Western Canada - in particular Vancouver and Calgary - remains the epicentre of trade speculation some seven weeks before the NHL trade deadline on March 6.
Eight of the first 15 players on TSN’s first edition of the 2026 Trade Bait list are members of the Canucks, Flames, Edmonton Oilers, or Winnipeg Jets - starting with 30-year-old Vancouver right winger Kiefer Sherwood at No. 1.
There is a lot of buzz around the 6-foot, 194-pounder who is scoring at a career-high 30-goal pace with 17 goals in 44 games and is far and away the league leader among forwards with 210 hits.
Sherwood, 30, carries an easy-to-absorb $1.5-million cap hit (on a contract that expires at the end of this season), further inflating his worth.
Joining Sherwood on the top shelf of our list are No. 2 Calgary right defenceman Rasmus Andersson, No. 3 Rangers’ left winger Artemi Panarin, No. 4 Calgary centre Nazem Kadri and No. 5 Nashville centre Steven Stamkos.
Next up are No. 6 Calgary left winger Blake Coleman, No. 7 Carolina right defenceman Dougie Hamilton, No. 8 Buffalo right winger Alex Tuch, and No. 9 Vancouver centre Elias Pettersson, who is in the second season of an eight-year, $11.6-million AAV contract.
Completing the red and white wave - at least in terms of teams - are No. 12 Edmonton left winger Andrew Mangiapane, No. 14 Vancouver left winger Connor Garland and No. 15 Winnipeg right defenceman Luke Schenn.
Vancouver and St. Louis are the most highly represented teams on the Trade Bait list with five players each.
Teams to keep track of on a long, long list of motivated buyers include Toronto, Montreal, Dallas, Colorado, Minnesota, Vegas, Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay and New Jersey.
NHL teams have until 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 4, to complete trades before the Olympic freeze takes effect. Trading can resume on Feb. 23.
Trade Bait - January 15
(Players’ ages as of March 6)
| No. | Player | Pos | Age | GP | G | P | Cap Hit | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiefer Sherwood, Van | RW | 30 | 44 | 17 | 23 | $1.5M | UFA |
| 2 | Rasmus Andersson, Cgy | RD | 29 | 46 | 10 | 29 | $4.5M | UFA |
| 3 | Artemi Panarin, NYR | LW | 34 | 47 | 16 | 51 | $11.6M | UFA |
| 4 | Nazem Kadri, Cgy | C | 35 | 46 | 8 | 32 | $7M | 3 Years |
| 5 | Steven Stamkos, Nsh | C | 36 | 46 | 20 | 31 | $8M | 2 Years |
| 6 | Blake Coleman, Cgy | LW | 34 | 44 | 13 | 21 | $4.9M | 1 Year |
| 7 | Dougie Hamilton, NJ | RD | 32 | 42 | 5 | 13 | $9M | 2 Years |
| 8 | Alex Tuch, Buf | RW | 29 | 44 | 15 | 38 | $4.75M | UFA |
| 9 | Elias Pettersson, Van | C | 27 | 38 | 13 | 28 | $11.6M | 6 Years |
| 10 | Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Car | C | 25 | 26 | 2 | 6 | $4.82M | 4 Years |
| 11 | Robert Thomas, StL | C | 26 | 42 | 11 | 33 | $8.125M | 5 Years |
| 12 | Andrew Mangiapane, Edm | LW | 29 | 41 | 5 | 11 | $3.6M | 1 Year |
| 13 | Ondrej Palat, NJ | LW | 34 | 47 | 4 | 10 | $6M | 1 Year |
| 14 | Conor Garland, Van | RW | 29 | 35 | 7 | 22 | $4.95M | 5 Years |
| 15 | Luke Schenn, Wpg | RD | 36 | 31 | 1 | 5 | $2.75M | UFA |
| 16 | Justin Faulk, StL | RD | 33 | 47 | 11 | 22 | $6.5M | 1 Year |
| 17 | Connor Murphy, Chi | RD | 32 | 46 | 1 | 8 | $4.4M | UFA |
| 28 | Michael Bunting, Nsh | LW | 30 | 46 | 11 | 26 | $4.5M | UFA |
| 19 | Boone Jenner, CBJ | C | 32 | 32 | 8 | 22 | $3.75M | UFA |
| 20 | Jake DeBrusk, Van | LW | 29 | 45 | 12 | 22 | $5.5M | 5 Years |
| 21 | Logan Stanley, Wpg | LD | 27 | 44 | 7 | 14 | $1.25M | UFA |
| 22 | Brayden Schenn, StL | C | 34 | 47 | 9 | 19 | $6.5M | 2 Years |
| 23 | Jordan Binnington, StL | G | 32 | 27 | 3.53 | .871 | $6M | 1 Year |
| 24 | Mario Ferraro, SJ | LD | 27 | 45 | 3 | 11 | $3.25M | UFA |
| 25 | Evander Kane, Van | LW | 34 | 45 | 7 | 21 | $5.125M | UFA |
| 26 | Nick Leddy, SJ | LD | 34 | 18 | 0 | 3 | $4M | UFA |
| 27 | Ryan O’Reilly, Nsh | C | 35 | 46 | 13 | 39 | $4.5M | 1 Year |
| 28 | Jonathan Marchessault, Nsh | C | 35 | 28 | 7 | 10 | $5.5M | 3 Years |
| 29 | Jordan Kyrou, StL | RW | 27 | 37 | 8 | 19 | $8.125M | 5 Years |
| 30 | Philippe Myers, Tor | RD | 29 | 23 | 0 | 2 | $850K | 1 Year |
