Episode Brad Boyes (505): NHL Draft and Free Agency Preview. Evander Kane on his way to Vancouver.

The 2025 Draft is upon us and we have a quick review of the top prospects and what we think teams will do. Any big trades to come?  Also we'll have a look at free agency to see who are the biggest targets and which teams will be most active. Lastly, the NHL leaked some changes for the 2026 season and the expected CBA MOU that may be announced this week.

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Title Player Brad Boyes - 505 career reg season points

News

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/nhl-player-qa-anonymous-reaction-new-cba-nhlpa

Some big changes coming for 2026!

Draft June 27, 28 - decentralized as discussed last week

Free Agency July 1 

Trades

Evander Kane to Vancouver for 4th round pick 

Trevor Zegras to Flyers for Ryan Poehling, 2nd (via CBJ), 2026 4th 

Mason Marchment to Seattle for 4th, 2026 3rd

 

Reacquire question - could Colorado reacquire Rantanen - since salary retained in the transaction they can’t acquire for a full year

 

Draft Picks

12 - MTL 

11 - PIT

10  - ANA, BUF, CHI, PHI

 

3 -STL 

2 - COL 

 

Guess the 5th 

 

DRAFT PREVIEW 

Expected 

 

1. Matthew Schaefer, D (Erie Otters, OHL)

Expected Draft Position: No. 1 overall – New York Islanders
Consensus top prospect—elite skating, offensive instincts from the blue line, and ceiling as a potential franchise defenseman nhl.com+15espn.com+15timesofindia.indiatimes.com+15nypost.com. Nearly every analyst ranks him #1 , and it's widely expected he’ll be the Islanders' pick reuters.com+1timesofindia.indiatimes.com+1.

 

2. Michael Misa, C (Saginaw Spirit, OHL)

Projected Pick: No. 2 – San Jose Sharks
A dynamic, high-IQ center—compared to Tavares and Stamkos—with 134 points in 65 OHL gamesnhl.com+15espn.com+15nhl.com+15. Most mocks see San Jose taking him after landing pick #2reuters.com+6espn.com+6nypost.com+6.

 

3. James Hagens, C (Boston College, NCAA)

Prediction: No. 3 or 4 – Chicago Blackhawks or Nashville Predators
A shifty, playmaking center with solid upside; ranked 3rd overall by NHL.comreuters.com+14bcinterruption.com+14nypost.com+14. Some mocks slot him to Chicago at #3nhl.com+15espn.com+15nhl.com+15, others to Nashville at #4 .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}