The 2025 NHL Draft weekend turned out to be surprisingly quiet on the trade front, despite weeks of buzzing rumors that had fans expecting major moves.
Only a handful of deals went down, and most just involved shuffling draft picks.
The biggest splash came when the Montreal Canadiens landed Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, giving up two first-round picks for the talented defenseman. The Columbus Blue Jackets picked up Charlie Coyle from Colorado, while Detroit snagged veteran goalie John Gibson from Anaheim.
And that was pretty much it.
So why did the trade market basically freeze up during what’s usually one of the NHL’s busiest weekends? There are three main reasons.
First, the draft’s new virtual format kept general managers stuck in their home cities instead of mingling on the draft floor. It’s just harder to make deals happen when you can’t hash things out face-to-face.
Money played a big part too. The salary cap is finally taking a big jump up after years of staying flat. That means teams aren’t as desperate to dump players just to get under the cap anymore.
But here’s the real kicker, according to Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky: "Everyone wants to be a buyer, nobody wants to sell."
It’s created a weird situation where teams are holding onto their players, hoping to make a playoff push, rather than looking to rebuild. Without willing sellers, even the most aggressive buyers can’t make deals happen.
The lack of trades doesn’t mean teams aren’t trying to improve – they’re just finding it really tough to find trade partners in this unusual market.
