NHL offseason dominoes: How trades for Karlsson, Saros, Dubois could alter the landscape

In the NHL, one thing always leads to another. Trades, signings and draft picks are never made in a vacuum. One move has reverberations leading to others, like a stone tossed in the water or dominoes tumbling into each other.

Please recall last summer, when the Pittsburgh Penguins traded defenseman John Marino to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round pick. That was to open up a roster spot and salary space so GM Ron Hextall could trade for 34-year-old Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry.

The dominoes kept falling. Marino was great for the Devils, helping to make Damon Severson expendable, who then signed a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets after the Devils traded him there earlier this month. Hextall, who made the Petry deal, is now the Penguins’ former GM.

This offseason will bring more chain reactions, some in close proximity to each other and others down the line.

The following five scenarios are presented for maximum chaos. Take them under consideration as possible outcomes in the multiverse of madness that is the NHL offseason, rather than firm predictions. In each case, the fallout will be as interesting as the catalysts.

Here are some offseason dominoes we’d like to see fall in the NHL: