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Good morning, hockey folks. The NHL Draft is here — and you’d better read this newsletter quickly. Given how much is going on, it could be outdated as soon as you do!

We have two ways for you to keep up with tonight’s action: live updates, which have already begun, and a live draft show streaming at 7 p.m. ET featuring prospect experts Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler, Max Bultman and Chris Peters from our Chicago studios. We’re doing it big.

Let’s go.

Gavin McKenna is the projected No. 1 pick in today’s NHL Draft. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

NHL Draft cheat sheet

We’ll get to all the trades (and rumors) in a moment, but first, let’s set you up for tonight’s draft in beautiful downtown Buffalo. Here’s the top 10 draft order along with Corey Pronman’s latest mock draft results:

Toronto Maple Leafs: Gavin McKenna
San Jose Sharks: Ivar Stenberg
Vancouver Canucks: Chase Reid
Buffalo Sabres: Caleb Malhotra
New York Rangers: Alberts Ĺ mits
Calgary Flames: Carson Carels
Seattle Kraken: Daxon Rudolph
Winnipeg Jets: Keaton Verhoeff
San Jose Sharks: Malte Gustafsson
Nashville Predators: Viggo Björck

Our intel is that the top pick is a lock: McKenna, the Penn State star, is going to the Leafs at No. 1. After that, however, the draft opens up, especially because several of these picks could change hands in deals before they’re made by the teams listed.

Brady Tkachuk and his new GM, Bill Zito. (JC Ruiz / Getty Images)

TrademageddonI don’t want to miss a thing

The hard part with this section is knowing where to start. Let’s begin by getting you caught up on all the player movement by ranking the eight biggest trades over the past five days.

1. Sunday: The Panthers acquired Brady Tkachuk from the Senators for a 2026 first-round pick (No. 9), a 2026 first-round pick (Lightning, No. 25), a conditional 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick.

Analysis: Just a straight-up league-shaking blockbuster, with the Senators captain jumping ship to a division rival to play with his brother, Matthew, and Ottawa nabbing three first-rounders. Meanwhile, the Panthers are going for it — again.

2. Tuesday: The Blackhawks acquired Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway from the Sabres for a 2026 first-round pick (No. 4), a 2026 second-round pick (Islanders, No. 45) and Louis Crevier.

Analysis: Our trade graders hated this big swing by Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson. You rarely see a No. 4 pick dealt, especially for someone like Byram, who is asking for a massive new contract. I guess the rebuild is over in Chicago?

3. Tuesday: The Capitals acquired Jordan Kyrou from the Blues for Connor McMichael, Milton Gästrin and a 2026 first-round pick (No. 16).

Analysis: We’ll see if this means it’s the end for Alex Ovechkin in D.C. But the Capitals certainly are taking this retool-on-the-fly business seriously, with Kyrou one of two star wingers they beat the market for.

4. Tuesday: The Senators acquired William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda from the Sharks for a 2026 first-round pick (Panthers, No. 9).

Analysis: There goes that No. 9 pick Ottawa acquired from Florida. It’s a lot to ask Eklund to replace Tkachuk, but consider this only the first of several moves coming for the Sens, who are adamant they’re not about to take a step back.

5. Tuesday: The Flames acquired Šimon Nemec and Maxim Tsyplakov from the Devils for a conditional 2027 first-round pick (Golden Knights), a conditional 2028 first-round pick (Avalanche), a 2026 second-round pick (Rangers, No. 35) and Étienne Morin.

Analysis: We’ll see what Nemec can do with far more opportunity and how unwieldy his next contract ends up. But the Flames didn’t give up that much here in making a bet on a player who went No. 2 only four years ago.

6. Yesterday: The Blue Jackets acquired Valeri Nichushkin from the Avalanche for a 2026 second-round pick (Blues, No. 43), a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.

Analysis: Columbus has some holes up front with Boone Jenner and Mason Marchment likely headed to free agency, so this makes sense. And it didn’t cost all that much. Plus, now the Avs have some cap space to work with.

7. Wednesday: The Sabres acquired a 2027 third-round pick (Sharks) and David Kämpf from the Capitals for Alex Tuch.

Analysis: This one falls further down the rankings because Tuch was a pending UFA and this was just for his sign-and-trade rights, but it’s another big bet for the Capitals. Tuch may have gotten overpaid here ($10.5 million cap hit), but it’s a calculated bet by Washington, which didn’t have to give up much in the way of assets to get it done. And almost every team is flush with cap space right now.

8. Sunday: The Kraken acquired Mackie Samoskevich from the Panthers for a 2026 first-round pick (Lightning, No. 25) and a conditional 2027 second-round pick.

Analysis: A smaller, subtle move, but interesting nonetheless. The Kraken are pushing hard to improve quickly, with Seattle’s NBA franchise likely to arrive soon, and Samoskevich could surprise with more opportunities in the Pacific Northwest.

In summary: The Capitals and Panthers have unquestionably made the biggest draft week splashes so far, with Ottawa, Columbus and Calgary getting interesting additions at a reasonable cost.

But there’s a lot more still to come before we’re declaring definitive winners and losers …

Jason Robertson. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

Rumor roundup

So, what could be next? Our insiders Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston will have you covered all weekend at our NHL hub as we try to keep up with the league’s breakneck pace.

Let’s parse more in our latest news and notes:

Wait, Jason Robertson turned down how much in nixing a trade to the Kraken yesterday!?
Uncertainty is swirling around Zach Werenski’s future in Columbus.
LeBrun’s latest rumblings have the Canadiens kicking tires on some big, unexpected names, along with items on the Capitals, Blue Jackets and more.
Could the Leafs add another top-10 pick and hang onto Morgan Rielly?
Johnston’s updated trade board, freshly brewed just this morning, is full of compelling names, with Robertson, Matthew Knies, Connor Hellebuyck, Dylan Larkin and Vincent Trocheck all in the top 10. It’s possible this week will go down as one of the busiest ever for NHL player movement.
Johnston’s latest free agent board is thinning out with Tuch gone, but we’re all fired up for the Anthony Mantha sweepstakes, right?
And: The NHL is ready to look at expanding to either Houston or Austin, giving all these players on the move a new state-tax-free destination to pine for in the years to come.

Auston Matthews and Lou Lamoriello after Matthews was picked first in 2016. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

đź’ˇ MirTrivia Question

Most hardcore hockey fans can name the No. 1 picks going back a ways, but how about right after that? Can you name the No. 2 selection for these draft years, based on these hints?

2001: Ilya Kovalchuk went first, but this player ended up playing 322 more games and producing 119 more points. Now he’s an assistant GM for a playoff team.
2006: Erik Johnson went first, but this player became a captain and has won two Stanley Cups with two different franchises.
2011: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins went first, but this player became a captain who won the Cup but has been limited to just 798 games over 15 years due to injury.
2016: Auston Matthews went first and remains a Leaf, but the player who went next is looking for his fourth team as a free agent this July 1.
2021: Owen Power went first, but the forward who went second has yet to top his rookie campaign of 57 points after four seasons.

Answers at the bottom.

Coast to Coast

🏆 The anatomy of a successful rebuild: A deep analysis into why it takes at least 10 years to build an NHL champion.

🕵️ Which NHL team makes the best all-time starting lineup from first-round picks? I’ll give you one guess who wrote this one.

⛏️ Which teams could and should be trying to trade for Hellebuyck? I’m tempted to say “all of them,” to be honest.

📰 With “Hockey Night in Canada” no longer broadcasting NHL games, we mourn the end of a hockey institution.

âś… Hailey Salvian names the winners and losers of the PWHL offseason, as Vancouver nails its new-look roster and a fascinating expansion process rocks Toronto.

Patrik Laine, Auston Matthews and Pierre-Luc Dubois at the 2016 NHL Draft on June 24, 2016, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

MirTrivia Answer

How many of these No. 2 picks over the past 25 years did you get?

2001: Jason Spezza, Ottawa
2006: Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh
2011: Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado
2016: Patrik Laine, Winnipeg
2021: Matty Beniers, Seattle

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