It's not just the Auston Matthews derby anymore. Matthews, long regarded as the top prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft, may no longer be alone at the top of the prospect pile. Finland's explosive duo of Patrik Laine and Jess Puljujarvi have skyrocketed up draft boards after their showing in the World Juniors, and Matthew Tkachuk looks more and more like a future elite NHL player.
At this point, Matthews probably remains the crown jewel of the 2016 class and the little twinkle you see in Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan's eye every now and then. But the draft lottery, held later this month, and the chance to land Matthews - or for some team to convince themselves that Laine or Puljujarvi will make better pros - won't be the only bit of intrigue this NHL offseason.
Steven Stamkos. Loui Eriksson. Brian Campbell. Kyle Okposo. The list of pending unrestricted free agents goes on, and on and on and on. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
In fact, at least one NHL insider is predicting that this summer will bring fireworks - a lot of fireworks - thanks to a perfect storm of off-ice issues for the league.
"The other thing too is just in general, because of the salary cap this year and the expansion draft next year, I think this is going to be a crazy off-season for trade rumors," Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said Friday. "I think you're going to hear lot of big names. I think you're going to hear a lot of surprising names. I think there's going to be a lot of teams out there who are going to be willing to want to do things."
Every year, there are pending UFAs. Every year, there's a surefire, can't-miss draft prospect that half the league is clamoring - or reportedly clamoring - to take.
However, with expansion efforts underway and the limited rise in the salary cap from this season to next - because of the sagging Canadian dollar, the $71.4 million cap will either stay flat if the NHLPA doesn't trigger an escalator, or will rise to a maximum of just $74 million - there are going to be a lot of teams with cap issues in the near future, which will be complicated by their desire to retain players like Stamkos, Eriksson and Okposo.
But the likely expansion to Las Vegas may be the biggest factor in all of this, according to Friedman.
"And I think also if Las Vegas does get a team, and I assume they will, whoever is the general manager of that team - if they are willing to be creative, I can see a lot of teams going to that team and saying, 'Are you going to be willing to do this?'" he said.
Any final decisions on an expansion draft won't take effect until the 2017-18 season, but shrewd GMs will want to get a jump start on ensuring that they don't lose any of their truly prime pieces for nothing. And considering the NHL will allow teams to protect only seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie or eight skaters and one goalie, there's going to be some sweaty brows come June 2017.
At this point, there's no knowing what might come this summer, but if the NHL trade rumors are "off the charts" as Friedman suggests, then you'd better bet that the actual NHL trades won't be far behind.
