NHL training camps loom after unusually active August

The NHL off-season tends to become much quieter after the excitement of free agency wears off in early July.

After the lucrative contracts are handed out and arbitration cases are settled, the NHL goes into hibernation mode and August is usually the month that is considered largely forgettable until training camps roll around.

But not this year. Between offer sheets, major trades and signings, it was an unusually busy month around the league.

Blues pull off successful dual offer sheets

The St. Louis Blues made headlines on Aug. 10 when they tendered offer sheets to restricted free agents Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, then of the Edmonton Oilers. They offered both players two-year contracts, with Broberg at $4.58 million per year and Holloway at $2.29 million per year.

In order to sign Broberg, the Blues first had to re-acquire their 2025 second-rounder from the Pittsburgh Penguins  after moving it, along with Kevin Hayes, in June. St. Louis sent a 2026 second-round pick and a 2025 third-round pick (the Ottawa Senators' selection) to the Penguins to get their pick and a 2026 fifth-rounder back.

After seven days, the Oilers declined to match and Broberg and Holloway went to St. Louis, with the Blues giving up the 2025 second-rounder for Broberg and a 2025 third-round selection for Holloway.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said after landing both players that his strategy wasn't personal in signing the first offer sheets since 2021.

"I’ve read what people are writing. If there is a GM code not to do offer sheets, no one emailed it to me," Armstrong said. "This is a tool that I think everyone uses and should use... So, there’s no code. I did talk to some people in the league. ... Offer sheets are there if you think you’re going to get the player.

"I don't believe in offer sheets to harm an organization. Meaning, put an offer sheet on because you know they’re going to match, but it puts them in a bad spot. That, for me at least, I wouldn't do that. I don’t see the purpose in that. I think the purpose of an offer sheet is, if you look at a franchise and you think you have opportunity to get a player, you do it and that’s the way we looked at this one."

Broberg, 23, had two assists in 12 games last season with Edmonton during the regular season. In the playoffs, the defenceman had two goals and an assists in 10 games, playing in all seven games of the Stanley Cup Final. He was taken eighth overall by Edmonton in 2019.

Holloway had six goals and nine points in 38 games with the Oilers. The 22-year-old forward appeared in all 25 games during the playoffs, scoring five goals and two assists. He was drafted 14th overall by the Oilers in 2020.

Despite electing not to match the offer sheets, the Oilers were busy in August, making a number of trades to fill out their lineup.

On Aug. 18, the Oilers traded defenceman Cody Ceci and a 2025 third-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenceman Ty Emberson. Later that same day, they picked up forward Vasily Podkolzin, the 10th overall pick in the 2019 draft, from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2025 fourth-round pick.

They also completed another deal with St. Louis, receiving defensive prospect Paul Fischer and a 2028 third-round pick for future considerations.

With their roster suddenly looking quite different than it was in early July 1, Oilers general manager Stan Bowman hasn't ruled out that more moves could follow.

“We do have a different group than we did and we’re hopeful that some of those [defencemen] can emerge and take on larger roles,” Bowman said. “But the other thing is this situation gives us more opportunity to, hopefully, be able to accrue some cap space and be in the mix. If the situation calls for it and we want to make an addition to our team, then that opportunity could be possible under this scenario.”

Canadiens add Laine as he looks to start fresh

The Oilers were not the only Canadian team to make big moves this month. On Aug. 19, the Montreal Canadiens acquired winger Patrik Laine and a 2026 second-round pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenceman Jordan Harris.

Laine missed most of the 2023-24 season dealing with injuries and entered the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program in January. He was cleared to return in July. The Tampere, Finland native scored six goals with three assists in 18 games last season. The Blue Jackets and Laine had mutually agreed to search for a fresh start and general manager Kent Hughes agreed to the deal after speaking with Laine first. 

Selected second overall in the 2016 draft, Laine scored a career-high 44 goals with the Winnipeg Jets in 2017-18 and has topped the 20-goal mark six times in his career. He's looking to find that level of production once again in Montreal.

“I don’t want to come back as a 30-goal scorer. I want to come back as a 40-, 50- (goal scorer). I’ve done that previously and it's not by accident,” Laine said. “But it’s not just all about that. I want to come in and do whatever it takes to contribute to the team and help the team win, whether it’s me scoring 50 or scoring 20, as long as the team wins.

"I’m getting to that age, I’m not 19 years old anymore. I just want to win.”

With the Canadiens looking to take a step forward this season, the addition of Laine caught the attention of players on their roster. 

“His résumé speaks for itself, and he’s been a really good player in the league,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “He’s a big piece and he’s been a really good goal scorer for a long time and it’s exactly what we needed.”

“I’m excited about the season, especially with the Patrik Laine trade,” forward Juraj Slafkovsky added to NHL.com. “It’s funny, during the summer you wonder how things are going to be throughout the year and who you’re going to play with and what your role is going to be, and I pretty much can’t wait to be there already and play.

“I wish we could skip training camp and just start the season, because I’m excited to play games that mean something.”

Jets trade McGroarty after rumour-filled summer

Days later, the Winnipeg Jets traded top prospect Rutger McGroarty to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward prospect Brayden Yager.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff confirmed afterwards that McGroarty's camp informed him at the draft combine that he didn’t intend to sign with Winnipeg and was planning to return for a third NCAA season at Michigan. McGroarty signed his entry-level deal with Pittsburgh shortly after the trade was announced.

"That's the first inkling that we got, there was nothing that was going to come to fruition there," Cheveldayoff said. "We sat down and asked the agent why and he didn't have an answer, he didn't have a reason. ... he just said he just didn't feel right, it started in development camp where he just didn't feel right.

"I met with Rutger face to face several days later and that was the same response as well."

The 20-year-old forward had 16 goals and 52 points in 36 games last year with Michigan and captained Team USA to gold at the World Juniors.

Yager, 19, scored 35 goals with 95 points in 57 games last season with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, helping the franchise reach the Memorial Cup since 1947.

"We're very excited to add Brayden to the organization," Cheveldayoff said. "I think he's a very, very talented player [at] a very skilled position at centre where he can certainly make other players better around him.

"And that's kind of what we've watched and viewed throughout his draft year and obviously, in subsequent scouting situations after that. Obviously, you never know what comes up and just because you don't end up drafting a player, you don't stop keeping tabs on him."

Sharks land prize prospect Askarov from Predators

The latest major trade to make waves was between the Sharks and Nashville Predators on Aug. 23. The Sharks acquired top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, Nolan Burke and a 2025 third-round pick from the Predators in exchange for prospect David Edstrom, a 2025 first-round pick and goaltender Magnus Chrona.

Askarov reportedly asked for a trade earlier that week after a summer where Nashville solidified their goaltending future, signing No. 1 Juuse Saros to an eight-year, $61.92 million extension on July 1 and inking veteran backup Scott Wedgewood to a two-year deal in free agency.

After initially stating he expected to have Askarov to report for training camp, Predators general manager Barry Trotz made the deal with the Sharks. 

"[The situation] didn’t go down the way I wanted it to because when it’s public, smart general managers aren’t going to give you full price sometimes because you’re working from a little bit of a disadvantage," Trotz said. "At the same time, I think then we got pretty fair value for the situation, and I like what we got."

Askarov, 22, went 30-13-7 with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals last season with a .911 save percentage and 2.39 GAA. He was selected 11th overall by the Predators in 2020.

Beniers, Jarvis sign long-term

It was mostly smaller deals on the signing front, except for Seattle Kraken centre Matty Beniers and Carolina Hurricanes winger Seth Jarvis, who both inked long-term contract extensions.

Beniers secured a seven-year, $49.98 million contract extension. The 21-year-old was selected second overall by Seattle in 2021, the first-ever draft pick by the franchise. He won the Calder Trophy in 2023 after a rookie season scoring 24 goals with 57 points in 80 games. As a sophomore, he scored 15 goals with 37 points in 77 games.

The Hurricanes signed Jarvis to an eight-year, $63.2 million contract. With a bonus deferred into a ninth year of the deal, Jarvis will carry a cap hit of $7.42 million under the deal. Selected 13th overall in 2020, Jarvis broke out this past season with 33 goals and 67 points in 81 games. 

“Seth is a cornerstone player for our franchise,” general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement. “He took another huge step last season, playing in all situations and displaying the skill and competitive drive that will make him a star in this league in the years to come.”

Swayman among RFAs that still need deals

With training camps around the corner, there are a number of prominent restricted free agents who do not have contracts for next season.

Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings), Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings), Cole Perfetti (Winnipeg Jets), Peyton Krebs (Buffalo Sabres), Nick Robertson (Toronto Maple Leafs), and Thomas Harley (Dallas Stars) are all coming off their entry-level contracts and in need of new deals. 

Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman is believed to be looking for a long-term deal and indicated on the Shut Up Marc podcast that he has no plans to take a team-friendly deal this summer after going through arbitration last year.

"If you were to ask me that same question a year ago, I would answer it truthfully, and I would say it's scary’’ said Swayman. “It's a lot of resentment towards people that want you to succeed, and when you're not getting compensated for your endless efforts and doing what you do best, it's a nerve-wracking feeling because it's your family you're fighting for.

“The answer I'm going to give you this year is that I've educated myself, and that I understand the business side of it all. And it's given me a complete new mindset of understanding the business and how to react to it.

"I understand the cap is going up and where it will be in years. I understand my comparables and how I can't ruin the goalie market for other guys that are going to be in my shoes down the line."

The 25-year-old goaltender went to arbitration last summer before being awarded a one-year, $3.475 million contract. He was eligible for arbitration again this year, but neither he nor the Bruins elected to file for it.