The two weeks around the draft and July 1 did more to reshape the league than the entire regular season did. Thirty-nine trades. A 25-goal winger for two first-round picks. A former third-overall centre for two more. A $9.25 million contract that looked immovable, simply gone. Anaheim turning veterans into a draft hoard. St. Louis going all in.
Here is the ledger - every deal that moves a needle, graded and ranked. One caveat up front, and it's the whole point: these are graded on paper. Not one of these players has taken a shift for his new team. We grade on value, fit and need now, and we'll regrade in June when the games have had their say. Until then, this is who won the summer.
Value, Fit, Need - Not Results, Because There Aren't Any Yet
Every grade below weighs three things: the value each side got back, the fit with what the team is trying to become, and the need it addressed. What it does not weigh is results, because the 2026-27 season hasn't started. A trade that looks like a steal today can curdle by December. Consider these projections with conviction, not verdicts with hindsight. The letter grades use our standard scale: A won the deal, B came out ahead, C is a wash, D lost it.
The Deals That Reshaped Contenders and Rebuilds
The summer's headline swings all shared a logic: contenders paid futures for present talent, and sellers turned veterans into the picks and youth that restock a pipeline. St. Louis was the most aggressive team in hockey, adding a young centre and a shutdown defenceman in a matter of days. Anaheim was the busiest seller, flipping four veterans into a draft war chest. And Edmonton did the single most important thing any capped-out contender can do - it made a bad contract disappear.
Sharp Business That Won't Make Headlines but Will Win Shifts
Below the blockbusters sat a tier of trades that quietly made teams better: shutdown defencemen changing hands, buy-low forwards on the cheap, and a couple of clubs betting a first-round pick on a proven veteran. Not every one is a clean win, but each solved a specific problem.
The Rest of the Board
Not every move needs a full grade. A cluster of depth trades filled bottom-six and third-pair holes, and a run of pure pick-for-pick swaps on draft day shuffled the board without touching an NHL roster.
| Acquired By | Player | From | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Nick Paul (F) | Tampa Bay | Hildeby + two picks |
| Florida | Radko Gudas (D) | Anaheim | A.J. Greer |
| Detroit | Keegan Kolesar (RW) | Vegas | Two picks |
| Boston | Will Borgen (D) | NY Rangers | 2nd + conditional 3rd |
| NY Rangers | Joonas Korpisalo (G) | Boston | Kalle Väisänen |
| Nashville | Nils Höglander (LW) | Vancouver | A 3rd-round pick |
| Vancouver | Brendan Gallagher (RW) | Montreal | Future considerations |
| Florida | Akira Schmid (G) | Vegas | A 3rd-round pick |
| Pittsburgh | Korczak & Gustafsson (D/C) | Vegas / Winnipeg | Wotherspoon / St. Ivany |
Beyond these, roughly a dozen draft-weekend trades were pure pick-for-pick maneuvering - teams sliding up and down the board, converting future selections into present ones. Useful housekeeping; nothing that changes a lineup.
Most Aggressive · St. Louis
Added Mason McTavish and Brandon Carlo in a matter of days - a young centre and a shutdown defenceman. The Blues decided the time to push is now, and paid in futures to do it.
Busiest Seller · Anaheim
Carlson, McTavish and Gudas all shipped out for picks and youth. The Ducks are converting a veteran core into a draft war chest - a full-throated commitment to the rebuild.
Best Buy-Low · Pittsburgh
A 16-goal Nicholas Robertson for a fourth-round pick is the lowest-risk swing of the summer. If he pops, it's a steal; if he doesn't, it cost nothing.
Biggest Gamble · Boston & St. Louis
Three first-round picks spent between them on Peterka and McTavish. Two bets that the young talent is worth more than the lottery tickets. Ask again in June.
Contenders Bought Now. Rebuilders Bought Later. Nobody Stood Still.
The 2026 offseason split cleanly into two philosophies. St. Louis, Boston, Minnesota and the champion Hurricanes spent futures to add present talent - a centre here, a shutdown defenceman there, a power-play quarterback for depth. Anaheim, Calgary and Dallas went the other way, turning proven players into the picks and prospects that restock a pipeline.
The single smartest move belonged to Edmonton, which didn't add a star at all - it subtracted a contract, clearing Darnell Nurse's $9.25 million with no retention and using the space to rebuild its crease. In a hard-cap league, the trade you don't have to make room for is often worth more than the one you do.
Every grade here is written in pencil. Not one of these players has pulled a sweater over his head for his new team. Come back in June and we'll find out which of these summer certainties survived contact with a season.