Bargain Bin: Trade Market Getting Hotter? (11/18/24)

It’s been almost a week since Jayd and I recorded the last Inside The Rink podcast, and with our consistently inconsistent recording date approaching, there have been some thoughts that we have talked about and others we haven’t talked about that I’ve wanted to touch on.

Binnington’s Future with the Blues Uncertain

Jim Parsons of NHL Trade Talk dug up an intriguing report about Jordan Binnington in St. Louis. The report coming from Jimmy Murphy of the Responsible Gambler has a scout and an NHL executive wondering if Binnington is looking for a trade.

It mostly focuses on Jordan Binnington’s body language on the ice. If we’re going to read into the body language, it’s definitely concerning for the Blues.

Parsons noted that Binnington got a taste of winning when he won the Stanley Cup in the 2019 Playoffs and is wondering if it’s a matter of long-term outlook and wanting to win.

The Blues currently sit tied with the Utah Hockey Club for fifth place in the Central Division. They would likely be looking to get a goaltender in return for Binnington should a trade be made.

Byram and Cozens Staying Put Unless It’s Too Good of an Offer

This was a topic Jayd and I talked a little bit about on the last Inside The Rink podcast, but there wasn’t a hint given that Dylan Cozens’s name was in talks until Elliotte Friedman made mention of it.

According to Friedman, the General Manager of the Buffalo Sabres, Kevyn Adams, has made it clear that Bowen Bryam and Dylan Cozens won’t be moved unless it’s too good of an offer.

Buffalo has one of the best prospective defensive cores in the league right now, in my opinion. Byram is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season. Buffalo already has three of their defensemen locked up on long-term contracts, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power, and Rasmus Dahlin, I don’t see why Byram wouldn’t fit into these plans.

Jiricek Situation in Columbus Not Overly Complicated

Around January, some smoke came up around Columbus Blue Jackets top prospect David Jiricek who spent time going up and down the AHL and NHL. He struggled to earn much ice time at the NHL level and there seemed to be a disconnect between the young player and the team.

Aaron Portzline asked Dean Evason, the head coach of the Blue Jackets if Jiricek needed to build trust with the coaching staff. Evason said it’s a teaching and communication thing, but if Jiricek wants a change of scenery, has he mentally checked out?

This isn’t an overly complicated situation solely off the fact that every young player is competing for an NHL roster spot. The

Trotz Looking to Add a Centre and Defensemen

Nashville currently sits in seventh place in the Central Division with a win-loss record of 6-10-3. They are not off to the big start like people were expecting them to have.

They rank 29th in goals for per game with 2.4 per game and 18th in goals against per game with 3.2 per. Their powerplay ranks ninth with 23.3% and their penalty kill is first at 90.8%. On paper, they should be a better team than they are currently, but are running into issues with chemistry.

In a recent report by Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, Barry Trotz, the current general manager of the Nashville Predators, is looking to add a centre and a defenseman via trade. This comes after the Predators’ rocky start and below .500 winning percentage.

Later in the week, Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the two most difficult pieces to find for a team are a top center and a stud defender. Trotz opted to stay put at the trade deadline and then later added two big forwards and a top defenseman in free agency.

I had a text conversation with a friend earlier today after I got off work, and the question “Can a team add too much in free agency?” struck into our conversation. This led me to wonder why adding another big piece upfront and on the backend would solve the problems rather than adding the right pieces.

Could it also be a matter of new players adjusting to the different team environment? Options will present themselves eventually, but you have to wonder, would Nashville actually be hurting themselves by adding more rather than waiting a little bit longer? They’re only 19 games into the season, but the NHL is an 82-game season and we’re getting close to being 25% of the way done. Time is limited.

Bruins Exploring Trade Market for Potential Shakeup

On Elliotte Friedman’s latest Saturday Headlines segment, he mentioned that the Bruins have hit a sense of urgency after yet another loss.

“Boston lost again today. They’ve definitely been out there looking to see if there’s something they can do to shake them up. There’s a lot of intensity in Boston.” Friedman said about the Bruins following a loss.

Boston is currently fourth in the Central Division with a win-loss record of 8-8-3 and they are looking to remain competitive for as long as possible with dwindling assets and a weak prospect pool. A shakeup of some sort seems destined to happen, but with the rumours saying it could even be head coach Jim Montgomery, is it the coach or the player?

Salary Cap to Potentially Skyrocket

Here’s a Sportsnet report that I find super intriguing. The 2025-26 NHL Salary Cap could see a record increase which sees the cap jump to around $95-$97 million. Still, a report quoting NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh on The Hockey News is saying the cap could jump beyond $100 million.

This goes well beyond the current Collective Bargaining Agreement’s (CBA) rules about the salary cap only being able to jump 5.4% per season. More money being available to go into player salaries is going to be a good thing in the long term.

Some NHL stars are going to be making good money while others are going to look like bargains considering they signed when they did.

If the cap stays under the $100 million mark, it is still a significant jump to the $95-$97 million area but gives teams a little less room than they might think they have. At the end of the day, the jump in cap space will create a lot of interesting movement around the league in trades and free agency.