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The Devils missed the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and now the first question is how aggressive they get in fixing the roster. Early trade targets are already surfacing, which is usually the first sign a front office is ready to shop with purpose instead of optimism. New Jersey has work to do, and this kind of list often tells you where the organization thinks the biggest holes are.

Paul Bissonnette is not exactly handing out participation ribbons here, and he goes straight at Edmonton for the move. The criticism centers on a 32-year-old NHL veteran who was moved by a franchise with five Stanley Cups in the trophy case, which makes the optics even messier. When a hockey voice like Biz unloads this hard, it usually means there is more league chatter behind the scenes than fans are hearing on the surface.

Frederik Andersen is drawing praise for a skill that usually only gets noticed when it goes wrong. His puck-handling is helping Carolina manage pressure in the playoffs, where every clean touch matters and every mistake feels amplified. For a Hurricanes team trying to control the margins, that kind of goalkeeper aid can tilt shifts before they turn into problems.

Edmonton has made the kind of move that tells you the room is changing, not just the coach. Kris Knoblauch is out after the Oilers’ first-round playoff exit, even though the club had just been on two straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final. That is the NHL for you: one bad spring can outweigh a lot of winning in a hurry. The next question in Edmonton is whether this is the first domino or the whole avalanche.

The NHL playoffs are where smart money gets separated from wishful thinking, and this breakdown is aimed squarely at the former. It leans into the numbers, the matchups, and the little edges that usually matter more than the hot takes flooding your feed. If you are looking for a shortcut to the board, this is the kind of guide that helps you spot value before the rest of the market catches up.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs always produce chaos, and the league office usually follows with the bill. This roundup tracks the suspensions and fines that have piled up as the games get nastier and the margins get thinner. In the postseason, discipline is not just a talking point - it can flip a series, a lineup, and sometimes a summer.