While some NHL teams have mostly whiffed on their offseason performances so far, a few other teams have been crushing it and doing major work to improve their roster. Let’s talk about three of the teams that have done the best job so far.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens shocked the NHL this past season by taking a huge step in their rebuild and unexpectedly making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It may have ended in a disappointing first-round exit to the Washington Capitals, but the fact that they were even there was an accomplishment.
Even with that success, they had to know the roster, as it was constructed, was not good enough to keep improving. They needed more help to complement their young core of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson.
They did that with two massive trades this offseason that saw them acquire (and re-sign) defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders in exchange for two first-round draft picks, as well as forward Zachary Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues.
Dobson is the biggest acquisition because when he’s going well, he is a bona fide top-pairing defenseman that will give them a potentially dynamic 1-2 punch with Hutson. He’s in his prime, he can play big minutes, and now they have him signed for the next eight years to be a part of their core. It was one of the biggest moves of the offseason so far and significantly improves their defense.
The Bolduc move is not one to sleep on, either.
At age 22, he perfectly fits into the age range of Montreal’s young forward core and should slide in nicely to the team’s top-six forward group. He had a breakout season in 2024-25 with 19 goals and still has more untapped potential. A 25-or 30-goal season should not be out of the question for him, especially as he gets a bigger role and more confidence.
Adding a top-pairing defender and top-six winger, both of whom are either in their prime years or just entering, without really giving up anything off the NHL roster is a massive win for Montreal.
Carolina Hurricanes
You can question whether or not the Hurricanes added the type of difference-making superstar they have been lacking in recent years. But you can’t question the quality of their offseason overall and the moves they have made.
Getting Logan Stankoven signed to an eight-year, $48 million contract and then convincing forward Nikolaj Ehlers to sign in Carolina for less money than he could have received elsewhere are both big short-term and long-term wins for Carolina.
Add that to the fact that they also acquired defenseman K’Andre Miller (also getting him signed long-term), and the overall roster is significantly better than it was at the end of the season.
It’s also some impressive asset management from general manager Eric Tulsky.
They started the 2024-25 season with Martin Necas and Jack Drury on the roster, trading both of them for Mikko Rantanen.
When Rantanen did not want to re-sign before the deadline, they sent him to Dallas for Stankoven and two first-round picks. They used one of those picks as part of the deal to acquire Miller. Turning Necas and Drury into Stankoven, Miller and an additional first is a huge long-term win.
Utah Mammoth
Their first season in Utah saw them bulk up their defense with trades for Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino. This offseason, they needed to find a similar blockbuster move at forward. They found it by trading Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan to the Buffalo Sabres for forward JJ Peterka, and then re-signing him to a long-term deal.
Peterka does not turn 24 years old until January, and has already proven himself to be a 25-30 goal-scorer in the NHL. He joins a young core that already has Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther and Clayton Keller at forward, and gives them another gifted scorer that can fit into their fast-playing style.
Utah made a few smaller depth moves along with that, and also selected center Caleb Desnoyers with the No. 4 overall pick (after some big draft lottery luck), but the Peterka addition is the big move to get excited about.
