Buy, Sell or Hold: What Every Team Should Do at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline
At this point in the NHL season, most teams have already decided if they are going to be in a position to buy or sell going into the March 6 trade deadline for the 2025-26 season. Several of them have already started making the appropriate trades.
There are, however, still some teams that will take the next few games to decide which path to follow, and some that are still unsure.
We are here to help them make the decision. So let us take a look at what every NHL team should do at this year's trade deadline: Buy, sell, or hold.
Anaheim Ducks: Buy
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The Ducks are not yet at a point where they need to be all-in buyers or go heavy on rentals to try and find the missing piece of their championship puzzle, but they should absolutely be in the market to add something.
Ideally, they would get somebody with a term remaining on their contract who can stick around for another full season or beyond.
The Ducks' forward group is full of young talent, but their defense and defensive play both need a ton of work. That should be the focus over the next two weeks. They are in a good position to end their playoff drought. But they have to defend better to secure it.
Boston Bruins: Hold, Lean Toward Buy
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The Bruins are one of the teams on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble, and they have some significant issues that could be addressed. The biggest of those issues, from a big picture perspective, is that they are just too inconsistent to fully trust this season.
When it comes to personnel issues, they are still lacking a No. 1 center, could use some additional scoring depth, and need to upgrade their defense. So, in other words … a lot.
As long as the playoffs are a realistic goal – and they are – the Bruins should not be looking to sell, but this is also a team that is probably not just one or two players away from a championship this season. The best outcome here might be holding, with a slight edge toward strategically buying if the right player falls into their laps.
Buffalo Sabres: Buy
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After 14 years without playoff hockey, the Sabres are in a prime position to get there this season. They just need a little help.
Another top-six scorer would be useful, as well as some potential defensive depth. They absolutely should buy, but within reason (don't overpay for a rental).
New general manager Jarmo Kekalainen also has a track record of not being afraid to make bold moves. Do not be surprised if he has a surprise up his sleeve.
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Calgary Flames: Sell
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The Flames are one of those teams that has already told the league they are selling with their Rasmus Andersson trade. The only question is how much will they sell beyond that. Forwards Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman seem like very strong trade candidates, but there is no pressure to move either player given the fact they have term remaining on their contracts.
That term, however, could help them on the return and get them a bigger haul given that any team trading for them will have them for multiple playoff runs.
Carolina Hurricanes: Buy
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The Hurricanes not only figure to be buyers, but they also have a chance to be one of the more aggressive buyers in the NHL.
We know they are a playoff team. We know they will probably win at least a round. But the pressure is starting to mount for them to reach the next level and the Stanley Cup final with this core. While they do not have any major pressing needs, another big-time finisher would be a huge get. They have the salary cap space and trade assets to get pretty much any player they want and are willing to pay for.
Buy. Buy. Buy.
Chicago Blackhawks: Sell
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At some point, the Blackhawks need to start adding some more major talent around Connor Bedard. This offseason would be a great time for it. This past offseason would have been pretty ideal as well. But this trade deadline is not it.
This is still a time to sell. The Blackhawks have a lot of pending unrestricted free agents that will have some value, with none bigger than veteran defenseman Connor Murphy. It is probably frustrating for Blackhawks fans to be stuck in yet another season like this, but it is the only practical path right now.
Colorado Avalanche: Buy
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The Avalanche already seems to be positioning itself for some kind of move after shedding Samuel Girard's salary this week.
They might be the best team in hockey in the standings, but they could still use some additional help down the middle.
Could Vincent Trocheck or Nazem Kadri be in their future?
Both would make some sense.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Hold
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The Blue Jackets are in a bit of a gray area here, which is usually a good spot to stand pat in.
They are very much in the playoff race thanks to a recent surge going into the Olympic break, but they are also far from a lock to get in.
While they have plenty of salary-cap space to work with and a good collection of young talent, they might be best served letting this roster as it is go as far as it can, get a better understanding of its needs, and use that space in the offseason to aggressively buy or add and make a better run at it next season.
The playoffs are just too far from a lock to justify being major buyers.
Dallas Stars: Buy
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With Tyler Seguin injured and Mikko Rantanen out for some time as well, the Stars could probably use a little more scoring depth. This is also a situation similar to what Carolina is dealing with, where they keep getting close but have not yet been able to get over the top, and eventually that pressure is going to start building toward a championship. So buying is definitely the right approach.
The biggest obstacles the Stars will face: salary cap space and having enough tradable assets to get what they need.
Detroit Red Wings: Buy
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The time for patience in Detroit is over. The Red Wings are in position to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade; they need help, they have more salary cap space than anybody in the NHL, and they have plenty of trade capital to work with.
Another top-six scorer.
A top-four defenseman.
Depth at forward and defense.
Any and all of those should be on Steve Yzerman's shopping list. It is time to buy, and make a big buy if possible.
Edmonton Oilers: Buy
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We are approaching Stanley Cup or bust territory for the Oilers, but given the way the roster is constructed right now they are probably more in the bust category than the Stanley Cup category. This team just does not have anywhere near enough depth around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and it is going to be difficult to get everything they need with what they have to trade.
They tried to address the goaltending situation earlier in the year with the Tristan Jarry trade, but that is an absolutely massive wild-card with no guarantee for success.
They need to buy, but it is going to take some creativity to fix all of their issues.
Florida Panthers: Hold
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The injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk were ultimately too much for the Panthers to overcome this season. While there are more issues than just the injuries, they were the biggest part of the story.
They should not buy or try to add to this roster this season. They do not really have a lot to sell.
This is a good situation to hold and come back next season when they should have Barkov and Tkachuk for the start of the season.
Los Angeles Kings: Buy
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Even though the Kings are currently on the outside of the playoff picture, Artemi Panarin was a smart buy and the exact type of player they needed. Especially since they were able to get him re-signed beyond this season.
But now they might need another scorer after the season-ending injury suffered by Kevin Fiala at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
They have a strong defensive structure in place again, but their offense and game-breakers are their biggest issues.
Minnesota Wild: Buy
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The Wild are one of the best teams in the NHL and already made a huge addition earlier this season by landing Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. Their focus now should be on adding a second-line center upgrade. That means they should be buying.
Given how much the general manager clearly loves and values Vincent Trocheck and given the Team USA roster, he would seem to be a logical option.
The problem is that the Wild depleted many of their trade assets and used much of their salary cap space to get Hughes. It will take some creativity, but another center option would really help bring this team together.
Montreal Canadiens: Buy
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Making the playoffs a year ago was a big step.
Adding Noah Dobson to that core was the next step.
The next step now is making the playoffs and advancing.
The Canadiens' young core is good enough to do that, but a little extra help will go a long way for them. This is a clear season to buy at the deadline, especially with a need for some middle-six scoring help. Like a lot of potential playoff teams, a second-line center would be a big addition.
The only problem is that there aren't many available, and the prices for the ones that are could be high.
Nashville Predators: Hold
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Realistically speaking, the Predators should be selling. Especially if there is a market for players like Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Ryan O'Reilly.
But do they want to go through such significant changes when their general manager position is still so unsettled?
Standing pat and letting the new general manager make those big moves in the offseason might be the preferred path, so they can build the team they want.
New Jersey Devils: Sell
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This season has gotten away from the Devils and quickly turned into another lost season.
They have already started to sell a little bit, and could continue. This is not a team that needs a total teardown, and they do not have many pending free agents. But they would probably love to move on from the remainder of Dougie Hamilton's contract if at all possible. They should sell if they can, but standing pat is also an option at this point, given what they have already done.
New York Islanders: Buy
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The Islanders probably were not expecting to be a playoff team at the start of the season, but thanks to the play of starting goalie Ilya Sorokin and No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer, they are very much in the playoff race.
Their ceiling is probably not much more than a potential playoff round win, but the future is a lot brighter than it looked 12 months ago. They are in a position to strategically buy, but they probably won't go wild with it. And that is okay.
Their window for serious contention has not even opened yet. The Schaefer era is just beginning, and it is going to be here for a while.
New York Rangers: Sell
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The Rangers have already established themselves as sellers by sending away pending free agents Artemi Panarin and Carson Soucy. They should not – and probably will not – stop there. Their championship window with this core has closed far sooner than they hoped, and with far less success than they expected. Now it is time to hit the reset button. Again.
Vincent Trocheck will be a valuable trade chip, and if there is a path for moving on from Mika Zibanejad or J.T. Miller, they need to take it.
The only true untouchables here should be Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox, and maybe Alexis Lafreniere if there is still even an ounce of hope he can reach his star potential.
Ottawa Senators: Hold
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The Senators are a better team than their record indicates, but they have been completely undone by goaltending this season. It is probably too late to do anything about that right now, so they are not really in a position to start adding. But they also do not really have much incentive to sell and start tearing things apart.
Maybe they move one of the pending unrestricted free agents on the roster (Claude Giroux, Lars Eller), but this is a good situation to hold and hope the goaltending improves this season or next.
Linus Ullmark specifically is better than this. Eventually he will start showing that.
Philadelphia Flyers: Hold
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The Flyers' rebuild is still ongoing, and it looks like the playoffs will have to wait at least another year.
There are some good pieces in place, but they still need a lot more help and a lot more impact players to take the next step. They do not need an aggressive sell-off, and it might even make some sense to hold, but if they get a good offer for a player like Rasmus Ristolainen, they should be willing to explore it.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Hold, Lean Toward Buy
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have done a solid job staying competitive in the present and also keeping an eye on the future. They keep using their salary cap space to essentially buy more draft picks by taking on contracts, and also managing to get good players back in return. We saw another example of that this week when they traded Brett Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche for Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round draft pick.
They should be a playoff team, so selling is not likely on the table, but they also should not really have much of a need or pressure to buy much more than they already have.
Girard is a big addition, and maybe they look for another defensive depth addition to go along with that.
Would they trade Stuart Skinner and bring up prized prospect Sergei Murashov? It is an option.
Would they be in the market for a short-term center option with Sidney Crosby set to miss at least four weeks? Probably not.
The only thing they should be aggressively buying is if a younger, in-their-prime star with term remaining on their contract became available. They have the salary cap space and draft pick capital to make that kind of deal.
San Jose Sharks: Hold
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The Sharks already made a pretty significant move to acquire Kiefer Sherwood, and that is a nice reward for a young team that has managed to hang around in the playoff race.
Given that they still have a big hill to climb in order to actually make the playoffs, there should not be much pressure to keep adding.
If anything, it might make some sense to sell off some of their pending free agents on defense. But that would also be counterproductive after already giving up assets to acquire a pending free agent at forward (Sherwood).
The Sharks are a tough team to get a real read on.
Seattle Kraken: Hold, Lean Toward Buy
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Another tough team to get a read on.
The Kraken are in a good position in the playoff race, but are they a particularly good team? What is their strength? What do they do exceptionally well? The answer is, unfortunately, not really anything.
The biggest thing keeping them in the race is some stellar goaltending, but there is always a question about its sustainability.
They do have multiple first-round picks in each of the next two draft classes, while also having some salary-cap space at their disposal. If they are going to add something, offensive playmakers with term remaining should be the biggest priority.
St. Louis Blues: Sell
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The Blues look like a team stuck in mud. They have some good players, but not enough of them, and the team has taken a big step backwards.
Forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou have been on the rumor mill for a while now, and while they could bring potentially significant returns, they should not trade them just for the sake of trading them. They need to get the right pieces and players back.
What they should do, however, is capitalize on Jordan Binnington's strong Olympic performance and see if someone would be willing to take on his contract.
Justin Faulk should also be attractive to teams in need of defensive help.
This is a seller.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Buy
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It does not matter what the salary-cap situation is or what their trade chips look like, they are going to find a way to add something. They always do. They will again.
Their Stanley Cup window is still open, and they are looking like the best team in the Eastern Conference. It is not really a question of if they will add something, but what it will be.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Sell
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The Maple Leafs need to sell. The question is whether they have the courage to actually commit to it.
They have a long way to go to make the playoffs, and they have depleted so many assets in recent years that they have nothing left to deal from.
The farm system is thin, and their draft picks are gone. They need to fix both of those things. Collect as many draft picks as they can, even if it is just to flip them in the offseason for more immediate help.
Between Calle Jarnkrok, Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, and Simon Benoit, there are enough trade chips here to bring back some much-needed draft pick compensation.
Utah Mammoth: Buy
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The Mammoth have a great chance to bring playoff hockey to Utah for the first time ever, and they should look to capitalize on that and add to what is already a pretty good roster.
They have been extremely aggressive over the past two offseasons when it comes to adding talent from outside the organization, and there is no reason not to continue that now. Get another scorer. Get some defensive depth. Give a new fanbase a reason to buy in. Nothing does that more than playoff hockey.
Vancouver Canucks: Sell
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Definite seller, simply because they have already made two significant "seller" moves by trading defenseman Quinn Hughes and forward Kiefer Sherwood.
This is one of the worst teams in the league, in desperate need of a reset, rebuild, or retool; something that looks toward the future.
Evander Kane needs to go. Teddy Blueger and David Kampf need to go. If Tyler Myers has a market, he should go. Maybe a Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland, or Brock Boeser needs to go.
This core has had its chance, and it just hasn't been good enough.
Vegas Golden Knights: Buy
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Vegas already made a big move to get Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames to help address its defense, and that is significant. Will they stop there? History says … not likely. Like Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference, they always find a way to add, no matter what their salary-cap situation is.
Their biggest need is in goal, but the goalie market is remarkably thin right now. Forward depth could also be an option.
Washington Capitals: Hold, Lean Toward Buy
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This season has not gone anywhere near as well as the 2024-25 campaign, and the Capitals find themselves in a fight to make the playoffs.
The biggest issue is a math problem: they have played so many more games than the teams they are chasing. They not only need to win a lot, but they also need a lot of help. But as long as Alex Ovechkin is on the roster, it seems unlikely they are going to go into a full sell-off mode.
What they really need is a young goal-scorer or impact player at forward, but that might be more of an offseason move.
Getting Pierre-Luc Dubois back is also a big addition to the lineup, but it might be too little, too late. They should probably just hold with what they have over the next two weeks.
Winnipeg Jets: Sell
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The Winnipeg Jets went from the Presidents' Trophy to likely out of the playoffs in just one season. That is stunning, but it's also a testament to how much the 2024-25 team overachieved.
That was always a seriously flawed team, elevated by one of the great single-season goaltending performances of all time from Connor Hellebuyck. His injury, combined with the fact that there is only so much one goalie can do, has exposed all of the flaws Winnipeg management has continued to ignore.
They have some pending free-agent defensemen who might have some value in Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn, and there is no need for them to remain on the roster on March 7. The same applies to veteran forward Gustav Nyquist.
The Jets need to sell.
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