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ESPN has hired former NHL’er Mark Messier as an analyst for their NHL coverage.

The multi-year deal will see him be a “signature part” of ESPN’s coverage launching in the 2021-22 season.

“The game of hockey, and the NHL, have afforded me enormous opportunity, success and experiences on the ice and in my life,” said Messier in a statement. “My passion for the game is as strong as it has ever been and I am looking forward to sharing that passion, plus my insights and analysis with the sport’s incredible fans. The NHL is beginning a new era with ESPN and The Walt Disney Company — with an exciting, evolving game and phenomenally talented players — and I am thrilled to be a part of the team.”

Messier, who is the only player in NHL history to captain two teams to titles, is widely considered one of the best players to ever play the game.

A native of St. Alberta, Alberta, Messeir was drafted by the Oilers in the third round of the 1979 NHL entry draft. He went on to play 25 years in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. A veteran of 1756 NHL games, Messier scored 694 goals and 1887 points over his career.

It’s almost time for the 2026 Olympic men’s hockey team GMs to put down their pencils. The calendar has reached December, and the 12 Milano Cortina Winter Games rosters, consisting of 22 skaters and three goaltenders each, must be finalized by Dec. 31.

Chances are, the brass for most nations have significantly pared down their lists and have only a handful of decisions left to make. But the competition isn’t over, especially among the deepest teams. Which players have forced tough decisions by flourishing or struggling over the first couple months of the 2025-26 NHL season?

It’s time for the final Olympic Stock Watch. We’re exclusively looking at players from the Big Four countries – Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland – as the other teams have NHL talent pools shallow enough that it’s difficult for their top athletes to play their way off their teams.

Macklin Celebrini, C, San Jose Sharks (Canada)

The kid has made it almost impossible to leave him behind at this point. Celebrini’s 40 points slot him second in the NHL in scoring behind only Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon. Celebrini is showing arguably a higher ceiling as a scorer than was originally perceived when he went first overall in the 2024 Draft, and his non-stop motor and competitiveness haven’t gone anywhere, meaning he doesn’t only fit on a scoring line. Those traits, plus the strong impression he made at the World Championship last spring, give him the edge over Connor Bedard in my mind. Why not take both? Canada could, but Celebrini’s two-way game is a bit more developed, and Bedard makes less sense on a non-scoring line. My gut says we don’t see both phenoms make the cut for Canada – only one of them.

Jakob Chychrun, D, Washington Capitals (Canada)

Chychrun has earned plenty of attention so far this season for his goal-scoring prowess in D.C.; he leads all NHL defensemen with 10. But Chychrun is playing elite all-around hockey, to the point he’s forcing himself into the Norris Trophy conversation. According to some metrics, Cale Makar is the only defenseman to have outplayed Chychrun this season, so how could Canada leave Chychrun off the team? Not only can he wire the puck and add size to the blueline, but he can play the left or right side.

Seth Jones, D, Florida Panthers (USA)

Jones never would’ve sniffed this list even 10 months ago, but so much has changed since then. He excelled post-trade to the Panthers and lifted his first career Stanley Cup in 2024-25. This season, he’s been vitally important to a team decimated by injuries. He logs more than 23 minutes a night, and he and Niko Mikkola have formed one of best play-driving pairs in the NHL. With American righties Charlie McAvoy and Adam Fox recovering from medium-term injuries, Jones would make for a nice insurance policy given his sublime skating, minute-munching ability and long reach. As a bonus: he could reunite with former longtime Columbus Blue Jackets pairing mate Zach Werenski.

Jesper Wallstedt, G, Minnesota Wild (Sweden)

Jacob Markstrom, Linus Ullmark and Filip Gustavsson have formed the pecking order pretty much every time Uffe Bodin and I project the Tre Kronor roster. But, sheesh, Gustavsson isn’t the best goalie on his own team right now. Wallstedt has outplayed him, outplayed Markstrom and Ullmark, outplayed almost every goalie on Earth so far this season. Wallstedt leads the NHL in save percentage and shutouts and ranks among the league leaders in goals saved above expected per 60. He carries truly elite prospect pedigree, meaning his stellar play could reflect a breakout rather than a fluky hot streak. How can you justify leaving him off Team Sweden at this point? Working against him is the small sample size, so he’ll have to make every last start count between now and Dec. 31 to play his way onto the team.

(As an aside: Canada’s Logan Thompson is in a similar situation, playing well enough not just to make his team but start for his team but, unlike Wallstedt, Thompson appears to be blacklisted by Hockey Canada because of a reportedly frosty relationship with his former Vegas Golden Knights head coaches, Bruce Cassidy and Pete DeBoer, who happen to be Canada’s assistant coaches.)

Tom Wilson, RW, Washington Capitals

Post 4 Nations, the pugnacious Wilson represented the eye-roll-inducing reactionary pick after Canada fought a bloody war against USA across two unforgettable games. Today: Wilson will always be one of the meanest players of his generation, but is he also earning his spot on merit? He’s averaging better than a point per game, he’s on pace to flirt with 50 goals, and when you add in the fact he can really move for a big man and change games with devastating hits, he’d make quite the fourth-liner or “break glass in case of emergency” bench forward.

Other stock-up players: Matthew Schaefer (Canada), Emil Heineman (Sweden), Connor Bedard (Canada), Cutter Gauthier (USA), Mackenzie Blackwood (Canada), Wyatt Johnston (Canada), Scott Wedgewood (Canada), Logan Thompson (Canada), John Tavares (Canada), Bo Horvat (Canada), Oliver Kapanen (Finland), Jason Robertson (USA), Cole Caufield (USA)

STOCK DOWN

Sam Bennett, C, Florida Panthers (Canada)

Playing in three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, plus the 4 Nations last year, Bennett has logged so much hockey of late, and he really labored to start this season, perhaps feeling the weight of trying to replace top center Aleksander Barkov on the depth chart after he tore his ACL and MCL during training camp. Bennett is heating up, and the poor start might have simply been a small sample size at play, but Bennett only barely made the 4 Nations team last year, don’t forget. He was healthy scratched the first game. Two of the top three scorers in the NHL right now are Canadian forwards who didn’t make last year’s team. Could the slow start have squeezed Bennett out? Maybe Canada brings one of Bennett or Wilson but not both blunt instruments.

Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers (USA)

I still don’t understand the Fox-is-bad discourse. The 4 Nations tourney wasn’t his best, fine, but, uh, that was four games. What about all last season, plus this season, in which Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov have arguably been the best all-around play-driving duo in the NHL? Team USA coach Mike Sullivan is also Fox’s bench boss with the Rangers now. That said, whispers had indicated Fox was potentially on the outside looking in, and that was before he landed on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. His Olympic availability isn’t in jeopardy, but could the time off allow another roster candidate to shine more and usurp Fox?

Travis Konecny, RW, Philadelphia Flyers (Canada)

Konecny played on the 4 Nations squad and even tied for the Team Canada scoring lead at the 2025 World Championship. But his game hasn’t popped this season – he scored just five goals by the end of November – and when you’re a projected fourth-liner, even a mini slump could break a tie between you and piping-hot player X or Y. While Konecny has a tenacity to his game, Canada may opt for better defensive forwards and/or brawnier ones for their checking lines.

J.T. Miller, C, New York Rangers (USA)

Miller is 32 years old. The Americans have half a dozen younger forwards trying to kick down the door and earn roster spots for Milan. Miller has struggled this season. His body language and post-game scrums have made poor impressions at times. We know at least one 4 Nations forward has “played his way off the roster,” per my colleague Anthony Di Marco. Maybe it’s Miller? He simply hasn’t been Olympic-level good this season, and he’s been perpetually banged up.

Sam Montembeault, G, Montreal Canadiens (Canada)

We could put Jordan Binnington in this space, too, but Binnington’s spot on the team is still safe given he was Canada’s starter en route to the 4 Nations crown last year. Montembeault was the No. 3, and he’s been one of the league’s worst goaltenders this season. Binnington, Montembeault and Adin Hill were the only netminders even invited to Canada’s summer orientation camp, but with half a dozen Canadian goalies outplaying them, plus Hill being injured, it stands to reason someone will force a goalie out. Montembeault would likely be the one to go, assuming Hill’s health co-operates.

With the Vancouver Canucks’ season spiralling out of control, it has only increased the speculation surrounding captain and All-Star defenseman Quinn Hughes and his future. Hughes, 26, has found his name at the heart of trade discussions going back to last season; Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford even alluded to Hughes wanting to potentially play alongside his brothers with the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils have certainly been the sexy destination for Hughes for obvious reasons, but the Philadelphia Flyers also have recently surfaced as a plausible destination for the 2018 seventh-overall pick. Having a well documented good relationship with Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet from Tocchet’s time in Vancouver, Hughes could have Philadelphia on his bingo card; if he truly wants to play on the Eastern seaboard, there will only be a handful of teams capable of fitting him under the salary cap and paying the necessary price to pry him out of Western Canada. 

Speaking with a Flyers source, while the team has not had any conversations with the Canucks regarding Hughes, they are definitely interested in the stud rearguard. The Flyers lack an alpha dog on the back end, nor do they have a prospect in their pipeline who projects to fill that hole. Travis Sanheim is the closest thing they have to a true No. 1 defenseman at this juncture; he is more of an authentic No. 2 on a contending team. Jamie Drysdale and Cam York are certainly quality top-four defenders but strike me more as supporting second-tier types who have already hit or are close to hitting their respective ceilings. 

The price for Hughes will certainly be a king’s ransom – which can only increase depending on the amount of interested teams – but the Flyers have both the cap space and assets to put themselves among the top bidders if push comes to shove. They have drafted six times in the first round since 2022 and project to have more than $36.5 million in cap space by the trade deadline this year; they are in good shape for any potential big move.

The Flyers have the most talent (both on and in the system) on the wing that they can use as trade currency. I have speculated recently on what players could be part of a package for a player like Hughes, specifically Tyson Foerster and 2025 sixth-overall pick Porter Martone. Speaking with a team source, Martone (and Matvei Michkov, additionally) is viewed as untouchable and would not be on the table for Hughes. On the flip side: given the competition would be extremely fierce to land a future-Hall-of-Famer like Hughes, would any offer without a talent like Martone even interest the Canucks?

Foerster is someone the team would be reluctant to trade, but I’ve heard that the Flyers would consider it as part of a deal for Hughes. Foerster, 23, is viewed as a core piece for the Flyers; he’s in the midst of a breakout season with 10 goals in 23 games as of Tuesday. Signed at a $3.75 million AAV until 2027, Foerster is at a good dollar value and is poised to be a major bargain for the next 18 months should he continue this level of point production. Foerster has become one of the most relied on forwards for the Flyers, playing in all situations, averaging the fourth most time on ice per game among team forwards and being an analytics darling.

Foerster has been sidelined for the next two to three months due to an upper-body injury. The injury occurred during Monday night’s game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. Foerster is coming off of an offseason injury that he recovered ahead of schedule from to make it in time for the start of the regular season. 

If there is a silver lining, I’m told that the injury was not as bad as originally thought. Expected to be back in February – before or just after the Olympic break – Foerster could’ve been sidelined for the entirety of the season given the initial worry. While I can’t say for certain, one source suggested that Foerster will not be having surgery, which would’ve resulted in a longer recovery time. 

Would Foerster (plus additional pieces, obviously) be enough for Hughes? It is hard to say what the Canucks are thinking, but Foerster is valued high enough by the Flyers that it sounds like they would draw a hard line on it. 

Beyond moving a forward for Hughes, sending back a package centered around a defenseman could be something the Flyers look at. Drysdale and York are two names that the Flyers would consider, I’m told, with the latter already locked in on a five year contract at $5.15-million AAV; the cost certainty could be attractive for the Canucks. 

York was drafted in 2019 – a year after Hughes – so the Canucks would be gaining in age there, though marginally. Drysdale, a 2020 first-round pick, is an RFA at season’s end and would fit the timeline for the Canucks if they do embrace a reset of sorts. Either player would not be enough for Hughes one for one, but I don’t get the sense that the Flyers would be prepared to “gut their team” if they are already moving out a top-four defenseman. 

Then there is Emil Andrae, who has solidified himself on the Flyers’ back end for the time being. Andrae could be a name that the Canucks could look at, but the Flyers are aware that the surrounding pieces around Andrae would need to be significantly higher as opposed to a York or a Drysdale. 

The three aforementioned defensemen are considered “undersized” in the eyes of the Flyers. It is well documented that the Flyers’ brass (specifically president of hockey ops Keith Jones) wants a bigger blueline ahead of them taking the next step to being a Stanley Cup contender. Hughes, despite being an elite talent, is still on the smaller side; should the Flyers find a way to acquire him, they would have to “reconstruct” the defensemen behind him, I’m told. Considering this, it would be practical for the Flyers to include one of their undersized defenders in any deal to acquire Hughes.

I had wondered about when the Flyers would be willing to make this deal; perhaps waiting until next summer when they would know whether they could lock Hughes into an extension beyond 2027? According to a team source, the timing of a trade would not play a factor in acquiring Hughes. Given Hughes not being a rental even on his current deal – signed until 2027 at a $7.85 million AAV – the team would, theoretically, have enough time to flip him to regain value if they felt like they couldn’t sign him to an extension.

In addition to Hughes, there has been speculation the last week or so about the Flyers having interest in some of the Canucks’ forwards. Like with Hughes, Tocchet is familiar with many of the Vancouver forwards – some of which I’m sure he likes. At this point, I’m told that the Flyers have had no discussions with Canucks GM Patrik Allvin regarding any of his forwards. 

Keifer Sherwood’s name has been brought up specifically as of late, but I’m told that, while Tocchet may like him, there isn’t any imminent interest on the part of the Flyers to this point. Between Sherwood’s age (30) and being a right shot winger (which the Flyers have a plethora of), there isn’t much of a fit from both a timeline and stylistic perspective. 

The Flyers are already preparing for there to be some “movement” over the next six to seven months among their wingers, I’m told, in order to fit prospects Denver Barkey, Alex Bump and Martone into the lineup over the next year or two. Adding a winger to an already crowded group isn’t high on their priority list.

Misa has missed the last 14 games due to a lower-body injury that he sustained before the Sharks’ 6-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on November 5th. The cause of the injury remains unknown, especially since he was a healthy scratch the game prior.

Due to his age and OHL eligibility, Misa is unable to play in the AHL full-time, as a non-injury demotion would require him to go to the OHL. His AHL stint can’t be longer than six days or three games depending on which occurs first, so he is currently only eligible for the Barracuda’s two-game homestand against the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday and Saturday. However, the Sharks can request an extension to the stint to give him two more games, which would give him another week in the AHL.

Misa will also be on long-term injured reserve during his conditioning stint, which means that he won’t take up a roster spot on the Sharks during his tenure in the AHL.

Misa’s conditioning stint comes at an interesting time, as Canada’s World Junior team is set to announce their initial roster for the tournament on Monday. Misa remains eligible for the team, so it’s possible that his conditioning stint will last until he is named to the tournament and joins Canada to prepare for it. Whether the Sharks opt to send him to the OHL after the tournament is not known at this point.

Misa was notably left off of Canada’s World Junior team in 2025, one of many decisions some think played a role in their quarterfinal exit to Czechia. However, it’d be a surprise to see him not on the roster this year should the Sharks make him available, as he would be one of their top offensive options.

Misa has had a quiet start to his NHL career, largely due to not finding a consistent role with the Sharks in the early-going. He has one goal and two assists for three points in seven games, and had been a healthy scratch in six games before the injury.

A lot has been made about the lack of trade action so far this NHL season. It’s not that we haven’t seen a single move made, but when the highlights are the Edmonton Oilers taking on Connor Ingram as a reclamation project and Lukas Reichel moving to an injury-plagued Vancouver Canucks team (and potentially already on the move again), it’s not exactly an exciting market. Some of that is due to a lack of sellers, and some is due to the newly implemented playoff salary cap making it harder for teams already up against the salary cap to make moves work.

But also, early season moves aren’t super common. Last season, Olli Maatta, Timothy Liljegren, Lars Eller, Philip Tomasino, Scott Wedgewood and David Jiricek were the only names of any note traded prior to December, but the action did pick up in the final month of the calendar year. Jacob Trouba, Mackenzie Blackwood, Cam Fowler, Kaapo Kakko, Alexandre Carrier and Juuso Parssinen were all on the move in December, and the trades rarely slowed down, with deals in the New Year including Mikko Rantanen (twice), J.T. Miller, Seth Jones and Brad Marchand.

So with December now underway, will we see similar movement around the holidays? The standings may still be super tight, but there are already a few teams reportedly looking to make moves, and a couple more teams well outside the playoffs destined to sell. All it takes is one stone to drop, and the market starts rolling.

Today, I’m going to look at several different players who seem most likely to be on the move in December, and as a result, will finally kick off a slow trade market.

Rasmus Andersson/Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames

Why a trade might happen: Considering how far out of the playoff picture the Flames already are, they seem like an obvious candidate to move some players. With a 9-15-4 record, they already sit six points outside a playoff spot, and while ownership and management are a bit reluctant to commit to a rebuild so quickly, it feels inevitable. When they do, they may have the best center and defenseman on the market in Kadri and Andersson, so it’s possible a team is eager to get a deal for either player done well before the deadline while they’re still available.

Why a trade might not happen… yet: The Flames are currently in a stretch of 4-2-1 in their past seven games. It’s not enough to put them in the playoff conversation yet, but it’s enough for them to go from well outside the conversation to the fringes of it. However, with how much Flames ownership likes to avoid full-on rebuilds, this little run might be enough for them to hold off on a trade until the start of the new year. Andersson in particular should be gone before the deadline if Calgary has any common sense, but they may just procrastinate making that move for a little longer.

Any goaltender

Why a trade might happen: The existence of the Edmonton Oilers already puts the possibility of a goalie trade happening relatively high, as they are now in their third season of fans and media clamoring for upgrades on Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. But it’s not just Edmonton. The Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Mammoth all have struggles in the crease, and all of them have playoff aspirations (or they did at the start the season). Some will likely hope for internal improvement from their goalies, but the market is definitely there, and the Colorado Avalanche‘s goalie overhaul last December may prove to teams it’s possible if they act soon enough.

Why a trade might not happen… yet: While you could make the excuse of the standings being too close for any option on this list, with goalies it matters all the more. Teams may be hesitant to move on from one of their netminders while they remain in the playoff hunt (Tristan Jarry, Elvis Merzlikins) at the risk of losing some depth at the position. And then the goalies whom teams would want to move aren’t having good seasons (John Gibson, Cam Talbot) or haven’t played in a while (Laurent Brossoit), so teams looking for help in the crease don’t see those options as an improvement. Then there’s the few teams who are actually in the window of selling in Calgary, Nashville and Vancouver: are they trading Dustin Wolf, Juuse Saros or Thatcher Demko right now? Definitely not.

Yegor Chinakhov, Columbus Blue Jackets

Why a trade might happen: Last season, one of the first moves to kick off the trade season was a disgruntled Blue Jacket in David Jiricek getting dealt to a new team to get a new opportunity. So why not try it again? Chinakhov requested a trade in the summer, and while Columbus hasn’t found a suitor just yet, maybe now is the time they do. Teams now know who they are this season and what they need, so considering he’s tied for 31st in 5v5 goals for per 60 minutes since the 2023-24 season and only getting 10:18 a night with the Blue Jackets, maybe a team looking for a buy-low candidate for their top six takes a swing on him.

Why a trade might not happen… yet: An injury to Kirill Marchenko has given Chinakhov some opportunities in the top six, so that alone could deter Columbus from making a move at this moment, but even then, he already finds himself back on the fourth line. Considering the trade talks are largely driven by Chinakhov’s request, it also wouldn’t be a surprise if the Blue Jackets aren’t itching to pull the trigger on a deal in hopes the 2020 first-rounder either finds a role he likes and rescinds the request. Or they just want to see how high the bidding war goes before dealing him. With that in mind, this might be something that happens in 2026.