8 NHL Players Most Likely to Be Traded During the 2024 Offseason

The NHL trade deadline for 2024 has come and gone.

That means players who were nibbling fingernails and keeping moving companies on speed dial can relax a bit if they've not been told of a transaction.

But that doesn't mean it's over.

Forecasting and cataloging deals have become a 24/7/365 activity for big-time hockey watchers of all shapes and sizes, and the B/R team is only too happy to join in.

Now that the in-season trade frenzy has passed, the timeline shifts to the summer when myriad moves typically come at or around the draft—set for June 28-29 in Las Vegas—or at some other time before pucks drop at training camps in mid-September.

We looked at contract statuses, competitive balances and other factors when compiling our list, which includes the players we think are most likely to be sent elsewhere before the 2024-25 season gets underway in October.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

If the name Pavel Buchnevich seems really familiar, it should.

The winger was a fixture of trade target boards before the deadline, and even though the St. Louis Blues didn't deal him, the likelihood that he'll open 2024-25 in another uniform hasn't plunged all that much.

Buchnevich will be entering the final year of a four-year, $23.2 million contract next season and can begin talking to general manager Doug Armstrong about an extension as of July 1.

That could mean the two sides will come to an agreement and the 28-year-old will be a Blue for the remainder of his career, but to say Armstrong didn't sound super-confident about that scenario when discussing the Russian last week isn't a huge stretch.

"He's a player that has stature in the league and stature on our team," the GM told reporters. "He's a valuable piece of our team right now and in July, we can sit down with he and his representative and make sure that he wants to be here and if we can work something out."

It can't be easy to be Cody Ceci in Edmonton.

The 30-year-old has been a good soldier since arriving to the Oilers as a free agent before the 2021-22 season, but to suggest he's been a topic of debate is an understatement.

It's not at all difficult to find headlines suggesting Ceci could, should, or must be dealt for the team to upgrade its blue-line corps and that the $3.25 million he'll earn on the final season of his four-year contract is a luxury the cap-crunched Oilers simply cannot afford.

Edmonton's window with all-universe forward Connor McDavid is guaranteed to be open for only two more full seasons, and many would suggest it's imperative to use the funds being earmarked for Ceci elsewhere.

The 2012 first-round pick was a frequent pre-deadline mention, and it's a good bet the engines won't cool too much come summertime. And if a move does happen, it won't come as too much of a surprise.

"It's always stressful," Ceci said. "Especially with social media nowadays, so many people can make up a mock trade and you see your name thrown around. It's tough when you look at your phone and you see your name pop up."

While Ceci is the likely option for the Oilers, Leon Draisaitl is the nuclear option.

The former MVP and scoring leader is maintaining a typical level of productivity this season with 32 goals and 82 points in 63 games, and he'll be counted on to maintain that pace as Edmonton enters the playoffs with an eye on its first Stanley Cup parade since 1990.

That's what's occupying the minds of Oilers fans, but another reality isn't far behind.

The 2024-25 season will be the last of an eight-year, $68 million deal he signed in the summer of 2017—a contract that is considered one of the league's high-profile bargains despite its big numbers, given what the 2012 No. 3 overall pick has accomplished.

To suggest Draisaitl will command in the neighborhood of $15 million per year on his new deal isn't ridiculous. But the idea that Edmonton can stay within reach of the salary cap while keeping both the 28-year-old at that rate and Connor McDavid, whose contract expires one season later, at an even bigger number might be.

And let's face it, they're not trading No. 97 with the scars of a deal for No. 99 still visible.

"If Draisaitl is fudging about what he wants to do next, I would say that's a clear indication he's gone," Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic wrote in November.

"I would then move his rights rather than lose him for nothing. His absence creates an obvious hole in the lineup, but it also frees up $8.5 million in cap space, which gives you wiggle room to pay for improvements elsewhere."

It's the NHL. Everyone needs a goalie.

And just because the mammoth Jacob Markström (6'6", 207 pounds) won't be dealt because of an imminently expiring contract doesn't mean he won't be dealt.

The Calgary Flames were close to a deal with New Jersey that would have sent the 34-year-old to the Devils before the trade deadline, but it didn't come to pass.

Still, even though there are two full seasons remaining on a deal that will pay him $6 million annually, it's hard to settle back into a routine once things were that close to cross-country upheaval.

Markström was dinged for five goals on 31 shots at Florida in his first start since the deadline and he's allowed 15 goals in four starts this month—good for an .867 save percentage and 3.78 goals-against average.

The Swede suggested the situation "could've been handled a lot different" by the team's brass, but GM Craig Conroy maintains all will ultimately be well in the aftermath.

"All he does is play well," Conroy said. "Jacob and I are going to be fine. The one thing I know is he cares about this team, he cares about this organization, and he's going to be exactly what he's been—one of the best goalies in this league."

Stay tuned.

And here's the nuclear option, Toronto style.

The idea of trading winger Mitchell Marner may not be a competitive option so much as it's an economic necessity given the Maple Leafs' existing salary structure.

The 26-year-old will enter 2024-25 in the final year of a six-year deal paying just shy of $11 million annually, and he'll be due some kind of raise given what's likely to be a run of six straight point-per-game seasons by the time this year's schedule ends.

But that's not so easy in Ontario these days.

Toronto has already committed $13.25 million to Auston Matthews each season through 2027-28 and $11.5 million to William Nylander for four seasons beyond that, meaning there's only so much cash left to boost an already eight-figure number and still have enough left to fill out a competitive roster.

Something's got to give. And if it doesn't appear Marner and GM Brad Treliving can find a number that each side can agree on, it may be the end of his time with the Leafs.

Remember, the GM who signed the 2015 No. 4 overall pick to his existing contract, Kyle Dubas, has since moved on to Pittsburgh and will be looking to keep Sidney Crosby happy in his twilight years.

B/R's Adam Gretz pondered the idea of Marner ultimately choosing a black-and-gold sweater when/if he gets to free agency.

"He will still be 28 years old at that point and should still have another five or six years of elite offense ahead of him," he wrote. "He could be a centerpiece for a rebuilt Penguins team and their top offensive option."

Once a player goes public with a trade request, it's hard to go back.

However, that's the situation in Columbus with goalie Elvis Merzļikins, who expressed discontent with his situation in January and was a frequent inclusion on trade target boards before last week's deadline but is still with the Blue Jackets.

GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has been fired since the initial brouhaha with a player he drafted in 2014 and signed to three subsequent extensions, including a five-year deal that will pay him $5.4 million annually through the close of the 2026-27 season.

But it's no guarantee of prolonged happiness given Merzļikins is sharing the Columbus net with 24-year-old Daniil Tarasov, a 2017 draft pick who has played in more games (13 to 12), made more starts (13 to 11) and posted a better save percentage (.906 to .898) since January 1.

Merzļikins will be 30 in April.

The Athletic's Aaron Portzline and Jesse Granger suggested a crisis in another NHL city could provide Merzlikins an opportunity elsewhere.

"One major injury can change the goalie market in an instant," they wrote. "If (Columbus) doesn't receive much interest in Merzļikins initially, there's always the option of waiting for an opportunity to arise, as it usually does in the NHL."

As long as we're talking about goalies, let's keep talking about goalies.

Nashville's Juuse Saros was high on the wish lists of goalie-starved teams at the deadline, though there never seemed to be an imminent deal to acquire his services.

Given how he's playing these days and the fact that he'll be entering the final year of a contract next season, that's likely to change come July and August.

The 28-year-old has been an absolute workhorse since taking over the Predators' net from a retired Pekka Rinne in 2021-22, making 130 starts and winning 71 games across two full seasons and going 27-21-4 while starting 52 of Nashville's first 66 games in 2023-24.

The Finn has been a Vezina finalist and a two-time All-Star Game participant, and he says conversations with GM Barry Trotz have been honest given the situation they're in.

Yaroslav Askarov is 21 years old, was a first-round pick in 2020, and he has shown in brief NHL opportunities that he could be ready if there's an opening in Nashville.

"He says it straight up, 'I can't promise you anything,'" Saros told The Tennessean. "He's kept me in the loop. When those headlines start coming out he'll calm me down, tell me not to worry about it too much."

Last but not least, if you're talking about goalies you have to mention the best one.

That was Linus Ullmark in 2022-23, when he carted home the Vezina and Jennings trophies after a remarkable season in which he went 40-6-1 and led the league in both save percentage (.938) and goals-against average (1.89).

He's been awfully good this season, too—posting a .913 and a 2.72 in the same categories—but has been dialed back to a platoon with teammate Jeremy Swayman, who's started and won more games and has better save percentage and goals-against numbers.

Swayman is also younger (25 to Ullmark's 30), and the Bruins are at a decision point given his status this summer as a restricted free agent. They'll need to make a financial commitment to keep him in the fold, and that'll be difficult considering Ullmark is still on the payroll for another season with a $5 million price tag.

It doesn't take a math major to figure out what that could mean for the older player.

The Hockey News ran a story Monday headlined "This Season Could Be Linus Ullmark's Last With the Boston Bruins" in which Lyle Richardson relayed multiple sourced reports that suggested GM Don Sweeney explored a deadline deal for Ullmark, who told reporters he was happy nothing has come of it, yet.

"I'm just very happy to be here," he said. "This is the team that I want to be with. I'm very fortunate to be a part of this group. Ever since day one, I loved it here. So I'm very happy with where I am right now."