Friday Four: Intriguing draft weekend trade ideas

The NHL Draft is one of the most anticipated days on the hockey calendar.

We get to see what prospects go where and what teams may have changed the fortunes of their franchise based on their selections. But it’s also an exciting time where we typically see a handful of trades that can really shake up rosters.

This year figures to be no different and with the cap rising, so many teams looking to get better and a number of talented players rumoured to be on the market, we could see even more deals swung than usual. Here are four trades we’d like to see on draft weekend:

John Gibson to the Edmonton Oilers for Viktor Arvidsson, Ty Emberson, 2026 second-round pick (Anaheim Ducks retain $2 million of Gibson’s cap hit)

The Oilers need an upgrade in net, plain and simple. There’s no denying it any longer. Edmonton got an .888 save percentage in the 2024-25 playoffs combined from Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, which is very difficult for any team to overcome. It’s been rumoured John Gibson has been on Edmonton’s radar in the past, but with the team needing to do everything in its power to ensure Connor McDavid sticks around for a long time, there’s no more time to wait.

Gibson’s deal is much more palatable now, with just two years remaining at $6.4 million and if the Ducks eat some of the cap hit, it should become a very reasonable contract for a starting goaltender. The 31-year-old had a bounce-back season in Anaheim, finishing with a .912 save percentage and 19 quality starts in 29 appearances.

Those types of numbers would be more than enough to make a huge difference in Edmonton. The Oilers don’t need prime Patrick Roy or Dominik Hasek to help them get over the hump, just league average goaltending would make a big positive impact.

Gibson continued to battle injuries and that is still a concern, though when healthy he proved he can still play at a high level, even on a weak team. If you’re worried about injury risk you have to ask yourself, is Gibson any more of a risk than keeping the status quo and likely getting below average goaltending once again? A motivated Gibson on a team like the Oilers who are pushing for a Cup, could pay big dividends.

In return, the Ducks get another draft pick to add to their rebuild but most importantly, it would clear a path for Lukas Dostal, who already looks like a potential stud, to get more playing time. They could simply re-sign Ville Husso or add another veteran to give them a tandem option that they won’t feel pressure to play regularly if Dostal proves he can handle more starts.

Arvidsson will give the Ducks a 20-goal scorer that could help replace some of the offence lost in the Trevor Zegras deal. They also get a right-shot blue liner in Emberson with some upside, who gives them depth. Anaheim is loaded on the left side of its defence corps, but it could stand to get younger around Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas on the right. Emberson fell out of favour deeper in the playoffs for Edmonton to John Klingberg and Troy Stecher, with his last appearance coming in game three of the second round against Vegas.

Erik Karlsson to the Ottawa Senators for Michael Amadio, Leevi Merilainen, 2026 second-round pick (Pittsburgh Penguins retain $3 million of Karlsson’s cap hit)

This deal would be full of nostalgia but fills some practical needs as well. A Senators/Karlsson reunion would help Ottawa’s blue line from a puck-moving perspective, as Karlsson brings an element the Sens don’t have an abundance of in their current unit.

Ottawa hasn’t finished better than 18th in goals for since 2018-19 and it could use some more offence from its defence corps. He would be an upgrade over Nikolas Matinpalo could help quarterback the second power play unit. After Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, no other blue-liner had more than 21 points for the Sens in 2024-25.

Even though Karlsson has slowed down and isn’t what he once was, he still scored more than 50 points in each of the past two seasons on a mediocre Penguins squad. Karlsson looked very impressive in a better situation at the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he skated very well and scored a point in each of Sweden’s three games. Watching Seth Jones look revitalized after joining the Florida Panthers could make a competitive team like Ottawa more interested in taking a chance on someone like Karlsson with a hefty contract.

For Pittsburgh’s part, the key aspect of the return would be Merilainen, who showed a lot of promise last season. His numbers were great in the AHL and he posted a .925 save percentage when called up to the Sens last year for 12 games while Linus Ullmark was hurt. You could even argue he saved Ottawa’s season. Merilainen is also just 22 years old and fits into the Penguins’ plans of getting younger and better.

Pittsburgh ranked 29th in goals against and save percentage in 2024-25, so Merilainen could help the cause. The Pens should also have little trouble eating a significant chunk of Karlsson’s deal with only two more years left and the team rebuilding.

This deal may make a little more sense to happen after July 1, though, as that’s when Karlsson’s $5 million signing bonus for next year will be paid. That means Karlsson would be owed only $11.5 million in real dollars over the final two years of his deal, making it much more digestible for a team like Ottawa.

The Canucks centre depth took a massive hit in the past year and Rossi could be the answer. JT Miller was traded, it sounds like Pius Suter is walking in free agency and Filip Chytil has battled injuries. After Elias Pettersson, there’s a big drop off down the middle for Vancouver. Rossi could immediately slot into the second-line centre role and would instantly make the Canucks a more talented team. There’s still plenty of upside where Rossi is concerned and he could be only scratching the surface of what he’s capable of.

The 23-year-old is rumoured to be on the block because the Minnesota Wild have a tough decision to make about his contract. He’s an RFA looking for a new deal and the asking price may go to a place Minnesota doesn’t want it to. Rossi is a great young talent who scored 60 points last season, but it’s clear the Wild don’t fully trust him to be a top-six centre when the games matter most. He averaged just over 11 minutes per game in the post-season and was shifted to the fourth line, a massive dropoff from his regular season ice time.

There’s also the cap situation to think about. The Wild will finally see Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s huge buyout numbers come down this year and give them more flexibility, but there’s a Kirill Kaprizov extension to think about. If Rossi is looking for a big ticket, it could make things tight once again very quickly and limit what they can add to other areas of their roster. Minnesota would get the 15th-overall pick back in the aforementioned deal to add another prospect to its cupboard. Not to mention Nils Hoglander, who scored 24 goals two years ago.

The Canucks have really taken a step back since getting within one game of the Western Conference Final in 2023-24 and need to re-tool quickly to get back into the playoff conversation and do everything they can to keep Quinn Hughes. The former Norris Trophy winner has two more years left on his contract and it’s no secret the Hughes brothers want to play together. If the Canucks want him to stay long-term, they’ll need to work themselves back into a contender quickly and while Rossi would only be a small part of that, it’s a start.

The Dallas Stars surely don’t want to trade Jason Robertson, but they are one of the few teams dealing with a significant cap crunch. Even after the Mason Marchment trade, the Stars still have limited space and if they want to be in the mix for someone like Mitch Marner or Nikolai Ehlers, they’re going to need to move out more money. That could mean reluctantly moving someone like Robertson, who is eligible to negotiate a new deal on July 1.

No team has tried to secure an elite forward more than the Canes over the past couple of seasons, so if Robertson does come available, you know they’ll be in the mix. They brought in Jake Guentzel in 2023-24 but couldn’t get him signed long-term and the same goes for Mikko Rantanen this year. Carolina has plenty of assets to trade, lots of cap space and are one of the few top-end teams that actually has plenty of draft capital. It would probably gladly give Dallas back one of its firsts that came in the Mikko Rantanen deal if it meant bringing Robertson aboard with a contract extension.

Robertson has topped 100 points and is a two-time 40-goal scorer. He’s exactly what the Canes need to balance out their top six and play with Sebastian Aho. Right now, Robertson is making a very reasonable $7.7 million for next season and even though an extension would see him get a respectable raise, Carolina should have little trouble fitting him into its salary structure with all the space it has. We know the Hurricanes also made big offers to Guentzel and Rantanen to try and get them to extend, so committing significant dollars to Robertson isn’t something they’d shy away form.

In return, Dallas would get some draft capital to potentially use at next year’s trade deadline and a good young player in Blake. He notched 17 goals last season as a rookie and would give the Stars some cheap talent to add to their lineup as they lost Logan Stankoven in the Rantanen deal and Wyatt Johnston’s extension will kick in next season. Blake gives them someone who could contribute on a team-friendly deal and some insurance if they lose players like Mikael Granlund or Evgenii Dadonov in free agency.