The rumors are starting to get flying now
It’s officially the week of the NHL draft and now that the games are over on the ice, the important off-ice matters are about to pick up.
A lot of the talk is the same: the Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the few sellers out there and they are taking calls on several veteran pieces.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman got the ball rolling on Friday in his 32 Thoughts blog:
12. Pittsburgh is the NHL’s salmon, swimming against the stream. The Penguins entered the big rebuild; everyone else is trying to get better. You’re going to see some situations where teams who may not need to do anything see offers for their players get better and better due to limited supply and so much demand.
More is now coming out from other sources.
Lots of activity already, but how much action will there be over the next week? Here’s my latest on some of the trade talk swirling around, some UFA chatter, and more… https://t.co/rIUoitO4o6
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) June 21, 2025
From Pagnotta:
With the Pittsburgh Penguins leading the seller’s market by a landslide, Kyle Dubas will be a popular man over the next few weeks. Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Ryan Graves are all up for grabs for the right price, and the Penguins may also be willing to take on a contract or two given their cap space.
Rust, to me, is most intriguing. His full no-movement clause expires June 30, end-of-day. He does not own any no-trade protection in the final three-years of his contract. He is one of the most appealing assets on a team going through a rebuild. Just about any contender would like to have him in their lineup.
Rust can’t be traded right away (barring his approval) and in essence Karlsson has a bit of an informal trade delay on him given a $5.0 million cash signing bonus he’s due to receive from his employer on July 1. Karlsson might not be a Penguin by September or October, but it appears a good bet to count on him being on the roster on that date.
But the draft could still bring other movement. Also from Pagnotta:
In Tampa, the Lightning wouldn’t mind adding a mid-six right wing, but they aren’t exclusively shopping in that lane. Bolts GM Julien BriseBois wants to strengthen his forward corps and is open to multiple options in doing so. They were hot for Jonathan Toews, who ended up agreeing to a deal with Winnipeg.
With top prospect Isaac Howard up for grabs, a Rust or Rakell makes a lot of sense for Tampa to be interested in. Then again, a Rust or Rakell skilled winger coming off a 30+ goal season at a $5ish million cap hit would make sense for just about any contender.
There’s been a lot of waiting to get to this week to see just what Kyle Dubas might have in store, and now we’re getting to the thick of the time when NHL teams make their big changes.