Buy or Sell the Latest 2025 NHL Draft, Trade and Free-Agency Rumors

The second round of the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs is in full swing. While the focus is on the eight clubs battling to advance to the conference finals, the eight teams eliminated from the opening round are preparing for the offseason.

That's given rise to media speculation over which moves some of these clubs might make in the trade and free-agent markets. Teams eliminated from the postseason can trade among themselves, but things remain quiet in the trade market.

Meanwhile, those same clubs are evaluating which pending restricted and unrestricted free agents they intend to sign to new contracts later this summer. Most are likely awaiting official word from the league regarding next season's salary-cap numbers before committing to new contracts.

Several players, such as St. Louis Blues forwards Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn, have become the subject of trade rumors. Meanwhile, there's conjecture in Minnesota over whether the Wild will re-sign restricted free agent forward Marco Rossi.

Follow along as we determine whether to buy or sell the latest NHL draft, trade and free-agent rumors.

Will Vancouver Canucks Trade Their 2025 1st-Round Pick?

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Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin (left) and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford.

Entering this season, expectations were high for the Vancouver Canucks. They were coming off the third-best regular season in franchise history, and within a game of reaching the Western Conference Final. This was a club seemingly poised to become a powerhouse.

Instead, they missed the playoffs in a season of turmoil brought on by internal strife and injuries to key players. Among the few positives was that they finished low enough in the standings to garner the 15th overall pick in the 2025 NHL draft.

That pick puts the Canucks in a position to select one of the better prospects in this year's event. However, Ben Kuzma of The Vancouver Province suggested they include that pick in a trade package to acquire a center.

Kuzma pointed out there is concern over whether Elias Pettersson is a true first-line center. He also noted Filip Chytil has a long injury history.

Bringing in an established first-liner would enable them to move Pettersson and Chytil down in the lineup.

Buy or Sell: Buy

The Canucks aren't a rebuilding team with Pettersson under a long-term contract and superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes as their captain. They must stay competitive and attempt to rebound from this season's poor performance to prove to Hughes they're serious about being a winning team.

Finding a suitable first-line center won't be easy. The asking price could also include a top prospect and a good young NHL-ready player. However, using that draft pick as a trade chip will be more useful to them now than waiting several years for the prospect they select to blossom into an NHL player.

Could Montreal Canadiens Winger Patrik Laine Hit the Trade Block Again?

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The Montréal Canadiens acquired Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets last August.

Sidelined by an early-season injury, he joined the lineup in December and went on to finish fourth among their skaters with 20 goals and seventh in points with 33 in 52 games.

However, Pat Hickey of The Montréal Gazette criticized Laine's performance. He felt the 27-year-old winger has reached a crossroads with the club, calling him a "one-trick pony" whose rocket shot fails to compensate for his poor defensive play.

A broken finger sidelined Laine from the final three games of the Canadiens' playoff series with the Washington Capitals. However, Hickey felt they were a better club without him, adding he would've been in the line if they needed him, regardless of his injury.

Hickey doesn't believe the 27-year-old fits within head coach Martin St. Louis' system. He thinks the Canadiens have to trade him, though his $8.7 million cap hit for next season and 10-team no-trade list would make that difficult. Failing that, he suggested buying out the final year of Laine's deal.

Buy or Sell: Sell

During his end-of-season press conference, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes said his club wouldn't have made the playoffs without Laine.

His production declined down the stretch, but the power-play specialist helped spark the Canadiens' rise from the bottom of the standings in early December into playoff contention by mid-January.

Expect Laine to finish that final season of his deal in Montréal.

Will the Minnesota Wild Re-Sign or Trade Marco Rossi?

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Entering this offseason, the primary focus of the Minnesota Wild is signing superstar Kirill Kaprizov to a contract extension. He's eligible for unrestricted free agent status next July, meaning they can re-sign him as early as July 1, 2025.

Kaprizov's contract situation overshadows whether they'll re-sign Marco Rossi or trade the promising 23-year-old center. He's coming off his entry-level contract, making him a restricted free agent on July 1 without arbitration rights.

The Athletic's Michael Russo and Joe Smith think Rossi could be targeted by a rival club with an offer sheet if his contract talks stall with the Wild. That could make him a trade candidate if management feels he's too expensive to retain or isn't developing as hoped.

With a career-high 60 points this season, Rossi finished second among Wild scorers. However, he struggled down the stretch and spent time buried on their fourth line. He was also the subject of trade rumors earlier this season until general manager Bill Guerin shot them down in December.

Buy or Sell: Buy

Much will depend on how much Rossi seeks in his new contract and whether the Wild will meet that price. They won't give him away if they peddle him and could seek a player-for-player swap instead of draft picks and prospects.

Guerin could find suitors among retooling or rebuilding clubs desperate to add a promising young second-line center. Those could include the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers.

Could the New York Rangers Trade Alexis Lafreniere?

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Most of the 2024-25 New York Rangers' roster won't look back fondly on this season. A year after winning the Presidents' Trophy, they missed the playoffs amid a tumultuous campaign in which several players, including Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, Ryan Lindgren and Filip Chytil, were traded away.

Aging forwards like Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad have become fodder for trade rumors. However, Mollie Walker of the New York Post suggested it wouldn't be off-board for Alexis Lafrenière to be traded. The 23-year-old winger has underperformed since the Rangers took him first overall in 2020.

Walker felt Lafrenière wasn't mentioned as much as other Rangers for poor play because he's still considered among their younger players. However, she pointed out he received his share of flak after signing a seven-year contract extension last October.

Lafrenière lacks no-trade protection until 2027-28. Walker suggested that it could prompt general manager Chris Drury to peddle the young winger sooner rather than later if he wants to go that route.

Buy or Sell: Sell

Drury was among the busiest general managers in this season's trade market, so we can't rule out the possibility that he'll put Lafrenière on the trade block. He was willing to trade Trouba and 2019 first-rounder Kakko, so he could move Lafrenière for a suitable offer.

However, the Rangers recently signed former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan as their new bench boss.

Drury could prefer hanging on to Lafrenière to see if Sullivan can unlock the motivation the young winger needs to achieve his full potential.

Could St. Louis Blues Trade Jordan Kyrou or Brayden Schenn?

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St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (left) and winger Jordan Kyrou (center) in action against the Detroit Red Wings.

The St. Louis Blues went on a tear down the stretch, including a franchise-record 12-game winning streak, to clinch the final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

They pushed the first-overall Winnipeg Jets to the limit before falling in double overtime in Game 7 of their first-round series.

Despite that promising performance, general manager Doug Armstrong must decide whether forwards Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn fit into their long-term plans.

Kyrou has six years left on his contract with an annual cap hit of $8.125 million, while Schenn has three years left at $6.5 million annually.

Kyrou exceeded 30 goals and reached 70 points for the third straight season, but he had only three postseason goals. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic wondered if the 27-year-old winger fits into the Blues' vision of the future. The no-trade clause in his contract begins on July 1.

Rutherford also noted Schenn was the subject of rumors leading up to the March trade deadline, but he insisted on staying in St. Louis. The 33-year-old Blues captain's no-movement clause reverts to a 15-team no-trade list on July 1. He could draw interest from teams seeking a two-way, second-line center.

Buy or Sell: Sell on Kyrou, Buy on Schenn

Armstrong isn't going to just give them away, but he could entertain offers for them.

Kyrou is younger at 27 and could fetch a significant return, but trading away a reliable 30-goal scorer could be a setback unless they find a suitable replacement.

Schenn, however, is a declining asset whose contract could become burdensome to the Blues as he ages. Moving him while he still has value makes good salary-cap sense.

Stats via NHL.com. Salary info via PuckPedia.