Top 50 Trade Targets: Seattle Kraken take UFAs off market

Fact: The NHL remains the least predictable North American pro sport.

Consider, as we approach Friday's trade deadline, that the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and both of last year's No. 1 playoff seeds (Winnipeg and Washington) are bound to be sellers. And that one of the teams perhaps poised to make a big deadline splash is the Buffalo Sabres, seeking to end a 14-year playoff drought. Imagine writing those sentences in December.

Also, imagine writing this one: the Seattle Kraken have pulled their pending UFAs off the market as they make their own playoff push. Remember, the Kraken went on a 1-9-1 run before the holidays and looked dead in the water. They traded Mason Marchment an hour ahead of the Christmas roster freeze.

Now, sitting in a playoff spot, the Kraken let interested parties know that they don't have plans to trade their UFAs in captain Jordan Eberle, scoring winger Jaden Schwartz and hulking defenseman Jamie Oleksiak.

That has had a material impact on the marketplace. With Connor Murphy traded to Edmonton and Oleksiak off the market, the right-shot defense selection among pending free agents dwindled quickly, pushing Dallas to make a deal with Vancouver for defenseman Tyler Myers on Wednesday with half of his $3 million retained by the Canucks. It was a win-win with Vancouver adding second and fourth-round picks, and Myers landing in his preferred destination, but Dallas was reticent to spend future cap money with an extension looming for winger Jason Robertson.

So, where does that leave the market some 48 hours ahead of Friday's 3 o'clock ET deadline?

"The market is interesting," Canucks GM Patrik Allvin told reporters on Wednesday. "I don't even know if it's a market at the moment."

Allvin has a point. There are impact players available unlikely to move. Then there are the traditional deadline rentals. And there are many playoff teams unmoved by the quality of those deadline rentals.

Quick hitters: The Flyers are gaining traction on defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen ... Center Teddy Blueger has emerged as Vancouver's most likely player to move ... The Oilers are likely dealing with two separate transactions: one to dump Andrew Mangiapane, and another to acquire a third-line center, unless GM Stan Bowman can make both work in one deal ... The New Jersey Devils are looking to shake up their defense corps, most of which have no-trade clauses ... What will the Columbus Blue Jackets do?

Here's the latest Trade Targets, whose ranking always seeks to blend a player's prominence with his likelihood of a trade:

Trade Targets 🎯

as of March 4, 2026

Traded: No. 5 Tyler Myers; No. 8 Connor Murphy; No. 18 Michael McCarron.