Saints' Breakout Star Getting Buzz As Trade Fit For Eagles
The New Orleans Saints are one of the worst teams in football this year, but they've seen some promising play from their quarterback, Spencer Rattler. Rattler's solid season is likely giving the Saints some hope for the future, but the team still needs to lean heavily into a rebuild for the next year or two.
This includes making a few big trades at the trade deadline.
Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave headline the list of Saints players expected to be available this season. Each of these stars could be traded for draft picks. But the Saints have a few other players who could end up on the trade block.
Cayden Steele of NJ.com recently suggested the Saints could trade star edge rusher Carl Granderson to the Philadelphia Eagles to fill one of the Eagles' biggest roster holes this season.
Carl Granderson is the perfect fit to solve Eagles' biggest issue
"Granderson and Young do not offer as much upside as the aforementioned pass rushers, but they would improve the Eagles’ depth," Steele wrote. "The Eagles could trade for two pass rushers — one high-end starter and a good rotational piece. Granderson is trending toward a career season, finishing with 4.5 sacks through the first six weeks. He had a career-high 8.5 in 2023."
For the Eagles, this makes plenty of sense. Philadelphia is on a two-game skid and their defense hasn't been as dominant this season as it was last year. Edge rusher Za'Darius Smith recently opted to retire, which creates an even bigger hole on defense.
Adding Granderson would be the perfect move to fill this hole. The star edge rusher has been incredible for the Saints this year, leading their defense in sacks through six games.
This is a tough one to unpack for the Saints. While it makes sense to rebuild, it might not make sense to trade younger players who could have a future in New Orleans. Trading Granderson would mean waving the white flag to the team and fan base for the next few seasons.
But if the Saints can land some top draft capital in exchange for Granderson, the deal would begin to make more sense. It's going to depend on the trade return for New Orleans.
Tampa Bay HC Jon Cooper Reveals Key to Lightning’s Swift Surge
For the first few weeks of the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t resemble the cup contender many now view them as. They didn’t even look like a team ready to stay afloat. A single victory in their first seven games of the 2025/26 season was one of the worst opening stretches in franchise history, and left the Lightning searching for answers.
Everything felt off for the Bolts. The structure wasn’t clean, the execution wasn’t crisp, the powerplay looked terrible, and the confidence that defined their championship years simply wasn’t there. Then, almost without warning, something flipped, and in just a month, Tampa Bay went from last to first in the Atlantic Division.
How Tampa Bay Pulled Off Their Midseason Surge
Since their terrible start, the Lightning have dominated the league with a 15–3–0 record in their last 18 games, and are now riding a season-high seven-game win streak at the top of the Atlantic Division.
They also have the top penalty kill in the NHL at an elite 88.5%, and the third best shooting percentage at 12.7%. Similar to how the Dallas Stars play, despite averaging one of the lowest shots on goal per game in the NHL at 26.2, they remain one of the league’s top-scoring teams by focusing on smart, high-percentage opportunities.
Despite some recent injury struggles, a lot has gone right for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy rhas returned to peak form, stopping scoring chances with highlight reel saves like they’re routine. Nikita Kucherov has found his MVP form with five straight multi-point games and a nine-game point streak. Brandon Hagel has caught fire too, scoring in five straight outings with multiple-goal performances in three of them.
Equally important is the play on the blue line. With major injuries to top defensemen Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Erik Cernak, Tampa’s young defenders have stepped up. JJ Moser is becoming essential to the Lightning’s blue line, and rookie Charle-Édouard D’Astous has received praise for his impressive poise and reliability.
Jon Cooper’s Message to His Players
At the center of everything remains Jon Cooper — arguably the best coach in the NHL and the league’s longest-tenured bench boss for a reason. During a recent pregame media scrum, Cooper was asked how he’s handled the early injury adversity and the Lightning’s sudden dominance after the shaky start. Part of his answer surprised some people.
“Probably a little bit of a mindset," Cooper said. "You’ve got a plethora of different players coming in, and young guys… it’s not next man up. Nobody is taking Hedman’s spot or McDonagh’s spot or Point’s spot. You can’t replace those guys. But the players coming up are showing us what they have, and they’re really excited to be here. You give them an assignment and they’re just going out and doing it.”
Cooper’s answer also reminded me of that well-known Pep Guardiola meme where he says, "We cannot replace him" (video below). It came to mind because the situation felt similar: some players simply can’t be replaced, and everyone around the team understands that.
Tampa Bay’s youth isn’t replacing its stars, they’re elevating around them.
“They’ve been a lot of fun to be around," Cooper said. "I don’t know how long this is gonna last, but the one thing is we’ll give you an honest effort. That’s what these guys are doing, and it’s working pretty well for us.”
The Lightning Are Only Looking Forward
Tampa Bay’s surge hasn’t been about one magic fix. It’s been a mix of star power heating up, young players proving they belong, and a coaching staff that knows how to steady the room when it matters. They’re starting to look like a team that understands exactly what it takes to grind through an 82-game season.
There’s still a long road ahead, and the Eastern Conference won’t make anything easy. But the Lightning have re-established their identity — disciplined, dangerous and fully invested. If they continue playing with this level of confidence and structure, they won’t just be climbing the standings. They’ll be shaping the race at the top.
A month ago, they were finding their footing. Now, they’re playing like a team that expects to win again. And that, for the rest of the league, is a problem.
