Brindley was a second-round pick (No.34 overall) in 2023 but had an underwhelming first pro season, scoring just six goals and 11 assists (17 points) in 52 games with Cleveland (AHL). Colorado's pipeline was pretty empty, so adding a player like Brindley while shedding $7.75M AAV was a tidy piece of business.

Wood's contract certainly isn't the best, as he has four more years at $2.5M AAV, but he's a physical bottom-6 winger that will help Columbus replace some of the wingers they let walk in free agency. Most recently, Wood missed 45 games in 2024-25, finishing the season with just four goals and four assists in 37 games.

After six and a half years in Boston, Coyle was traded to the Avalanche at the deadline last year, and only scored two goals with 11 assists (13 points) in 19 games. WIth the Avalanche pressed up against the salary cap, a third-line centre making $5.25M was a luxury they could not afford. With Columbus, Coyle will settle in behind Sean Monahan and Adam Fantilli on the depth chart and could make Cole Sillinger expendable in a trade this summer.

Heineman is no stranger to being included in big trades, he was traded to Calgary as a part of the Sam Bennett trade, then traded to Montreal as a part of the Tyler Toffoli trade, and now to the Islanders for Noah Dobson. The 6-foot-2, 198 lbs winger was a full-time NHLer in 2024-25, and finished with 18 points (10G / 8A), 64 SOG and 173 hits in 62 games while playing just 11:24 TOI/gm. He'll likely fill a similar bottom-6 role with the Islanders.

Dobson had a breakout 70-point campaign in 2023-24, but followed that up with just 39 points (10G / 29A) in 71 games last season. Some of that can be attributed to the Islanders' power-play dipping from 19th (20.4%) to 31st (12.6%), resulting in 12 fewer power-play assists. In Montreal, he'll be a huge minute eater, but a bounce-back fantasy season could be tougher to come by because of Lane Hutson. Obviously, they could end up together on the top PP unit, but he's now got significantly more competition for PP time, even if it wasn't always fruitful in New York.

Sourdif was a third-round pick (No.87 overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft, who has appeared in just four NHL games since. In 2024-25, he spent most of the season in Charlotte (AHL), where he had 34 points (16G / 18A) in 43 games. Sourdif will likely battle for a bottom-6 role with the Capitals in training camp.

Minnesota made a minor trade on Thursday after acquiring winger Cameron Butler from Columbus for forward Brendan Gaunce. Butler is a 23-year-old undrafted right-winger who made his only NHL appearance in 2023-24 with the Blue Jackets. He struggled to produce offensively in 2024-25, only scoring two goals and three points in 37 games played.

Columbus acquired a depth forward on Thursday after trading for Branden Gaunce from Minnesota for AHL forward Cameron Butler. Gaunce, 31, spent most of 2024-25 as a healthy scratch for the Wild, which led to him only putting up an assist and a -4 plus/minus in 12 games played. He returns to familiar territory in Columbus, where he spent three seasons between 2021-2024 and had 12 points in 59 games played.

Florida acquired its new backup goaltender for the upcoming 2025-26 season on Thursday after picking up Daniil Tarasov from Columbus for a 2025 5th-round pick (160th overall). The 26-year-old, whose dad has ties back in Russia with Sergei Bobrovsky, struggled in 2024-25 with the Blue Jackets, posting an ugly 7-10-2 record alongside his 3.54 GAA and .881 SV%.

Minnesota has shed $2.1 million in salary after trading Frederick Gaudreau to the Seattle Kraken for a 2025 4th-round pick (102nd overall) on Thursday. The 32-year-old center spent four seasons in Minnesota, most recently putting up 18 goals and 37 points after appearing in all 82 games played in 2024-25. He is expected to take a bottom-six role with Seattle in the 2025-26 season.

Two days before the NHL Draft, Buffalo has moved on from 23-year-old JJ Peterka by acquiring Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring on Wednesday night. Kesselring will join his third organization after being drafted by Edmonton in the sixth round of the 2018 draft (164th overall) and debuting with Arizona in 2022-23. The 25-year-old has the potential to be a top-four defenseman as shown by his seven goals, 29 points, 89 PIMs and 150 SOG in 82 GP with Utah in 2024-25.

After just 62 games with Utah and Arizona, Josh Doan has been acquired alongside Michael Kesselring by Buffalo for JJ Peterka on Wednesday. The 23-year-old right-winger was Arizona's 2021 2nd-round pick (37th overall) and made an impressive debut in 2023-24 with five goals and nine points in his first 11 games played. He struggled to find the same offensive spark last year, but still put up seven goals, 19 points and 88 SOG in 51 games played in his sophomore campaign.