1 Word for Every NHL Team's 2026 Offseason So Far
We've made it to the true dog days of the NHL offseason, and the dog is wearing one of those shark fin life jackets.
Macklin Celebrini woke us up out of our late July slumber, signing a five-year extension with the Sharks last week. The record-setting deal carries an $18.8 million AAV, making the 20-year-old star the highest-paid player per season in NHL history.
The news was some much-needed entertainment as we wait on things to rev back up again in the hockey world. We're still waiting on several resolutions in the meantime: Who will be the next GM in Detroit, and will they keep Dylan Larkin around? Is Connor Hellebuyck staying a Jet?
While we wait for those answers, here's one word for every NHL team's 2026 offseason so far.
Anaheim Ducks: Difficult
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The Ducks accomplished the most important thing they had to do this offseason in matching the Flyers' offer sheet for Leo Carlsson and keeping their rising star of a first-line center around. The trouble is, it's not a great sign when a playoff team's biggest "to-do" is an objective overpay that immediately made it harder to negotiate with other key players and/or make more free-agent signings.
The Ducks already lost Mason McTavish, now a 41-goal scorer, and RFA Cutter Gauther remains unsigned while the Ducks have less than $10 million in cap space. They're in a tough spot even though they did what they had to do.
Boston Bruins: Sound
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The Bruins had a great get in JJ Peterka, especially with fellow German Marco Sturm as head coach, as Peterka looks for a bounce-back season. They also slightly improved their defensive depth with Will Borgen and Connor Clifton.
Do they need a bigger upgrade on defense to compete in the much-improved Atlantic? Yes. Did they make some solid moves that'll round out the team for next season? Also yes.
Buffalo Sabres: Pending
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Even though the Sabres got a great return for trading Bowen Byram, there's no denying he and Alex Tuch were two key players on the roster that took this team from a league-longest active playoff drought to the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It seems like the Sabres are banking on their up-and-comers' development to fill out some of the scoring, and that does make a lot of sense considering the rise of Josh Doan and Jack Quinn, plus the volume of other younger players that could make similar jumps next year. Still, it's a bit of a gamble parting ways with two skilled and experienced players.
Connor Hellebuyck could change everything, but of course his availability and price are up in the air.
Calgary Flames: Construction
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The Flames snagged 23-year-old high draft pick Simon Nemec from the Devils early on in free agency. He'll get a better opportunity to grow his game on this transitioning roster, and the Flames are essentially auditioning him early on in the building-back-up phase of their rebuild to see if he could be a core defenseman.
Carolina Hurricanes: Familiar
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The Hurricanes have almost the same exact roster that won them the 2026 Cup, with the exception of goaltender Freddie Andersen.
They've still got some cap space to work with, but they've found tons of success on the trade market as opposed to free agency. You get the sense they're going to see how the current goaltending situation and the rest of the roster fare to start the season, then make any necessary adjustments around the trade deadline.
Chicago Blackhawks: Nostalgic
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Patrick Kane is back in Chicago! The veteran has escaped the mess that is the current Detroit Red Wings, signing a two-year, $16 million contract with the team where it all began in Chicago. Can he help the budding group take the next step?
Colorado Avalanche: Preparing
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The Avalanche have been quiet, partly due to current cap constraints and partly due to Cale Makar's upcoming contract negotiations. Obviously, re-signing Makar, who has one year left on his current $9 million AAV contract, is the top priority for the Avalanche. Their bottom-six forward group has taken a hit as a result, but we'll see how much it truly impacts a top-heavy team.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Sour
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It's not a great sign when your biggest news of the offseason is your star defenseman indicating he won't re-sign when his contract is up, and one of your core skill guys following suit. Would anyone be surprised if Columbus traded Zach Werenski or Kirill Marchenko at this point in the offseason?
Sure, the Blue Jackets managed to extend budding goalie Jet Greaves, sign Valeri Nichushkin, and make a few more tweaks, but nothing they did was big enough to erase the sour taste in our mouths headed into next season.
Dallas Stars: Phew
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Negotiations weren't perfect, but the Stars can exhale: Jason Robertson is back for now. Robertson, who led the Stars in points last season, signed a one-year extension carrying a $12 million AAV on July 21 to avoid arbitration. Can he and the Stars finally make it to the Stanley Cup Final this year, or are we looking at Robertson's potential last year with the franchise?
Detroit Red Wings: Welp
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It's been radio silence from the Red Wings since three weeks ago, when they announced a leadership change that took Steve Yzerman out of the GM position. The position remains vacant, but there are several big questions the next guy will have to answer ASAP.
The biggest: How will the Dylan Larkin saga end, and how can the Red Wings start to replace their first-line center and captain if he still wants out?
Edmonton Oilers: Serious
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This offseason, the Oilers were between a first-round exit and the first season of Connor McDavid's bridge deal.
They managed to shed Darnell Nurse's contract for the ability to make more moves closer to the deadline, and they found their best answer yet in net, signing Freddie Andersen to a one-year deal.
It's impossible to predict how anything will turn out with such parity in the league nowadays, but at least Edmonton is making the right moves to win a Cup with McDavid.
Florida Panthers: Classic
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When you're the Florida Panthers, the players come to you.
This time, it was Brady Tkachuk, brother of Matthew, who requested a trade from Ottawa to Florida. The acquisition pretty much ensures they can't make any other big moves aside from replacing Sergei Bobrovsky with Jacob Markström and Akira Schmid.
Given the team's improved health, the Panthers should be ready to compete for another Cup next season. Classic!
Los Angeles Kings: Old
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The Kings were outpaced and thus swept by the Avalanche in the first round. How did they attempt to fix it this offseason? By signing 41-year-old Corey Perry, a tactic they already tried a few seasons back that yielded -- you guessed it -- one of many first-round exits.
The Kings got older with the Perry signing, the Erik Haula signing, the Mats Zuccarello signing, and the Scott Laughton extension. It's not like these are egregiously bad contracts or players, but this team needs to get younger and faster.
Minnesota Wild: Incomplete
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The Wild are still looking for that elite center to put everything together and get closer to that Cup. Plus, they lost a lot of scoring depth this offseason with Zuccarello, Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson gone. We'll see if Blake Coleman can help on that front, but they haven't moved closer to that Cup this offseason yet.
Montréal Canadiens: Understandable
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The Canadiens have the want and the cap space to improve upon last year's roster as this team rises and the young core gets more playoff experience. Trouble is, this offseason was a scheduled dud.
They took care of business with the Ivan Demidov extension, and now we'll see if they make some tweaks closer to the trade deadline.
Nashville Predators: Hopeful
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It's been a long time since the concept of hope could be linked to the Nashville Predators, but new GM Chris MacFarland has already made some solid moves to get this team back in the right direction. The Mavrik Bourque trade with Dallas stands out in particular.
New Jersey Devils: Busy
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The Devils have been active across the board this offseason.
New GM Sunny Mehta capitalized on the seller's market by shipping Šimon Nemec off to Calgary for a sweet return. He also got out of Jacob Markström's contract and improved depth scoring with Evan Rodrigues.
Most important of all, he signed Nico Hischier to a five-year extension carrying an $11.7 million AAV.
New York Islanders: Confusing
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Look, there's not some extreme sense of urgency for the Islanders to become a huge powerhouse at this very moment. Matthew Schaefer's got a few years before he hits his prime.
Still, you'd think the Islanders would start adding some scoring and begin beefing up the core around him. That hasn't been the case this offseason, and they lost Anders Lee.
New York Rangers: Transitioning
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The Rangers have been among the most active teams this offseason. They snagged Vegas' top scorer, Pavel Dorofeyev, improved the struggling blue line, and overall appear to be finally trending in the right direction. Is the rebuild taking a turn?
Ottawa Senators: Sad
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There's no getting around it: We will be thinking about Tkachuk's exit from Ottawa when we look back at this offseason. It feels like a shame that this was out of Ottawa's control and that it put a dent in the team's plans as it was finally gaining some playoff momentum.
At least Claude Giroux is back?
Philadelphia Flyers: Fun
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Did the Flyers end up pulling off the Leo Carlsson offer sheet? Of course not; the Ducks matched and kept their star center.
It was a bummer for the Flyers, who are still desperately searching for a player like that to round everything out. At least they tried, and at least they provided us all with a crumb of entertainment in an otherwise dull offseason.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Balanced
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GM Kyle Dubas' balancing act between the present and the future of the Penguins continued this offseason, and the Penguins didn't do anything drastic as a result. Will Sidney Crosby and the rest of the veterans reward him with one final Cup run?
San Jose Sharks: Ca-Ching!
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Just when we were all marveling at Leo Carlsson's record-breaking $18 million AAV, Macklin Celebrini said "hold my puck."
Celebrini signed a five-year contract extension worth $94 million with the Sharks last week. The deal features an NHL-record $18.8 million AAV, making the 20-year-old forward the highest-paid player in the league.
Carlsson has a bright future indeed, and the Ducks letting him walk would've been a huge mistake. Still, it's fair to consider his contract an overpay, as is par for the offer sheet course.
Celebrini signed one of the first contracts in the rising cap and new CBA era, and it feels tone-setting and fair on both sides, despite the high price tag we aren't yet used to seeing.
Seattle Kraken: Disappointing
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Credit to the Kraken for taking a rare big swing on Jason Robertson, but that ended in disappointment as he turned down a $17 million AAV sign-and-trade to join the team.
It's better for the ego that Robertson ended up sticking with the Stars and perhaps wanted to all along, but an ego stroke isn't going to bring the Kraken back to the playoffs. They've gotta keep swinging big and attempting to add some genuine star power to this team.
The biggest question for Seattle: will we see involving former top-five pick Shane Wright?
St. Louis Blues: Momentous
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The Blues have spent years in limbo, reluctant to move big-name players, stuck with unsavory contracts, yet trying to develop a young core led by Robert Thomas.
You can't do it all, and they've finally started to focus on the future with some necessary moves. Jordan Kyrou, in particular, was tough for the Blues to let go of, but it was time to step into the future.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Pesky
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Will the Tampa Bay Lightning ever leave us alone? Just when we thought we might be rid of their constant, threatening presence, John Carlson signed with them to fill some offensive and defensive holes.
Who were we kidding, anyway? Nikita Kucherov is coming off a Hart season, Andrei Vasilevskiy is coming off a Vezina season, and Victor Hedman is back. There's no reason to believe this team will be slowing down next season.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Eventful
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As bad as this past season was for the Maple Leafs, at least it was bad enough to win the draft lottery and recalibrate expectations. Gavin McKenna goes to the pressure cooker that is Toronto. Will he excel or disappoint?
New GM John Chayka took some gambles on Darren Raddysh and Sergei Bobrovsky, so we'll see how that plays out. But this was precisely the time to take these sorts of gambles, and the rest of Chayka's depth scoring acquisitions are intriguing.
Utah Mammoth: Relevant
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The Mammoth won the years-long sweepstakes for Vincent Trocheck, which was also the latest sign that this franchise is going to be in the mix for the bigger trade talks and free-agent signings around the league.
Anders Lee adds some veteran presence to the roster as well, as the team looks to return to the playoffs.
Vancouver Canucks: Harmless
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The Canucks brought hometown kid Brendan Gallagher into the fold this offseason, did well in the draft, and unleashed some more contracts as they continued their rebuild.
Most importantly, they didn't do or say anything boneheaded. While their prior boneheadedness would be particularly welcome in this relatively boring off-season, we'll hand it to them for not giving us anything to talk about for once.
Vegas Golden Knights: Consequential
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Are the Golden Knights finally facing a consequence? The Vegas Golden Knights?
The offseason is still young, especially in Golden Knights years, but they've had several key subtractions and a lack of meaningful additions so far. They had to part ways with top scorer Dorofeyev, they overpaid Rasmus Andersson, and, as usual, they don't have cap space to do anything else.
Will they wiggle themselves out of this one?
Washington Capitals: Ovilicious
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We raised our eyebrows at Washington's early additions this offseason, like acquiring Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou. Did this mean Ovechkin was coming back?
Indeed, that's exactly what it meant. Ovechkin signed a one-year deal for one more run at the Cup. The Capitals missed the playoffs last season, but they had the same number of points as the Golden Knights, who made it to the Cup Final. With these additions and the vibes of Ovechkin's return, they should be right back in it.
Winnipeg Jets: Hmmm...
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Has anyone been able to contact Connor Hellebuyck, or is he on an indefinite fishing trip? Will the best goaltender in the league stay with the Winnipeg Jets, will he start the season with Winnipeg and end it elsewhere, or will he be gone by next week?
It's impossible to say, and it's just as impossible to evaluate the Jets until that does -- or doesn't -- happen.
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