NHL Offseason Could Really Pick Back Up In August

The 2025 offseason has been an exciting one even if free agency was weaker. There have been a number of trades and most teams have made adjustments, whether that be positive ones or negative ones. There are still plenty of teams looking to upgrade further and all 32 teams have at least one need that still needs to be addressed, even if they don't have the cap space to do it right now.

Teams like the Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, and Tampa Bay Lightning are looking for a centerman, while teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, and Winnipeg Jets are still looking for a top-6 player.

Upgrades like this sometimes come cheap and other times never come. Plenty of players still need contracts this summer, UFA or RFA, so there will be movement to fit those players in somewhere. John Shannon said that "I still think we're going to see a bump of trades coming, and so what we're also then going to see is a second wave of free agent signings; guys like (Jack) Roslovic and (Victor) Olofsson are going to be in a position...they will get contracts."

While neither Roslovic or Olofsson fit the bill of center or top-6 player, they are still very much productive NHL players that can fill a hole on a team in the middle-6 and second power play. Some teams don't expect to win next season, and in the case of the Nashville Predators, they could be a source of talent that teams flock to as upgrades are needed. Someone like Marco Rossi could satisfy a lot of teams if he were to be moved, and with players like Noah Dobson, K'Andre Miller, Nic Hague, John Gibson, and many more already being traded this offseason and the cap rising, there is more opportunity to upgrade and move pieces around.

Things have slowed down immensely on the free agent front, but there are still players available. The same has happened on the trade front, but given teams' needs around the league, trades can help any team. The expectation is that the news starts to ramp back up by the start of August, but there are still a couple of months left before the beginning of next season.