The 2024-25 NHL season is officially a month long and it’s been an exciting four weeks. The Winnipeg Jets are atop the league standings in the first of many upsets thus far.

As the rankings start to shake a little, trade rumors are increasing. There is talk around the NHL of several teams active on the commercial market, but is there any truth to it? Let’s dive into some of the hottest rumors with a little edit of fact or fiction: trade rumors.

There is nothing to dispute here. Reports fly surrounding these three teams and they all want to add one thing: another front-line center. That’s a huge ask on their front offices, but all three teams could desperately use another top-six forward to shoulder their offensive burden.

The fiction is not that the Edmonton Oilers want defensive help. That much is abundantly clear as the Oilers have struggled to find their defensive shape through the first 10 games. The fiction is that they are actively seeking this help. Edmonton is hamstrung by salary cap restrictions that will prevent them from shopping for a higher salary. That’s why they had to act for a player like Ronnie Attard of the Philadelphia Flyers.

THE Canadians have the assets, roster holes and salary cap flexibility to get a deal done. Losing Patrick Laine was a major blow and left the team with a hole in their top six again. The core trio of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky needs another running mate to truly legitimize their offense and the chatter around this pursuit is very real.

This one falls into the same category as the Oilers and their search for another defenseman. Although the Colorado Avalanche would be happy to add another scorer, it’s just not in the cards. The team is awaiting the return of players like Valeri Nischuskin and Gabriel Landeskog while veteran Artturi Lekhonen was just activated off injured reserve. Combine that with a tiny amount of available salary cap space and the Avalanche are not active on the market.