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The Official 2026 Off-Season Thread: Revenge of the Nerds

I mean, yeah, I would love to get a couple more to go with our first overall.

Maybe Chaykes is trying to get one for OEL and another for Carlo/Maccelli./Robertson/Whatever.

He can certainly replace all of them internally or through free agency.
 
I mean, yeah, I would love to get a couple more to go with our first overall.

Maybe Chaykes is trying to get one for OEL and another for Carlo/Maccelli./Robertson/Whatever.

He can certainly replace all of them internally or through free agency.
Unless the whatever is substantial he's not getting a 1st for that grab bag.

I can squint and see him getting the 20th overall in a Rielly deal
 
Looking at the first round and who holds picks, and trying to find a few teams that might prefer players to help them win now over a prospect, I'd target:

Florida (9)
NJ (12)
Washington (16 and 18) - they might be especially willing to part with one.
Buffalo (20)
SJ (27)
Montreal (28)
Ottawa (32)
 
Yeah, the later in the round, the better the chance, which is why I focused more on mid to late.

But what Florida's plan is with that old team is unclear. Might be desperate to just take a final swing.

NJ seems to be a team that is directionless, but trying to get somewhere and failed badly so far. Again, some desperation.

The rest should be open for business.
 
Yeah, the later in the round, the better the chance, which is why I focused more on mid to late.

But what Florida's plan is with that old team is unclear. Might be desperate to just take a final swing.

NJ seems to be a team that is directionless, but trying to get somewhere and failed badly so far. Again, some desperation.

The rest should be open for business.
Florida is probably going to take the most NHL ready guy or BPA available and insert them in their locked up lineup on an ELC.
 
They'd be smart to keep the pick, but I don't know that whoever they get will be ready to step in immediately, especially if they're going with BPA over most NHL ready, which they should be.
 
They'd be smart to keep the pick, but I don't know that whoever they get will be ready to step in immediately, especially if they're going with BPA over most NHL ready, which they should be.
I assume they will simply do whatever the smart thing is.

Whoever it is will need at least 1-2 years before they enter the NHL, but when they do that ELC will be more valuable for them than anything i think they can trade that pick for.
 
Actually, I just looked at their roster and am surprised that almost all their main guys are 30 (and Tkachuk 28).

For some reason, I thought they were all at least a few years older than they are. Only Marchand is ancient.
 
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