8 NHL Teams That Should Trade Their 1st-Round Pick
The excitement surrounding the 2025 NHL draft is about to reach its peak this week when the event opens on Friday night in Los Angeles.
There’s obvious star power at the top of the draft with Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa and James Hagens along with a host of others we’ll see taken early on.
Every team's scouting department has been hard at work putting their draft boards in order so they’ll know just who to take...or who they’re passing on because their GM just traded away the pick.
Sure, every team could select a new player for the organization with their first-round pick, or they could trade that selection to get someone who will help them compete right away and maybe get a shot at the Stanley Cup.
We have identified a few teams who could use their first-round pick to find the help they need to help them out right now, and a few of the candidates might not be as obvious as you think.
Buffalo Sabres
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There is a strong case to be made for the Buffalo Sabres both keeping and trading their No. 9 overall pick.
They should keep it because they're going to get a very good player at that spot who will help them in the near future. And that thought works great as long as you forget about how the team hasn't made the playoffs since 2011.
And while they could stand to add more diversified talent to their prospect pool, the weight of that drought is Atlas-like on the shoulders of GM Kevyn Adams.
There are rumors of player unrest and desire to go elsewhere (J.J. Peterka) and although the blue line has a lot of talent, RFA Bo Byram has to contend with Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power for power-play time.
What happens with those players and potentially others will determine where the Sabres are headed this season. Those are names they'd ideally like to keep around, but they're huge trade chips; and if the No. 9 pick is tagged along with either of them, the return could be enormous.
However, their intent is to make the playoffs now, and if that means using the No. 9 pick to add a high-end scorer or right-shot defenseman, then so be it.
Fan apathy is about as bad as it can get in Buffalo, and supporters would happily take a team that made the playoffs and got swept in the first round as opposed to a team that's wondering which top-10 player it can get in the draft again.
Detroit Red Wings
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The Detroit Red Wings are in the middle of their own postseason drought and are desperate to change that.
They could benefit from using their pick at No. 13 to help enlarge their prospect pool, but finding the one or two players they'll need to make waves in the Eastern Conference must take priority.
General manager Steve Yzerman is under a lot of pressure from the fans to stop the slide and get Detroit back to the playoffs on a regular basis the same way he did as a player.
The Wings have a lot of talent throughout the roster, but there are holes and needs to be addressed. The issue they'll run into is that the 13th pick of the first round won't necessarily bring other GMs running to the phone to make a bid.
Even though there are teams that would love to add picks or move up from the back end of the first, Detroit's interest in getting players who can make a difference right away will be necessary to the pick from them. This is why when GMs say it can be hard to make trades, they're not just sharing a convenient cliché.
That said, Detroit is in arguably the toughest division in the league where you either get kicking or get kicked. The time to be bold is now.
Utah Mammoth
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If any team is most in the driver's seat during the draft this year, it's Utah.
The Mammoth won the secondary lottery and if they hadn't done so well this season, they'd be picking second. Instead, they were able to jump to the No. 4 pick where they can get yet another high-end talented player to join Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley.
As fun as that is, the Mammoth were in the thick of the wild-card race until very late in the season and that No. 4 pick is a prime location in case there's a stunning selection in the top three that causes someone to slip down the board. Even if someone doesn't slip, there's going to be a horde of great players to choose from.
There are more than a few teams picking behind the Mammoth who would greatly benefit more from having that fourth overall selection.
Utah has the makings of a very good team and if it uses the No. 4 pick to add another top player to its group, that could move the process along a lot faster.
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Columbus Blue Jackets
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The Blue Jackets got a taste of a playoff race last season, but that experience should motivate them to be more aggressive towards trying to get there next season.
Columbus took advantage of a weaker-than-normal Metropolitan Division and learned that scoring loads of goals and having an elite defenseman like Zach Werenski can take you far. They also learned they could probably get away with moving the No. 14 pick in the draft to better help outfit the current roster as well.
The Blue Jackets had the No. 4 pick a year ago and took center Cayden Lindstrom. And while he'll need time to catch up after missing almost all of this season with a back injury, using the No. 14 pick would ideally provide them the kind of depth they'll need to better handle a playoff race.
Whether that means adding to the defense, getting depth scoring or solidifying their goaltending, being able to help a team desiring first-round picks while getting a current player out of them would go a long way to getting Columbus back to the playoffs.
Montréal Canadiens
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Watching the Montréal Canadiens return to the playoffs provided a lot of youthful excitement with Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield running wild across the ice all year.
Part of the process they used to get there came from dealing veterans away to obtain high draft picks, and one of those picks is for this year.
The Canadiens have two first-round picks and they're back-to-back at 16 and 17 with the 16th pick coming from the Calgary Flames. This puts the Habs in a great spot to be able to use one or both of those picks (if they're feeling spry) to deepen the current roster.
The competition for the playoffs in the East will be brutal, particularly in the Atlantic Division. And while the Canadiens are a team on the rise, they were the second wild-card team in the Eastern Conference playoffs just the same, two points better than Columbus and equal with New Jersey.
The point being, it's tight and nothing is guaranteed. If using one of those first-round picks helps the Habs improve the roster to better secure a playoff berth, then they shouldn't hesitate to do it.
The Canadiens' AHL team had the best record in the league, and they've got depth there to help, but making the NHL roster as good as it can be right now will be vital.
Chicago Blackhawks
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Like each of the past few drafts, Chicago is set up with multiple first-round picks including the No. 3 overall selection. It has three picks in the top 40 (Nos. 3, 25 and 34).
Chicago GM Kyle Davidson is under pressure to get his team improved to a place where they can contend for the playoffs rather than the No. 1 pick. They need to better surround Connor Bedard and while Frank Nazar's arrival is a really good start to that effort, they need more.
Does that mean using the No. 3 pick in a trade? Not likely unless there's a blockbuster to be had in which they swap that pick with another team's first that may not be too much further down the board.
The Blackhawks clearly need more to better round out their rebuild, but they're in a spot where they must start coming out of that mindset to compete. They weren't supposed to be picking this high this year, but it happened.
They can take advantage of it by either taking an elite player there (James Hagens, Anton Frondell, Porter Martone, Jake O'Brien) or getting creative to add a key player for right now while still getting a high pick out of it.
It's not easy, but Davidson has shown he'll pull the trigger in the past. The only catch there is it's easier to make the big deal when you're acquiring picks and giving up a big player as opposed to the reverse.
Philadelphia Flyers
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Although the Flyers' rebuild rumbles on, they're in a fascinating spot this year with five picks in the top 40 (Nos. 6, 22, 31, 36 and 40). Three first-round picks and two second-rounders in the top 10 of that round makes for a juicy haul.
All eyes are on the No. 6 pick for Philadelphia because that's the one it will be able to better set up its prospect pool. Even though their push for the playoffs two seasons ago may have been fools' gold, there's no doubt GM Danny Brière doesn't want to spin his wheels for years trying to get back to the postseason.
Trading the sixth pick is probably a non-starter, but would they trade some combination of their other four top-40 picks to try to move up in the first round to add another high-end player? It runs counterintuitive to what rebuilding teams should do, but if there's a player they feel will be a difference-maker, it has to be considered.
Trading any of those picks for current NHL players who aren't elite franchise players would be foolish to do, but if there's a way to split the difference and add outstanding players in both ways, exploring that wouldn't be too terrible.
Anaheim Ducks
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The Ducks are clearly in a position to attempt to take a leap the standings next season. They have hired Joel Quenneville as the new coach and added Chris Kreider from the New York Rangers.
They came close to the playoffs this season and missing out next season would be a disappointment.
The rebuild they've gone through is virtually over now, yet they still have the 10th pick in the draft this year. Taking what should be a very good player there would be a good plan to keep their pipeline full, though they've committed to going for the playoffs and if that means using that pick to get more help for the current roster, they've got to do it.
Balance in all things is good and adding Kreider while also using the 10th pick plays to that. That said, when they hired Quenneville, they didn't do that to fuss around and maybe wind up back in the lottery again next year. Their team has a lot of veteran presence with Kreider, Radko Gudas, Alex Killorn, Ryan Strome, Jacob Trouba and Frank Vatrano, but it's still young.
Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger make for an impressive group of players, but they're also young.
If the No. 10 pick can be used to add another high-end veteran to that group, it's something that has to be strongly considered.
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