6 NHL Teams Best Positioned to Pull Off Blockbuster Trades in the Offseason
It is never too early to start looking ahead to the next round of potential blockbuster moves in the NHL, and here we take an early peak at six teams that could be best positioned to make one in the offseason.
Yes, we still have playoff spots to decide and the postseason to get through this year, but those races can offer a window on which teams should be in the market for a big move.
Or perhaps need a big move. Not every playoff contender has everything it needs.
We are looking for a few things here in terms of teams that could be positioned for such a move. The first is projected salary-cap space. Teams can always work to create more, but already having the cap space is a huge advantage when it comes to making a major trade.
We are also looking for teams that have a significant number of trade assets, whether it be draft picks, young NHL players or a deep prospect pool.
The other box that needs checking is the team's proximity to contention or its desperation to get there.
When all three areas are combined, there are six teams that stand out as possible candidates to swing for a big move. Let's talk about them.
Nashville Predators
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The Nashville Predators are one of the most fascinating teams in the NHL, because they could truly go in any number of directions.
At the start of the offseason, they looked like a team heading toward a major rebuild. They seemed to reach their ceiling as a fringe playoff team, were dumping salary and collecting future assets, and they had a new general manager (Barry Trotz) for the first time ever.
Then they signed Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist in free agency and seemed to make an effort to still compete for the playoffs.
Now they are strongly positioned as a playoff team thanks to an out-of-nowhere surge that started in mid-February.
Their ceiling is probably still limited, and they should not be considered a contender on the same level as Colorado, Dallas, Edmonton or Vegas. But they are the type of team that could be an under-the-radar contender for some sort of a big move this offseason.
For one, the Predators have nearly $20 million in salary-cap space to work with this offseason. That is a lot.
They are also loaded with draft picks to use as trade capital including three first-round picks over the next two years, three second-round picks this season and nine total picks in the first four rounds. Those are all assets that can be packaged together, especially if they are dealing with a cap-strapped team that needs to dump salary.
They also have the goalie situation that could play a big role in their offseason plans.
Starter Juuse Saros is set to enter the final year of his contract and was already the subject of trade rumors. They also have one of the best goalie prospects in Yaroslav Askarov, who is getting closer to being NHL-ready.
Do they move Saros to a goalie-needy Stanley Cup contender such as Colorado, Edmonton or New Jersey?
Do they re-sign Saros and dangle Askarov as trade bait?
Do they keep both and try to build more around them?
There are a lot of options here and Nashville might not be ready to give up on this current core, especially with a playoff berth on the horizon this season.
Keep an eye on the Predators.
Detroit Red Wings
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The Red Wings finally took a big step back toward relevance this season and are still in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
But the playoffs are still far from a lock, and there is a very real chance their playoff drought extends to an eighth consecutive season.
Whether they make the playoffs this season or not, there is going to be huge pressure on general manager Steve Yzerman and the front office to get there next year, especially given how close they are right now.
They also have some pretty obvious flaws that need to be addressed. Especially when it comes to defending and preventing goals.
Yzerman has not been shy about making big offseason moves and adding veterans, taking big swings in free agency over the past two years (David Perron, Ville Husso, Andrew Copp, J.T. Compher, Patrick Kane, Daniel Sprong, Shayne Gostisbehere, Ben Chiarot) and a huge trade addition prior to this season by acquiring Alex DeBrincat.
The result has been an offense that is playoff-caliber and can be one of the best in the NHL.
They just can't defend.
The Red Wings are one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to suppressing scoring chances and expected goals against, and they rank 24th in the league in goals against per game.
Nothing about that says contender. Detroit has to address it and give Moritz Seider some significant help on defense, so he doesn't have to carry the load himself.
The bad news: The Red Wings have a lot of defensemen under contract for next season and have to actually re-sign Seider as a restricted free agent. They need to clear some of those contracts out to upgrade.
The good news: They have nearly $30 million in salary-cap space to work with and an aggressive general manager who is not afraid to look outside the organization for help. They also have a full allotment of draft picks to deal from and a strong farm system.
They have the money. They have the trade assets. They have the general manager that is willing to deal. They also have the need and the pressure to make a big move.
Carolina Hurricanes
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The Hurricanes are not shy about making a big move, whether it was signing Jesperi Kotkaniemi as a restricted free agent, trading for Brent Burns before the 2022-23 season or landing Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov at this year's trade deadline.
They have been a bona fide Stanley Cup contender for six years now and are still trying to break through their ceiling that has been the Eastern Conference Final.
In recent years, they have lacked elite finishing ability and top-line goal-scorers. With Guentzel and Teuvo Teravainen set to become unrestricted free agents after this season, that might be a big need again.
But they also have four defensemen set to be UFAs, including Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, Tony DeAngelo and Jalen Chatfield.
Those are some big needs to fill, and it will give the Hurricanes around $30 million in salary-cap space to work with. Re-signing restricted free agents Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis will eat into that, but they should still have $15-18 million to spend after signing them.
They have some impressive defense prospects coming through their farm system, but they still might need to make an outside move to replenish everything they might lose, and top-line finishers might again be a concern, especially if they fall short of the Stanley Cup Final again.
Contending teams do not usually have this much salary-cap flexibility to work with. The Hurricanes need to take advantage of it.
Dallas Stars
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The Dallas Stars are one of the best teams in the NHL and are right in the middle of a wide-open Stanley Cup window.
They are also facing the possibility of losing some big potential unrestricted free agents, including Joe Pavelski, Matt Duchene, Craig Smith and trade-deadline acquisition Chris Tanev.
They will have almost $19 million in salary-cap space and an aggressive general manager in Jim Nill who has never been shy about swinging for the fences with a big move.
Adding to the intrigue with the Stars is they still have a couple of emerging young players in Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven who are still on entry-level contracts next season.
Getting potential top-line players for under $1 million as part of an entry-level deal creates immense salary-cap flexibility and could open a big window for Dallas to take another big swing.
The Stars have a strong farm system and still have all of their future first-round picks.
If they don't win it all this season, there might still be some pressure to capitalize on this core while they still can.
Buffalo Sabres
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The Sabres need to do something.
Unless they do something wild, such as winning every game the rest of the way this season, they are looking at a 13th consecutive non-playoff season.
This year might be the most disappointing of them all because the season began with such promise. Buffalo missed the playoffs by just one point a year ago, had an electrifying offense and seemed to be on the right track at last.
Everything changed this season as the Sabres offense took a huge step backward, the defense has underperformed on a team-level given the talent they have at the position and they don't really have a proven No. 1 goalie.
There are some issues.
They should also be running out of patience. They are going to be entering the offseason with almost $22 million in salary-cap space, have a full allotment of draft picks over the next few years and some really promising young prospects they could deal.
Buffalo already made one recent blockbuster trade by sending center Casey Mittelstadt to the Colorado Avalanche for Bowen Byram, a significant move that added another major piece to its defense.
The Sabres should be active in trying to find another big move to ensure their playoff drought does not reach 14 consecutive seasons.
Seattle Kraken
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After making the playoffs and beating the then-Stanley Cup champions in their first-ever postseason appearance (in only their second overall season), the Seattle Kraken had some major expectations entering the 2023-24 season.
In that sense, they have disappointed in a big way.
Reigning Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers regressed, the offense experienced some major regression in terms of its team-wide shooting percentage, and they are one of the lowest scoring teams in the NHL.
They have a major need for more finishers and at least one more legitimate top-line talent.
The good news for the Kraken is they are loaded with salary-cap space this offseason and should have more than $18 million to work with despite already having 20 players under contract for next season and only a couple of restricted free agents to deal with.
They should have the flexibility to make a major move.
Would they trade a potential top-10 pick? Would they dangle Shane Wright as potential trade bait? They have some intriguing pieces in place and should not be far away from a return to the playoffs, but they need more impact players to get there.
Data via CapFriendly
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