NHL Trade Talk Recap

NHL Trade Talk Recap: Penguins, Canucks, Oilers & Jets Won’t Move Hellebuyck

NHL Trade Talk Recap: Penguins shift targets, Berube exits the Oilers race, and Hellebuyck to Colorado sparks rumours.

by
Old Prof
July 8, 2026

In today’s NHL Trade Talk Recap (July 8, 2026), we share a quick rundown of three interesting storylines. Teams are getting restless, but not everything sounds like it’s actually close. The Penguins look like they’re moving on from Jason Robertson and maybe circling back to Elias Pettersson instead. But the Canucks’ asking price (Ben Kindel) and Pettersson’s prior hesitation make it complicated. In coaching news, Craig Berube says he interviewed with the Oilers but withdrew from the process because the process dragged on. Edmonton ended up hiring Mike Babcock. And over in Colorado, there was a fun rumour that the Avalanche might’ve explored a deal for Connor Hellebuyck. But it sounds more like an “interesting idea” than a real deal, mostly because of cap pressure and how hard it would be to make the roster math work without hurting depth.

Penguins move on from Robertson, target Pettersson instead

The Penguins’ pursuit of Jason Robertson appears to be slowing down for now, and they’re reportedly looking at Elias Pettersson next. Tyler Kennedy (via Andrew Fillipponi) says Vancouver wants Ben Kindel in return, but that price is reportedly making the deal tough to finish.

Pettersson is a center coming off a 51-point season with six years left at an $11.6M cap hit, while Kindel would bring a much smaller $975K cap hit. Also, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman says Pittsburgh already tried to make a Pettersson deal once. Rumour has it Pettersson wasn’t interested then. So it’s a question of whether his stance has changed.

Elias Pettersson Turned Down a Trade to the Penguins; Are They Circling Back with a New Offer?

Craig Berube steps out of Oilers coaching race

Craig Berube says he interviewed with the Oilers for their head coach job, but he ultimately withdrew. He says the interview went well. It wasn’t because of a bad interview—it just dragged on longer than he wanted. So he withdrew instead of waiting.

Edmonton ended up hiring Mike Babcock. Berube also said meeting new people like Stan Bowman and Jeff Jackson wasn’t a waste, and he’s still hungry to coach again and is watching for the next opening.

Did Berube’s Unexpected Decision Lead to the Oilers’ Pivot to Hiring Babcock?

Berube Knoblauch coach — Berube didn’t replace Knoblauch as coach of the Oilers.

Avs chatted about Hellebuyck… but it sounds way too hard

Colorado’s lineup is already stacked and terrifying, so it was a wild little rumour when people started wondering whether the Avalanche had even looked into trading for Connor Hellebuyck. Friedman said other teams had heard Colorado might’ve taken a shot, but he stressed it wasn’t confirmed. He didn’t think anyone could really see how the deal would work.

The issue is the money and the roster squeeze. Hellebuyck is locked in long term at a high cap hit, and the Avs are already tight on cap because of contracts like Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. Plus, they want to re-sign Cale Makar, which could require a significant financial commitment. If you had to clear space by moving real players, you’d risk blowing up the depth that makes Colorado so dangerous. So the whole thing reads more like an “interesting idea” than something close to happening.

Connor Hellebuyck to the Avalanche? Rival GMs Have Interesting Theory