey deal.
Chinakhov is still viewed by some around the league as a strong candidate to break out if given a fresh start. His strength and speed are certainly attractive attributes. They’re the qualities that attracted him to Kekäläinen in the first place.
Our final player doesn’t appear on the trade board and is not a “trade” candidate at all, unless it’s in the sense of trading in back nines for back-to-backs. But ’tis the season for having some fun, and there are very few players more fun than this one.
Marc-Andre Fleury
Position: Goalie
Age: 41
LeBrun: Tampa Bay Lightning
Several teams have reached out of late to see if Fleury would be inclined to come out of retirement. I’m not sure how likely it is to happen, but the fact that teams have reached out is interesting in itself.
Jonas Johansson hasn’t been bad. His .897 save percentage and 4.1 saves above expected (per MoneyPuck) are solid for a No. 2 goalie.
But my theory here is that if something should happen injury-wise to Andrei Vasilevskiy in the playoffs — and he’s been dinged up more than a few times over the past few seasons, including this one — imagine having the insurance of a future Hockey Hall of Fame goalie in Fleury?
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Johnston: Edmonton Oilers
That same insurance could be mighty enticing in Edmonton, where the crease has been a constant source of fascination and frustration. The pitch to Fleury would be pretty straightforward: Come join a team with Stanley Cup ambitions and rejoin forces with No. 1 man Tristan Jarry, a fellow former Pittsburgh Penguin.
Jarry’s recent lower-body injury is a clear and present reminder of the need for depth as the Oilers gear up for another long playoff run.
Plus, Fleury’s easygoing personality would be additive to the dressing room and should remove any potential concerns about how things might go if the organization carries three goaltenders with Calvin Pickard still in the mix, too. Edmonton is currently leaning on Connor Ingram as its No. 3, but the jury remains out on whether he’ll be able to fully rebuild his game in time to be considered a viable option should the Oilers run into health or performance issues come the playoffs.