{"id":686134,"date":"2026-06-05T14:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/686134\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:46:08","slug":"five-candidates-for-change-of-scenery-trades-in-2026-nhl-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/686134\/","title":{"rendered":"Five candidates for change-of-scenery trades in 2026 NHL offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NHL offseason looms, and it often represents new beginnings for struggling high-potential players. Sometimes, it requires a brand new environment to unlock an athlete\u2019s potential. Look at what a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> did for Trevor Zegras, for instance. He was reborn as an important member of a playoff team\u2019s top six this season.<\/p>\n

Last year, Zegras landed on my list of players needing fresh starts on new teams. Which NHLers could benefit similarly for 2026-27?<\/p>\n

Here are my top five change-of-scenery trade candidates.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s breathtaking natural skill with the puck has never been in question, but the rest of his game has not caught up, to the point he\u2019s looking like the second coming of Sonny Milano, another Blue Jackets\u2019 first-round bust. Johnston appeared to have new life after a midseason coaching switch to Rick Bowness but, by April, Johnson was playing just 11:11 per night, and he was a healthy scratch on occasion, with the coaching staff feeling he was getting muscled off pucks too often. Still: Johnson actually generated individual scoring chances at the highest rate of his career this season at 5-on-5. He\u2019s still just 23, and a team that trusts him more in a role that maximizes his razzle-dazzle could reap major rewards buying low.<\/p>\n

Kyrou\u2019s days as a Blue have felt numbered since the home-booing incident that left him in literal tears in December 2023. He\u2019s a dynamic scorer but one who hasn\u2019t justified his $8.125-million price tag of late. At least, that\u2019s the perception. He undoubtedly underachieved offensively this past season, scoring just 18 goals in 72 games after four seasons between 27 and 37. He was even healthy scratched for a game. But Kyrou quietly played good defensive hockey this season<\/a>, he\u2019s in his prime at 28, and he could return to producing as a frontline player \u2013 perhaps reaching a new ceiling\u00a0 \u2013 with a change of environment. Across the three seasons preceding this one, Kyrou was tied with Adrian Kempe for 21st in the NHL in goals. Kyrou hasn\u2019t turned into a scrub overnight.<\/p>\n

Year 1 of his seven-year contract\u2026healthy scratched for multiple games this postseason. The negotiations leading up to his extension last September were rocky to begin with, and now the Ducks have mothballed a $7-million player. They\u2019ll be selling low, but plenty of teams would have interest in his upside, and GM Pat Verbeek simply can\u2019t be paying anyone this much to sit in the press box. Particularly as a junior-aged player, McTavish showed a tantalizing power-forward skill set, and he\u2019s still young enough at 23 that it\u2019s worth betting on a post-hype breakout.<\/p>\n

The Devils reportedly took some calls on Nemec over the winter. But when we factor in his age, pedigree and upside, I wonder if new GM Sunny Mehta wipes the slate clean and dismisses the idea of moving Nemec. If he\u2019s still available, though, the buying window feels just right. His defensive game needs a lot of work, but Nemec\u2019s improvisational skills with the puck \u2013 and his overall upside \u2013\u00a0are undeniable.<\/p>\n

The Kraken were searching for a splashy addition to their top-six forward group and potentially willing to sacrifice Wright to do so over the winter. Wright would be a fascinating buy if still on the block; he still has another year left at his entry-level AAV, and he has proven to be an efficient scorer in his (extremely) limited opportunities, averaging 17 goals per 82 games for his career despite playing only 13:40 per night.<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

POST SPONSORED BY bet365<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

Recently by Matt Larkin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NHL offseason looms, and it often represents new beginnings for struggling high-potential players. Sometimes, it requires a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-686134","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\/686134","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=686134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}