Top 10 NHL Trade Candidates To Watch Named by Insider

It's still early, as teams have only played anywhere from seven to nine games thus far in the young season. But already, clubs around the NHL are planning some trade moves, and several players have certainly heard their names on the grapevine.

Insider Chris Johnston of The Athletic lists his top 10 players to watch ahead of the trade deadline.

Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames, D
Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins, F
Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins, F
Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres, F
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, New York Islanders, C
Jaden Schwartz, Seattle Kraken, F
Jamie Oleksiak, Seattle Kraken, D
Mario Ferraro, San Jose Sharks, D
Nick Robertson, Toronto Maple Leafs, F
Brennan Othmann, New York Rangers, F

At the top of the list, Andersson's name has been red-hot on the rumor mill for some time now, going back to last season's trade deadline. He's a pending unrestricted free agent. Even Andersson's teammate and captain, Mikael Backlund, admitted this summer, “Yeah, he’s getting traded. It’s obvious."

Now, with the Flames off to a dreadful start to the year, trades could be coming sooner than later. Andersson is surprisingly the only Calgary player on this list—for now. But we have heard that Backlund could even be sought after as well.

Both Rust & Rakell have three years to run on their deals, so there's no urgency for the Penguins to rush into a trade. But with reasonable cap hits in the $5M range, they certainly both would bring back a hefty return for the rebuild in Pittsburgh—and GM Kyle Dubas is unlikely to drop his price.

Tuch has been in trade rumors of late, as extension talks with the Sabres on the pending UFA have been put on hold for now as his asking price is soaring to 'staggering' levels.

Pageau is another pending UFA whose name has been on the rumor mill, and if the Islanders slide back into non-contention, as many expect, he will be in demand as a middle-six center.

Schwartz & Oleksiak are just two of the many pending UFAs in Seattle.

Ferraro and Robertson have both been involved in plenty of trade buzz going back well over a year, though for different reasons.

On an expiring deal this season, Ferraro's likelihood of being moved by the Sharks has increased. As for Robertson, sadly for him, that is not the case. He continues to be frustrated with what he sees as his lack of a true opportunity in Toronto, but at the same time, no one is breaking down the door making offers for him.

Othmann's name just surfaced as a trade candidate this month, as the former first-rounder has had even less of an opportunity than Robertson in Toronto the past few years. He just got the call for the Rangers after the injury to Matt Rempe, and we'll see if he's able to make anything of it this time.