NHL’s biggest trade targets for 2023-24: William Nylander, Connor Hellebuyck,

Timo Meier, Patrick Kane, Bo Horvat and Ryan O’Reilly were among the headline trade targets during the 2022-23 season. Now the question is who will lead the way on that list for 2023-24?

The list will include players that could be flipped as soon as later this summer, following in the footsteps of Erik Karlsson and Jeff Petry, or as late as the trade deadline. Given how much time there is before that endpoint, the number of trade targets may grow and develop, or shrink, as the season progresses. A team could slip and decide to sell players to retool on the fly like the Washington Capitals unexpectedly did last deadline. Or those with expiring deals could get extended to take them out of the mix, entirely.

But as everything stands, there’s a handful of players who already stick out as potential trade targets from now until deadline day.

Until an extension is inked, Nylander is a player to watch in Toronto. The Maple Leafs have a bigger fish to fry first in Auston Matthews. His contract is going to set the tone on the future of the team’s salary cap, so Nylander’s probably can’t be discussed until that’s settled.

Management probably doesn’t want to trade Nylander because he’s such a high-caliber forward. But if the cap isn’t there for someone who could push up to the $9 million range, or the dynamic of a team that keeps falling short of its high expectations can’t take a step forward, maybe a drastic change is made.

The other wrinkle in this situation, which could add pressure to it, is that general manager Brad Treliving knows the risk of waiting until after the season to work with a big free agent. Johnny Gaudreau, who is represented by the same agent as Nylander in Lewis Gross, walked from Calgary and left the general manager with the impossible task of finding a direct replacement. So that’s another risk to factor in as the situation progresses between now and the deadline. Nylander’s someone the team can’t afford to lose without a high return like they can with some of their other pending UFAs, like Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, who could essentially be viewed as rentals for the year.

When last season ended for the Winnipeg Jets, Hellebuyck made it clear that he didn’t want to be a part of a rebuild in Winnipeg if that was the direction the club was taking. So that likely means that the Jets will trade their backbone ahead of the deadline, to avoid him walking for nothing — as long as a trade materializes.

It’s possible that Hellebuyck is moved before the season begins. There are teams that appear to be fits for the goalie, but some may feel they don’t need to invest in a true number one goaltender after the Vegas Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup win. While that’s true for teams constructed as well as Vegas in front of the net, it’s not for all so there should still be some contenders between now and March for him. The other red flag that may hold back a deal is the cost of his next…