Hockey Insider Nick Kypreos offers plenty of big names on his NHL Trade Board. Jason Robertson, Nazem Kadri, Marco Rossi, Dougie Hamilton, and Erik Karlsson are enough to get hockey talk going.

But Kypreos has some intriguing NHL defenseman on Kypreos’ list who don’t register on the Richter scale, but could help contenders:

Ryan McDonagh (Tampa Bay Lightning)

The Lightning need cap space, and McDonagh has one season left at $6.75 million. He’s still playing at a high level, and moving him would give the Lightning more flexibility.

Brandon Carlo (Toronto Maple Leafs)

The Kypreos take is that it may be difficult for the Maple Leafs to part with Carlo after how well he played last season.

“(But) right-shot, minute-munching defencemen will always have a market in the NHL,” Kypreos writes.  “So Carlo is the one trade chip that could command a lot of attention.”

Jamie Oleksiuk (Seattle Kraken)

This is a giant NHL player, standing 6 feet 7 inches and weighing 252 pounds. He has one season left on a contract paying him $4.6 million.

Kypreos writes: “Several teams could afford that, and after the Florida Panthers won another Stanley Cup, the flavor of the day in the NHL is toughness, so the Kraken may be able to get a nice return for Oleksiak.”

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

Slava Kozlov was fired from his KHL coaching position before his team played a game.

Former Red Wings employee Al Sobotka‘s lawsuit against the team is moving forward.

Detroit European signee Eduards Tralmaks has a Plan B if it doesn’t work out with the Red Wings.

Red Wings Extra

The Red Wings’ acquisition of John Gibson apparently didn’t impress the folks who put together the NHL.com fantasy goalie rankings. Neither Gibson nor Cam Talbot was listed among their top 25 goalies for the 2025-26 season.  Gibson is listed among the “other” goalies to consider

Hockey Now Network

Montreal: Marco Dumont looks at the NHL trade rumors featuring the Habs. Montreal Canadiens. 

Philadelphia: William James takes a shot at projecting Matvei Michkov’s next contract numbers. Philadelphia Flyers. 

San Jose: Sheng Peng grades the Sharks’ offseason maneuvering. San Jose Sharks.

Vegas: Hannah Kirkell looks at whether the Golden Knights might be interested in a Devils goalie. Vegas Golden Knights.