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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
Whenever I think about how an offseason signing in the NHL can impact the following trade deadline, I think of Taylor Hall.
Please recall back in 2020 when the talented left wing didn’t find the long-term contract he wanted during his first foray into unrestricted free agency. So he decided to maximize his earning potential with an $8 million, one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres. Maybe he could help them contend. Maybe they could help him pump his stats for another run at the UFA market.
Instead, the Sabres were terrible and Hall managed just two goals and 17 assists in 37 games. So they moved to Plan B: Moving Hall at the trade deadline to a contender in the Boston Bruins. He was great for them — 14 points in 16 games — and ended up getting that multi-year deal he was seeking (four years, $24 million) before their relationship ended with a trade to Chicago this summer.
As Hall exemplified, a contract signed in the summer doesn’t always mean a player ends up finishing his season with the same team. Sometimes that’s by design. Other times conditions change.
Here are 10 players who signed deals in the 2023 offseason who could end up on the move by the 2024 trade deadline.
Zucker, 31, signed a one-year contract with a robust $5.3 million cap hit to join the Coyotes this season. He’s coming off a bounce-back season with the Pittsburgh Penguins in which he drove play and tallied 27 goals in 78 games.
This is a good spot for him. At best, he clicks with players like Clayton Keller and rookie Logan Cooley, becomes a stabilizing veteran on a team turning the corner and earns a long-term extension in desirable locale — assuming the Coyotes remain in that location, of course. At worst, he produces well enough for Arizona to retain a little salary and ship this versatile winger to a contender at the trade deadline.
Ideally, the Senators ride the good vibes of new ownership and the good goaltending of the Joonas Korpisalo/Anton Forsberg tandem to an Eastern Conference playoff spot. But we’re only one season removed from the Sens dashing high expectations, so there are no guarantees.
If another Ottawa season goes sideways, Tarasenko could be an intriguing player to flip at the deadline. He carries a full no-trade clause, which means he can call his shot. About that shot: If Tarasenko can get that goals-per-60-minutes average back above 1.0 during his time in Ottawa, and stay reasonably healthy, he could be catnip for an offensively challenged contender — with a reasonable $5 million cap hit.
Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard said he’s met Perry, whom the Blackhawks signed this summer. Bedard called him “a super nice guy,” reinforcing Perry as a classic “guy you hate to play against but love on your team” archetype.
Perry turns 39 next May. He posted his lowest average ice time since his rookie season (11:34) with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season and skated to a career worst minus-28. But then the playoffs arrived and so did Perry’s particular set of skills: five points in six games with seven penalty minutes, to go along with his trademark agitation. Another contender could seek out his unique charms — although the Blackhawks might have to pick up some of his $4 million cap hit.
The Coyotes were in on the free-agent defenseman from the start, once it became apparent that Dumba was out of the Minnesota Wild‘s plans. Arizona made sense for him, too: Dumba has a home in the Scottsdale area and the Coyotes were willing to ante up $3.9 million on a one-year term for his services.
Dumba’s going to get a chance to log plenty of minutes and flaunt a side of his game that wasn’t at the forefront in Minnesota: veteran leadership from the now-29-year-old defenseman. If he wants to remain with the Coyotes and what they’re building, there’s a path to that. But if the right-side defenseman wants to hop to a contender’s blue line at the trade deadline, there’s a path to that too — Dumba doesn’t have any trade protection on his deal.
Few players in the NHL want to reclaim their mantle more than Max Pacioretty. He tore his Achilles tendon twice last season, limiting his time with the Carolina Hurricanes to just five games — in which he scored three goals. He’s a six-time 30-goal scorer, but his inability to stay healthy has removed him from that narrative.
Since Pacioretty has 400 career games and spent 100 days on LTIR last season, he was eligible for a performance bonus-laden contract this season. He signed a one-year deal worth $2 million plus another $2 million in performance bonuses. So he’ll carry a minimal cap hit this season. If the Capitals are contenders, obviously they’d want him around. If they aren’t, and his numbers rebound, he could fetch a nice return — that is, if Pacioretty wants to play for a contender, as he wields a full no-movement clause.
Death. Taxes. Defensive defensemen being moved at the trade deadline. These are the certainties of life.
Staal signed a one-year, $1.1 million deal with the Flyers to give Philadelphia a veteran presence on a rebuilding blue line. There was also a comfort level for Staal as he reunites with coach John Tortorella, who was his bench boss with the New York Rangers.
Staal has played 1,101 regular-season games in 16 NHL seasons, most recently averaging 18:12 per game in 82 appearances with the Florida Panthers last season. He appeared in 21 playoff games and didn’t register a point. But that’s not the point of Marc Staal — he’s a stay-at-home defenseman that’s meant to be a stabilizing presence on the back end. He turns 37 in January. He’s at best a third-pairing guy in a good team. No doubt someone seeking defensive depth will reach out to GM Danny Briere about him.
Gostisbehere split his time between the Coyotes and the Hurricanes last season, as the Canes picked him up at the trade deadline. The mobile defenseman posted 10 points in 23 games with Carolina, although his output dropped to three points in 15 playoff games.
Gostisbehere said it best: “When you sign a one-year deal, you’re betting on yourself.” Olli Maatta did that with the Red Wings in 2022-23 and earned a two-year extension. Gostisbehere would like to do the same, but Detroit would also have the option to move the talented blueliner at the deadline. He has a 10-team no-trade list and a cap hit of $4.125 million.
Unlike many of the players listed here, Kerfoot is signed beyond the 2023-24 NHL season. The former Toronto center inked a two-year deal with the Coyotes worth $3.5 million annually, one that includes a 10-team no-trade list.
GM Bill Armstrong understands that he needs to augment his roster with some veteran talent in an effort to turn the Coyotes into contenders eventually. But if Kerfoot can get back to his 51 points-in-82 games play from two seasons ago — and he’ll have the ice time to do so in Arizona — a player with his contract and another year of control could be a valuable one come trade deadline time for teams that are thin at center.
Let’s first establish that the Bruins aren’t looking to move Swayman. Heck, he might end up the goalie of the future as Linus Ullmark has just two years remaining on his contract and recently celebrated his 30th birthday. But there are a few factors that warrant Swayman’s mention on this list.
Swayman, who turns 25 in November, signed a one-year, $3.475 million contract in early August after begrudgingly going through an arbitration process with the Bruins. He’s an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent after this season and likely due another raise.
There was talk the Bruins might move Ullmark during the offseason. That didn’t happen. Maybe they revisit that before they’re spending $10 million on a goaltending battery in 2024-25. Or perhaps they commit to the Vezina Trophy winner and sell high on Swayman, rather than handing him a long-term contract extension. With the amount of holes the Bruins have to fill in their lineup, especially at center, perhaps they’re more frugal in net going forward. Given the state of NHL goaltending, Swayman could garner a nice return as well.
Of course, that’s if the Bruins don’t need their two-headed monster in goal to compete for a playoff spot at the deadline. Did we mention they have some holes to fill in their lineup?
Before the Predators shoved Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene out the door to start their roster reshaping, there was plenty of speculation that the first domino to fall might have been Fabbro. The 25-year-old defenseman had a rough go of it last season, including the lowest average ice time (17:27) of his four seasons as an NHL regular. There was plenty of talk he could reunite with this college coach David Quinn with the San Jose Sharks at the 2023 deadline.
Instead, Nashville extended him with a one-year, $2.5 million contract ahead of restricted free agency. He’s an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent again after this season. Do new head coach Andrew Brunette and GM Barry Trotz see him differently than the previous regime?