The UFA class may be weak this offseason, especially after the recent signings of Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, and Yanni Gourde. But that could make for a more robust trade market since the salary cap is rising to $95.5 million, and plenty of teams are looking to improve their rosters. Aggregating from sources like Daily Faceoff, Sportsnet, and The Athletic (From ‘NHL offseason trade board 2.0: The latest on the top 30 targets as action heats up‘ – The Athletic, 6/24/2025), let’s look at some players who could get traded in the coming weeks.
There’s Talent Available Via Trade
The NHL Draft was a dud as far as trades are concerned. John Gibson was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings on Day 2, but he was the only player of note to get traded at the draft. JJ Peterka, who was No. 2 on our initial list, went to the Utah Mammoth in a trade on NHL Draft Eve, while the Montreal Canadiens acquired Noah Dobson just hours before the first round of the draft.
Related: Top 40 2025 NHL Unrestricted Free Agents
Otherwise, many of the top names you’ve heard in the rumor mill are still available for trade. Marco Rossi is still with the Minnesota Wild, K’Andre Miller is still a New York Ranger, and the list goes on. Rossi doesn’t appear unhappy with his situation, at least publicly, but the Wild don’t seem to be in a rush to pay him the seven-year, $49 million contract he’s looking for. He’s coming off a 24-goal, 60-point season and should generate plenty of interest since many teams are looking to add second-line centers.
Quite a few defensemen could be available for trade, with Erik Karlsson leading the pack talent-wise. The Pittsburgh Penguins are in rebuild/retool mode and could look to move his $10 million cap hit to give themselves more financial flexibility and draft capital. While Karlsson does have a pricey cap hit, his total salary drops to $9 million next season and $7.5 million in 2026-27. That might make him more attractive to suitors.
There has been plenty of buzz around Jason Robertson and his potential availability since the Dallas Stars are extremely tight on cap space, but I’d be surprised if that’s the path they take to free up cap space. He stays off our board for now, but could make an appearance in a later version.
The same is true of Martin Necas, who remains on Nick Kypreos’ trade board for Sportsnet. Kypreos reported that Necas is unhappy with his situation in Colorado and could look to explore other options. He has one year left on his contract at a cap hit of $6.5 million before becoming a UFA, so there’s some team control. I’d take it with a grain of salt, but he’s another name we could add to our list if the smoke appears true.
There aren’t many true sellers, but that could change on a dime once the first domino falls. Here are 18 players who could still be on the move at some point this offseason.
| Player | Position | Team | Goals | Points | Cap Hit | Contract Status |
| 1. Marco Rossi | C | MIN | 24 | 60 | – | RFA 2025 |
| 2. Jordan Kyrou | RW | STL | 36 | 70 | $8.25 million | UFA 2031 |
| 3. Bowen Byram | D | BUF | 7 | 38 | – | RFA 2025 |
| 4. Rasmus Andersson | D | CGY | 11 | 31 | $4.55 million | UFA 2026 |
| 5. Jonathan Marchessault | RW | NSH | 21 | 57 | $5.5 million | UFA 2029 |
| 6. Erik Karlsson | D | PIT | 11 | 53 | $10 million | UFA 2027 |
| 7. Bryan Rust | RW | PIT | 31 | 65 | $5.125 million | UFA 2028 |
| 8. Connor Murphy | D | CHI | 2 | 19 | $4.4 million | UFA 2026 |
| 9. Elvis Merzlikins | G | CBJ | .892 SV% | 3.18 GAA | $5.4 million | UFA 2027 |
| 10. Jamie Oleksiak | D | SEA | 4 | 17 | $4.6 million | UFA 2026 |
| 11. Isaac Howard | LW | TB (unsigned) | 26 | 52 (NCAA) | – | – |
| 12. Jean-Gabriel Pageau | C | NYI | 14 | 42 | $5 million | UFA 2026 |
| 13. Rickard Rakell | RW | PIT | 35 | 70 | $5 million | UFA 2028 |
| 14. Jared McCann | LW | SEA | 22 | 61 | $5 million | UFA 2027 |
| 15. Matt Dumba | D | DAL | 1 | 10 | $3.75 million | UFA 2026 |
| 16. Carson Soucy | D | NYR | 3 | 13 | $3.25 million | UFA 2026 |
| 17. Pavel Zacha | LW/C | BOS | 14 | 47 | $4.75 million | UFA 2027 |
| 18. Mattias Samuelsson | D | BUF | 4 | 14 | $4,285,714 | UFA 2030 |
