The 2026 NHL Draft begins Friday, Jason Robertson rejects a trade to the Kraken, Wild owner vows to re-sign Quinn Hughes, the latest on Zach Werenski and Alex Ovechkin, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
WHO WILL THE MAPLE LEAFS CHOOSE WITH THE FIRST-OVERALL PICK?
NHL.COM: The Toronto Maple Leafs face a big decision with the first overall pick as the 2026 NHL Draft begins with the first round on Friday in Buffalo.
Penn State winger Gavin McKenna and forward Ivar Stenberg of SHL club Frolunda are the top two prospects.
The San Jose Sharks hold the second overall pick, followed by the Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, and New York Rangers to round out the top five. The Calgary Flames possess the sixth overall selection, followed by the Seattle Kraken, Winnipeg Jets, Sharks, and Nashville Predators to complete the top 10.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s widely believed that the Leafs will select McKenna. San Jose is expected to take Stenberg, provided they haven’t traded that pick beforehand. Sharks general manager Mike Grier said he’s received at least one interesting trade offer. The Sabres could also peddle their pick for an established player, and the Rangers could dangle their pick for more immediate help. I’ll have more about that in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
THE LATEST ON JASON ROBERTSON, QUINN HUGHES, ALEX OVECHKIN & ZACH WERENSKI
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports sources claim the Dallas Stars permitted the Seattle Kraken to speak with Jason Robertson. They offered him an eight-year contract with an average annual value of $15 million, but the 26-year-old winger rejected the offer.
Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson (NHL Images).
Friedman indicated that the two clubs were believed to have worked out a trade before the Kraken were permitted to talk to Robertson, with the Kraken’s first-round pick in Friday’s draft (seventh overall) as part of the return.
Robertson is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1, and is a year away from unrestricted free-agent eligibility. He and the Stars are reportedly $2 million apart in negotiations. The Stars’ top contract belongs to winger Mikko Rantanen at $12 million annually, and the hope was that Robertson might come in around that number.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: According to Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek, the St. Louis Blues offered a trade package to the Stars that included multiple first-round picks. However, the deal didn’t go through because Robertson wasn’t interested in signing with the Blues.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli claimed the Toronto Maple Leafs tried to get involved in the Kraken-Stars deal by offering up Matthews Knies to the Stars for the seventh-overall pick had the Robertson trade gone through. The Ottawa Senators were also believed to be interested in Robertson, but were told that he wasn’t willing to sign with them.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If these reports are anything to go by, Robertson has played his final game with the Stars. The two sides could continue their contract negotiations, but the fact that the Stars were close to trading him to Seattle suggests the salary gulf between them can’t be bridged.
Robertson lacks no-trade protection, but his RFA status gives him leverage over where he can be traded. No one is going to part with significant assets for a star who won’t commit to a contract beyond next season. The Stars will likely keep searching for trade offers from clubs that are acceptable destinations for Robertson.
The Kraken’s offer could be based on what Robertson seeks in his negotiations with the Stars. His rejection of that proposal busts the myth that free-agent talent only wants to play in no-tax states. Robertson is the second player to reject a big-money offer from the Kraken, as Artemi Panarin did the same in February when he rejected a trade to Seattle in favor of a move to the Los Angeles Kings. Their odds of landing either player would’ve been better if they were a winning franchise.
Robertson could receive an offer sheet on July 1, but the cost of signing him would include four first-round picks to the Stars as compensation, as it’s clear he’s seeking well over $12 million annually. However, the Stars’ attempt to trade him suggests they’re seeking a return that could also provide more immediate help.
TSN: Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold expects his club to re-sign Quinn Hughes. The 26-year-old superstar defenseman has one season remaining on his contract and will be UFA-eligible next July.
“We had to give up a lot to get him in this past year,” Leipold said, referring to the trade last December with the Vancouver Canucks. “We are going to re-sign him. The question is for how long. We would like to go as long as we could.”
Leipold believes Hughes will probably want a shorter deal than the one Kirill Kaprizov signed with the Wild last fall. “Shorter being maybe three years,” he said.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Leipold made similar comments about Kaprizov months before his club inked the superstar winger to an eight-year extension. The Wild can sign Hughes starting on July 1.
A three-year extension would give Hughes four years with the Wild, which is probably the window that Leipold and general manager Bill Guerin believe their club has to win the Stanley Cup. After that, Hughes could pursue his dream of playing with his brothers, Jack and Luke, in New Jersey.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Sammi Silber reports Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carberry said Alex Ovechkin is “very impressed, very happy” with the big trades the club made this week.
The Capitals acquired winger Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. The following day, they brought in winger Alex Tuch in a sign-and-trade deal with the Buffalo Sabres.
Ovechkin is expected to decide in July whether he’ll return for another season with the Capitals. If he does commit for 2026-27, Carberry said the 40-year-old winger is willing to accept a modified role with the club.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some saw the acquisitions of Kyrou and Tuch as the Capitals preparing for Ovechkin’s retirement, while others saw them as a way to entice him to play one more season. Bringing in those two should address both possibilities.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell said he intends to meet with Zach Werenski soon to discuss his future with the club.
Werenski won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as this season’s top NHL defenseman. The 28-year-old has two years remaining on his contract, but there’s been speculation about how long he plans to remain with the Jackets.
“I know for right now, there’s some matters that we’re dealing with that should probably stay internal,” Waddell said. He added that he’s had some conversations with Werenski’s agent, saying there’s been “no definitive plan, for sure.”
Waddell also said he didn’t get the sense that Werenski was basing his decision on the Blue Jackets’ offseason plans, but that could factor into it.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: We saw one of those plans on Thursday when the Blue Jackets acquired winger Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche. I’ll have more on that below.
Waddell’s cryptic comments about keeping some things internal suggest that Werenski may have expressed his frustration over the Blue Jackets’ inability to clinch a playoff berth over the past two seasons. The uncertainty over his future ensures he will be a frequent subject for trade speculation.
NHL TRADE TRACKER FOR JUNE 25
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH/COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: The Blue Jackets acquired winger Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick (43rd overall), a 2027 third-round pick, and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Nichushkin is a replacement for Boone Jenner or Mason Marchment. Both are pending UFAs who are unlikely to return. As for the Avalanche, this was a cost-cutting move, freeing up Nichushkin’s $6.125 million AAV from their books. They now have almost $11 million in salary-cap space for 2026-27, which will likely be used to shore up their blueline.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW/FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: The Philadelphia Flyers traded forward Garnet Hathaway and a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2027 fourth-rounder. The Flyers are retaining half of Hathaway’s $2.4 million AAV.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hathaway will be a replacement for UFA-eligible forward AJ Greer.
THE HOCKEY NEWS/PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Washington Capitals traded forward Hendrix Lapierre to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
THE HOCKEY NEWS/NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: The Capitals also traded defenseman Declain Chisholm to the New Jersey Devils for a 2027 fourth-round pick.