The NHL trade deadline is upon us, and trade action will likely begin to pick up in the very near future. There are already plenty of rumors out there, meaning other outlets have in-depth trade boards. Let’s compile a list of potential trade targets and who could be on the move before the March 7 deadline.
Some Top Targets Already Off the Board
A few top names have already come off the board. After weeks and seemingly months of rumors, the Vancouver Canucks finally moved on from J.T. Miller, trading him to the New York Rangers. That move seemed inevitable, as the Rangers long seemed to be the favorites to land Miller.
That’s not the only move the Canucks have made, too. Just a few hours after the Miller trade, they acquired Drew O’Connor and Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins, using the first-round pick they had acquired in the Miller trade to obtain both players.
Related: 2025 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker
Miller was far from the only scorer available, though. So if you’re a team looking for scoring help, you should be in luck. While the New York Islanders have gotten themselves back in the playoff race, I’d still expect Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri to be on the move, too. Ryan Donato could be an intriguing trade target from a Chicago Blackhawks team that will also be a seller, as could Seth Jones.
On defense, Ivan Provorov leads a group that’s looking less desirable after Pettersson got dealt to the Canucks. The Columbus Blue Jackets are right in the wild-card race in the East, so general manager Don Waddell has a decision on his hands if the Blue Jackets continue to stay in the race. If he decides to sell, I’m sure plenty of teams will have interest in Provorov.
Aside from Miller, there aren’t many star players available at this season’s deadline unless Mikko Rantanen is on the move again. The other star who could be on the move is John Gibson, who’s having one of his best seasons in recent memory. He has two and a half years left on his deal at a cap hit of $6.4 million, so that could also be a complicated trade.
With so many teams still in the playoff race, specifically in the Eastern Conference, there could be plenty of buyers over the next 24 hours. Here’s our updated trade bait list, with ten new names (Reilly Smith, Pius Suter, and Rantanen, to name a few) arriving.
The following list is compiled via trade boards from Daily Faceoff, The Fourth Period, TSN, and The Athletic (From ‘NHL trade board 9.0: A new top target with one day until the deadline – The Athletic, 2/7/2025)
| Player | Position | Age | Games Played | Goals | Points | Cap Hit | Contract |
| 1. Brock Nelson | C | 33 | 56 | 17 | 36 | $6 million | UFA 2025 |
| 2 Mikko Rantanen | RW | 28 | 61 | 27 | 70 | $4.625 million | UFA 2025 |
| 3. Ivan Provorov | D | 28 | 57 | 6 | 25 | $4.725 million | UFA 2025 |
| 4. Brandon Tanev | RW | 33 | 57 | 9 | 17 | $3.5 million | UFA 2025 |
| 5. Dylan Cozens | C | 23 | 55 | 11 | 27 | $7.1 million | UFA 2030 |
| 6. Reilly Smith | RW | 33 | 58 | 10 | 19 | $3.75 million | UFA 2025 |
| 7. Luke Schenn | D | 35 | 61 | 1 | 5 | $2.75 million | UFA 2026 |
| 8. Jared McCann | LW/C | 28 | 60 | 15 | 44 | $5 million | UFA 2027 |
| 9. John Gibson | G | 31 | 24 | 2.65 GAA | .915 SV% | $6.4 million | UFA 2027 |
| 10. Kyle Palmieri | RW | 33 | 56 | 17 | 38 | $5 million | UFA 2025 |
| 11. Ryan Donato | LW/C | 28 | 55 | 19 | 38 | $2 million | UFA 2025 |
| 12. Rickard Rakell | RW | 31 | 58 | 25 | 49 | $5 million | UFA 2028 |
| 13. Bowen Byram | D | 23 | 55 | 7 | 29 | $3.85 million | RFA 2025 |
| 14. Rasmus Ristolainen | D | 30 | 55 | 3 | 17 | $5.1 million | UFA 2027 |
| 15. Jason Zucker | LW | 33 | 54 | 18 | 24 | $5 million | UFA 2025 |
| 16. Carson Soucy | D | 30 | 55 | 2 | 9 | $3.25 million | UFA 2026 |
| 17. Brayden Schenn | C | 33 | 55 | 11 | 30 | $6.5 million | UFA 2028 |
| 18. Casey Mittelstadt | C | 26 | 59 | 9 | 32 | $5.75 million | UFA 2026 |
| 19. Scott Laughton | C | 30 | 55 | 11 | 27 | $3 million | UFA 2026 |
| 20. Pius Suter | LW/C | 28 | 60 | 16 | 28 | $1.6 million | UFA 2025 |
| 21. Ryan Strome | C | 31 | 53 | 7 | 30 | $5 million | UFA 2027 |
| 22. Connor Murphy | D | 31 | 44 | 1 | 13 | $4.4 million | UFA 2026 |
| 23. Justin Brazeau | RW | 27 | 54 | 10 | 20 | $775,000 | UFA 2025 |
| 24. Joel Armia | RW | 31 | 57 | 10 | 24 | $3.4 million | UFA 2025 |
| 25. David Savard | D | 34 | 51 | 1 | 12 | $3.5 million | UFA 2025 |
| 26. Alex Tuch | RW | 28 | 60 | 24 | 47 | $4.75 million | UFA 2026 |
| 27. Brock Boeser | RW | 27 | 50 | 18 | 35 | $6.65 million | UFA 2025 |
| 28. Michael McCarron | C | 30 | 44 | 2 | 7 | $900,000 | UFA 2026 |
| 29. Elias Pettersson | C | 26 | 47 | 11 | 33 | $11.5 million | UFA 2032 |
| 30. Ryan O’Reilly | C | 34 | 49 | 14 | 30 | $4.5 million | UFA 2027 |
