Both 2026 NHL offer sheets got matched and not one player changed teams. All the talk was this summer was going to be insane. The free agent market lacked to the point that everyone needed to make trades to reach their goals. There were several high profile RFA’s on the market ripe for offer sheets. Everything seemed to be pointing towards a completely bonkers, almost NBA level, offseason. Yet, as we look back, it seems like the summer might end with fans feeling a sense of disappointment.
The largest blockbuster of the summer happened on Father’s Day whenever Brady Tkachuk was moved to Florida to play with his brother. It would soon get out that Brady did ask for a trade, and more importantly really only gave Florida as an option. This move happening so early in the summer did have everyone feeling like this summer was about to be wild. As of now all this trade accomplished was making Florida even more dangerous after missing the playoffs last season.
Two other Team USA players seemed destined to be moved; Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin. As of today, both remain with their original teams, and neither looks close to being moved. Larkin went and made a trade request, but GM Steve Yzerman has not traded him and is now stepping down from his position. Detroit was asking for ridiculous prices for a good 2nd liner center in Larkin and thus a trade seemingly never got close. The season could very well open with Larkin back in Detroit and it will be something to monitor all season long. Hellebuyck never asked for a trade, that we know of, and his name has been out of the rumor mill for weeks. Both of these situations had the chance to make a huge splash in the league, but their lack of movement made the offseason lack another spark despite Larkin allegedly still bad-mouthing the Red Wings organization.
I spent a majority of the summer, and even beforehand, talking about Jason Robertson. It seemed like Robo was going to be coming to Pittsburgh after they acquired his brother Nick. Plus, Robertson and Dallas seemed destined to split and were mere days away from arbitration. The player eventually relented and signed a 1-year deal worth 12 million. This deal does allow Robertson to become a free agent next summer, or trade fodder at the deadline, but in terms of this summer it was a nothing burger.
The 2026 NHL Offer Sheets Are Just Expensive Compliments Now
We did get two offer sheets this summer, which definitely added some excitement. The Flyers sent a whopper of an OS to Leo Carlsson, 18 million AAV for 5-years. The signing bonus values made it seem somewhat likely that Philadelphia would get the player. However, as the seven-day period progressed, it appeared that Anaheim would match. With a day to spare, Anaheim did in fact match the offer sheet. Philly never got Shea Weber and now they will never get Leo Carlsson, we love it when they fail. The other offer sheet was New Jersey sending a sheet over to Barrett Hayton of the Utah Mammoth. This one seemed extremely likely to pass because Hayton was not necessarily needed in Utah, and matching the sheet walks him directly to FA (since he can’t be traded). Yet again though, the team retained his rights and will likely allow him to leave for free next July. So, two exciting offer sheets were handed out and absolutely no player movement happened.
It wasn’t all quiet, some big names did move. Bobrovsky is the new goalie in Toronto, and Toronto signed Darren Raddysh. Florida replaced him by trading for Markstrom from New Jersey. Vinny Trochek was acquired by Utah from the Rangers. The Rangers completely reworked their team by acquiring Dorofeyev, Marcus Pettersson, and Sean Durzi. Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta went from Calgary to Minnesota. Maatta’s absence was replaced by the acquisition of Simon Nemec. Darnell Nurse, Mason Marchment, and Trouba are all now members of the San Jose Sharks (yikes). Maverick Borque, a clear offer sheet candidate, was moved (and signed) to Nashville. Jordan Kyrou was moved to Washington, who also signed Alex Tuch.
The biggest, in terms of return, move to be made was when Buffalo traded Byram to Chicago. Chicago bet big, really big on Byram to blossom into a 1D whenever they traded the 4th(!) overall pick, a 2nd round pick, and a decent young defenseman. Chicago turned around and gave Byram a 12-million-dollar contract, which really still seems insane. Buffalo promptly replaced Byram when they acquired the much cheaper Owen Zellweger from Anaheim. Great piece of business for Buffalo, and quite the curious move for Chicago.
All and all, the summer didn’t reach expectations. This seems to happen every year to be honest. I will say that we did see more movement, trades, and offer sheets than usual though. I think the league is progressing towards more player freedom, and movement but the change is gradual.
