The NHL offseason is already off the rails with blockbuster trades coming in one after the other over the last few days.Historically, this league hasn’t had a reputation for wild player movement or particularly aggressive general managers, but a convergence of forces is creating the perfect storm: One of the worst free-agent classes in history, teams that are more willing to trade first-round picks, and players that either want out (Brady Tkachuk) or have lucrative contract demands (Šimon Nemec) that lead to trades.The craziest part is that it feels like only the tip of the iceberg. There are still many unresolved/uncertain situations around the league, including Dylan Larkin, Jason Robertson, and Connor Hellebuyck.Let’s dive into some of the big trades we’ve seen over the last few days and crown some early winners and losers. The list below comes with caveats because the teams involved could still make further notable moves.Brady Tkachuk to the Florida PanthersSean McIndoe and Sean GentilleWinner: Buffalo SabresJust over two years ago, the Sabres acquired Bowen Byram in a one-for-one trade for Casey Mittelstadt. Mittelstadt flamed out in Colorado and was sent to Boston as a salary-cap dump as part of the Charlie Coyle trade; meanwhile, Byram just returned a king’s ransom that included picks No. 4 and 45 and solid depth defender Louis Crevier.Top-five picks rarely get moved — the last time it happened was in 2008 — so the fact that a non-elite player of Byram’s caliber finally broke the drought is incredible work by the Sabres. Yes, Buffalo will need to replace Byram’s top-four minutes next season, but it never felt like he was a long-term fit for the organization anyway.Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson, to a lesser extent, are all highly paid as they’ll combine to cost $23.6 million against the cap for 2026-27. With all that money already invested in the blue line, and a tighter-than-expected overall cap situation, it never made sense for the Sabres to re-sign Byram, who’s eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer, to a massive extension (his next deal was projected at a $9.5 million AAV, according to AFPAnalytics). That they also dumped Jordan Greenway’s $4 million contract as part of this deal is a sweet bonus.Not only did the Sabres duck a risky contract that Byram would likely have struggled to live up to, but they also turned it into a ridiculous haul of assets.Winner: Bowen ByramGoing from the up-and-coming Sabres to the 31st-place Blackhawks will mean losing a lot more games next year, but from practically every other standpoint, this trade benefits Byram’s career, and more specifically, his wallet.Byram is a year away from UFA status, and after the enormous package Chicago surrendered, he has all the leverage in the world when the club comes to him to initiate contract extension talks. He can command money he never could have dreamed of getting within Buffalo’s cap structure, especially with the Blackhawks carrying approximately $30 million in cap space. What’s Chicago going to do, say no, and risk losing him in free agency next summer?Byram will also get an extended shot to quarterback the team’s first-unit power play and be their bona fide No. 1 defenseman. He’s going to get all the prime opportunities that he’s long reportedly wanted, none of which he was going to get in Buffalo with Dahlin in the picture. First-unit power-play time with Connor Bedard will be one heck of a way for Byram, who’s never hit the 45-point mark in a single season, to pad his point totals.Loser: Kyle Davidson and the Chicago BlackhawksThis Byram move feels like a repeat of the 2021 Seth Jones trade, in which Chicago overpaid to acquire a talented but imperfect big-name defenseman. Except it’s arguably worse because Byram isn’t even as impactful as Jones was.Byram will give the Blackhawks’ blue line a significant, immediate boost, but the price is impossible to overlook. It’s also fair to wonder if Chicago has the defensive structure and environment to maximize his high-risk, high-reward game. There’s also plenty of risk surrounding his next contract — colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model rates his value closer to a $7.6 million AAV.This kind of reckless gamble is a tenure-defining move, and the odds are heavily stacked against Davidson for it to pan out.Loser: Connor BedardBedard is entering Year 4 of his NHL career, and the club hasn’t found a high-end winger for him to play with, and they’re still miles away from making the playoffs.San Jose’s William Eklund trade clearly signaled that Ivar Stenberg wasn’t going to fall to the Blackhawks at No. 4, which eliminated that dream scenario. Then trading that pick to land a non-star defenseman rather than an elite winger makes matters even worse.There might not be a No. 1 center in the NHL who’s had less help on his wings than Bedard over the last three years, and unless the Blackhawks have another move coming, that situation isn’t meaningfully changing anytime soon.Winner: The Tkachuks and the Florida PanthersWhether you like them or hate them, you just know that the Tkachuk brothers are going to have a blast playing together full-time. It’s not just that they’re on the team; they’ll almost certainly be on the same line with Sam Bennett. A trio of Bennett and the Tkachuk brothers is going to drive opponents nuts, and they’re going to relish every second of it.This move is a win for the Panthers, who will now have one of the greatest top-nine forward groups ever assembled in the salary cap era. However, they were also lucky to have the assets to acquire Brady in the first place.Florida sent its 2026 first-round pick to Chicago at last year’s trade deadline as part of the Jones trade. The only reason the Panthers kept that pick and got to use it as the centerpiece of the Tkachuk deal is that it was top-10 protected. Had Florida collected just three more points in the regular season, that pick would have landed outside the top 10 and been transferred to the Blackhawks, and this trade wouldn’t have happened.Winner: Star players with no-trade/ no-movement protectionThe Tkachuk trade is the latest example of the league’s new player empowerment era. It’s not just that star players are more comfortable than ever putting their careers first; they’re all armed with no-trade/no-movement protection that they’re weaponizing to dictate trades to specific markets.The spirit of these clauses is to protect players from unwanted trades (eg: Colton Parayko’s nixed move to Buffalo), but now, stars like Tkachuk and Larkin are asking out and then handpicking which teams they’re willing to go to, most of which are win-now contenders and/or warm cities with no state income tax. There’s a chance that names like Hellebuyck, Zach Werenski, and Auston Matthews (if the Leafs struggle next year) could follow suit by asking out and then having control over the teams they’d go to.NHL stars are beginning to follow in the footsteps of their NBA counterparts in flexing their power and leverage more often.Winner: San Jose SharksThere’s still work to be done, but the Sharks’ offseason is off to a dream start.Buying low on Michael Kesselring — all that it cost was trading down from pick No. 20 to No. 27 — was a sharp way to upgrade the backend while retaining all their key draft picks and prospects. The William Eklund trade, meanwhile, is outstanding asset management.Eklund is a likeable top-six winger, and the move could absolutely end up being worth it for the Senators, but the Sharks were already stacked up front with Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Michael Misa, Igor Chernyshov, the extremely underrated Collin Graf, Kiefer Sherwood, and Tyler Toffoli.Trading Eklund for another top-10 pick puts San Jose in a terrific spot. It allows them to either draft a defenseman in the top-10 like Keaton Verhoeff, Daxon Rudolph, or Albert Smits (who’s very close to being NHL-ready), or leverage that No. 9 pick in a package to trade for a top defenseman.Knowing that they can use the No. 9 pick in some capacity to help the blue line, they’re also free to draft Ivar Stenberg at No. 2 rather than reaching for a defenseman like Chase Reid. Stenberg is clearly the best player available for that slot, and as a bonus, he’s the most NHL-ready prospect of this draft class, so he’ll be an immediate contributor.Winner: St. Louis BluesJordan Kyrou is an excellent player, who will almost certainly bounce back in Washington, but the Blues got an excellent haul in dealing him to the Capitals.Connor McMichael is only a year removed from scoring 26 goals and 57 points in 2024-25 — the downgrade from Kyrou to McMichael (who’s also three years younger) netted the Blues the No. 16 pick and a solid prospect in Milton Gästrin, who was the No. 37 pick in last year’s draft.St. Louis now has four first-round picks in this year’s draft, in addition to seven more picks from Rounds 3 to 5. This, combined with all their cap flexibility, positions the club to take a massive swing on the trade market. We’ll have to reserve full judgment until we see what that next move actually looks like, but for now, this is an encouraging start.Winner: The Washington Capitals’ asset managementThe Kyrou trade is a clear win-win. Yes, Washington paid a premium price, but it’s worth it for a top-flight winger who’s been a consistent 35-goal threat before this season, in addition to his dynamic ability to transport the puck through the neutral zone and drive play.The Caps could justify paying this hefty acquisition cost because of their excellent asset management at the trade deadline. In March, Washington surprisingly and somewhat controversially traded away franchise stalwart and pending UFA John Carlson in a deal that landed Anaheim’s first-round pick (No. 18) and a 2027 third.Knowing they had two top-20 selections after the Carlson trade, the Capitals could more easily stomach trading one of them (they traded their own at No. 16 rather than Anaheim’s at No. 18) in this Kyrou trade.Winner: Sunny MehtaThere’s always a microscope on an incoming GM’s first offseason. Mehta has a lot more to accomplish before anyone can call this a successful summer, but the Nemec trade was a strong first move.Nemec’s next contract projection is very expensive and was hard to justify for the cap-strapped Devils, his defensive metrics were among the worst in the NHL, and his potential wasn’t going to be maximized in New Jersey, where Luke Hughes was blocking his path to prime offensive deployment. Mehta turned those circumstances into a hefty return, netting a package with two first-round picks, albeit ones that are likely to be late, and a second.This trade improves New Jersey’s cap situation and right-shot defense logjam, while also arming the Devils with extra draft picks that can be used to trade for a top-six winger for Jack Hughes to play with.Loser: Teams outside their contention window that fail to pounce on seller’s marketA big takeaway in all of these recent trades is that quality players are being sold for steep prices. There’s a high demand for talent, especially because of how terrible this year’s free-agent class is, and because the number of teams willing to tear their roster down for futures is fairly low.Any team outside of its contention window that fails to capitalize on this seller’s market over the next few weeks will be a clear loser.The New York Rangers should be trying to land home run packages for Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider. The Vancouver Canucks should be open to the idea of moving Filip Hronek, whose value would be through the roof as a stud all-around top-pair defenseman, even if it means getting a bit uncomfortable in trying to work around his no-movement clause. The Winnipeg Jets should be honest with themselves that their window for winning a Stanley Cup in the Central division is closed and pivot toward selling players off and building for the future.There’s plenty of time for these teams, and others, to pull the trigger on selling moves, but it’d clearly be in their best interests for it to happen at some point over the next few weeks.