Inside the NHL’s Best-Kept Secrets: The 2025 Offseason Moves That Could Change Everything

The NHL offseason may not turn heads quite like the NBA or NFL, but don’t let that fool you—between late June and early July, the whirlwind of trades and free-agent moves packs its own kind of pandemonium . Sure, the headline-grabbing stars who changed jerseys steal the spotlight (there weren’t that many this year, by the way), but it’s the subtle, less talked about signings and swaps that often hold untapped intrigue—especially if your team isn’t front and center in the buzz. With training camps looming, I’ve been diving deep into some of the season’s smartest under-the-radar acquisitions—those crafty trades and signings that slipped past the mainstream chatter yet could reshape rosters in surprising ways . To keep things interesting, I only considered players who aren’t already household names occupying top-six forward spots, top-four defense roles, or leading goalie duties. Some bets will pay off, others won’t, but what excites me is their low-risk profiles paired with promising upside. Ready to unpack these hidden gems? Let’s get into it. LEARN MORE

The NHL offseason isn’t as dramatic as the NBA or NFL, but the sheer volume of trades and free-agent signings from late June to early July is still chaotic. Everybody will remember the big names that switched teams (especially since there weren’t too many of them), but it’s easy for less heralded moves to fly under the radar, especially if they don’t involve your favorite team.

With training camp around the corner, I wanted to spotlight some of my favorite under-the-radar trades and free-agent signings that teams made this summer. For a trade or signing to qualify as “under the radar” for this article, it can’t involve an already-established top-six forward, top-four defenseman or 1A/1B goaltender.

Not all the moves on this list will pan out, but what I like about many of these acquisitions is that the risk level is low and the upside is substantial. Let’s dive in.

Zack Bolduc, Canadiens

The move: Zack Bolduc acquired from St. Louis in exchange for Logan Mailloux.

Noah Dobson’s arrival will draw most of the attention in Montreal, but Bolduc is another new, young piece who should be part of the Canadiens’ core for a long time. Bolduc, the No. 17 pick in 2021, is coming off an impressive rookie season where he scored 19 goals in 72 games despite averaging less than 13 minutes of ice time per game.

The 22-year-old winger is a fast skater, a tenacious, heavy forechecker and has a dangerous shot that can beat goalies clean from mid-range distances. That quick, sneaky release, coupled with his soft hands in tight areas, led to approximately a third of his goals being scored from the bumper spot on the power play.

Bolduc didn’t get an extended opportunity to play with a high-end playmaker in St. Louis (Oskar Sundqvist was his most common five-on-five linemate), but in Montreal, he should have a golden opportunity to play full-time with Ivan Demidov on the second line. Demidov’s slippery, creative playmaking should mesh well with Bolduc’s ability to win pucks back on the forecheck and finish chances in the slot.

The Canadiens gave up Mailloux, a right-shot defense prospect with top-four potential, to pry Bolduc out of St. Louis. That’s a significant piece given how highly teams rate right-shot defensemen, but it was easy to justify the cost when you consider how deep Montreal’s blue line is with young talent.

Jordan Spence, Senators

The move: Jordan Spence acquired from Los Angeles in exchange for a third and sixth-round pick.

It can’t be overstated how much of an upgrade Spence should be compared to Travis Hamonic on the right side of Ottawa’s blue line.

Hamonic looked flat-out unplayable at times last year — he tanked the underlying numbers of every partner he played with. The Senators were outscored by 21 goals during Hamonic’s five-on-five shifts.

Spence, on the other hand, has proven that he can crush it in a third-pair role. He’s a quick skater, a slick puck-mover, contributes secondary offense (28 points in 79 games last season), and defends reasonably well considering his undersized 5-foot-11 frame. Spence helped the Kings control 57 percent of scoring chances and a plus-25 goal differential during his five-on-five minutes last season. Size has been the main knock on Spence, but playing with somebody like 6-foot-5 Tyler Kleven should offset those concerns and make for a sound stylistic fit.

Spence was expendable because it was difficult for the Kings to give both him and Brandt Clarke consistent playing time. Spence’s floor is already established as a solid third-pair defenseman, but his early NHL resume and skill set are so intriguing that he may even have second-pairing upside. That kind of potential growth would be a massive cherry on top because soon-to-be-35-year-old Nick Jensen won’t be able to play top-four minutes on the right side forever.

Penguins acquire two second-round picks in cap dump trades

The moves: Connor Clifton and pick No. 39 in 2025 acquired from Buffalo in exchange for Conor Timmins and prospect Isaac Belliveau. Matt Dumba and a 2028 second-round pick acquired from Dallas in exchange for Vladislav Kolyachonok.

Unlike previous offseasons, there weren’t many opportunities for teams to absorb bad short-term contracts in exchange for draft picks this summer. You can probably blame the salary cap spike for that.

Andre Burakovsky ($5.5 million AAV, two years left), Viktor Arvidsson ($4 million, one year left), Vladimir Tarasenko ($4.75 million, one year left), Erik Haula ($3.15 million, one year left) and Miles Wood ($2.5 million, four years left) were all dumped without their old teams having to attach a sweetener. Nick Leddy ($4 million, one year left) was claimed on waivers by the Sharks, which was a nice break for the Blues. In the prior flat-cap era, offloading contracts like that would have come with a cost.

The Penguins were the only team in the league that extracted significant value in a cap-dump deal this summer. And they impressively managed to do it twice.

Downgrading from Timmins to Connor Clifton ($3.33 million, one year left) netted GM Kyle Dubas the No. 39 pick in the 2025 draft. In July, Pittsburgh acquired a 2028 second-round pick from Dallas as compensation for taking on the last year of Dumba’s contract ($3.75 million, one year left).

The Penguins are now armed with a whopping 14 picks in the second and third rounds of the next three draft classes. That draft capital can be leveraged to bolster the prospect pipeline and/or trade for young players.

Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua, Maple Leafs

The moves: Nicolas Roy acquired from Vegas in exchange for Mitch Marner’s rights. Matias Maccelli acquired from Utah in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick. Dakota Joshua acquired from Vancouver in exchange for a 2028 fourth-round pick.

The Leafs lost some elite firepower with Marner’s departure, but they made a trio of savvy forward acquisitions to salvage the club’s top-nine forward outlook.

Let’s start with Roy. It’s commendable that the Leafs were able to land a bona fide top-nine center for trading Marner’s signing rights to Vegas the day before free agency opened, when everyone already suspected he was leaving Toronto. Remember that the Hurricanes only received a third-round pick for trading Jake Guentzel’s signing rights to Tampa Bay last year.

Roy is 6-foot-4, plays a heavy, gritty style, possesses underrated offensive puck skills and owns above-average defensive metrics. He’s consistently scored close to the half-a-point-per-game mark over the last few seasons and is on a team-friendly $3 million cap hit for two more years. Roy is an especially valuable pickup considering how difficult it was for teams to acquire impact centers this offseason.

Maccelli and Joshua, meanwhile, are intriguing low-risk bounce-back bets. Maccelli’s production collapsed and he completely fell out of favor last season, but before that, he appeared to be a key part of Utah’s exciting young core. He amassed 49 points in 64 games (a 63-point pace over 82 games) as a 22-year-old rookie in 2022-23 and followed that up with 57 points as a sophomore in 2023-24. Maccelli has his blemishes — he’s undersized at 5-foot-11 and isn’t someone you count on to win pucks back on the forecheck — but he’s a very crafty playmaker with clear top-six upside.

Maccelli could get a shot to play with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies on the first line. However, it’s also easy to envision him building chemistry on the third line with a big-bodied net-front scorer like Joshua. Maccelli found success in 2023-24 as the setup man on a line with Lawson Crouse, who fit a similar profile as Joshua with his size and net-front finishing. And Joshua had success meshing with Conor Garland, an undersized playmaker who likes to dominate puck possession, during his career-best 2023-24 season, too.

Joshua was behind the eight ball for all of last season because of a testicular cancer diagnosis. At his best, he’s a heavy, physical winger who wins battles on the forecheck, offers an above-average defensive game and has 15-goal potential because of his underrated skill around the net. Joshua should be a likable, effective third liner who fits the identity of a Craig Berube-led team.

Emil Heineman, Islanders

The move: Emil Heineman acquired from Montreal as an extra asset in the Dobson trade.

Heineman’s inclusion in the Dobson trade was easy to overlook because he didn’t have the flashiest point totals last season (10 goals and eight assists in 62 games). With that said, he was one of the NHL’s most underrated bottom-six wingers last season, and at 23 years old, he is still young enough to have untapped growth left.

Heineman is an Energizer Bunny with elite speed and a non-stop motor. He gives opponents fits on the forecheck, is reliable defensively and has an underrated shot offensively. He reminds me a little bit of early-career Artturi Lehkonen. Heineman may not have enough offensive juice to develop into a top-six winger, but he’s an elite fourth liner at worst and could become a fan favorite middle-six sparkplug if all goes right.

Jeff Petry’s situation greatly improved going from Detroit to Florida. (Amber Searls / USA Today)

Jeff Petry, Panthers

The move: $775,000 x one year (plus performance bonuses) free-agent signing.

Jeff Petry is 37 and needs to be insulated, but there are reasons to believe he could have a renaissance year and significantly outperform his league-minimum base salary.

First, there is the expected change in workload. Petry averaged nearly 19 minutes per game (fourth among Red Wings defensemen) and was saddled with a subpar partner in Ben Chiarot. In other words, he was thrust into a challenging role that he was no longer equipped to handle. Going to Florida, he’ll be able to comfortably slot in as a No. 6 defenseman, where he’ll handle fewer minutes and far easier defensive matchups. He will likely play alongside Dmitry Kulikov, who would be a rock-solid partner.

Second, the Panthers’ track record of rehabilitating out-of-favor defensemen is outstanding. They don’t hit on every cheap back-end signing (Adam Boqvist and Mike Reilly are two examples), but Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola and Nate Schmidt stand out as depth acquisitions on the blue line who were far better on the Panthers than they were on their previous team.

The on-ice environment and a player’s fit play an underrated role in determining whether a defenseman will succeed on a given team. Cam Fowler, for example, had some of the worst underlying metrics of all NHL defensemen over the last couple of years with the Ducks and looked washed. He had an immediate, dramatic glow-up and returned to thriving in a top-four role as soon as he left Anaheim’s miserable on-ice environment. Petry is older and worse than Fowler was when he got traded, but the former’s role and expected workload in Florida will also be dramatically easier.

Petry’s pedigree and ability are still high enough to think he should provide solid value on the Panthers’ third pair, with virtually no risk incurred because his cap hit is so low.

Arturs Silovs, Penguins

The move: Arturs Silovs acquired from Vancouver in exchange for a fourth-round pick and Chase Stillman.

Silovs is a talented, but streaky, goaltender with fascinating upside.

The 24-year-old Latvian first flashed exciting potential during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, where he was thrust into action in the middle of Round 1 because of injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith. Silovs outduelled Juuse Saros with a .938 save percentage, winning two of three starts, including a magnificent 28-save shutout in a tight 1-0, series-clinching Game 6 victory.

His play was a bit more up and down against the Oilers in Round 2, but he showed sparks of high-end potential and wasn’t the reason the Canucks lost any games in that series. Unfortunately, he struggled in the NHL last season, posting a miserable .861 save percentage in 10 big-league games. He bounced back this spring, however, backstopping the Abbotsford Canucks to an AHL championship and winning playoff MVP because of his sparkling .931 save percentage and five shutouts. He was also named MVP of the IIHF World Championship in 2023, leading Latvia to a surprising bronze medal, which included a victory against the United States.

Silovs has earned another NHL opportunity, but the Canucks weren’t in a position to provide it. Vancouver’s tandem is already set long-term with Demko and Kevin Lankinen. And because Silovs requires waivers to be sent down to the minors next season, the Canucks were forced to trade him now rather than risk losing him for nothing in the fall.

Silovs is a smart gamble for the Penguins at a low cost. He needs to improve his ability to handle screens and traffic at the NHL level (that’s where teams exposed him last season), but his tantalizing athleticism and clutch track record in high-pressure situations are qualities worth betting on.

Maxim Shabanov, Islanders

The move: $975,000 x one year (plus entry-level performance bonuses) free-agent signing.

It’s always a bit of a crapshoot trying to project whether elite KHL players who went undrafted but signed as NHL free agents will find North American success. Artemi Panarin is the most famous success story, and others such as Andrei Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev have carved out respectable NHL careers. Others such as Vadim Shipachyov, Mikko Lehtonen and Vladimir Tkachev have flopped.

Shabanov, a 24-year-old winger, was third in KHL scoring last season with 67 points in 65 games. You have to take that production with a grain of salt because the style of play and competition in the KHL is, of course, far lower. For context, NHL castaway Josh Leivo led the KHL in points, and Sheldon Rempal, a career AHLer, was also top-five in league scoring.

However, there’s no denying Shabanov’s elite skill level. Shabanov is a gifted and deceptive puckhandler, a quick, shifty skater and is dangerous both as a passer and shooter. The only problem? He’s 5-foot-8, which will pose a significant challenge.

Regardless, this is a zero-risk roll of the dice on a player who could inject dynamic skill into the Islanders’ middle-six forward group.

Matěj Blümel, Bruins

The move: $875,000 x one year free agent signing.

Matěj Blümel led the AHL with 39 goals in 67 games last season as a 24-year-old for the Texas Stars. He had the kind of elite AHL statistical profile in his early 20s that suggests he could have NHL upside, but more importantly, he also plays a style of game that could translate well to the big leagues. Blümel isn’t just a pure offensive scorer; he’s well-developed defensively and excels at winning puck battles, too.

The Stars are exceptionally deep up front, so Blümel didn’t get a prolonged NHL opportunity. He’ll have every chance to prove himself as an effective, everyday NHL player now that he’s signed in Boston, where the club is desperate for forwards with upside.

(Photo of Dakota Joshua: Bob Frid / USA Today)