“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…with GMs phones ringing and everyone telling their fans not to fear…“

The American Thanksgiving standings juncture has long been considered a playoff standings predictor and crucial check-in point for NHL teams trying to assess how good they are. It also unofficially kicks off Trade Season, which lasts until the deadline, which is set for March 6 this season. Don’t believe me? Last year, the New York Rangers traded Jacob Trouba the week after U.S. Thanksgiving. The Colorado Avalanche overhauled their goaltending, acquiring Justus Annunen on Nov. 30 and Mackenzie Blackwood on Dec. 9. Cam Fowler headed to the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 14, Alexandre Carrier to the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 18, and Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 18.

We can thus expect the NHL roster glaciers to melt and shift in the coming days and weeks despite the fact the extreme standings parity means almost every team aside from the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators is seemingly still in the playoff hunt. That’s why we’ve decided to roll out the first Daily Faceoff Trade Board of 2025-26, with a revamped format, broken into tiers based on how immediate and obvious the candidates are.

I’ve compiled names for this board via a committee approach across The Nation Network, consisting of:

(a) Intel provided from the various insiders appearing across our shows and/or publishing content for us, from the Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman to DFO’s own Anthony Di Marco and more; (b) my own information; (c) external reporting and trade chatter already out there as public knowledge; (d) Hypothesizing a handful of names not yet publicly on the block but who I expect will be later this season.

Let’s dive into the board:

TIER 1: Obvious trade candidates

Rasmus Andersson, D, Calgary Flames

Age: 29
Cap hit: $4,550,000, pending UFA
(Six-team no-trade clause)

At least with the Flames at the bottom of the Pacific Division and in contention for their first Draft Lottery win in franchise history, there should be less of a should-we-shouldn’t-we tension around re-signing Andersson. It makes little sense to keep him now. He’s also spiking his value at the right time, fresh off NHL First Star of the Week honors, popping for nine points in four games, and would help many a team seeking a puck-mover for the right side. Even though neither his camp nor the Flames has closed the door on an extension, he’s 29, and the Flames appear years from contending again. He’ll be entering his early-30s decline by the time the Flames ascend; it would be prudent to move him.

Brayden Schenn, C, St. Louis Blues

Age: 34
Cap hit: $6,500,000 through 2027-28
(15-team no-trade list)

Schenn is not a $6.5-million player anymore. The Blues would almost certainly need to retain salary to facilitate a trade, especially since he has a couple years of term left. But Schenn at a discounted price could still boost a team’s third line and bring brawny veteran leadership. My colleague Anthony Di Marco highlights Schenn as a potential target for a team like the New Jersey Devils.

Steven Stamkos, C, Nashville Predators

Age: 35
Cap hit: $8,000,000 through 2027-28
(No-movement clause)

Stamkos is inching toward the twilight seasons of his Hall of Fame career. He’s not the superstar he was in his Tampa Bay Lightning glory days. But couldn’t he still help a contender as a cog in a high-functioning machine who assists the power play with his one-timer? Picture late-career Brett Hull as a Detroit Red Wing. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested on Morning Cuppa Hockey earlier this month, it’s a matter of finding a team with the right Stamkos-facilitating playmaker.

Ryan O’Reilly, C, Nashville Predators

Age: 34
Cap hit: $4,500,000 through 2026-27

It was jarring to see O’Reilly mercilessly trash his own play in a post-game scrum a couple weeks back. The last time he spoke like that, he was on his way out of Buffalo, and he makes too much sense as a popular trade target given he’s a Conn Smythe Trophy winner and brainy two-way center who plays a clean shutdown game. He still has enough gas left in him to bolster a contender’s middle six.

Justin Faulk, D, St. Louis Blues

Age: 33
Cap hit: $6,500,000 through 2026-27
(15-team no-trade list)

Faulk plays 23 minutes a night in his sleep. He’s still plenty mobile for his age. He’s one of the game’s more prolific shot blockers. He chips in a healthy amount of goals from the point, and he’s a right shot. So, yeah, he’ll have plenty of suitors should the Blues decide they can’t recover from their early-season tailspin. Unlike Andersson, Faulk offers the extra year of term as a ‘luxury rental’ to boot.

Jonathan Marchessault, RW, Nashville Predators

Age: 34
Cap hit: $5,500,000 through 2028-29
(15-team no-trade list)

If you’re shopping in Music City, Conn Smythe winners apparently do grow on trees? Marchessault is another. But he’s a much more difficult player to appraise compared to Stamkos and O’Reilly. Is Marchessault worth taking on for three more seasons after this one? Was his 42-goal season at 34 years old an extreme outlier a couple of seasons back? Given his competitiveness and playoff success, he’d still be a pretty nice depth add if Nashville retained some money. Marchessault has the 15-team no-trade list, and Stamkos has a full NMC, but, as David Pagnotta told Jeff Marek on The Sheet earlier this month, each player is willing to waive it means going to an upper-echelon contender.

Brandon Carlo, D, Toronto Maple Leafs

Age: 28
Cap hit: $4,100,000 through 2026-27
(Eight-team no-trade list)

Mike Komisarek 2.0? Carlo was big, physically imposing, heavy on opposing forwards…until he became a Maple Leaf, apparently. He’s a shell of his old self. He averaged 4.66 hits per 60 in nine seasons as a Boston Bruin. As a Leaf: 3.05, including 1.99 this season. Maybe that’s because he wasn’t healthy; he only just resumed skating as he navigates a lower-body injury. Or maybe Carlo isn’t cut out for the market. Still just 28, he could return to form in the right situation, and his AAV remains a bargain. He seemingly fit a need for the Leafs a year ago, but now they’re big, slow and redundant on ‘D.’ They won’t get the equivalent of Fraser Minten and a first-round pick for Carlo, but maybe they can recoup the pick portion of that package somewhere. Last week, Carlo was a “roster shakeup to stay competitive” trade candidate, but if the Leafs keep free-falling, he’ll be more of a “sell off our assets” type of trade candidate.

Blake Coleman, LW, Calgary Flames

Age: 33
Cap hit: $4,900,000 through 2026-27
(10-team no-trade list)

He’s a proven two-time Stanley Cup winner who can deliver 15 goals, occasionally more, while assisting on the penalty kill and playing a feisty, physical game. What contender wouldn’t want him for third-line and PK1 work? The Flames could always sit on him a year and move him as a rental next season, but the demand for his services should be sufficient this year when it’s stretch-run time. A reunion with the team that drafted him, the New Jersey Devils, could make sense given he can play center in a pinch.

Pavel Mintyukov, D, Anaheim Ducks

Age: 22
Cap hit: $918,333 through 2025-26 (pending RFA)

After consecutive healthy scratches last week, Mintyukov is open to being moved if it means he’ll get a larger opportunity elsewhere, Friedman reported. Mintyukov was the 10^th overall pick in the 2022 Draft and still has a do-it-all skill set, but he’s been passed on the Ducks’ depth chart by dynamic young D-men such as Jackson LaCombe and Olen Zellweger. Mintyukov’s potential hasn’t gone anywhere after just 150 career games. He makes a helluva buy-low on a franchise looking to retool.

Brad Lambert, C, Winnipeg Jets

Age: 21
Cap hit: $886,667 through 2026-27

As insider Frank Seravalli reported last week, Lambert has been granted permission to seek a trade. Even during his draft year, he carried boom-bust status as a clearly gifted but volatile and talent, and he’s skewed more toward the bust side, struggling to break through and earn a large opportunity at the NHL level. Still, he’s young enough and skilled enough that perhaps he’d blossom on a team willing to play him more. An interesting reclamation project.

Nazem Kadri, C, Calgary Flames

Age: 35
Cap hit: $7,000,000 through 2028-29
(13-team no-trade list)

The classic conundrum for Flames GM Craig Conroy: even if you’re in the midst of a rebuild and have already traded most of your core over the past couple seasons…don’t you need a few veteran tone setters to hang around and teach the kids how to win? That would be a reason to hold Kadri. But he could also command a significant return given his impact as a scorer and emotional leader. The Montreal Canadiens sure would be an ideal fit and have interest, reported Pagnotta on Daily Faceoff Live’s Insider Notebook last week.

Yegor Chinakhov, RW, Columbus Blue Jackets

Age: 24
Cap hit: $2,100,000, pending RFA

He can only do so much playing 10 minutes a night. No wonder he requested a trade over the summer for a fresh start. Is he worth the $2.1-million price tag? Hear me out: the previous two seasons combined, Chinakhov scored 22 goals in 83 games while averaging 15:22 of ice time. Among 458 forwards who played at least 500 minutes at 5-on-5 over that span, he sat 18^th in goals per 60, one spot above William Nylander, placing Chinakhov in the 96^th percentile. I mentioned the Lambert reclamation idea, but Chinakhov has actually produced at the NHL level. He can really wire the biscuit. Potential wrench in the works: after Kirill Marchenko left practice with an injury this week, Chinakhov was promoted to the top line. The Jackets may need him too much to deal him just yet.

Mario Ferraro, D, San Jose Sharks

Age: 27
2025-26 cap hit: $3,250,000, pending UFA

If Macklin Celebrini and Yaroslav Askarov have anything to say about it, the Sharks will remain in playoff contention and won’t be sellers come March. But I’m still expecting they won’t quite be ready to break through and will move a few pending UFAs. Ferraro is a warrior who would make a fine addition to a second or third pair on a contender and whose defensive metrics would likely improve in that environment.

Michael Bunting, LW, Nashville Predators

Age: 30
Cap hit: $4,500,000, pending UFA

Bunting’s 10-team no-trade list evaporated after last season, so he’s a clear trade candidate playing on an expiring deal. Throughout his career, he’s shown the ability to produce in spurts when paired with high-end linemates. His agitation skills can also shift momentum in playoff series if he stays on the right side of the line, which isn’t always a guarantee. Bunting’s value isn’t nearly what it was a couple years back, but he could still be a sneaky-helpful depth addition.

Lukas Reichel, LW, Vancouver Canucks

Age: 23
Cap hit: $1,200,000 through 2025-26 (pending RFA)

That was quick. The Canucks just acquired Reichel from the Chicago Blackhawks a month ago, and it already appears that he’s not a fit, as he’s now available for a trade. He’s running out of chances to translate his speed and skill into NHL production. Prospects of this ilk are common: your skill set only works on a scoring line, and if there are no opportunities there, your skill set doesn’t work on a depth line. It’s difficult for players like that to find homes at the NHL level.

Emil Andrae, D, Philadelphia Flyers

Age: 23
Cap hit: $903,333 through 2025-26 (pending RFA)

Even though his under-the-hood numbers were strong last season, the undersized Andrae hasn’t won over the Flyers brass, per Di Marco, and doesn’t appear to be part of their long-term plans. His play-driving continues to be better than the eye test, so he could actually be a low-key steal of an acquisition for a team that knows how to deploy him.

TIER 2: Names to keep an eye on

Alex Tuch, RW, Buffalo Sabres

Age: 29
Cap hit: $4,750,000, pending UFA
(Five-team no-trade list)

Tuch was pretty open about wanting to remain a Sabre after last season ended, but no extension got done, and every report on the negotiations since suggests the two sides are far apart. That’s likely because Tuch knows he can land a life-changing deal on the open market since so many of the top 2026 UFAs have already re-signed. With so much parity in the Eastern Conference right now, there’s still a scenario in which the Sabres rejoin the playoff hunt, so it feels more likely a Tuch trade would come later in the year. But he’d be a massive get for any contender given his blend of size, scoring touch and penalty-killing acumen.

Kiefer Sherwood, RW, Vancouver Canucks

Age: 30
Cap hit: $1,500,000, pending UFA

As the Canucks struggle to stay afloat in the Western Conference, they’re reportedly making their veterans available, and it’s pretty clearly the right time to sell high on Sherwood. He’s as physical as wingers get, having set the single-season NHL record with 462 hits last year, and he’s scoring at more than a 40-goal pace this year thanks to 28.6 percent shooting. His value will never be higher than it is today.

Andrei Svechnikov, LW, Carolina Hurricanes

Age: 25
Cap hit: $7,750,000 through 2028-29
(10-team no-trade list)

Svechnikov has teased the ceiling of a top-end NHL power forward throughout his career, but can’t quite seem to break through. As reported by Friedman over the weekend, Svechnikov wasn’t happy with his early-season usage to the point he was open to a trade. But the Canes’ asking price might be too prohibitive to make an in-season trade easy to execute. Not that it stopped GM Eric Tulsky from making multiple out-of-this-world moves last year, so anything is possible.

Anders Lee, LW, New York Islanders

Age: 35
Cap hit: $7,000,000, pending UFA
(15-team no-trade list)

The Isles’ surge up the standings sure makes things complicated. A month ago, the veteran captain seemed like a highly logical trade candidate. Is he still? What if the Isles are already back on the upswing as a franchise? Even if GM Mathieu Darche declined to work on an extension before the season, Lee could wind up an “own rental” if the Isles stay competitive deep into the winter.

Boone Jenner, C, Columbus Blue Jackets

Age: 32
Cap hit: $3,750,000, pending UFA
(Eight-team no-trade clause)

Don’t expect a resolution here any time soon, given Jenner’s long-term injury. The Blue Jackets and Jenner probably need that runway to think on their future together anyway. If they’re in contention a couple months from now: no reason to deal their captain and all-time games leader and more reason to expect he’ll re-sign. If not: a heart-and-soul forward like Jenner would invite a feeding frenzy if he’s available.

Jordan Kyrou, RW, St. Louis Blues

Age: 27
Cap hit: $8,125,000 through 2030-31
(No-trade clause)

Kyrou’s a first-line talent with three 30-goal campaigns to his name. But he’s been a disaster this year, an $8.125-million healthy scratch at one point, and it sure feels like he could use a reset on a new team. Note that he controls his destiny via a full no-trade clause that doesn’t become a modified no-trade until the final season of his deal.

Owen Tippett, RW, Philadelphia Flyers

Age: 26
Cap hit: $6,200,000 through 2031-32

As Di Marco reports, the Flyers aren’t sure if Tippett belongs in their long-term plans. He’s maddeningly inconsistent. But he’s also big and incredibly fast and seems like the type of player who would explode into 40-goal production if he landed in the right situation. He has six years left on his deal, so dealing him would mean GM Danny Briere is executing a whopper of a hockey trade. But it’s worth noting Tippett has no restrictions on movement right now, but does beginning next season with a 10-team no-trade list.

Ryan Hartman, C, Minnesota Wild

Age: 31
Cap hit: $4,000,000 through 2026-27
(15-team no-trade clause)

Ideally, a team acquiring Hartman uses him as a third-line center, not a second-liner, but the agitator has succeeded in the past playing as high as the first line, though he doesn’t seem to have the upside he once did. He’s one of several Minnesota forwards to land on injured reserve of late and thus doesn’t seem like a candidate to move immediately – but perhaps later this season.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, C, New York Islanders

Age: 33
Cap hit: $5,000,000, pending UFA
(16-team no-trade list)

Pageau could be off the table if the Islanders stay competitive all year. What a fun story they’ve been, led by a historically amazing rookie blueliner, Matthew Schaefer. If they slip, Pageau should attract a ton of interest, however. He’s a prototypical third-line center who excels on faceoffs and historically elevates his scoring rate in the playoffs.

Nick Robertson, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs

Age: 24
Cap hit: $1,825,000, pending RFA

Robertson has seemingly been on the trade block for so long that he’s paying rent at this point. He also requested to be moved before the 2024-25 season. Does it still make sense to deal him, though? With all their injuries this season, the Leafs have finally granted Robertson his wish and played him higher in the lineup, and he has produced in spurts. Dealing him would make an old, slow team older and slower.

Stuart Skinner, G, Edmonton Oilers

Age: 27
Cap hit: $2,600,000, pending UFA

It’s not that Skinner would be a commodity teams chase; he has an .878 save percentage this season. But if the Oilers finally awaken from their slumber and trade for a goaltending upgrade, Skinner’s cap hit may have to go the other way in a deal. And who knows? Maybe Skinner find his consistency if he lands in a less pressure-packed market and becomes the next Devan Dubnyk.

Cam Talbot, G, Detroit Red Wings

Age: 38
Cap hit: $2,500,000, pending UFA

Trade Talbot? When you’re in second place in the Atlantic Division? It’s a back-burner idea GM Steve Yzerman could explore if he thinks prospect Sebastian Cossa is ready to stick in the NHL and form a tandem with John Gibson. Talbot has outplayed Gibson so far this season, so there’s some risk to the proposition, but the goalie market is so thin that Talbot could fetch a useful return. Cossa has a .940 SV% in the AHL right now, by the way.

Marco Rossi, C, Minnesota Wild

Age: 24
Cap hit: $5,000,000 through 2027-28

The Wild have been strangely determined to give this guy away for what feels like year now. I’ll never understand it. Not even his summer contract extension quieted the whispers that he wasn’t considered a key long-term cog. If that’s still the case: two teams that should strongly consider pursuing him would be the Canucks and Habs, who are starved for No. 2 centers.

Rasmus Ristolainen, D, Philadelphia Flyers

Age: 31
Cap hit: $5,100,000 through 2026-27

Ristolainen has yet to return from triceps surgery. Once he does, he should attract some trade interest now that his contract is more palatable given the rising salary cap and the fact he hast just one season left after this one. Under the tutelage of John Tortorella and Brad Shaw, Ristolainen improved as a rangy, physical defender, and Rick Tocchet, in theory, should be another good fit to help Ristolainen’s game – and trade value – as long as he’s a Flyer.

TIER 3: Big names, blockbuster potential, but too soon

Tage Thompson, C, Buffalo Sabres: He’s clearly getting sick of losing. He’d be the biggest game-changer on the market. But what if Buffalo stays in the hunt?

Artemi Panarin, LW, New York Rangers: It makes sense for the Blueshirts to get younger going forward. If they fall out of the race, they could kickstart a retool with the return for the Bread Man.

Erik Karlsson, D, Pittsburgh Penguins: Everyone needs that righty puck-mover on ‘D,’ and Karlsson’s contract isn’t an albatross anymore since it ends next year, and the Pens could retain money on it.

Morgan Rielly, D, Toronto Maple Leafs: Plenty of term left and has never wanted out of Toronto, but if the Leafs are in the basement by winter, maybe they blow it up.

Quinn Hughes, D, Vancouver Canucks: Canucks say not now. But just wait. It’s coming. Maybe not until NHL Draft day, but it’s coming.

TIER 4: Theoretical trade chips if their teams fall out of contention

Jaden Schwartz, LW, Seattle Kraken
Nick Schmaltz, RW, Utah Mammoth
Erik Haula, C, Nashville Predators
Mason Marchment, LW, Seattle Kraken
Connor Murphy, D, Chicago Blackhawks
Scott Laughton, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jamie Oleksiak, D, Seattle Kraken
Evander Kane, LW, Vancouver Canucks
John Klingberg, D, San Jose Sharks
Teddy Blueger, C, Vancouver Canucks

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