We\u2019ve reached mid-May, and while a handful of teams still fight it out in the Stanley Cup playoffs, most are looking ahead to the summer and a whirlwind of roster change.<\/p>\n
So, Roundtable:\u00a0What is your boldest prediction for the 2026 NHL offseason?<\/p>\n
MATT LARKIN:\u00a0My gut says\u00a0the\u00a0San Jose Sharks<\/a>\u00a0make a bold trade for a star player,\u00a0be it a top-end center in the vein of Auston Matthews or a play-driving defenseman such as Adam Fox. The Sharks are on the cusp of contention with 115-point superstar Macklin Celebrini leading the way, they\u2019ve already picked in the top four of the past three drafts, and they could spare this June\u2019s No. 2 overall pick in a deal to accelerate their timeline. The right move could fast-forward San Jose from rising threat to powerhouse in the West \u2013 and the Sharks have so much surplus prospect capital that they can sell some off and still have plenty of youth to build around. It\u2019s GM Mike Grier\u2019s time to shine.<\/p>\n PAUL PIDUTTI:\u00a0The\u00a0Minnesota Wild<\/a>\u00a0make Quinn Hughes the highest-paid defenseman in NHL history AND acquire a big-name forward. If you are Wild GM Bill Guerin, how can you just run it back next season? They outlasted\u00a0Dallas<\/a>\u00a0but that series was a tossup. After getting outclassed by\u00a0Colorado<\/a>, trying their luck against both division rivals \u2014 plus the improving\u00a0Utah Mammoth<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 in 2026-27 feels both dicey and against Guerin\u2019s nature. With many over-30 veterans coming off the books for 2027-28, I\u2019ll predict the Wild extend Hughes no matter the price tag. They\u2019ll also move Filip Gustavsson, who seemed awfully disgruntled as the playoff backup, in a hockey trade with a team desperate for a capable goalie. It\u2019s in for a penny, in for pound for Guerin this offseason.<\/p>\n STEVEN ELLIS: No player with an $5 million AAV or higher will be traded \u2013 league wide. The \u201cToronto<\/a> will trade a top star\u201d every summer schtick is exhausting. Mitch Marner\u2019s situation was different because he was a pending UFA. But if I had a dollar for every time we heard Auston Matthews or William Nylander was going to be traded over the past six years, I\u2019d be able to start my own expansion team. Let\u2019s just be realistic: it\u2019s hard to trade big contracts.<\/p>\n ANTHONY TRUDEAU: It\u2019s not a league-breaking prediction, but don\u2019t be shocked if Mason McTavish is dealt from the Anaheim Ducks <\/a>this summer. McTavish signed a $7-million AAV extension ahead of this season, only to be forced out to the wing by coach Joel Quenneville\u2019s preference for veteran pivots Mikael Granlund and Ryan Poehling. The Ducks\u2019 top three skaters\u2013 superstar center Leo Carlsson, 40-goal sniper Cutter Gauthier, and breakout defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who has already signed \u2013 are in line for raises that could approach $30 million AAV in total value, so GM Pat Verbeek will need to create some wiggle room under the salary cap. Though Verbeek only recently made his bet on McTavish, the stiff-necked executive is not a sentimental man; Verbeek has already moved on from fan favorite Trevor Zegras and locker room leader Ryan Strome to clear cap space over the past 12 months. It sure feels like McTavish is next, and his lack of trade protection and 30-30-60 potential means suitors shouldn\u2019t be difficult to find despite the former No. 3 overall selection\u2019s backslide in production (41 P, down from 52) and ice time (15:19 ATOI, down from 16:53). Could frequent Anaheim trade partners the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> (or their rival New York Rangers<\/a>, who also have a healthy business relationship with Verbeek) provide the stocky center a clean slate?\u00a0<\/p>\n _____<\/p>\n POST SPONSORED BY bet365<\/p>\n _____<\/p>\n Recent Daily Faceoff Roundtables<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve reached mid-May, and while a handful of teams still fight it out in the Stanley Cup playoffs,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-648595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}