The NHL’s trade deadline remains smore than a month away, set for March 6, but the impending Feb. 4 roster freeze has action heating up around the league. TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest news and rumours ahead of the freeze and will return after for the final Countdown to TradeCentre.

Follow all the latest trades here and the most up to date signings here.

Time for Toronto to sell?

The Toronto Maple Leafs are stuck in a six-game winless skid and have picked up just four of a possible 18 points over their past nine games.

After a 5-2 loss the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, the Maple Leafs sit last in the Atlantic Division and a full 10 points back of the Boston Bruins for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported prior to Thursday’s loss that the team had not set their deadline course, but will soon have consider what their pending unrestricted free agents could fetch on the trade market.

“I can tell you that GM Brad Treliving, head coach Craig Berube, and the Maple Leafs are not quite ready to throw in the towel yet,” Dreger explained on Insider Trading.

“Yes, they’re coming off an ugly stretch of hockey, and they have an important road trip in front of them now. Treliving has to look beyond this road trip and the scenario that could see Toronto kick into sell mode.

“That includes finding out what the market looks like for some of his pending unrestricted free agents. Players like Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, Troy Stecher, and Calle Jarnkrok. He has to balance and compare that with what extending some of those pieces might look like as well.”

Treliving joined OverDrive on TSN 1050 Toronto on Thursday afternoon and suggested he would be taking as long as possible to chart his team’s course. While the general manager noted he will weigh the results still to come, there’s 54 games the team has already played to reflect on.

“We’ve got a three-week break for the Olympics. We come back and we’ve got a handful of games before the March 6 deadline. So you’re always evaluating the short term. You’re evaluating the long term,” Treliving said.

“We look back here, this team for a number of years, the two years that I’ve been here, a number of years before, we’re spending a lot of assets. You’re trying to win. You get to the deadline, it’s the last opportunity for you to make additions to your team. You’re trying to do things, as all teams that are in that position are, to push your team over the top.

“We’re in a different position than we’ve been in in the past. So you take all of that information, you’re continually talking throughout the league and seeing what’s in front of you, but you’re planning based upon where your team’s sitting and what you think is in front of you. So it’s the combination of, yeah, you know where the games sit leading up to the deadline. But you’ve also got four months of information already in the rear-view mirror, and you make decisions accordingly.”

The Maple Leafs traded two first-round picks at the deadline last year to bring in Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers and Brandon Carlo from the Bruins.

Laughton, 31, has eight goals and 10 points in 36 games this season as he carries a cap hit of $1.5 million after Philadelphia retained half of his $3 million salary last year.

McMann has 17 goals and 29 points in 53 games this season after hitting the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career last season. The 29-year-old winger carries a cap hit of $1.35 million on his expiring deal.

Stecher has a been surprising contributor for the Maple Leafs this season after being claimed off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers after six games.

The 31-year-old has two goals and 10 points in 35 games with Toronto while averaging 20:08 of ice time.

Jarnkrok, 34, has six goals and one assist in 34 games this season after being limited to just 19 games last year. A veteran of 752 career games, he carries a cap hit of $2.1 million this season.

The Maple Leafs have made the playoffs in each of the past nine seasons, but never advanced past the second round during that stretch.

Everyone checking in on Panarin?

The Artemi Panarin sweepstakes are underway as the New York Rangers hold the star winger out of their lineup in anticipation of making trade before the March 6 deadline.

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports Panarin is looking for a contract extension in the four-year range with the a double-digit AAV, which is a complicating factor as he holds the cards before waiving his no-move clause.

According to Kevin Weekes of ESPN, 14 clubs have already expressed interest in Panarin with more teams expected to follow. He listed the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth, Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken in the Western Conference, and the Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders in the East.

Per sources, as of today, I’m told the following have expressed interest in Panarin ; ANA, LA, SJ, VGK, DAL, UT, COL, MIN, SEA, TOR, CAR, WAS, TBL, NYI.
More clubs will join, and importantly player has to approve any move first. @NYRangers #HockeyX pic.twitter.com/feOsmPIs1o

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) January 29, 2026

While those teams all have varying degrees of interest and some will no doubt be scared off the 34-year-old winger’s ask for an extension, LeBrun reports the Capitals are a legitimate suitor.

“A team that is not scared are the Washington Capitals,” he explained on Insider Trading. “Our understanding is that the Capitals have had discussions and they’re interested in Panarin. They want to add a scoring winger, and the extension is actually important to them because they may not make the playoffs this year. So, this would be just as much an off-season move for them as it would be an in-season move.”

The Hurricanes are approaching a third straight trade deadline as big-game hunters after adding Jake Guentzel and Mikko Rantanen the past two years, only to lose both within months of acquiring them. TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston believes the Hurricanes are once again in the mix for the top name at this year’s top name at the deadline.

“They’ve been thirsting after superstar-level talent for some time now. I think it’s smart given where they’re at and how competitive they are. They’re trying to get another piece or two to push themselves over the top,” Johnston said.

“Look, it’s a fool’s errand to say which of these teams are going to get him at this stage. It’s a difficult thing to read with Panarin controlling the circumstances. But when you look at the Hurricanes, they do check a lot of the boxes in terms of having the space they need to sign him to that type of deal, having interest in the player, liking what he can bring to their lineup, and then getting in on yet another superstar.

“I can tell you this: If he doesn’t end up with the Hurricanes, we’re going to be connecting them to the next big name out there before the trade deadline on March 6 as well.”

Central Division teams remain all-in

Only one of the Avalanche, Stars and Wild were emerge into the Western Conference Final this spring, but all three teams are loading up to give themselves the best shot to survive the gauntlet to get there.

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports Dallas would like to add Panarin, but he would have to forego an extension to join the Stars.

“I wouldn’t discount the possibility of the Dallas Stars as well. But let’s be clear, the Stars’ interest in Panarin is purely as a rental,” Dreger explained. “You have to be mindful of the reality that their star player, Jason Robertson, has his deal up at the end of the season. General manager Jim Nill knows that Robertson’s deal will be a costly extension.

“So, if Panarin is interested in a rental option, then you look at the Stars. Otherwise, the Stars will look elsewhere for a pending unrestricted free agent top-nine forward, and we know that there are a number of players that comfortably fit in that category.”

Panarin remains an impact player with 19 goals and 57 points in 52 games this season. He has led the Rangers in each of the past six seasons, posting a career-high 49 goals and 120 points in 2023-24.

With less than a week before the Olympic roster freeze, it appears a lot of work still needs to be done before Panarin is on the move.