In the budget-conscious world of today's NHL, drafting and developing players is the most economical way for a team to boost its talent quotient. But situations can get interesting when talented young players are in line for new contracts. No matter how good they are, teams sometimes can't—or choose not to—deliver the money and term length players are looking for.
Last summer, those issues caused trades of three future stars. Ryan O'Reilly went from the Colorado Avalanche to the Buffalo Sabres, Dougie Hamilton was dealt from the Boston Bruins to the Calgary Flames and Brandon Saad moved from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Columbus Blue Jackets.