1 Area Every NHL Team Can Improve On During the 2025-26 Season With a Trade
The 2025-26 NHL trade deadline is still more than four months away, but we are starting to see where the strengths and weaknesses exist for every team 10 games into the season. Or at least the areas of concern to start watching.
Whether it is more of a long-term outlook as part of a rebuild or retooling, or a more short-term approach with the mindset of winning a Stanley Cup this season, teams are going to make plenty of moves in the coming months.
So, let's take a look at an area each team could stand to improve with an in-season move.
Anaheim Ducks: Defensive help
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There is a lot to like about this Ducks team, especially when compared to recent seasons.
The forward talent they have amassed is impressive, and a lot of the young players are really starting to shine.
Leo Carlsson looks like a star. Cutter Gauthier already has five goals entering the week. Beckett Sennecke looks outstanding. Mason McTavish only has one goal, but the playmaking is there and he is getting crushed by an unsustainably low shooting percentage. More goals will come for him.
For as good as they can be offensively, though, there are still some serious warts with this team defensively. Entering play on Monday, the Ducks were surrendering 3.41 expected goals per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play, which was by far the worst mark in hockey.
The next-worst team was the New York Islanders at 3.13. The only other team over three expected goals against per 60 minutes was the Boston Bruins.
Anaheim was also 32nd out of 32 teams in that area a year ago at 2.96 expected goals against per 60 minutes.
It's not the defense is lacking talent, it's just that there are a couple of big question marks with how this team plays without the puck. And even if it's not in the form of an actual defenseman, some better defensive play at forward could also be in play and be helpful.
Either way, getting better defensively is the early-season area to watch.
Boston Bruins: Young Players
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It has not been in Boston's DNA over the past 15 years or so to rebuild, but they should start taking more of a look toward the future.
The 2024-25 season was probably not a fluke, and neither is this year's bad start.
It's simply not a particularly good team that has a lot of big holes on the NHL roster while also not really possessing a great farm system. The drafting of James Hagens and last year's trade for Fraser Minten help in that regard, but they need to keep building that prospect pool here.
This particular version of the Bruins does not do enough things well enough and does not have enough good players to invest heavily in going for it this season.
Do not trade David Pastrnak. Do not trade Charlie McAvoy. But if you can get a good return for Pavel Zacha, or somebody else on that level on the roster, then it needs to be considered strongly.
Buffalo Sabres: Center Help
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Is this team ready to take a step forward to the point where it makes sense to add to the roster this season?
Or is it going to be more of the same and a continuation of the past 14 years where you are always waiting for a next year that never brings any sort of positive change? Probably that.
In all honesty, the Sabres could use an upgrade somewhere at each level of the roster, but the injury to Joshua Norris threw a wrench into their center plans. It is also something they have to be prepared for in the future given he has only really had one full season in the NHL without missing significant playing time.
The question you have to ask, though, is how much do you trust general manager Kevyn Adams to make any sort of a trade to upgrade this team, either in the short or long term?
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Calgary Flames: Young Offensive Talent
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The Calgary Flames were the worst goal-scoring team in the NHL during the 2024-25 season, but did little to address that this offseason. Through their first 10 games this season, they are the worst goal-scoring team in the NHL again.
Making matters worse is starting goalie Dustin Wolf has not been bailing the team out and masking a lot of its flaws the way he did a year ago.
Maybe it's all part of the plan to position themselves for a run at Gavin McKenna—they do own two first-round picks in the 2026 draft class—but even if it is, this franchise still needs a boost to its offensive outlook.
Their biggest trade chip right now is defenseman Rasmus Andersson, and it only seems to be a matter of when and not if he gets traded, and there shouldn't be many untouchables on the roster beyond him.
When they do start inevitably selling this season, young scoring and anything that can help them get more young scoring should be the priority.
Carolina Hurricanes: Another Goal-Scorer
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It might be weird to say a team that is entering the week second in the league in goals per game needs another goal-scorer, but we have all seen how these recent postseasons end (it is usually with a lack of offense in big games).
I would not be leaving anything to chance here, especially when there is still more than $8 million in unused salary-cap space and the team has four first-round draft picks over the next three years to deal from.
The window is as wide open as it has ever been, and it's time to climb through it.
Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho are off to great starts offensively, and there is still reason to believe Nikolaj Ehlers can be a big difference-maker here despite his slow start, but another finisher could really help bring everything together here.
Chicago Blackhawks: Long-Term Winger for Connor Bedard
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The Blackhawks are off to a solid start, but there is little in their underlying numbers or the roster to suggest it's sustainable over a full 82-game season.
The biggest priority for Chicago right now needs to be finding some sort of long-term wing help for franchise player Connor Bedard.
He has spent most of the season so far centering the likes of Tyler Bertuzzi, Andre Buarkovsky, Colton Dach and Ilya Mikheyev. This is not good enough for year three of his career. It is not good enough for the future.
Getting Bedard was the biggest part of attempting to rebuild this franchise into a contender. But they cannot just sit back and rely on him and the team to succeed by surrounding him with mediocrity.
The development of defenseman Artyom Levshunov is going to be fascinating to watch in comparison to Ivan Demidov, because the long-term winger for Bedard was staring them in the face and they didn't take him.
Given Demidov already looks like a star in Montreal, Levshunov better be worth it.
Colorado Avalanche: Goaltending Depth
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This seems to be a recurring problem for the Avalanche.
MacKenzie Blackwood has yet to play this season, resulting in Scott Wedgewood and Trent Miner manning the position through the first two weeks.
They have been ... OK.
But what does it say about your goaltending situation when you are waiting for Blackwood to come back and solidify the position? He was very good for the Avalanche after coming over in an in-season trade with the San Jose Sharks a year ago, and Colorado thought highly enough of his play to reward him with a long-term contract extension.
It's just all very risky. Blackwood's career has been up-and-down, and when it comes to the non-elite goalies in the NHL, you can be playing roulette when it comes to what you are going to get from one season to the next or even in the same season.
The Avalanche have an excellent team that could go a long way in the playoffs if the goaltending does not let them down. Having some sort of safety net in goal that is better than Wedgewood and Miner in case Blackwood regresses wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Defensive/Penalty-Killing Help
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The Blue Jackets have a lot of money and resources invested in their defense, but I'm not in love with the group as a whole.
Zach Werenski is a stud and Denton Mateychuk has big upside, but the rest of the unit has some flaws and they rank near the bottom of the league when it comes to allowing chances in all situations.
The penalty kill is a major contributor to that. It has been horrific through the first part of the season.
The Blue Jackets still have $14 million in salary-cap space to work with, and after taking a big step forward a year ago and staying in the playoff hunt, they should have reasonably high expectations coming into this season. Especially given the young talent on the roster and the cap flexibility at their disposal.
If they are going to put that to use this season, solidifying their play on the back-end and in shorthanded situations should be a big priority.
Dallas Stars: Right-Handed Defense
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In theory, Dallas should not need a lot.
It is one of the best rosters in the league with All-Star-level players at forward, defense and in goal, while the team has been in the Western Conference Final three years in a row and has been one of the NHL's most successful teams over the past six years.
Pretty much the only thing the Stars have not done is actually win the whole thing with this current core.
If there is one noticeable Achilles heel on the roster, though, it is right-handed defensemen.
Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell, the team's three best defensemen, are all left shots, while their right-handed defensemen are limited to Ilya Lyubushkin, Nils Lundkvist and Alexander Petrovic. The latter group is ... not great.
They don't need a superstar. Just somebody who can give them solid, dependable depth with a right-handed shot to help balance out the pairings a little better.
Detroit Red Wings: Top-Four Defenseman
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The Red Wings have some intriguing young defensemen starting to make their presence felt on the roster, and it should have fans and the organization encouraged.
Moritz Seider is fairly established as their No. 1 guy, while recent first-round picks Simon Edvinsson and Axel Sandin Pellikka bring big-time upside and talent. They are also getting significant roles this season.
But I just can't see a team playing a 34-year-old Ben Chiarot 22 minutes per night being any kind of a serious threat. That will get exploited eventually.
The Red Wings have $11.8 million in salary-cap space and should be feeling pressure to finally take a big step forward under Steve Yzerman. Continued mediocrity cannot become accepted. Give your young players some more help.
Edmonton Oilers: Goaltending
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It is a testament to the greatness of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl that a team with so many glaring flaws every season can reach back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
Scoring depth is always a concern here.
So is defensive depth, especially with the way Darnell Nurse is getting cooked this season.
But the elephant in the room remains the fact the Oilers' goaltending just can't be trusted. It's been a problem for years now, and for some reason they seemed content to just run it back with the same duo this season.
It's a bold strategy. But not necessarily a great one.
Florida Panthers: Forward Depth
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It has been a slow start for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, but it comes with the notable asterisk of "not having Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk."
Tkachuk will be back at some point in the next month or two, but Barkov is likely to miss the remainder of the regular season and who knows how much of the playoffs.
It's given Anton Lundell a chance to take on a bigger role in the lineup, and they still have players like Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart who can play the position down the middle.
It's still a good team on paper.
Some additional forward depth might still be helpful in Barkov's absence, though, and just because this team has had three consecutive deep playoff runs. That is a lot of hockey, and even the best players are going to wear down.
Adding some fresher legs to the roster could be a beneficial move.
Los Angeles Kings: Scoring Help
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There was not about the Los Angeles Kings offseason that made sense.
They made the defense worse by swapping out Vladislav Gavrikov and Jordan Spence for Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci, and they didn't really do much to address a very average offense.
While I want to say they need to look for defensive help, they have locked themselves in with Ceci and Dumoulin and I don't know that they're going to invest more resources into the position right now.
They could still use another potential impact forward who can score. They have consistently been a middle-of-the-pack offensive team the past four years and able to get by and win thanks to elite defensive play. Now that the defensive play may not be what it once was, there is an even greater need for more offense.
After four consecutive first-round exits at the hands of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, it should be clear that they are going to need to score more if they are going to go from a playoff team to a winning playoff team.
Minnesota Wild: Forward Help
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Expectations should have been reasonably high for the Wild coming into this season.
Their 2024-25 season was derailed by significant injuries in the second half, and they were not only getting players like Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek back healthy, but they also had some salary-cap flexibility for the first time in a few years and possess one of the NHL's best prospect pools.
That does not even get into the fact that they were able to lock in Kaprizov on a long-term contract extension to keep him in Minnesota.
Unfortunately, the first 10 games of the season have been a mess. They are struggling to score, can not stop anybody from scoring and are getting badly outplayed with only three wins through Monday.
On the surface, they could use help everywhere.
You could probably make a reasonable argument that the defensive play will get better given some of the young talent on the blue line, as well as the hope that goalies Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt start to play better.
The collection of forwards, especially as it relates to the depth, may not have that level of optimism.
Montreal Canadiens: Goalie Depth
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Montreal made two huge moves over the summer to land defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders and forward Zachary Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues. They have been significant additions, and will likely continue to be.
The one position to watch here, however, might be in goal.
Jakub Dobes has been outstanding in his first five starts, but Sam Montembeault has struggled. That's the concern. Do the Canadiens trust Dobes to take on a full-time role and get the bulk of the playing time at this point? And even if they do, would they like more insurance behind than what Montembeault has given them. He's been a mostly league average goalie at best throughout his career and has not given them even that level of play this season.
The playoffs should be an expectation this season after last year's success and the offseason moves, and nothing can slow that progress more than inconsistent goaltending.
Nashville Predators: Young Talent
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It's a grim situation in Nashville when it comes to the immediate future.
The Predators have one of the NHL's oldest rosters, have a lot of big money contracts and are not particularly good after finishing the 2024-25 season with one of the league's worst rosters, and then opening this season with just four wins in their first 10 games.
The silver lining to all of this is the prospect cupboard is not totally empty, but they should be looking to add to it this season when they are inevitably in a position to sell. Unless things dramatically turn around in next 10-15 games, there shouldn't be an incentive to trade future assets for immediate help for this roster.
Keep collecting young talent where possible and start looking toward the future.
New Jersey Devils: Center Depth
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Jack Hughes is back healthy and has helped the Devils become a force through their first nine games. He is playing at an MVP level and, along with Nico Hischier, he gives the Devils an outstanding 1-2 punch down the middle at center.
But there is a significant dropoff in talent at the position between those two and the centers in the bottom-six roles. That could be a problem come playoff time, or in the event Hughes misses time again (as has happened repeatedly throughout his career).
They don't need a star or a major impact player, but someone who can play on the third line and give some serious scoring depth.
New York Islanders: Defensive Help
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The good news is No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer looks like he is going to be a force to be reckoned with for a long time. He is the real deal.
The bad news is the rest of the defensive play for the Islanders has been downright bad this season. In terms of allowing chances and expected goals, they rank near the bottom of the league during 5-on-5 play.
This is probably isn't a season where the Isles are going to be looking to be buying rentals, but if they can get some more longer-term help on defense to accompany Schaefer, it would be a good idea to explore it. Especially since four defensemen on the roster (Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Tony D'Angelo and Scott Mayfield) are all over the age of 30.
New York Rangers: Scoring help
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In all honesty, the New York Rangers trading away young assets or draft picks is probably not the best idea, especially given the recent track record of moves from general manager Chris Drury.
But last year's trade for J.T. Miller, and this offseason's move to hire Mike Sullivan and sign Vladislav Gavrikov, made it clear that management still believes this is a win-now season. So that's probably how they're going to approach it.
If that's the case, it's pretty obvious what this team needs: finishers.
There just isn't enough goal-scoring talent on this roster to take advantage of whatever territorial and scoring chance advantage they have had this season, Just sitting back and waiting for their shooting luck to change with this group is going to be a losing bet.
Ottawa Senators: Depth
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The main thing the Senators need right now is for one of their goalies to actually make some stops.
That will fix more problems than any in-season trade ever could.
At some point, they will get more saves, and at that point, a lot of the flaws that Senators fans might think exist right now will suddenly go away.
Their biggest concern might simply be one of depth. Depth to not only contribute when they are fully healthy, but also to help step up in the event that a top player goes down with an injury, as is currently the case with forward Brady Tkachuk.
Philadelphia Flyers: More Offense
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Under John Tortorella, the Philadelphia Flyers developed a strong defensive game and structure that made them a tough team to play against.
It may not have produced a playoff appearance, but they were arguably better than their record indicated the past two seasons.
It is up to new coach Rick Tocchet to keep building on that.
In order to do that he is going to need the two things the Flyers did not have under Tortorella: better goaltending and more skill offensively.
Getting the goaltending is never easy, but they did try it by adding Dan Vladar in free agency.
Now they need to keep finding more offense. The Flyers took a chance on trying to jump-start Trevor Zegras' career, and the early returns are promising. But that's not enough.
Whether it's another reclamation project like Zegras or a more established player, offense should be the priority.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Left-Handed Defense
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This is supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but after Monday's win against the St. Louis Blues, they are 7-2-1 and off to a surprising start.
They still might not be a playoff team this season, and they are not likely to get too far away from their long-term plan.
Whether they are trying to win this season, or continuing to build for the future, left-handed defense will be a big organizational need. The right side of their defense still has Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson and 19-year-old prospect Harrison Brunicke. It's clearly their strength on defense.
The left side, meanwhile, is made up of Parker Wotherspoon, Ryan Shea, Caleb Jones and Matt Dumba. Nobody there is a long-term answer.
The only potential long-term answer that is even close to the NHL is 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering. But he had such an underwhelming training camp and preseason that he could not make the Penguins roster despite there being no established players on his side, and with the team trying to go young.
San Jose Sharks: Young Defense
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The Sharks have put together a staggeringly good collection of young forwards led by Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Michael Misa, William Eklund and Igor Chernyshov.
It's an exciting group, and Celebrini is already blossoming into one of the league's rising young stars.
Now they need to start assembling some young defense to complement the forwards. Sam Dickinson is their best defense prospect, but they need more along with him.
The NHL defense at the moment leaves a lot to be desired, and the prospect pipeline is lacking on the back end when compared to what they have at forward.
Seattle Kraken: Forward Help
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The Kraken have been one of the early-season surprises, but it's not because of their offense. And that's going to continue to be a concern, especially with Jared McCann sidelined for the time being.
Seattle's best hope for success this season is if their two young forwards, Shane Wright and Matty Beniers, take big steps forward and truly break out. And they still might. But even if they do, it's just not a particularly deep offensive team.
They don't need to be in the market for a superstar, but some solid middle-six help would go a long way to balance out the lineup.
St. Louis Blues: Goaltending Help
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Goaltending has been a bit of a weakness for the Blues for a couple of years now, with Jordan Binnington's career reaching its peak in his first season and steadily regressing ever since.
The duo of Binnington and Joel Hofer gave them pretty much league average goaltending a year ago, but has been awful through the first few weeks of this season. It's been their single biggest issue as they try to build on last year's second-half surge and playoff appearance.
This is a solid, if unspectacular, roster that does a lot of things right defensively and has some underrated offensive talent.
It does not need a goalie who will steal games, but it does need somebody to not lose them. Right now, that goaltending is losing games.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Bottom-Six Forward Help
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Even though it's been a disappointingly slow start for the Lightning, this should still be a team that has its sights set on the playoffs. The top half of the roster is still loaded with elite talent that is playing at an exceptionally high level.
Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli is still a heck of a group of forwards to build around, and it's a group that could still cause some problems in a playoff series if it gets the right support.
Where the Lightning have struggled lately is they no longer have the depth in the bottom half of their lineup that they had when they were winning Stanley Cups in the early 2020s.
They tried to address that at the deadline a year ago by reacquiring Yanni Gourde and bringing in Oliver Bjorkstrand, but that move has produced mixed results so far.
They still need more, and if they are going to start going deep in the playoffs again, the bottom half of the lineup is going to need to do more to help complement the top half.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Top-Six Winger
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The Maple Leafs moved on from Mitch Marner this offseason and then didn't really replace him.
It was probably time to make a change to the core, but if they were going to move on from Marner, they probably needed to do more than add Mattias Maccelli or Dakota Joshua.
The Maple Leafs are clearly missing something in their lineup this season, and even if they bounce back from this slow start and make the playoffs, this lineup as constructed isn't likely to find enough goal-scoring to do anything when it gets there.
Offense has been one of Toronto's most consistent problems in big games, and it is hard to see where it would come from on this roster.
The issue is going to be finding the salary-cap space and trade assets to add the type of offense they need.
Utah Mammoth: Defense Depth
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Utah looks like a playoff team to open the season and everything is clicking.
Young forwards Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther are having breakout years, JJ Peterka has been an outstanding addition and veteran Nick Schmaltz is off to the best start of his career. The Mammoth are one of the highest scoring teams in the league, and getting solid goaltending to help bring everything together.
While Utah spent big on its defense a year ago, it could still probably use a little more depth to that unit. Sean Durzi is sidelined, and there seems to be a big gap in talent between the top-four defensemen and the bottom part of the lineup.
You probably need eight or nine NHL-caliber defensemen to get through a full season and playoffs due to injuries and the wear-and-tear that comes with the position. Does Utah have that right now?
Vancouver Canucks: Defensive Help
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The Canucks have one of the NHL's best defenseman in Quinn Hughes (for now), but still have some major issues defensively.
Entering play on Tuesday, they are near the bottom of the league when it comes to allowing expected goals and scoring chances during 5-on-5 play, and they are 22nd in goals against.
How much can they keep relying on a 35-year-old Tyler Myers to be a top-four defender? is Marcus Pettersson the player they thought he would be? What happens if Hughes does not want to re-sign long-term when it comes time to have that discussion?
There are a lot of big questions with that unit.
Vegas Golden Knights: Defense
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With Alex Pietrangelo stepping away from hockey for the time being and Noah Hanifin currently on IR, that is two prominent defenders out of the Vegas lineup. It has not really impacted them too much yet, but it might later in the season.
Every year is an all-in season for the Golden Knights, and that is especially true after adding Mitch Marner and extending Jack Eichel this offseason. I just can not imagine them willingly going into the playoffs with this defense group looking the way it does right now.
They are going to find a way to add somebody.
Washington Capitals: Secondary Scoring
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Thanks in large part to some stellar play from starting goalie Logan Thompson, the Washington Capitals have mostly been locking teams down this season.
Even after allowing seven goals to the Ottawa Senators over the weekend, they still remain the No. 1 team in the NHL in terms of goals against.
That is excellent. Now they need a little more from their offense.
Even though they still have Alex Ovechkin, he is not quite the player he was at his peak, and they don't really have many game-breakers offensively. It's an offense where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Which is fine, as long as it's balanced and you get contributions from each line.
The Capitals do for the most part, but some additional scoring help for the middle-six forward lines is probably the place for them to look for in-season upgrades.
Winnipeg Jets: Second-Line Center
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There is a part of me that wants to say a backup goalie they trust to play a little more, just so they can give starter Connor Hellebuyck a few more days off during the regular season so he does not get worn out by the time the playoffs roll around.
Eric Comrie, however, has played well the past two seasons. Winnipeg should just play him a little more.
The bigger need, though, might be some help down the middle.
Mark Scheifele is clearly the top center, but there is a significant gap between him and the rest of the centers on the roster.
Do they have a second-line center you can win a Stanley Cup with? Obviously Jonathan Toews was that player at one time, but he is far removed from that part of his career. Adam Lowry is a good player, but he will be coming back from hip surgery when he returns.
Morgan Barron and Vladislav Namestnikov are not really game-changers.
Do you trust that depth chart down the middle for a potential Stanley Cup contender?
Getting a legitimate, potentially impactful second-line center should be high on Winnipeg's in-season shopping list.
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