NHL Trade Deadline Secrets: Which Surprising Teams Are Poised to Shake Up the League?

As the calendar flips into August, the NHL offseason seems to have hit a bit of a lull—but don’t be fooled. Behind the scenes, a handful of teams are still buzzing with the possibility of shaking things up before the puck drops next season. Take the Calgary Flames, for example: they’re at a crossroads, weighing the tough choice of holding onto Rasmus Andersson or cashing in on future assets. It’s a tricky dance between staying competitive now and planning long-term. Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers face their own puzzles with goalie depth and the looming Connor McDavid extension—cap space is tight, and patience might be their best play until further down the road. Over in Minnesota, whispers swirl about Marco Rossi’s fit, while Montreal’s cap maneuvering involving Carey Price’s LTIR offers them a glimmer of hope to make that elusive playoff push. And let’s not overlook Toronto, juggling Nick Robertson’s uncertain place in the lineup after locking him into a deal, potentially eyeing trade options or veteran PTOs to round out their roster. That’s just scratching the surface of the quiet but potent stirrings across the league—moves are brewing, promises of change on the horizon. Intrigued? Here’s where you can dive deeper: LEARN MORE.

There are a few teams that might still be looking to make moves this offseason

Adam Proteau of The Hockey News: We’ve hit the month of August, and things around the NHL have slowed down. There are some teams that could still be looking to take care of some business.

Calgary Flames – There is still speculation as to what the Flames will do with defenseman Rasmus Andersson. The Flames want to compete, but trading Andersson would set them back. They can’t compete with the top team, so collecting future assets may be not be a bad thing.

Edmonton Oilers – Will the Oilers go another year with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard? There is also the Connor McDavid extension stuff. The Oilers have just over $200,000 in cap space, and the top UFA goalies are Alexandar Georgiev, Ilya Samsonov, and James Reimer. They may have to wait until the trade deadline.

Minnesota Wild – It’s speculated that RFA forward Marco Rossi doesn’t fit into the Wild’s long-term plans. They could do a one- or two-year deal and see if that changes anything.

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Montreal Canadiens – The Canadiens can put Carey Price and his $10.5 million cap on the LTIR and can have $4.57 million in projected cap space to play with. They want to make the playoffs this year, so they’ll likely use that cap space sometime between now and the trade deadline.

Toronto Maple Leafs – (after the re-signing of Nick Roberston the Leafs now have just over $1 million on projected cap space). It’s hard to see where Robertson fits in the Leafs roster. They may look to trade him. There’s still some room to possibly bring someone in on PTO, like they did last year with Max Pacioretty.

Nick Robertson’s future with the Toronto Maple Leafs is still in question

Chris Johnston of The Athletic: So the Toronto Maple Leafs settled before salary arbitration with Nick Robertson on a one-year deal at $1.825 million. Despite the signing, his future with the Maple Leafs is still in question.

Robertson asked for a trade last summer, and his playing time was cut to just three of 13 games in the playoffs. The Leafs could be looking to move salary out, and he could be a piece that joins David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok.

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The 23-year-old does still have an offensive upside if he can gain the coaches’ trust. He needs to play better on the other side of the puck and make better puck decisions.

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