8 Offseason NHL Trades That Could Have the Biggest Effect in 2026-27

The trade market varies from offseason to offseason, but there was no shortage of notable trades in the NHL this summer. There may still be a couple of deals before the start of the 2026-27 season, but the bulk of the work is likely done at this point. With that, let’s look at which offseason trades could be most impactful in 2026-27.

Brady Tkachuk to the Panthers

Better health will go a long way for the Florida Panthers next season, but they will have some new faces on their roster. The most prominent is Brady Tkachuk, who joins his brother Matthew in Sunrise, Florida, after the Panthers acquired him from the Ottawa Senators.

Brady is not quite as impactful as his brother, but there’s no beating around the bush. The Panthers’ top six should be much improved with him and a healthy Aleksander Barkov. He’s not quite the play-driver that Matthew is, but Tkachuk is a strong five-on-five player. He posted impressive results at that game state in his time with the Senators.

The Panthers only gave up futures (three first-round picks and a second) to acquire Tkachuk. In addition to the relatively painless acquisition cost, he won’t have to be the team’s No. 1 option up front like he was with the Senators. At the very least, he’ll make the Panthers a complete pain to play against.

William Eklund to the Senators

William Eklund is not Tkachuk, but he should help make up for some of what the Senators lost when they traded Tkachuk to the Panthers. He finished this past season with 15 goals and 53 points in 75 games for the San Jose Sharks and is emerging as a legit top-six winger.

Eklund needs to improve his finishing ability, but he’s an excellent playmaker and has had strong positive impacts at five-on-five, even though the Sharks have struggled at five-on-five in recent seasons. He doesn’t possess the hard skill that Tkachuk does, but he should mesh well with players like Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson, who have some finishing ability.

Eklund turns 24 in October, so he’s just entering the prime of his career. The Senators should be getting his best hockey over the next couple of years, and they will need it since the Atlantic Division may be the toughest in the NHL.

Jordan Kyrou to the Capitals

Jordan Kyrou had a tough season with the St. Louis Blues, totaling just 18 goals and 46 points in 72 games. It seemed like time for a change of scenery, leading the Blues to trade him to the Washington Capitals.

Even though Kyrou struggled last season, he looks primed to bounce back in 2026-27. His underlying metrics were among some of the best in the NHL for forwards. He finished last season with an expected goals share (xG%) of 59.74 percent, demonstrating that his play-driving ability has not slipped at all.

Kyrou will be walking into a better offensive environment than the Blues’, too. He’ll be surrounded by a top six that includes Tom Wilson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alex Tuch, Alex Ovechkin, and Dylan Strome. His history suggests he’ll regress positively and bounce back to being a 30-goal, 60-point player next season, and he’ll have the pieces around him to do so.

Mavrik Bourque to the Predators

The Nashville Predators trading for Mavrik Bourque could go down as one of the more underrated trades of the summer. They gave up just a second- and third-round pick to acquire him from the Dallas Stars, and they subsequently signed him to a six-year, $5.5 million AAV extension.

Bourque is coming off his best season as an NHLer, having totaled 20 goals and 41 points in 81 games. There’s probably another level to his performance, too. He finished last season with an xG% of 54.74 percent, third among Stars skaters to Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Predators use Bourque. He can play center or right wing, but there’s more of a need for some help down the middle in Nashville. He has breakout potential and could turn into a legitimate top-six option with more minutes in a scoring role; he averaged just 15:29 of ice time with the Stars last season.

Dennis Hildeby to the Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning don’t have many flaws, but one of their Achilles’ heels the last couple of seasons has been the lack of a competent backup for Andrei Vasilevskiy. That should change with Dennis Hildeby, whom the Lightning acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

You never know what you’re going to get with goalies from year to year, but Hildeby was excellent for the Maple Leafs last season. He finished with a save percentage of .913 while saving 14.21 goals above expected in 20 games. He should be a big-time upgrade over Jonas Johansson, who allowed nearly 10 goals above expected as Vasilevskiy’s backup in 2025-26.

A backup goaltender might not seem like a particularly impactful trade, but hear me out. Hildeby will allow the Lightning to give Vasilevskiy more time off during the regular season, keeping him fresher for the playoffs. Instead of starting nearly 60 games a season, maybe that number ends up closer to 50-52 because Hildeby is up for the job. That could matter down the stretch.

Pavel Dorofeyev to the Rangers

Pavel Dorofeyev is also among the most interesting trades of the offseason. He scored 49 goals between the regular season and playoffs for the Vegas Golden Knights, but they opted to trade him to the New York Rangers rather than re-sign him. The Rangers eventually signed him to a seven-year, $11 million AAV extension.

The most likely reason the Golden Knights opted to trade Dorofeyev rather than pay him the money the Rangers did is that he’s not a play driver. He needs the right skill set around him to thrive, which the Golden Knights had, but they determined they didn’t want to pay that money to a complementary player.

The Rangers don’t quite have the skilled playmakers that the Golden Knights do, but they have enough where they should be able to get production out of Dorofeyev. At the very least, he’ll be a weapon on the power play, and it’d be a surprise if he didn’t hit at least 25 goals. The Rangers needed a sniper, and he should give them one.

Vincent Trocheck to the Mammoth

I would have felt better about Dorofeyev’s outlook had the Rangers kept Vincent Trocheck. Instead, they traded him to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for Cole Beaudoin, Sean Durzi, and some draft capital. The Mammoth are on the rise in the West, and adding Trocheck to their roster should help them compete in an ultra-competitive Central Division.

Trocheck finished last season with 16 goals and 53 points in 67 games, a 20-goal, 66-point pace over 84 games. He can play anywhere in the top nine, which helps since the Mammoth already have Nick Schmaltz and Logan Cooley at center in their top six.

The Mammoth should compete for a top-three spot in the Central after acquiring Trocheck. They’re not better than the Colorado Avalanche or Stars, but they may have passed the Minnesota Wild. This could be their breakout year, and Trocheck should play his part.

Olen Zellweger to the Sabres

The Sabres lost quite a bit from their roster this offseason. There haven’t been many external additions, but one who could make an impact next season is Olen Zellweger.

Zellweger, who the Sabres acquired from the Anaheim Ducks, should replace some of what the team lost when they traded Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks. His counting totals haven’t been all that impressive in his young NHL career, but he may be due for a breakout campaign. He’s excellent in transition and is a high-end skater.

That should make him a perfect fit for what head coach Lindy Ruff likes in defensemen. Plus, Ruff seems to know how to get the best out of his blueliners. Byram’s best years came under Ruff, while Mattias Samuelsson and Rasmus Dahlin reached new heights. Zellweger could be next.

There was plenty of change in the NHL standings last season, and this offseason’s trade market could lead to even more unpredictability in the playoff race in 2026-27. It’ll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

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