5 NHL Teams in Danger of Making a Panic Trade

Sometimes, a struggling team just needs something to shake things up and bring new energy to the roster.

A coaching change. A call-up from the minor leagues. Or perhaps even a trade. All of these moves can be beneficial and provide the change that is needed to turn things around.

Occasionally, though, such moves—especially when it comes to trades—can be a panic move that does more to hurt the team than help it.

There are a couple of teams around the NHL this season that might be getting into the danger zone for a panic trade.

Let's take a look at five of them.

Nashville Predators

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Steven Stamkos

After an offseason spending spree in 2024, expectations were sky-high for the Nashville Predators going into last season. They fell short across the board, were one of the league's biggest flops, and posted one of the league's worst records.

The start of the 2025-26 season has not been much better, with the team entering play on Tuesday at 5-6-4.

What makes the Predators a potential panic trade team is that general manager Barry Trotz doesn't seem to have a clear plan for the direction he wants the team to take, and he's only continued to prove that over the past year with trades for Michael Bunting and Nicolas Hague.

Trotz has a fantastic resume as a head coach, including a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals and sensational seasons with both the Predators and the New York Islanders. But his brief track record as a GM has left a lot to be desired, leaving the Predators with a bad, aging roster and some questionable contracts.

The panic trade could come from Trotz not seeming all that prepared to look toward the future and instead trying to salvage this season, especially with more than $5 million in salary-cap space at his disposal.

This isn't a team that is one move away from turning it around at the NHL level, and any move made in an effort to do that will likely end poorly and only put the team in a deeper long-term hole.

Nashville has some draft pick capital and a strong farm system. If it does anything on the trade front, it should continue to add to those areas, not subtract from them to help the current roster.

New York Rangers

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Mike Sullivan

Things are not going as planned for the New York Rangers this season, especially on home, where they are 0-5-1 and unable to score.

Even though the Rangers are coming off a 2024-25 season in which they missed the playoffs, there is no questioning the expectations for this season: they were not only expected to make the playoffs but also to compete for a Stanley Cup.

They would not have traded what turned out to be the No. 12 overall pick and Filip Chytil for a 32-year-old J.T. Miller if they were not intent on competing this season.

They would not have hired Mike Sullivan as head coach this season if they were not intent on competing. So far, they aren't.

What happens when a Rangers team that was supposed to compete does not compete? Panic. Moves that do not help the long-term outlook and somehow do not help the short-term outlook, either.

General manager Chris Drury has tried to overhaul a significant portion of the roster over the past year, gutting his leadership core, making significant changes to the defense, and pushing every button he can to find the right mix on the ice.

There is no way the outside noise and pressure won't eventually reach the front office, especially if the team keeps losing at home and struggles to score goals.

The only question is what does the trade look like.

Do they do something outrageous like trade Alexis Lafreniere? Do they trade away the 2026 first-round draft pick they kept, even though it has significant lottery potential? Do they send away another core player and trade pending unrestricted free agent Artemi Panarin? Do they make a newer version of the Miller trade (something of a panic trade in itself) and add another aging veteran like Steven Stamkos?

So many possibilities exist here.

St. Louis Blues

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Jordan Binnington

Sometimes, a panic trade is not necessarily just about bad or impatient management. Sometimes it's about a team not trusting its process and not fully realizing what the problem is.

After making an in-season coaching change a year ago and adding defenseman Cam Fowler in an in-season trade, the St. Louis Blues were one of the NHL's best teams in the second half of the season, shaking off a slow start and ending up making the playoffs.

So far, that momentum has not carried over into this season as they have won just four of their first 13 games entering play on Wednesday.

The thing about this Blues team, though, is that they're not doing anything wrong overall. The defensive structure is still largely there, and they have dealt with some injuries at forward. A lot of their underlying numbers are strong, and the process seems sound.

Their most significant issue is that they're not getting any saves from their goalies. Goaltending is what is holding them back.

While they could use a goalie upgrade, the duo of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer should at least be capable of giving them league-average play. There is some regression to the mean to happen here, and when it does, the Blues' results should turn around. They just need to be patient.

Vancouver Canucks

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Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller

Anytime you are dealing with a team that has Jim Rutherford in its management, you have to be prepared for anything.

Nobody in the NHL is more aggressive and more willing to hit the panic button than him. Even though the 76-year-old does not have the general manager title here, he is still very involved in the day-to-day operations of the team and roster building.

The Canucks are 7-7-0 through their first 14 games entering play on Wednesday, and there is no shortage of potential panic trade options.

Elias Pettersson has three goals and 10 points so far, and he has not yet produced the way the Canucks are paying him to.

Rutherford already started planting the seeds for a potential Quinn Hughes trade this past offseason, amid concerns about his willingness to sign a long-term contract extension with the team.

While a potential Hughes trade is probably something on the table for next season (when he enters the final year of his current contract and will be eligible to negotiate a new deal—and potentially reject offers from the Canucks), Pettersson's name has been circling in trade speculation for more than a year now.

It is something the Canucks should avoid. There is little chance of winning that sort of trade at this point, and if Pettersson does return to being an elite offensive player, they will want that to happen while he is wearing their uniform.

Edmonton Oilers

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Connor McDavid

After making back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, and with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl still in search of a championship, this is as close to a Cup-or-bust season as you can have in the NHL.

As constructed, and as they are currently playing, the Oilers are not ready to play at that level or achieve that goal.

There is no denying they need some help on their roster, both on defense and in goal, so a trade in general might not necessarily be a panic move. But that also largely depends on who they move out and who they choose to bring in.

Edmonton hasn't always been known for making the best moves, and that includes the current management that saddled itself with Trent Frederic for eight years and then ran back the same goalie duo that has repeatedly struggled in big moments.

The Oilers need to make some moves, but they need to make the right moves.