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Don Waddell admits it: It’s hard to make a big deal right now

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 4:03 PM ET

With the NHL Entry Draft set to take place tomorrow, there are rumors circulating all over the NHL.

Some players are getting more attention than others… and ultimately, when we talk about these players, we’re often talking about the guys who will be available on the free agent market starting July 1.

Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Brock Boeser, Claude Giroux, Nikolaj Ehlers… you get the idea.

There’s a little less talk about the trade market, and Don Waddell knows why it’s like that right now.

The deal… is that many teams are looking to trade players for players. And the Blue Jackets GM admits: it’s hard to make a big deal right now because there aren’t that many players available on the market.

Waddell thinks it’s different than in recent years:

Good summary of the market by Don Waddell:

“Right now, there seems to be a shortage of players because everybody wants players for players…It’s been a different year for I gotta be honest with you, all my years that I’ve been doing it.” #CBJ

– Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) June 26, 2025

You’ll understand that here, there are links to be made with the Canadiens de Montréal.

Kent Hughes is looking for a top-6 forward… but if no club wants to dance, we agree it’s hard to move.

Logical, isn’t it?

That’s also why, in my opinion, we shouldn’t ABSOLUTELY expect to see Kent Hughes make a big move in the next few weeks.

The Canadiens’ GM is armed to the teeth with plenty of ammunition at his disposal: high draft picks, quality prospects…

But trading one of the current core players for another may not make sense if it doesn’t help the Canadiens in their rebuild.

And if other clubs want players who are already ready to help, that makes the whole thing a little more difficult too.

We know Kent Hughes, we know he’s not afraid to move around and stir the pot… but we can also assume that he’s not necessarily keen to dismantle his group in order to get his hands on a quality player.

Therein lies the rub.

Overtime

– Minor NHL transaction.

Cup champion Florida Panthers have acquired goalie Daniil Tarasov from the Columbus Blue Jackets

– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 26, 2025

– He’s right.

Caleb Desnoyers pays tribute to his “invaluable” entourage: https://t.co/RgJb5rkSJM

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) June 26, 2025

– To be continued.

Bill Guerin still confident they’ll keep Kirill Kaprizov in a #mnwild jersey but that July 1 date might not be when he signs on the dotted line. And that’s OK.

“They’re complicated deals, and there’s a lot to them. So if it doesn’t happen on July 1, don’t panic. Don’t panic.”

– Jessi Pierce (@jessi_pierce) June 26, 2025

– What will the Leafs do?

Leafs GM Brad Treliving on game planning for the offseason with Mitch Marner set to hit the market

“Lots of challenges, but we try to look at it as use those as opportunities as well. That’s the job. Everybody’s focused on July 1st & I get it. We don’t play on July 2nd …”

– Mark Masters (@markhmasters) June 26, 2025

This article first appeared on Dose.ca and was syndicated with permission.

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