NHL Trades Picking Up Steam

Now that the expansion draft is over, NHL teams are in a rush to get to the trading table. The big trade on Thursday was Edmonton shipping Jordan Eberle to the Islanders for Ryan Strome. But there will be more deals made in the next few days as Friday’s draft approaches.

The Eberle trade is a decent one for both teams. The Islanders didn’t fleece the Oilers as some believe. Strome has room to improve and the Oilers also shed salary and will soon have a couple of key players to lock up. Eberle could do well in a new environment. But it remains to be seen. On the surface it looks to be a decent deal for both teams and gives them both what they wanted.

The Las Vegas Golden Knights have already been busy shipping off some players picked up in the expansion draft. David Schlemko was traded to Montreal. Trevor van Riemsdyk was shipped to Carolina. Las Vegas has a ton of draft picks and it will be interesting to see how hard they go after one of the top 2 picks. But wanting one of the top two picks and getting it are two different things.

Las Vegas doesn’t have much besides picks to give up and it’s unlikely a team will trade down from the top two. Both New Jersey and Philadelphia need centers. Las Vegas does have three picks in the top 15 to dangle.

Connor McDavid cleaned up at the NHL Awards and his next contract is already a hot topic. Darren Dreger reported that McDavid could command $14 million per year. There’s little doubt that he’s probably worth it. But it would handcuff the Oilers going forward due to the salary cap.

Expect more trades the next few days as the draft begins Friday and ends on Saturday.