NHL Rumors: Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild

Now, as far as the Oilers being able to add him to their roster, there’s the fact that the Canucks have virtually no motivation to do so, especially given his early-season success. He does have a reasonable contract at just $1.5 million that expires after this season. However, if the Vancouver club fails to re-sign him or if they fall out of playoff contention, he becomes a commodity that other teams will pursue.

Just keep a close eye on what happens at the trade deadline to see if the Oilers go after Sherwood as an ideal rental player in their hunt for a Cup.

Montreal Canadiens – Vincent Trocheck

NHL Rumors: Trocheck possesses excellent face-off skills (54.1%) and kills penalties, freeing up Nick Suzuki offensively.

Trocheck is injured at the moment with an upper-body injury. He is due back in about four days, and that means he’ll be ready to go. Trocheck brings his veteran leadership to a young locker room. Most of all, he is an accomplished defensive player. He can score as well, averaging over 23 goals a season over the last four campaigns.

Trocheck’s playmaking abilities can only add to the threats the Habs have already in Juraj Slafkovský, Suzuki, and Cole Caufield.

So, what would the cost be to get Trocheck? It may take dealing David Reinbacher and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to get it done. The New York Rangers would be getting an up-and-coming defensive prospect. While he is talented, he is in a deep Montreal system that includes Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, and Noah Dobson. Reinbacher may seek a change of scenery, and an unprotected first-rounder can be a juicy lottery ticket.

If the Habs can pull off a trade like this, it could catapult them from a playoff pretender to a postseason contender.

Minnesota Wild – Hunting For A Middle-Six Forward

NHL Rumors: Injuries to forwards Nico Sturm and Mats Zuccarello have hurt the team’s depth scoring and caused inconsistency in their top-nine. 

General manager Bill Guerin has never been conservative when it comes to improving his roster. He did go out and add unrestricted free agent Vladimir Tarasenko from the Detroit Red Wings. Guerin had his sights on bigger fish over the summer, like Sam Bennett or Brock Nelson. That didn’t work out, so he was said to have interest in Brock Boeser even though he was a winger.

To Guerin’s credit, he stuck to his guns in negotiations with center Marco Rossi. He awarded Rossi with a three-year contract worth $15 million. Thus far, that was a shrewd decision with Rossi tallying 12 points in 12 games so far this season.

So, who could Guerin go after to fill the void? Nazem Kadri‘s name seems to be floating about in the NHL rumors of late. As the Calgary Flames seem to be burning out early, they may be open to dealing Kadri.

Another possibility could be Pavel Zacha. He can line up at center or on the wing, and he has two goals and 10 assists in 14 games. Zacha would be a nice fit for Minnesota’s middle-six group up front. The 28-year-old is under contract until 2027 at an AAV of $4.75 million and has an eight-team no-trade list. 

Minnesota native Casey Mittelstadt, who was acquired from the Avalanche in the Charlie Coyle trade at last year’s trade deadline, is another player who could make sense for the Wild. Like Zacha, Mittlestadt is under contract until 2027; he has an AAV of $5.75 million and, though he has no trade protection this season, will have a nine-team no-trade list kick in next year, according to puckpedia.com. 

That gives Guerin some choices, and the way the Wild have started the 2025-26 season (4-6-3), he is looking to repair things sooner rather than later.