1 Trade or Signing Every NHL Team Must Make During the 2026 Offseason
There are 29 teams that have already started their offseason preparations, and all of them have some level of work to do to reach a championship level.
For some teams, the challenge is more daunting.
We are going to try and help them out by going around the league and suggesting one trade or free agent signing they should make this offseason.
In some cases, it will be a win-now move.
In others, it will be a more longer-term, big picture look.
The free agent class is about as grim as it has been in years with little to no high-end talent. That could make trades, and perhaps even an offer-sheet, the path forward for teams. And while, yes, we do say all of that every offseason, it all seems to be especially true this offseason.
So let's get to the suggested moves.
Anaheim Ducks: Move Mason McTavish for defensive help
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Mason McTavish has shown flashes of big-time potential with the Anaheim Ducks, but after taking a step backwards in 2025-26, and finding himself as a healthy scratch, he might be in need of a change of scenery and a fresh start elsewhere.
It might also be a good opportunity for the Ducks to use him as a trade chip to land some much-needed defensive help.
Anaheim is loaded with young stars at forward, including Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke, while the former two are going to be in need of significant contract extensions this offseason as restricted free agents.
They also need defensive help, and a lot of it. Not only because they simply need to improve their defense, but because Jacob Trouba, Radko Gudas and John Carlson are all headed to unrestricted free agency.
McTavish has a big contract, but he still has some untapped potential and could be an attractive target for teams. The Ducks should try to take advantage of that and make a hockey trade to bring in some much-needed help on their back end.
Boston Bruins: Trade for Zach Whitecloud
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The Bruins have a couple of big needs going into the offseason, including the continued need for a true No. 1 center. But there is at least some young prospect hope on the horizon in that regard Fraser Minten emerging as a rookie and James Hagens knocking on the door.
Another big need: Right-shot defenseman.
Or just defensemen in general.
Rather than make a bad investment in a week free agent class, trading for Calgary's Zach Whitecloud would be a good alternative. He is a solid enough player that could provide quality depth on the right side, while also only counting just $2.75 million against the salary cap for two more years.
Calgary is still very much in the middle of a rebuild, and Whitecloud could be a useful trade asset.
Even though the Bruins returned to the playoffs they were near the bottom of the league in nearly every major defensive metric, including 29th in expected goals against per 60 minutes (2.93). That is not good enough. Jeremy Swayman is great, but they should not have to rely on him that much.
Buffalo Sabres: Trade Josh Norris
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The Sabres have a lot of potential options at center, but need to clear some salary cap space to work in contracts for players like Zach Benson and Bowen Byram. Josh Norris is a solid player when healthy, but that just does not happen anywhere near enough to justify $7.9 million over the next four years.
That also makes him difficult to move.
But it also only takes one team that sees the talent and wants to take the chance.
Calgary Flames: Continue the rebuild and trade Blake Coleman
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Calgary has a goldmine of draft picks over the next three years, owning six first-round picks (two in each of the next three years), eight second-round picks (four this year and two in the next two years after that) and four third-round picks (two this year and one each in the two years that follow). They can potentially add to that pool by moving Coleman this offseason as he enters the final year of his contract. And if they move him now they might potentially get more than if they hold on to him for the deadline.
At some point they can start flipping some of those draft picks for more immediate help/proven players, but for now the name of the game should continue to be asset collection.
Carolina Hurricanes: Find a taker for Jesperi Kotkaniemi
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The Hurricanes have one of the deepest, most balanced rosters in the NHL, and no matter what happens the rest of this postseason they are not going to have a lot of needs.
One move they could use is moving on from center Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Not only to open a roster spot, but also some potential salary cap space as well.
He has pretty much disappeared from relevance in Carolina, but he still might have value for a team looking to add some potential center depth.
He still has a lot of term remaining on his contract, but the $4.8 million salary cap number is not devastating, especially as the cap increases rapidly. He will only be 26 years old next season and is a respectable possession-driving, two-way player that has had some success in the NHL as a middle-six center.
There's not really a need for him in Carolina anymore, and while his cap hit isn't really an albatross, every dollar counts for a team like the Hurricanes that is trying to build a championship team. That's $4.8 million that could be going to a potential difference-maker.
Chicago Blackhawks: Trade for Matthew Knies
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It is time to stop waiting around for prospects to develop.
For one, not all of them are going to develop as you hope.
Second, even if some of them do, it's going to take years (and years) to even get remotely close to contention.
If you look at the teams that have successfully rebuilt and put themselves into a contention window, it is done through a small number of home-grown players and a lot of aggressive trades and roster moves to complement them.
Knies is a top-line power forward, under contract at a fair rate for several more years and would instantly be a potential difference-making forward on a team that needs it.
Toronto might also be looking to move him to get more long-term assets into the organization as John Chayka tries to rebuild it. Could he get the No. 4 overall pick for Knies? Would Chicago do that? It shouldn't be off the table. Especially since they are likely to miss out on the Gavin McKenna/Ivar Stenberg duo at the top.
Get some help for Connor Bedard. Get some help that can grow with him.
Colorado Avalanche: Move contracts to clear salary cap space
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With the rising salary cap there are not many teams facing serious cap crunches this offseason.
The Avalanche are one of the few that are.
They are also dealing with a situation where they have almost no draft pick capital in the early rounds over the coming years.
They can help fix both of those problems by moving forwards like Ross Colton and Valeri Nichushkin out, perhaps for future picks that could be eventually be re-flipped to fill other areas of need.
Colorado is going to be facing an offseason full of questions after it was swept out of the Western Conference Finals, and will certainly have some areas of need to address, but it is going to need salary cap space and some trade assets to address them.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Sign Bobby McMann
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Rick Bowness promised a culture change after a late-season meltdown, and there are a couple of ways to go about doing that.
The most obvious and easiest: Just bring in better players.
Nothing changes culture more than winning, and nothing leads to winning more than good players.
While the free agent market mostly looks like a dud, McMann is an intriguing player that could work well with an offense-needy team that also needs an attitude change. He will probably more expensive than you want for a non-star free agent, but those are the breaks when you have to get into the open market.
Columbus was only 19th in goals scored a year ago, while McMann has turned himself into a back-to-back 20-goal scorer. His work ethic, speed, size and ability on the forecheck could bring a nice mindset change to a team that needs some added juice.
Dallas Stars: Get Jason Robertson signed
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This isn't an outside addition, but it's a signing that needs to get made here.
He is a restricted free agent, and the ongoing contract talks have put his name into the trade market, but this is not a player you move.
This is a player you move other players to keep.
Yeah, the Stars need a right-shot defenseman. They might need some depth around the edges. But if you get rid of one of your core players that makes you a Stanley Cup contender, those additions on the fringes are not going to matter as much.
You are not likely to win a trade involving him. You are going to come out on the losing end of that. Just keep him and worry about the salary cap situation later in the summer. Do not overthink it.
Detroit Red Wings: Trade for Elias Pettersson
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There might not be a general manager (or team) facing more pressure this offseason than the Detroit Red Wings and Steve Yzerman. At least not outside of Edmonton. The playoff drought is now the longest in the NHL at 10 years. It is seven years under Yzerman's. They wilted down the stretch AGAIN and turned what looked to be a locked in playoff spot into another missed opportunity.
So why not do something bold?
If you are Yzerman, why not take a massive swing? If you are going to go down, go down swinging for the fences.
Red Wings beat writer Max Bultman recently proposed an idea of trading for Vancouver's Elias Pettersson, and I have to admit, I kind of like it. It's crazy. But it's one of those moves that might just be crazy enough to work.
The Red Wings need more impact players and more depth, and even though Pettersson is coming off two straight disappointing seasons there is still a talented player in there somewhere. There is a 90-100 point player lurking under the surface. He just needs to get into a situation where somebody can bring it back out. It is does not seem like it is going to happen in Vancouver for a number of reasons. The Canucks are heavily invested in a rebuild at this point and would probably like to shed that contract. Or at least as much of it as they can.
That contract is also going to make it where the biggest cost a team has to pay in trading for him is simply taking on the contract. The player/pick value in return isn't going to be as high given the money and recent production. So why not take the swing?
And if it fails, if you're Yzerman, you're probably not going to be the one that has to deal with it.
Take a swing.
Edmonton Oilers: Trade for a goalie
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Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
That is ticking clock ticking away on what is the Connor McDavid era in Edmonton, and the pressure is building with each second that passes.
They need a lot of help here as it relates both to the forward and defensive depth. But the goaltending issue is still one of the biggest pressing issues.
The Minnesota Wild have two capable starting goalies and might be looking to trade one of them.
Get one of them.
Florida Panthers: Sign Stuart Skinner
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The Panthers goalie tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov are both unrestricted free agents after this season, and there is no guarantee either will be back.
There is also reason to argue that they shouldn't be back. Especially in Bobrovsky's case given his age and declining play this season.
Skinner is not an ideal full-time starter, but he has plenty of big-game experience with back-to-back Stanley Cup Final runs with Edmonton (against Florida, by the way) and played significantly better in Pittsburgh after being traded away from Edmonton.
He should be cheap, and if you can pair him up with another affordable option (perhaps even Tarasov on a new deal) you might have a tandem situation that can work behind what should be a better and healthier Panthers team.
Los Angeles Kings: Trade for a center
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With Anze Kopitar now retired, the Kings have a pretty significant hole down the middle of their lineup.
Quinton Byfield might be ready to take over the top center spot, but that means they will need somebody to take over his role down the lineup. The free agent market does not have many good options, but the trade market could present some opportunities.
Ryan O'Reilly's two-way play would be a strong fit here given the way the Kings play, but that would be a very short-term solution given his age and contract situation. Whether it is him or somebody else, that position needs to be a priority.
Minnesota Wild: Get a center
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The Wild have a mostly outstanding team, but the lack of center depth is a serious problem.
Joel Eriksson Ek is a wonderful two-way player, but he is not the No. 1 guy on a Stanley Cup winning team.
The depth after him is slim.
We know general manager Bill Guerin loves Vincent Trocheck. His salary is still workable under the salary cap and he is still a solid enough two-way player that can add quality depth. That seems like an obvious potential play.
There is also the potential blockbuster play where you try to get ahead of the inevitable Quinn Hughes departure after the season and potentially move him for a potential top-line center. Hughes' likely destination, New Jersey, just so happens to have a top-line center that is also in the final year of his contract with an uncertain future in his current spot.
I'm just putting puzzle pieces together here. It fits.
Montreal Canadiens: Trade for Dougie Hamilton
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The Canadiens future is bright, and they arrived on the scene as major contenders this season by currently playing in the Eastern Conference Final. While the progress has been rapid, they are finding out that there is still a pretty big gap between "really good playoff team" and "potential Stanley Cup Playoff team," and they still have a few needs before they can make that next leap.
A second-line center upgrade should be high on the list.
Another right-shot defenseman should be right there with it.
For now, we are going to focus on the latter area and propose a trade for New Jersey's Dougie Hamilton.
His contract is significant at $9 million per year over the next two seasons, so that could require some creativity and salary cap magic, there are always ways to make the money work. Adding him to a defense that already has Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson would give Montreal one of the best puck-moving, possession-driving blue lines in the league.
Nashville Predators: Trade Ryan O'Reilly
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The Predators still need a general manager, and that will ultimately dictate what direction the offseason (and long-term outlook) takes. But from a practical standpoint, this team needs to get younger and it needs to realize this core is probably not going to win after failing to do so two years in a row.
Given the lack of centers on the free agent market, O'Reilly would be a massive trade chip given his production (74 points), two-way play and cheap contract ($4.5 million). At 35 years old, he's not somebody the Predators should be looking to re-sign so they should be cashing in that trade chip for everything they can.
Minnesota, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Winnipeg are all potential playoff hopefuls in need of center help and there is no reason why Nashville can not help them get it.
New Jersey Devils: Sign Mason Marchment
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The Devils have some big offseason tasks ahead of them, including figuring out the Nico Hischier situation (final year of his contract), handling their log-jam on defense, and trying to find more offense and forward depth.
When it comes to the latter point, Marchment would be a solid depth addition to any playoff hopeful given his size, power forward game and production. The age (on the wrong side of 30) is a little bit of a concern, but he's a 20-goal, 40-point player and a rock-solid middle-six option.
New York Islanders: Sign Connor Murphy
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The Islanders need more scoring punch, they could use a backup goalie so Ilya Sorokin does not get completely worn down at the end of the season again, and they also need to desperately improve their defensive play. That will also help preserve Sorokin. Even though the Islanders were in the playoff race all season with strong goals against numbers, almost all of that was due to the play of Sorokin. The actual defensive metrics here were brutal. That has to change. The hiring of Peter DeBoer as head coach can certainly bring some structural changes to the defensive play, but they could still use more help in terms of the roster.
Matthew Schaefer is a franchise player. He can not play every minute of every game. He needs more help around him.
Connor Murphy has been a reliable defensive presence on some bad teams over the years, and would be a solid addition to help solidify the Islanders' defense.
New York Rangers: Move up in the draft
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The Rangers finished with the NHL's third-worst record and moved back two spots in the lottery. None of that is ideal, and it might put them just on the outside of "potential franchise player" territory in the draft.
Because they are the New York Rangers you know they are going to try and do something bold this season, especially with two first-round draft picks and a potential trade chip like Braden Schneider at their disposal.
Instead of doing something truly Ranger-y like selling all of that for an overhyped veteran with a big contract, try to go all in on moving up in the draft. San Jose is sitting there at No. 2 overall and might be open to moving that pick. It is at this point that I will go back to the suggestion I made earlier this week and offer up No. 5, No. 26 and Schneider for the No. 2 overall pick.
They need a cornerstone player. Not another big-money guy that will not move the needle for the current roster. The current roster needs to jettison more of those types.
Ottawa Senators: Trade for Jordan Kyrou
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Re-signing Claude Giroux is on the table.
Maybe they need another right-shot defenseman? A backup goalie? Sure. All of that could work. But all of that is also small potatoes given the way Linus Ullmark re-asserted himself as a strong starter and the fact they were one of the best defensive teams in the league.
What they could really use is another top-six scorer.
If St. Louis really has Kyrou on the market, he would be a great fit here to bring in a speedy, skilled winger that could bring even more scoring punch to the lineup. He is coming off a down year, which could bring his trade value down a bit, but he would figure to be a great bounce-back candidate.
Philadelphia Flyers: Sign John Carlson
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The Flyers took a massive step forward this season by not only returning to the playoffs, but also eliminating their long-time rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
If the Flyers want to build on that step, and then take another one this upcoming season, they are going to have to fix some big weaknesses.
The most glaring of those weaknesses is the power play.
Even in advancing to the second round, the Flyers' power play was a consistent crime against the game of hockey, and had absolutely zero punch or game-changing ability to it. More often than not it seemed to crush momentum instead of building on it.
Carlson might be older and closer to the end of his career than the prime of it, but he showed this past season with both the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks he can still work the man-advantage and provide offense. Get him back in the Metropolitan Division and get him to help rejuvenate one of the league's worst power play units.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Find a defense version of the Egor Chinakhov trade
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are not going to completely rip it all down to the ground and go through a full-scale rebuild, but they should still be aggressive this offseason. They almost certainly will.
They should aggressively shop some of their veteran players like Erik Karlsson, Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust to see what their value is.
If they move any of them, they should take those newly acquired assets, pool them with the draft picks they have already assembled, and try to acquire more younger NHL players in their early-mid 20s.
One of the best examples of that from the 2025-26 season was their trade for Egor Chinakhov. They should look to make more moves like that, only from a defensive perspective.
Buffalo's Michael Kesselring, Boston's Mason Lohrei, or New Jersey's Simon Nemec could all be potential options from that angle.
They need more young, NHL talent that can make an impact on defense. That should be a major priority this offseason.
San Jose Sharks: Sign Darren Raddysh
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The first thing the Sharks need to do is re-sign Macklin Celebrini as soon as they are eligible. Hand him a blank check and let him fill in the dollar amount, and it will almost certainly be worth it over the next eight years.
But since Celebrini is not a restricted or unrestricted free agent, we are not going to make him the focal point here.
Instead, I am going to say sign Darren Raddysh.
While Raddysh has a chance to be a rough, and risky, long-term investment, the Sharks are the type of team that might be in a good position to take that risk. They are absolutely swimming in salary cap space so they can afford to make that sort of investment for now, and they also have a desperate need for defensemen and potential impact veteran players.
Raddysh could fill both holes, at least for a few years.
Do I think it will age well over the duration of a six-or-seven year contract? No.
Do I think it can help the Sharks over the next couple of years? Yes. Yes I do.
He is going to cost a ton of money given a career-high 70-point season in a contract year, and while there is legitimate concern as to whether or not he can perform that well outside of Tampa Bay where he was surrounded by All-Star talent, all he has to do is get back close to that ballpark.
That would be a significant add for a Sharks team that improved a ton this season but still has a few more steps to take before it can be a playoff team.
Seattle Kraken: Sign Alex Tuch
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Is this something Seattle should do? I don't know. Probably not? They are not one Alex Tuch away from contending.
But does it seem like the type of thing Seattle would do? Oh yeah. The Kraken may not have much of an identity in their young existence, but bonkers free agent contracts is definitely part of whatever identity they do have.
The Kraken also need offense in the worst way, and even though whatever team signs Tuch is probably going to hate themselves by year three or four of his contract, he should still have a couple of good, productive years ahead of him. It won't be regrettable at the start.
He had a tough second-round series for Buffalo, but he has scored at least 33 goals in three of the past four seasons.
Do you know how many players in the history of the Kraken franchise have scored more than 26 goals in a single season?
One.
Jared McCann.
Do you know how many teams he has scored more than 30 goals as a member of the Kraken?
Once.
That is just a way of saying: this team needs a finisher.
St. Louis Blues: Trade Jordan Binnington
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This could be a big offseason of change for the Blues.
Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou are mentioned in trade rumors.
They already have three first-round picks.
They need to reset things a little bit and figure out how much of a re-tool or rebuild they are in need of.
But along with all of that they should also be focused on moving goalie Jordan Binnington and turning the net over to Joel Hofer on a more full-time basis.
Binnington is down to the last year of his contract, which should make him easier to move than in previous season. We know NHL people have a weird affinity for Binnington for his big-game reputation no matter how bad he plays for the majority of the season, and the Blues need to use that to their advantage to finally move on from him.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Sign Viktor Arvidsson
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Assuming the Lightning lose Darren Raddysh in free agency they are going to have a big hole on their defense to fill, but they also have some big issues with their depth scoring to address.
Arvidsson had a bounce-back year in 2025-26 by scoring 25 goals with 54 total points as a member of the Boston Bruins, and even at 33 he could still be a formidable middle-six winger for a contending team like the Lightning.
They do not have a ton of salary cap space to work with, but Arvidsson could fit in within their available allotment.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Sign Mario Ferraro
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The Maple Leafs need a complete overhaul of their defense and there are a couple of ways they can go about doing that.
Trading Matthew Knies is something that could be on the table, especially after the team won the NHL Draft Lottery and is going to be in a position to add another young cornerstone forward. Deal from strength to fill a weakness.
Trading for somebody like a Dougie Hamilton or Simon Nemec from New Jersey could be on the table.
Dipping into the free agency market is also an option.
Ferraro is one of the younger unrestricted free agents on the market and brings a solid mix of size, shot-blocking and puck-moving that could be made useful on a team with more forward talent than he's been playing with in San Jose.
Utah Mammoth: Sign Anthony Mantha
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This is a rapidly emerging contender in the Western Conference, and there is a really exciting young core here that has a chance to do something really special in the coming years.
They could really use another middle-six scorer, and Mantha is one of the better free agent options on the open market. That is a stunning statement on the state of NHL free agency, but it is also the reality.
Mantha is interesting because he scored 33 goals a year ago, leading the Penguins, and has played well throughout his career when he has been healthy.
That is the good news.
The bad news is that for all of the goals he can score at times, he has a tendency to make maddening decisions with the puck and has one of the worst playoff resumes of any player currently in the NHL. Will that drive his price tag down a little bit? Especially after another dreadful playoff run with the Penguins? Maybe a little.
Vancouver Canucks: Trade anybody you can get value for
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Who is an untouchable here?
Nobody.
For sale sign up in the front yard. Everything must go. This is the worst team in the league and could not even get lottery luck on its side. Stockpile picks. Stockpile young players. Stockpile assets. There are very, very few players here that will be on the next good Canucks team so just rip the band-aid off and start looking toward the future. Also don't be afraid to take some chances on talented players that could be reclamation projects in the hopes of catching lightning in a bottle.
Vegas Golden Knights: Don't let Pavel Dorofeyev get away
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The Golden Knights have been built almost entirely through trades and free agency, but the one home-grown player this team has is their young star forward, Pavel Dorofeyev.
He is coming off a second-straight 35-goal season and keeps getting better every year.
He is a restricted free agent, so there could be a potential offer-sheet concern, but the Golden Knights can't let it get to that.
And they shouldn't be in a hurry to trade him.
Move somebody else if you need salary cap space. Keep the 25-year-old 35-goal scorer.
Washington Capitals: Trade for Robert Thomas
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The Capitals were better than their record indicated, and were good enough overall to be a playoff team. Some bad luck, some injuries, and some shoddy special teams are what ultimately held them back.
The bones of a good team are still in place, but they could really use another difference-maker.
Robert Thomas could fit in extraordinarily well and give them a fantastic 1-2 punch down the middle at center with Pierre-Luc Dubois.
The Capitals have the cap space to take on Thomas' wildly team-friendly contract, they have two first-round picks to deal from, and they have some solid prospects that could be enticing for a team like the Blues.
Thomas is one of the best playmaking centers in the league and is good enough defensively to match up with other team's top players. Put him on this roster, with a healthy Dubois for a full season, and you are back in the playoffs with a chance to make some noise when you get there.
Winnipeg Jets: Find another center
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Connor Hellebuyck isn't happy with the way things are going for the Winnipeg Jets, and that is bad news for ... well ... the Winnipeg Jets. As Hellebuyck goes, they go, and if he gets tired of things and forces his way out, this situation is going to get very ugly, very quickly.
There were not many bigger front-office misses in 2025-26 than Winnipeg convincing itself that Jonathan Toews could come back after a two-year absence and play in a second-line center role. It was a disaster, and helped play a big role in Winnipeg going from the Presidents' Trophy a year ago to out of the playoffs and one of the worst teams in the league.
Kevin Cheveldayoff is going to have to do something he has never really liked to do as a general manager: He is going to have to be proactive and make a big trade.
Vincent Trocheck? A blockbuster for Nico Hischier? An in-division trade for Ryan O'Reilly? An unexpected name off the rumor mill? Yes to any of them.
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