Could There Be More Movement at the 2026 NHL Draft
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period was on NHL Tonight with Erika Watcher on NHL Network on Sunday and was asked about whether there will be teams moving the first-round picks, specifically in the top 10, at the 2026 NHL Draft.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Erika Watcher: “We can talk about all these teams forever, but let’s just get one more for you. The NHL Draft is just about a month out from that. Are any teams looking to make a move up the board at the top of the draft?”
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Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, there are some teams that I believe are curious in terms of moving up, and there are some teams that are willing to listen on their pick. San Jose has the second overall pick for the second year in a row. They’re willing to listen on that second overall pick, and it sounds like Chicago, as well, is also willing to listen on that number four. You have the five and six slots right there.
I think the New York Rangers and the Calgary Flames are two teams that are interested in moving up, or at least going to explore those possibilities. Calgary was hoping they’d be in a better position with that pick, certainly going to be able to bring in somebody, a solid stud, somebody in there at the sixth spot.
But Craig Conroy is going to look to move up. They’re also open for business, by the way. Calgary is willing to listen on a variety of different players. So they’re speaking of creativity earlier, they’re willing to be creative here going into the draft and into the summer, but the Flames are looking to move up.
The Rangers are going to explore that possibility as well. I think San Jose is willing to listen on that number two pick. And I am curious about Vancouver now that they’ve made all their changes in the front office, and they’re going to shore up their coaching staff. It sounds like we may hear something in the next few days with that side of things.
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It wouldn’t surprise me if they look to San Jose to see if they can move up to that number, two, but I think a lot of teams are willing to have those conversations, and hopefully, as we get closer to the draft, we see a few more fireworks than we saw last year.”
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