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The NHL News cycle is heating up quickly with training camps only days away, and September 10 has already delivered a development that could alter the late-summer player market.
Chris Kreider is on unconditional waivers with the Anaheim Ducks intending to terminate the final season of his contract, potentially putting a proven goal scorer onto the unrestricted free-agent market just before camp. At the same time, Quinn Hughes is making it clear that Minnesota’s contract clock will not dictate his decision, while Connor Hellebuyck’s request to leave Winnipeg continues to hang over one of the NHL’s most fascinating trade situations.
Those three stories are connected by one theme: leverage.
Anaheim needs financial flexibility. Minnesota desperately wants long-term certainty. Winnipeg has an elite goaltender under contract but a player who has publicly asked for a change.
For teams looking for one final major move before the 2026-27 season, this could be the point in September when opportunities begin to appear.
Latest NHL News: Chris Kreider’s Ducks Exit Creates New Cap and Free-Agent Questions
The biggest transaction development today surrounds Chris Kreider.
NHL.com confirmed that Kreider was placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. If he clears, the 35-year-old can become an unrestricted free agent. He had one year remaining at a $6.5 million cap hit.
That confirmation is significant because it also validates reporting from a day earlier that Anaheim was preparing to move on from the veteran forward. The move would provide the Ducks with additional financial flexibility as they work toward a contract with restricted free agent Cutter Gauthier.
Gauthier is the bigger long-term priority.
The 22-year-old led Anaheim with 41 goals and 69 points last season, while the Ducks already committed $18 million annually to Leo Carlsson after matching Philadelphia’s five-year, $90 million offer sheet.
Here is where the numbers become interesting.
PuckPedia currently lists Anaheim with a projected cap hit of approximately $94.93 million against the NHL’s $104 million ceiling, leaving roughly $9.07 million in projected cap space while Kreider’s $6.5 million cap hit remains included.
My NHLTradeRumor.com calculation is straightforward: if Kreider’s entire $6.5 million hit disappears following termination and no other roster salary changes, Anaheim’s available room would climb to approximately $15.57 million.
Anaheim Ducks Cap Snapshot
What Chris Kreider’s potential contract termination could mean for Cutter Gauthier negotiations
NHLTradeRumor.com calculation based on PuckPedia’s current projected roster. Figures can change with additional signings, assignments and transactions.
That would give the Ducks considerably more flexibility to finish negotiations with Gauthier.
A hypothetical $9 million Gauthier cap hit, for example, would still leave roughly $6.57 million using that simplified roster calculation.
Those numbers can move with roster assignments and other transactions, but the underlying message is obvious: moving Kreider isn’t merely about moving on from an older player. It potentially clears the financial runway for one of Anaheim’s cornerstone young forwards.
From a hockey perspective, Kreider becoming available this late would also be fascinating. He still produced 22 goals and 50 points in 75 games last season. Any contender examining him would have to weigh declining age-related value against his size, net-front ability, playoff experience and history of producing on special teams.
Quinn Hughes Refuses to Be Rushed Into a Wild Extension
Another major NHL News story revolves around Quinn Hughes and a contract decision that could eventually reshape the 2027 free-agent market.
Hughes told reporters at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour that his next contract will be completed when he believes the timing is right.
“This is going to be done whenever I feel like it needs to be done.”
That is about as clear a message as Minnesota can receive.
Hughes has one season remaining on his $7.85 million annual contract and can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2027. Minnesota can sign him to an eight-year extension through September 15. Beginning September 16 under the new CBA, the maximum term for a player re-signing with his current club drops to seven years.
Yet Hughes does not appear interested in allowing that deadline to force his hand.
That matters.
Minnesota surrendered Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round pick to acquire Hughes from Vancouver last December. Hughes then delivered 53 points in only 48 regular-season games with Minnesota.
The Wild didn’t pay that price for one-and-a-half seasons.
My read is that there is no reason for Minnesota to panic yet, but every month Hughes remains unsigned increases the significance of the story.
Cale Makar’s eight-year, $163.2 million extension—and its $20.4 million average annual value—has also fundamentally changed the negotiating benchmark for superstar defensemen. Hughes does not need to rush when the market has already established just how expensive elite defense can become.
Connor Hellebuyck Trade Rumors Remain One of the NHL’s Biggest Unresolved Stories
Meanwhile, Connor Hellebuyck trade rumors aren’t disappearing.
Hellebuyck publicly confirmed August 27 that he had requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets after initially making the request privately months earlier. The Jets acknowledged that Hellebuyck wants a change while saying there was no new update on the process.
Jets captain Adam Lowry said this week that spending too much time speculating about the situation is essentially pointless for Winnipeg’s players and that the team has to prepare for camp regardless of what happens.
That’s understandable inside the dressing room.
For the rest of the NHL, however, Hellebuyck remains impossible to ignore.
He carries an $8.5 million cap hit and has five seasons remaining on his contract. His 2025-26 numbers fell to a .895 save percentage, but we’re still talking about a three-time Vezina Trophy winner who won the Hart Trophy in 2024-25 and helped Team USA win Olympic gold in February.
My NHLTradeRumor.com proprietary trade-value model currently gives Hellebuyck a 78/100 trade-value rating.
Connor Hellebuyck
Winnipeg Jets • GoaltenderElite trade target, but age and a public trade request reduce the likelihood Winnipeg receives a completely unrestricted superstar return.
Editorial model created by NHLTradeRumor.com. It is not an NHL team valuation, betting model or report of an actual trade offer.
His elite track record and contractual control keep his value high. Age, he is 33, and the fact that Winnipeg is negotiating with a player who has already requested a trade reduce the Jets’ leverage.
That doesn’t mean Hellebuyck should be available cheaply.
It means a buying team has considerably more information about Winnipeg’s situation than it normally would when negotiating for a superstar.
This could become especially important once training camp begins. If Hellebuyck reports and plays, Winnipeg can continue waiting for the right offer. If the situation becomes uncomfortable or a contender develops an urgent goaltending need, the market could accelerate quickly.
Connor McDavid Says the Energy Is Back in Edmonton
Edmonton also returned to the ice this week after a much longer offseason than the Oilers had become accustomed to following consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025.
Connor McDavid told reporters he feels healthy, refreshed and excited about returning.
“You can feel the energy around the room. It’s all positive.”
Edmonton was eliminated by Anaheim in six games in the first round last season, its earliest postseason exit since 2021. That gives the Oilers something they haven’t had recently: significant recovery time combined with the frustration of an early playoff defeat.
Edmonton also signed Alex Formenton to a one-year, $850,000 contract Wednesday. Formenton previously played 109 NHL games with Ottawa and had been playing professionally in Switzerland after his last NHL season in 2021-22.
The hockey question now becomes whether Edmonton’s extra rest and roster changes translate into another serious Stanley Cup run.
Hockey World Mourns Barry Melrose
Today’s NHL News also carries some sad news.
Former NHL player, coach and longtime ESPN analyst Barry Melrose died at age 70.
Melrose coached Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final before eventually becoming one of hockey’s most recognizable television personalities. He stepped away from ESPN in 2023 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
For generations of hockey fans, particularly those who followed the sport through ESPN, Melrose was more than an analyst. His unmistakable appearance, humour and direct style became part of how the NHL was presented to American viewers.
His impact on hockey broadcasting will be difficult to replicate.
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