Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen has had a busy week, to say the least. Crossed off his to-do list in rapid succession were the re-upping of forward Zach Benson to a seven-year extension, pulling off a sign-and-trade to send Alex Tuch to Washington after negotiations failed to keep him in-house, and landing the fourth overall draft pick in exchange for Bowen Byram after it became clear he, too, wasn’t long for the market.
“You’re either gonna add a high-ceiling player to your organization (via the draft), or you’re gonna get something big for it,” Friedman said during an appearance on The FAN Hockey Show Thursday, calling it a “no-lose position.” He believes Calgary and Winnipeg are among the teams eying that pick.
Insider Pierre LeBrun said Thursday, “there’s no question that No. 4 pick is in play,” and also highlighted the Jets, as well as two other intriguing teams:
“I believe they’ve had conversations with the Rangers about Vincent Trocheck, with the Winnipeg Jets about Connor Hellebuyck, and with the Toronto Maple Leafs about Matthew Knies,” he reported.
Waddell keeping Werenski chatter under wraps
What does the future hold for the Columbus Blue Jackets and their Norris Trophy-winning star defenceman? We’ll have to wait at least a few days for answers. Friedman reported earlier this week that Blue Jackets management will meet with Zach Werenski after the draft.
Werenski, 28, has two more years on his contract. The earliest the Blue Jackets could extend him is July 1, 2027. One year out from that mark, and considering the current landscape, it’s easy to see why both sides would be wise to make their intentions as clear as possible.
Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos drew an intriguing connection between Werenski and the Toronto Maple Leafs on his latest Trade Board. Things could get really interesting.
Speculation swirling around Werenski’s future follows a pattern similar to what we’ve seen regarding other Team USA stars — Brady Tkachuk is now a Panther after he made it clear to the Senators he wouldn’t be staying long term; Dylan Larkin requested a trade out of Detroit; and while Connor Hellebuyck hasn’t officially made such a request to the Jets, his future in Winnipeg is very much in the spotlight at the moment.
Whenever the conversation between Werenski and Columbus brass takes place, the importance of it cannot be understated — and he’s not the only big name with big questions in Columbus. As Friedman pointed out during Thursday’s radio appearance, the future of Kirill Marchenko is also a topic garnering some buzz. The 25-year-old winger has one season left on his contract before becoming a restricted free agent in 2027, and there would be considerable interest in him if available. Friedman suggested the Montreal Canadiens would have interest there.
Wild owner sure they’ll re-sign Quinn Hughes
With all this talk about Team USA stars’ futures, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold is making it crystal clear that Quinn Hughes isn’t going anywhere. The 26-year-old is entering the final season of his contract and can sign an extension as of next Wednesday when the new league year begins.
“We are going to re-sign him. The question will be for how long,” Leipold said earlier this week (quotes via NHL.com). We would like to go as long as we could. He will probably want it to be a little shorter — shorter being maybe three years. We hopefully will end up at five, I don’t know, and the reason I can openly talk about this is that I’m not doing the negotiating.”
Hughes himself spoke very positively about being in Minnesota during season-end media availabilities, so a renewed pact between these two sides wouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, whatever the term and number will be, that should set an interesting market for elite blue liners. And if the term is short, the clock really starts ticking for the all-in-to-win Wild.
What does Washington’s busy off-season mean for Ovechkin?
Despite boasting the game’s greatest-ever goal scorer on their roster, the Washington Capitals struggled to find the back of the net in 2025-26 and took a step back because of it. The club’s acquisitions of Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch this week tell us they’re looking to remedy those scoring woes in a big way.
Looking at the moves, you’ve got to wonder what it means for Alex Ovechkin and whether the offence-bolstering moves might move the needle in terms of his decision about whether or not to retire. Surely, inserting Tuch and Kyrou takes scoring pressure off of Ovi, should he decide on another year or two… right?
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said there’s still no timeline for Ovechkin’s decision, but that the captain is “very, very impressed” with Washington’s moves thus far.
When Ovechkin’s decision does come — “hopefully sooner than later,” said Carbery — the team appears to be well-positioned to move forward either way.