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5 NHL trades we would love to see this offseason

By Dave Stevenson

BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 23: Ryan O'Reilly #90 of the Buffalo Sabres skates during an NHL game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 23, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ryan O'Reilly
BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 23: Ryan O'Reilly #90 of the Buffalo Sabres skates during an NHL game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 23, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ryan O'Reilly /
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Here are five NHL blockbuster trades we could this offseason that would make perfect sense for both sides. 

Trades don’t happen too often in the NHL offseason. For some odd reason, teams prefer to overpay for a few months of a player at the trade deadline rather than trading for them and getting a whole year. The summer of 2016 proved to be different. Two trades shook up the landscape of the league — Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson and P.K. Subban for Shea Weber.

How big were those two trades? The Tampa Bay Lightning were nearly able to sign Steven Stamkos to a massive extension without anyone noticing. Let’s get back to the good old days and have some blockbuster trades.

Each of these hypothetical trades would make sense for both sides. No fewer than four of them would be considered “blockbuster” caliber. One of them would even involve a potential offer sheet! Let’s take a look at five trades that could happen, but probably make far too much sense to actually occur.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images /

5. Philipp Grubauer to the Islanders for a draft pick

NYI gets: G Philipp Grubauer, 31st overall pick

WSH gets: 12th overall pick

Why the Islanders should do it: Three times in recent years, a goalie has been traded for a first-round pick at the NHL Draft. Cory Schneider got the Canucks the ninth overall pick in 2013. Robin Lehner (along with David Legwand) got the Ottawa Senators the 21st overall pick in 2015. In 2016, Frederik Andersen fetched the Anaheim Ducks the 30th overall pick and a second-round pick in 2017.

Lou Lamoriello was the GM of the team who traded for two of those three goalies (Schneider and Andersen). And now he’s in charge of the Islanders front office. So there is some precedence to this madness of trading a first-round pick for a goaltender.

The Islanders need to upgrade their goaltending. They’ll have to get incredibly lucky to do it in an unimpressive free agent market. So a trade makes more sense. And the best goalie available via a trade is Philipp Grubauer. He’s been extremely impressive the past two seasons. 

Why the Capitals should do it: Grubauer is due a fairly significant raise this offseason as a restricted free agent. He would love to be a No. 1 goalie and has shown he has the potential to be one. However, that’s never happening with the Capitals. Especially since they signed 2015 first-round pick Ilya Samsonov to an entry-level contract.

The 12th pick straight up for Grubauer seems a little too pricey. But toss in the 31st overall pick and you’ve got a pretty fair trade for both sides. The Capitals get to move up and restock their prospect pool while the Islanders get a goalie they desperately need.

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