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NHL Notebook: Nashville Predators trade Cole Smith to Golden Knights and Michael McCarron to Wild
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Mar 4, 2026, 15:30 ESTUpdated: Mar 4, 2026, 13:57 EST
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The 2026 trade deadline is just around the corner.
As is usually the case, there have been a handful of trades leading up to the actual trade deadline day. Two of which involved the same team Tuesday, as the Nashville Predators traded Michael McCarron to the Minnesota Wild for a 2028 second, then sent Cole Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights for Christoffer Sedoff and a 2028 third-round pick.
McCarronā€™s name has popped up in trade rumours for the last couple of years, and it was the Wild to land the 6ā€™6ā€, right-shot centreā€™s services. A big hitter, the 30-year-old has five goals and 12 points in 59 games this season, and had a career-high 12 goals and 22 points in 70 games during the 2023-24 season. Heā€™ll give the Wild some more grit.
Smith, also 30, is a winger who has six goals and 10 points in 42 games this season. His career-high also came in 2023-24, as he scored nine goals and 23 points, but was held pointless in five post-season games. Sedoff has played 38 games in the American Hockey League this season, where the 24-year-old has four assists. Last season, he had four goals and 14 points in 61 games.

Oilers acquire Connor Murphy

The day before the two Predatorsā€™ trades, the Oilers sent their 2028 second round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for right-shot defenceman Connor Murphy at 50% retention.
Murphy, who will be the fourth player named ā€œConnorā€ to play for the Oilers this season, scored four goals and 13 points in 60 games with the Blackhawks. Thatā€™s about his career average, as heā€™s never broken the 20-point barrier, but consistently reaches double-digit points.
But his points arenā€™t why the Oilers traded for him, as they need him to be defensively sound on the second pairing, either with Jake Walman or Darnell Nurse. It also helps that he was on the team with one of the best penalty kills, something else the Oilers have struggled with this season.

Kirill Kaprizov breaks Wildā€™s franchise record for goals

Late in Tuesday eveningā€™s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Kirill Kaprizov found twine for his 35th goal of the season in a 5-1 victory. More importantly, he broke the franchise record for most goals as a Wild.
Drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 draft, the Russian winger has become one of the premier scorers in the National Hockey League since joining the Wild for the 2020-21 season. He scored 27 goals and 51 points in 55 games during the pandemic-impact seasons, but scored 47 goals and 108 points in his sophomore season. He followed that up with a 40 goal and 46 goal season the next two years, before missing half the 2024-25 season where he scored 25 goals and 56 points in 41 games. So far in 2025-26, Kaprizov has 35 goals and 75 points.
His 220th career goal surpassed MariĆ”n GĆ”borĆ­kā€™s record (honestly, who else was it going to be) of 219 goals in 502 games from 2000-01 until he was traded after the 2008-09 season. Kaprizov did it in 381 games, with an additional 15 goals and 21 points in 25 post-season games.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

PRESENTED BY THE DAILY FACEOFF TRADE DEADLINE SPECIAL

The 2026 Trade Deadline Special is going LIVE March 6th. Join the Daily Faceoff crew on Friday, March 6th, from 9 AM-1:30 PM MT for wall-to-wall coverage of every single move as it happens. Get instant reaction, expert analysis, and exclusive insights from special guests throughout the day. Tune in LIVE on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channelĀ and donā€™t miss a second of deadline day chaos.

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