Buyers or Sellers? 6 NHL Teams With Trade Decisions to Make This Season

As the 2025-26 NHL season approaches its halfway point, we are starting to see teams emerge as serious playoff contenders, and others show themselves as lottery contenders. As such, we have already seen some significant trades happen across the league.

The Vancouver Canucks sent defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.

The Edmonton Oilers received goalie Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Seattle Kraken showed they are going to be sellers by trading away veteran forward Mason Marchment.

We also know that teams such as the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Carolina Hurricanes will be in the market to buy. We know teams like the Canucks and the Calgary Flames will be sellers.

Those are easy calls.

Here, we are going to look at six teams that might have a tougher decision to make on what they are going to do before the NHL trade deadline on March 6.

Anaheim Ducks

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Buy or Sell: Buy

The Ducks have taken a big step forward this season and positioned themselves to be a potential playoff team.

They are outstanding in offense, exciting, and full of young talent. They can score and create chances as well as any team in the league, and they have a forward group that is full of young stars. That is the good news.

The bad news is they do not defend particularly well, and they have some of the league's worst defensive metrics.

It is a testament to how good they are offensively that they remain one of the top teams in the Western Conference and are on pace for over 100 points this season.

They need to sure up their defensive-zone play and defense a little, and doing so could make them an interesting team in the Pacific Division bracket.

The Ducks do not need to go wild, but if they can strategically add some defensive help, it would be worth doing. The end of their playoff drought is within reach. Go get it with some additional defensive help.

Buffalo Sabres

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Buy or Sell: Sell

The Sabres recently made a change at general manager by firing Kevyn Adams and replacing him with former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen.

Based on what we know about Kekäläinen and his team in Columbus, he is likely to be aggressive. That might especially be the case if this recent stretch of good play, including a six-game winning streak, continues.

The vibes and energy around the team are certainly better than they were earlier in the year.

However, even with that six-game winning streak, the Sabres still have one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference. They still have a roster that has a lot of holes. It is still going to be hard to make up that remaining ground in the playoff race, especially since they are unlikely to keep winning every game.

Alex Tuch is their biggest trade chip, and he might be one of the biggest on the trade market if they decide to go forward with moving him. If they get a good offer and good value, they would be wise to take it.

Detroit Red Wings

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Buy or Sell: Buy

Steve Yzerman's rebuild of the Red Wings has been defined by patience. Maybe a little too much patience sometimes.

However, the team might finally be in a position to snap its decade-long playoff drought, and it's going to need some help to break through and become a contender.

The top part of the lineup remains fantastic. Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat, and Dylan Larkin make up an outstanding trio of forwards. Defenseman Moritz Seider is not only playing like a Norris Trophy front-runner but also a potential MVP contender.

However, the Red Wings need more secondary help around them.

The locker room was angry at last year's trade deadline, when Yzerman did nothing to help it, and he cannot make that mistake again.

The team has, so far, earned the opportunity to get more help, and the salary-cap space is available.

It is time to make a serious commitment to real improvement and progress. The Eastern Conference playoff race is wide open, and the Red Wings should be looking to become a major player in it.

Get another top-four defenseman. Get some scoring help forward. Heck, do both.

Do something to help the team.

New York Rangers

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Buy or sell: Sell

Another disappointing team in the Eastern Conference.

The New York Rangers hoped they could turn themselves back into contenders by reshaping their core leadership and bringing in head coach Mike Sullivan, but the problems are even more glaring than before.

They do not have anywhere near enough finishers in their lineup; many of their young players have failed to develop as hoped; and now their underlying numbers are regressing badly after a strong start to the season in that regard.

The first month was defined by the Rangers out-shooting and out-chancing teams, but without any goal-scoring or finishing luck. But as the season has progressed, a lot of those shots and scoring chance numbers are starting to erode rapidly.

Good process and bad results are turning into bad process and bad results. This is another team that just isn't very good, and certainly not as good as its management thought it would be.

Artemi Panarin is the most obvious trade piece here, and the Rangers might need to consider it.

Do they really want to invest in him at this age on another contract? Do they want to risk losing him for nothing?

They could try to get some assets and work on getting some younger pieces back into the lineup.

They tried adding to last year's roster by bringing in another player on the wrong side of his 30s with a bad contract (J.T. Miller), and it has not gone as planned. They cannot make that same mistake again.

Pittsburgh Penguins

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Buy or Sell: Sell

The Penguins surprised everybody in the NHL when they got off to an 8-2-2 start that exceeded all expectations.

Since then, they have rapidly regressed back closer to what they were expected to be, and they recently lost eight games in a row with some staggering third-period meltdowns in that stretch.

They are not as bad as they looked during that losing streak, but they are not as good as they looked during that 8-2-2 start.

This is still a team that needs to look toward the future and should take advantage of opportunities to sell as they present themselves. The Penguins already did that by trading Tristan Jarry and his contract to the Edmonton Oilers.

No matter how much Canadian writers and fans want to see it happen, Sidney Crosby is not likely to go anywhere anytime soon. But if they get good value for Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson, or other veterans, they should be open to it.

Even if they make the playoffs and sneak into a spot, they are not going to be a serious Stanley Cup contender this season. They cannot give away young or future assets in a season like that. Keep building for the future.

Toronto Maple Leafs

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Buy or Sell: Sell

The Toronto Maple Leafs' decision at this point might not be whether to sell, but how much to sell.

As of Tuesday, they are 35 games into the season. They have a .500 points percentage, one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference, some of the league's worst underlying numbers during 5-on-5 play, and holes all over the lineup. This is a bad team, and it needs to start accepting that.

The Maple Leafs' offseason plan and how they handled Mitch Marner's departure have gone sideways, and they look like a team in need of drastic changes. The head coach will probably be changed at some point, but the roster is an even bigger problem.

They shouldn't trade Auston Matthews, but this isn't a team that is worth adding to right now. They need a reset, not only to retool the roster a bit but also to help replenish their farm system and draft-pick capital, which have been depleted over the past few years.

The Maple Leafs are not a Stanley Cup team as constructed, so they should not try to chase a fantasy this season.