Dream 2025 Offseason Trade Ideas for 6 NHL Teams

While free agency, the NHL draft lottery and the draft are the focal points of the offseason, there is still a lot of trade action that will happen in the weeks and months following the Stanley Cup Final. 

Sometimes the trade market is the best possible option for acquiring new players because teams can get younger and/or better players than they could on the free-agent market, and often at a lower cost. 

So, let's look ahead to some potential dream trades certain teams around the league should be interested in trying to make.

Erik Karlsson to the Carolina Hurricanes

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Erik Karlsson's two years in Pittsburgh have not gone as hoped.

The 34-year-old has not been bad by any stretch of the imagination, and his offensive production is still elite among NHL defensemen. Since the start of the 2023-24 season, his 107 points (as of Tuesday) are 10th in the league among defenders, and he can still have moments where he takes over games.

Defensively speaking, though, his game has lagged and he has not made the overall impact the Penguins hoped. 

The hope was that adding him could help keep their window for contention open with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang still playing. That hasn't happened, and now there is a rebuild—to some degree—underway.

The Penguins would probably like to move Karlsson's cap hit ($10 million per season over the next two years), and he would probably like a chance to have another real crack at a Stanley Cup, which is the only thing his career is missing to this point. 

While the Swede's cap hit is significant, the Hurricanes have some cap flexibility (especially if and when Dmitry Orlov and Brent Burns leave in free agency), and he is only owed $16.5 million in actual salary over the next two years.

The Hurricanes and Penguins already teamed up for one significant trade in recent memory (Jake Guentzel), while Carolina still has a deep farm system and four first-round draft picks over the next three years, all of which could be intriguing to a Pittsburgh team looking more toward the future.

Chris Kreider to Montreal Canadiens

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Whether they end up making the Stanley Cup playoffs this season or not, the New York Rangers have to do some deep soul-searching this offseason and make some major changes.

It seems Chris Kreider is going to be one of those changes. His name has been in trade speculation for most of the season, and with his play starting to tail off this season, it might be time for everybody to get a fresh start.

If the Rangers do move the 33-year-old, the Montreal Canadiens could be a sneaky-good option.

Granted, this one might take some getting used to, because Montreal fans still have, shall we say, strong reactions to Kreider ever since he crashed in to Carey Price in the 2014 Eastern Confernce Final and forced the star goalie out of the series with a knee injury.

But from an on-ice perspective, they are a young, up-and-coming team that could use a little more depth in the middle of their lineup, and there is a connection between Kreider and several key figures in Montreal, including president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton (who was general manager in New York with Kreider) and head coach Martin St. Louis (who was a teammate of Kreider).

Kreider would not have to be the focal point of the offense, and he could be a complementary piece for a young team with emerging stars all over the lineup.

Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks have reached a point in their rebuild where it's time to start making some serious progress.

Connor Bedard enters year three of his NHL career next season, and the team is currently on track to be worse and win fewer games than it did in the season it tanked to position itself to draft him. 

That’s a problem, and it can not be how the Blackhawks envisioned their rebuild going at this point.

They are playing with six of general manager Kyle Davidson’s first-round picks in the lineup to conclude this season, but you can't realistically go into next season with a roster full of young, inexperienced rookies and expect serious progress. It would be another long, dreadful season full of losing and zero progress.

Ideally, they would find some names who could raise the floor for both the short and long term, while also complementing the young core of players arriving. 

Byram would be an intriguing bet if Buffalo would be open to moving him. His name surfaced in trade speculation throughout the season as he is a pending restricted free agent.

And with the Sabres already having some big-money defenders on their blue line, the 23-year-old could be expendable if they do not want to pay him a big raise. 

While he hasn't become the star he looked like he could be early in his career, he is still an excellent overall player. And he still has big upside and is years away from unrestricted free agency. 

The Blackhawks have 12 picks, including five first-rounders, in the first two rounds over the next three years. They should consider using some of them as trade assets for players like Byram if at all possible. 

Jared McCann to Utah Hockey Club

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Prior to Utah's first season in Salt Lake City, it made two major additions to upgrade its defense in Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino.

Along with a promising young group of forwards led by Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, there was some meaningful progress made as the club is on track for its best season in more than a decade.

There is reason for optimism, but there is still more work to be done, especially regarding an offense that is 23rd in the league with only 2.84 goals per game as of Tuesday. 

McCann might be a strong addition, as well as an attainable one.

The Kraken are still stuck in neutral as they try to build up from the expansion process, and they need to add more depth and pieces to the roster.

While they should not be willing to just give McCann away for the sake of trading him, he is probably one of the best trade assets the organization has given his production and relatively affordable contract ($5 million per season).

The 28-year-old might not ever score 40 goals again like he did two years ago, but Utah—or any other team—would have a hard time finding a better player for a better price on the open market, especially with an increasing salary cap. 

McCann's numbers took a bit of a hit this season, but there is a good chance a shooting percentage rebound could get him back to the 25-30 goal mark. That would be a great addition to a Utah team that needs more finishing ability and a little more offensive punch.

Rasmus Ristolainen to the Detroit Red Wings

The idea of a team trading for Rasmus Ristolainen a couple of years ago would have been a source of derision. We know this because that's what happened when the Philadelphia Flyers traded for him and then signed him to a long-term contract extension. 

But something unexpected happened over the past couple of years: Ristolainen became a solid player with strong defensive metrics.

Of the 214 defenseman who have logged at least 1,000 minutes of 5-on-5 ice-time over the past two years, the 30-year-old ranks 20th by being on the ice for just 2.24 expected goals against per 60 minutes, while also having a 52.8 percent expected goal share that is 45th out of that group. He has also done that with heavy defensive-zone start usage.

Even though the Red Wings have some outstanding young defensemen, including Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson, they remain one of the worst defensive teams in hockey and need to upgrade if they are going to get over the hump and snap their playoff drought. 

Ristolainen would be a nice addition, especially when his $5.1 million salary-cap number will look even better under a $95 million salary cap.

Thatcher Demko to the Edmonton Oilers

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The thought of the Canucks trading Demko a couple of years ago would have been outrageous given how important he had become to the team.

But with injuries limiting the goalie the past two years, Kevin Lankinen signed long-term and Demko set to be a free agent following the 2025-26 season, it could be an option that is on the table this offseason.

If it is, the Edmonton Oilers should be the first team all over it. 

Goaltending has been a constant problem for the Oilers, and there aren't going to be many good options in free agency or on the trade block.

They can not risk letting another season slip away from the prime years of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Demko, 29, is having a down year (when he has been healthy), but he would be a higher upside goalie than any other realistic option the Oilers could obtain this summer.

There might be a tax on such an impactful trade within the division, but even if there is, Edmonton should be willing to consider paying it if it can give them the piece they need to win a Stanley Cup.