{"id":499207,"date":"2026-02-25T19:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T19:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/499207\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T19:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T19:41:08","slug":"nhl-rumor-mill-february-25-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/499207\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumor Mill \u2013 February 25, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Check out the latest on the Canucks\u2019 Elias Pettersson<\/a> and Evander Kane<\/a>, the Flames\u2019 Nazem Kadri<\/a>, the Maple Leafs and more in today\u2019s NHL Rumor Mill.<\/p>\n

CANUCKS GETTING INTEREST IN ELIAS PETTERSSON, COULD MOVE EVANDER KANE<\/a><\/p>\n

TSN<\/a>: Darren Dreger reports there is renewed trade interest in Vancouver Canucks<\/a> center Elias Pettersson<\/a>, but they haven\u2019t yet received an offer worth considering. Pettersson\u2019s agents are aware of the trade discussions. However, they won\u2019t include their client (who has a no-movement clause) until it reaches a point where there is a potential deal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (NHL Images).<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: Pettersson\u2019s declining production is a stumbling block in the path to a trade, though the teams that have inquired about him likely believe he\u2019ll regain his scoring form with a change of scenery. Nevertheless, his no-movement protection and his $11.6 million average annual value through 2031-32 are also significant hurdles that could keep him in Vancouver beyond the March 6 trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Chris Johnston reports Evander Kane<\/a> was the subject of a fair amount of trade discussions. It\u2019s expected the 34-year-old winger could be moved to a playoff club by the March 6 deadline, with the Canucks willing to retain half of his $5.125 million cap hit. The Carolina Hurricanes<\/a>, Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a>, and Dallas Stars<\/a> are among the clubs that have made inquiries.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: Kane is more likely to be moved by March 6 than Pettersson, especially if the Canucks retain half of his remaining salary. He might cost at most a third-round pick.<\/p>\n

FLAMES COULD MOVE KADRI, LOOKING AT INTEREST IN COLEMAN AND MORE<\/p>\n

TSN:<\/a> Darren Dreger reports the Calgary Flames<\/a> are still testing the trade market for Nazem Kadri<\/a>. He claims the 35-year-old center wants to be traded. They\u2019re also looking at the interest in winger Blake Coleman<\/a> and defensemen MacKenzie Weegar<\/a> and Zach Whitecloud<\/a>. Dreger stated that Flames general manager Craig Conroy will remain patient to ensure he has a full assessment of the trade market.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: All those players are signed beyond this season. That\u2019s why Conroy can play the waiting game. He\u2019s under no pressure to move them at the trade deadline. If there are no suitable offers by March 6, he can wait for the offseason to see if the trade market improves.<\/p>\n

Chris Johnston suggested the Colorado Avalanche<\/a> might be a suitor for Kadri, who played for them for several seasons before signing with the Flames in the summer of 2022. The Avalanche created extra salary-cap space on Tuesday by trading defenseman Samuel Girard<\/a> to the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> for blueliner Brett Kulak<\/a>. They\u2019re expected to use that additional cap room to add a forward, probably a centerman.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: Kadri carries an AAV of $7 million through 2028-29 with a 13-team no-trade list. It\u2019s a good bet that the Avalanche aren\u2019t on that list. He\u2019d probably leap at the opportunity to rejoin the Avalanche and pursue another Stanley Cup with them.<\/p>\n

WILL THE MAPLE LEAFS BECOME SELLERS?<\/p>\n

TSN:<\/a> Darren Dreger thinks the next two or three games for the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> will decide if they become sellers at the trade deadline. They\u2019re currently six points out of a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference with four clubs to leapfrog.<\/p>\n

If the Leafs decide to sell, Dreger believes UFA-eligible forwards such as Bobby McMann<\/a> and Scott Laughton<\/a> could be put on the trade block.<\/p>\n

WHICH PLAYERS\u2019 TRADE VALUE WAS AFFECTED BY THEIR OLYMPIC PERFORMANCES?<\/p>\n

DAILY FACEOFF<\/a>: Matt Larkin examined which players\u2019 trade value changed for better or worse by the performances in the Olympics.<\/p>\n

St. Louis Blues<\/a> goaltender Jordan Binnington<\/a> topped the list of those whose value went up. Binnington had a solid performance between the pipes for Canada. New York Rangers winger Mika Zibanejad<\/a> and Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen<\/a> also likely got a boost from their efforts in the Olympics.<\/p>\n

Vancouver Canucks<\/a> center Elias Pettersson<\/a>, Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson<\/a>, Ottawa Senators<\/a> center Lars Eller<\/a>, and Seattle Kraken<\/a> winger Eeli Tolvanen<\/a> saw their stock go down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Check out the latest on the Canucks\u2019 Elias Pettersson and Evander Kane, the Flames\u2019 Nazem Kadri, the Maple…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-499207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}