4 Rumored Star Trade Candidates That Don’t Make Sense To Trade

Sometimes teams really do trade their stars, like with the Colorado Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen, but it doesn't happen as often as rumors may suggest. There could be a speculation one writer comes up with and it grows when it is entirely based on opinion and nothing that is heard. We're going to address four of those where it makes very little sense for the teams to move on from star players at this time.

Jordan Kyrou

Jordan Kyrou is one of the stars of the St. Louis Blues and isn't going anywhere for many years. He and Robert Thomas signed matching eight-year, $8.125 million AAV contracts that both still look very good. Kyrou is 27 years old, so in the prime of his career, and is going into year three of that deal. He just led the Blues in goals with 36 and finished second in points with 70. He is clearly a top-6 player in the lineup, plays on the top power-play unit, and has a great Corsi and expected goals for percentage. Even with some of the exciting young players coming into the lineup, the Blues can't just get rid of one of the best talents they have when they are looking towards the playoffs and deeper each season. That would set them back.

Drake Batherson

Drake Batherson is very much one of the core pieces of the Ottawa Senators and has exceeded expectations on his contract. While Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, Linus Ullmark, and Dylan Cozens are all signed for over $7 million per season, Batherson is under $5 million AAV and just finished this season with 26 goals and 68 points. It is the third consecutive season in which he has scored 20+ goals and recorded 60+ points. That would have extended back even another season as he finished the 2021-22 season with 17 goals and 44 points in 46 games. Batherson is also in his prime at 27 years old and has two more years left on his steal of a deal. Even if Claude Giroux returns, there's a place for Batherson in the top-6 where he has been contributing very consistently.

Evan Bouchard

Evan Bouchard is a very high risk, high reward type of player, but he's much less of a risk with the right partner. That being Mattias Ekholm or Brett Kulak. When he's paired with Darnell Nurse, that's when more mistakes come out for the both of them. Bouchard has the second highest points-per-game among defensemen in the playoffs all-time, and there is constantly an overreaction to any mistake he makes regardless of if he makes up for it multiple times over in offense. The young d-man is a RFA this offseason and the Edmonton Oilers are going to do whatever they can to extend him, not move on from him. He is extremely valuable offensively and on the power play, so that would hurt the team way more than help them in any trade.

Marco Rossi

While Marco Rossi is on the cusp of becoming a star, not a superstar, with his breakout season of 24 goals and 60 points, he did better than a number of players generally thought of as stars. He got his opportunity and the Minnesota Wild have stuck with him through some early career struggles, but right after showing how quickly he can improve and contribute to the success of the team, it makes no sense that the Wild would want to trade him. Only Joel Eriksson Ek challenges him for a center spot in the top-6, and there's room for two. Ryan Hartman is too streaky and Frederik Gaudreau is a third line center at best. Rossi is also 23 years old and can easily get better than he is right now.

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