The Stanley Cup Final sits in the rear-view, the NHL Draft approaches, and around the league, 32 clubs are setting plans in motion to improve their squads before the 2026-27 campaign arrives.
We’ve already seen a couple deals drop, with new Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka acquiring defender Darren Raddysh and trading away former starting netminder Joseph Woll in separate deals this month.
As the trade market continues to heat up in the lead-up to July 1, here’s a look at the latest chatter from the NHL rumour mill:
Bowen Byram could move on from Sabres in search of a bigger role
The Buffalo Sabres are coming off a significant step forward, having ended their lengthy post-season drought and won their first playoff round in two decades. But change might be coming to the Sabres’ promising young roster. According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, defender Bowen Byram may be seeking a change of address in pursuit of a bigger role.
“This has nothing to do with money,” Seravalli said on a recent episode of Frankly Hockey. “This has nothing to do with place — Bowen Byram likes Buffalo, he likes his teammates, he likes the trajectory of the Sabres. This has everything to do with opportunity and a continual challenge, as I understand it, that exists within Bowen Byram. He sees himself as a No. 1 defenceman in the NHL, and watching him in these playoffs, it’s hard to argue that that’s not the case.”
The 25-year-old blue-liner is heading into the second season of a two-year, $12.5-million pact he inked in Buffalo in 2025. He’s fresh off putting up a career-best 42 points for the Sabres in 2025-26. Byram spent four years in Colorado — winning a Stanley Cup with the club in 2022 — before he was traded to Buffalo in 2024.
As was the case in Colorado, where perennial Norris Trophy nominee Cale Makar leads the blue line, the situation in Buffalo leaves little room for Byram to take the next step.
“Bowen Byram is never going to be PP1 for the Buffalo Sabres,” Seravalli said. “He doesn’t have a path to be the Buffalo Sabres’ No. 1 defenceman. (Rasmus) Dahlin’s there, Owen Power already makes more than him, so you theoretically think that Owen Power is ahead of him in the pecking order potentially as well. … He thinks he can be the guy. And I think that Bowen Byram can be the guy. The only way to do that is to not re-sign in Buffalo when next season ends and he becomes an unrestricted free agent and can go test the market.
“And the Sabres are sitting here thinking, ‘Well, if he’s not going to re-sign, then maybe we want to jump ahead and get pieces back that we can work with now, and improve our team in the here and now with such a good player available, that it might make sense to move on.’”
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Bruins listening to offers for veteran centreman Pavel Zacha
This summer’s free agent class is plenty light on top-end centres who could swing things for a club looking to find some progress next season. Of the names highlighted by Sportsnet’s Luke Fox in his look at the top UFAs on the market, only one does their work down the middle: Boone Jenner. But the Boston Bruins may be throwing another name into the mix.
“In a market starved for centres, the Bruins are listening on Pavel Zacha, which is an intriguing name to say the least. There’s a big difference between listening and wanting to move him, though,” LeBrun wrote. “My understanding is that the Bruins’ top priority this summer is to extend Zacha if possible. That can happen as of July 1. He’s got one year left on his deal at a $4.75 million AAV and obviously will be looking for a raise after posting career bests with 30 goals and 65 points this past season.
“But how those talks go will be balanced with whether teams step up in a real way in trade talks.”
The veteran pivot, who spent seven years in New Jersey before being traded to Boston, has a no-trade list allowing him to nix a deal to eight teams, according to LeBrun.
Rumours have swirled around St. Louis Blues centre Robert Thomas’s name for months, with the veteran seeming very likely to move at different points over the past year. According to LeBrun and Seravalli, though, Thomas is now off the market and looks set to remain in St. Louis. His teammate Jordan Kyrou, though, is on the board.
“The Blues explored the trade market aggressively before the March 6 trade deadline, but it never got to the point that they asked him for a list of teams or to waive his no-move clause,” LeBrun wrote of Thomas. “Now, with the changeover from Doug Armstrong to Alexander Steen at GM, which will be official July 1, I’ve heard from a few teams that believe Steen has told Thomas that he doesn’t intend to move him.”
Added Seravalli: “Teams have called to ask in the last few days, what is the situation with Robert Thomas, is he available, and they have been told, ‘No.’ But Jordan Kyrou is very much available.”
Kyrou is heading into Year 4 of an eight-year, $65-million extension he signed back in 2022. The 28-year-old winger, who was drafted by the Blues in 2016, is coming off an 18-goal, 46-point season for St. Louis. A year prior, he put up a dominant 36-goal, 70-point season for the Blues.
Maple Leafs asking for ‘exorbitant’ return in calls on Matthew Knies
In his latest NHL Buzz piece, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs are still considering moving winger Matthew Knies. According to Seravalli, interested teams have been told the price for acquiring the young power forward is sky high.
“The appetite around the league is incredibly strong,” Seravalli said. “It’s hard to find a player with this profile, this size, this productivity, this age, that also is signed to a secure deal for five years at $7.75 million. … Here’s my understanding of the situation: teams are calling the Toronto Maple Leafs. They know that Matt Knies’ name was out there previously under the old regime leading up into the trade deadline. That didn’t materialize, it didn’t happen, but now teams are calling. The Leafs are not hanging up the phone under John Chayka. They’re entertaining offers.
“They’re willing to talk about Matt Knies. But I’m told from some of the teams that have been in contact with the Toronto Maple Leafs that the price is exorbitant. They feel like the price is incredibly high.”
The 23-year-old winger put up 23 goals and a career-best 66 points for the Maple Leafs last season, and posted a career-high 29 goals a year prior.
Patrick Kane undecided on whether to return to Detroit or find new club
After parting ways with his longtime club, the Chicago Blackhawks, and playing out a brief stint in New York, veteran Patrick Kane has logged three productive campaigns in Detroit. The three-time Stanley Cup champion posted 57 points in 67 games for the Red Wings last season, and a pair of 20-goal campaigns in Detroit colours before that.
But according to LeBrun, with the Red Wings missing out on the post-season in all three years Kane has been on the squad, it seems a change could be coming for the 37-year-old.
“Pending UFA Patrick Kane definitely wants to play another season, his agent Pat Brisson said on Wednesday. That’s all Brisson would share,” wrote LeBrun. “My understanding is that the Red Wings do want Kane back and have made that clear. What remains undetermined is whether Kane wants to return.
“He certainly might, but he’s mulling things over at the moment about whether to stay put or head to market.”
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