Buying or Selling Newest Trade and Offseason Buzz Before the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery

The 2023 NHL Draft Lottery will be held on Monday, May 8, at 8 pm ET. Only the 16 teams that failed to qualify for the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs are eligible and only the top 11 seeds have the opportunity to win the first overall selection.

Meanwhile, the trade rumor mill is grinding back into action involving teams that failed to qualify for the postseason and those eliminated from the opening round.

Teams not participating in the postseason are allowed to make trades among themselves over the course of the 2023 playoffs. Most general managers will likely wait until the playoffs have ended to make their moves, likely in the days leading up to the draft in Nashville. They'll use this time to start laying the groundwork for potential trades.

Some of the speculations involve non-contenders like the Buffalo Sabres looking to bolster their rosters for next season. Others involve players on recently eliminated playoff clubs like the Winnipeg Jets' Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Is any of the speculation worth buying into or rejecting? That's what we'll determine with our take on the latest trade rumors. Feel free to express your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.

Inconsistent goaltending and a porous defense cost the Buffalo Sabres a shot at reaching the playoffs this season for the first time since 2011. Despite sitting third overall in goals per game (3.57), their 3.62 goals-against per game was the seventh-highest.

The Sabres could add an affordable veteran goaltender on a short-term contract to mentor young netminders Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi. The Buffalo News Lance Lysowski also anticipates they'll look to bolster their blue line via the trade or free-agent markets.

Lysowski listed several potential free-agent options for the Sabres. They include the Minnesota Wild's Matt Dumba, New Jersey Devils' Ryan Graves, New York Islanders' Scott Mayfield or Seattle Kraken's Carson Soucy.

Turning to the trade market, Lysowski's suggested options include the Calgary Flames' Rasmus Andersson, Chicago Blackhawks' Connor Murphy or Vegas Golden Knights' Shea Theodore.

Verdict: Buy on the free agents, sell on the trade targets

The Sabres are a promising club with exciting young talent. They possess plenty of salary-cap space to sign a free agent who might be keen to skate alongside a rising defense star like Rasmus Dahlin or Owen Power.

Andersson and Theodore, however, are unlikely to be available in the trade market. They are invaluable top-four blueliners with their respective clubs. Chicago is rebuilding its roster and could entertain offers for Murphy. However, the 30-year-old has a long injury history.

After 18 NHL games over the past two seasons, Calen Addison played his first full campaign with the Minnesota Wild in 2022-23. Though he put up a respectable 29 points in 62 games, the 23-year-old defenseman was a frequent healthy scratch down the stretch and didn't play in the Wild's first-round series against the Dallas Stars.

Following the Wild's elimination from the postseason, The Athletic's Michael Russo and Joe Smith examined what could be an extensive offseason checklist for general manager Bill Guerin. On it is the possibility of trading Addison.

Trading a promising puck-moving blueliner like Addison following his rookie season seems unreasonable. There's always the risk that he could blossom into a star elsewhere while whatever return the Wild received in a trade might not pan out as hoped.

However, the Wild have only $8.2 million in project salary-cap space for 2023-24. Addison, goaltender Filip Gustavsson and center Sam Steel are slated to become restricted free agents this summer. They must also re-sign or replace unrestricted free agents such as Oskar Sundqvist, Ryan Reaves, Gustav Nyquist, Matt Dumba and John Klingberg.

Russo and Smith noted that Addison was frequently scratched from the lineup after the Wild acquired the more experienced Klingberg at the trade deadline. They consider it likely that he'll be traded.

Verdict: Buy

If the Wild had more cap space, they'd likely sign Addison to an affordable two-year bridge deal and give him more time to develop. That might not be possible given their cap constraints.

Chosen first overall in the 2020 NHL draft by the New York Rangers, Alexis Lafrenière was projected to become a scoring forward. Three years later, however, there's speculation over whether the Rangers will retain or trade the 21-year-old winger.

Lafrenière has put up respectable numbers with the Rangers, netting 19 goals and 31 points as a sophomore in 2021-22 and 39 points in 81 games this season. However, he's been limited mostly to third-line duty alongside Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko.

That line showed potential during the Rangers' run to the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals. However, they couldn't recapture that magic this season as they were eliminated from the first round by the New Jersey Devils.

Lafrenière has completed his entry-level contract and becomes a restricted free agent this summer without arbitration. The Rangers have $12.4 million in projected cap space for 2023-24 with defenseman K'Andre Miller due for a significant raise. They're also in need of a backup goalie and must replace or re-sign Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane.

The Athletic's Arthur Staple and the New York Post's Mollie Walker wondered if the Rangers should retain Lafrenière. Staple suggested they could use him as a trade chip to improve their depth on the wing.

Verdict: Sell

The Rangers could move Lafrenière if a rival club made a tempting offer. Doing so, however, runs the risk of seeing him blossom into a star elsewhere. His stats and lack of arbitration rights give him little leverage in contract talks. The Rangers will likely sign him to an affordable two-year bridge contract in the hope that he'll reach his potential over that period.

The Colorado Avalanche will be facing a salary-cap crunch for 2023-24. They only have a projected $14 million in cap space with 12 roster players under contract.

With the salary cap projected to rise by just $1 million to $83.5 million. that doesn't leave much to re-sign or replace unrestricted free agents such as J.T. Compher, Lars Eller, Erik Johnson and Evan Rodrigues. Meanwhile, restricted free agents such as Bowen Byram and Alex Newhook are in line for raises coming off their entry-level contracts.

That lack of cap space prompted Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli to place Samuel Girard at No. 3 on his Apr. 27 listing of the top NHL trade targets. He doesn't believe the Avalanche want to move the 24-year-old defenseman but feels they'll have little choice if they want to re-sign those other players.

Girard is a small but highly skilled puck-moving defenseman who exceeded the 30-point plateau (37) for the third time in the last four seasons. His $5 million salary-cap hit may be tough for the Avalanche to carry given their cap constraints, but it could be easier for clubs with more room to absorb. He also lacks no-trade protection until 2024-25.

Seravalli believes Girard is the odd man out on the Avalanche blue line with Devon Toews having a bigger impact and Byram being younger with more upside. Girard could garner more playing time on a club in need of someone with his blue-line skills.

Verdict: Buy

The Avalanche could be forced to move Girard unless they can find another way to free up sufficient cap space. Maybe that happens if captain Gabriel Landeskog's nagging knee injury sidelines him for next season. They could then put Landeskog on long-term injury reserve and use that wiggle room to retain those other players without trading Girard.

The New York Islanders face several offseason issues following their first-round elimination by the Carolina Hurricanes. They were among this season's lowest-scoring clubs and must re-sign or replace pending free agents like Semyon Varlamov, Zach Parise and Scott Mayfield as well as restricted free agents like Oliver Wahlstrom and Samuel Bolduc.

With just $6.1 million in projected cap space for 2023-24 and 19 players under contract, they have limited room to add a scorer and address those free agents. They could attempt to shed some salary by trading or buying out veteran forwards Josh Bailey, Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin, who each have a year remaining on their contracts.

The New York Post's Ethan Sears noted that the Islanders also have expensive new contracts starting on July 1 for centers Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. He wondered if they might attempt to trade a top-nine center such as Jean-Gabriel Pageau or Brock Nelson and put roster resources elsewhere or keep Horvat and Barzal together on the same line.

Nelson, 31, has two years left on his contract with an average annual value of $6 million. He's coming off a team-leading, career-best 75-point performance and could draw considerable interest if the Isles put him on the trade block this summer.

The 30-year-old Pageau is signed through 2025-26 with an annual cap hit of $5 million. A skillful two-way center, he tallied 18 goals last season and reached the 40-point plateau this season for the third time in his career.

Verdict: Sell

The Islanders' biggest need is shoring up their offense. Trading away Nelson or Pageau is counterproductive unless they're getting a younger, affordable scorer in return. The Isles could keep Horvat and Barzal together and retain Nelson and Pageau on their second and third lines.

Winnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois was a hot topic of trade speculation last summer when his agent hinted he might one day prefer playing for the Montreal Canadiens. While the 24-year-old dismissed the rumors after accepting the Jets' qualifying offer last July, the conjecture didn't go away.

On Apr. 20, Sportsnet's Eric Engels speculated that the Canadiens could attempt to trade for Dubois if the Jets' asking price wasn't too expensive. With Dubois a restricted free agent this summer who's a year away from unrestricted free-agent eligibility, the Canadiens could acquire him and sign him to an extension.

A week later, Montreal Hockey Now's Marc Dumont cited Engels colleagues Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussing the possibility of the Canadiens pursuing a trade for Dubois on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.

Friedman said he's had people suggest the Canadiens swap young center Kirby Dach for Dubois but doubted it would be that simple. Dumont, meanwhile, rejected the idea of the Canadiens trading Dach, citing his potential and value to their lineup.

If the Jets decide to trade Dubois, they could have little leverage in trade talks with other teams if he wants to sign with Montreal as a UFA next summer. If the Canadiens are interested, they could have an opportunity to acquire and sign him this summer without giving up a key roster player like Dach in return.

Verdict: Buy

In his end-of-season press conference, Dubois indicated having the right to choose where he could play as an unrestricted free agent is important to him. He and his agent could leverage that to swing a trade to Montreal. The Canadiens hold the Florida Panthers' 2023 first-round pick, which could be part of a trade package involving a prospect for Dubois.

Stats via NHL.com with salary-cap information via Cap Friendly.