Five more NHL trade candidates to watch until 2026 deadline

We took a look at five likely trade candidates between now and the upcoming trade deadline on Wednesday. 

Let's take a look at five additional candidates:

Jason Robertson, W, Dallas Stars
2024-25 season: 82 GP, 35 goals, 45 assists, 80 points, 17:48 TOI, plus-14 at 5-on-5

There's really no reason for Dallas to want to move on from the soon-to-be 26-year-old star. A Dallas trade hinges on whether Robertson provides more value on the team while handsomely paid or as a trade chip. The latter would allow it to comfortably re-sign defenseman Thomas Harley and bring in significant assets to support its other core pieces. 

The unexpected acquisition of superstar winger Mikko Rantanen puts everything on the table. Can Dallas structure a winner around two wingers making eight figures? AFP Analytics projected a Robertson extension at more than $11.5M annually across eight years (if signed before July 1). 

Mario Ferraro, LD, San Jose Sharks
2024-25 season: 78 GP, 5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points, 21:24 TOI, minus-24 at 5-on-5

Ferraro has never shown the high-end ability to play both directions, and he's certainly put up some pretty eye-popping numbers in a way that fans of the acquiring team won't love. 

Any team acquiring the final year of Ferraro's contract will be counting on the following — Ferraro slotted too high in San Jose's lineup, he's in his prime at 26 years old and he plays a rugged style that can be difficult to find but skates well enough to hang with the modern NHL forward. The question on Ferraro will come down to whether or not an organization's pro scouts and GM think Ferraro can follow the path of defensemen like Hampus Lindholm and Vladislav Gavrikov, who were both traded into better situations earlier in their careers and saw their defensive acumen better reflected in the team's play. 

Cole Sillinger, C, Columbus Blue Jackets
2024-25 season: 66 GP, 11 goals, 22 assists, 33 points, 16:55 TOI, minus-10 at 5-on-5

The Blue Jackets appear very deep at center in a center-starved league. Sillinger is likely to play the wing next season as he enters the final season of a two-year contract valued at $2.25M annually. The issues here for Columbus are numerous: will he be worth a pay raise a year from now? Will he help it move into a competitive window? Is he more valuable as a trade chip to an organization that has historically needed to use the trade market to acquire players?

Braden Schneider, RD, New York Rangers
2024-25 season: 80 GP, 6 goals, 15 assists, 21 points, 17:52 TOI, plus-one at 5-on-5

Schneider, recovering from off-season surgery, probably isn't a trade candidate quite yet, but once healthy seems a prime trade option for a Rangers team that is organizationally deeper on the right side than the left. New York held the 23-year-old back in trade talks previously, but the 2020 No. 19 overall pick is entering the final year of a two-year contract valued at $2.2M annually. 

He has played almost exclusively on the team's bottom pair. Either he needs more minutes, or the Rangers need to capitalize on the asset. 

Rickard Rakell, C/W, Pittsburgh Penguins
2024-25 season: 81 GP, 35 goals, 35 assists, 70 points, 19:18 TOI, minus-six at 5-on-5

As we noted Wednesday with Bryan Rust, the Penguins are in the business of selling any player with a nameplate that isn't "Crosby" this season. If healthy and on the right team, Rakell can offer some serious secondary scoring punch as a three-time 30-plus goal scorer. 

The 2025-26 NHL regular season begins on Oct. 7.