Bold predictions for the 2025 NHL offseason
The Conference Finals are almost here. When the playoff field whittles down to four, it means we’re close to the offseason. And it should be quite an interesting one in 2025 with so many coaching changes and a rising salary cap.
With that, Roundtable: What is your boldest prediction for the 2025 offseason? It can be about a player, a team or something completely outside the box.
MATT LARKIN: I believe the Boston Bruins will reverse their mini-tank and pivot back to aggressive spending this offseason. They’ve retained president Cam Neely and GM Don Sweeney. They’re still committed on long-term contracts to David Pastrnak, Jeremy Swayman, Charlie McAvoy and, whether they like it or not, Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. They don’t have the option to become a truly terrible team. They have more than $28 million in projected cap space, and even though RFA Morgan Geekie has earned a major raise, that will leave plenty. Will the Bruins chase a marquee forward – or two?
PAUL PIDUTTI: This offseason is going to be a wild few months, so let’s dream big and bold. With the salary cap rising significantly each of the next three seasons after years of economic uncertainty, this will be the Summer of Chaos. Starting with trades at the NHL Entry Draft in June, this newfound money and flexibility will be a kid in a candy store scenario for GMs that have lacked the room to truly wheel and deal since the pandemic. Franchises in slow rebuilds (Anaheim, Chicago, San Jose, Buffalo) will shock with big-dollar signings and trades for dicey contracts — the salary floor is rising significantly too, remember. Mitch Marner to Anaheim? Teams on the hamster wheel of mediocrity will see their patience run out armed with fresh cap space. Elias Pettersson to Minnesota? Perennial contenders will dream of players to put them over the top after years of inflexible offseasons. Brad Marchand to Vegas? In the past, any time cap space has been accessible, teams have gotten aggressive, if not reckless. This should be no different. NHL insiders will need more coffee than usual in the Summer of Chaos ™
STEVEN ELLIS: The Ottawa Senators are going to win the summer. It’s going to be a big few months for a team that made the playoffs but still has a long way to go. They have a ton of cap space to work with and most of the core is already signed long-term, so they don’t need to allocate that money to existing lineup players. Instead, they could focus on attracting high-end free agent talent. Now that the team is seriously moving up, it has to be a more attractive option for players on the outside.
SCOTT MAXWELL: I think that last summer’s Philip Broberg/Dylan Holloway offer sheets will finally open the door for more offer sheets made this summer. The restricted free agent market is beginning to look like an interesting one, with JJ Peterka already rumoured to have a high likelihood of being targeted for an offer sheet. Depending on what the Toronto Maple Leafs plan to do with Mitch Marner and John Tavares, Matthew Knies could also be vulnerable to one, particularly if the offering team shoots for a high price with him out of the gate. It wouldn’t even be out of the question to see the Edmonton Oilers send a retaliatory offer sheet the way of the St. Louis Blues, especially when their lone NHL RFA is a goaltender in Joel Hofer. That said, the Oilers have their own RFA to worry about first in Evan Bouchard, and their projected ~$9.4 million in cap space this summer will likely be the starting point for Bouchard’s negotiations. Maybe even that situation could be decided by an offer sheet.
ANTHONY DI MARCO: I think we’re going to see the Calgary Flames be very aggressive and try to expedite their rebuild. Craig Conroy has a good chunk of cap space this summer and the Flames need a shot in the arm in the way of offense in the worst way. They got ever so close to the playoffs this year and tied w/ the Blues for the wildcard; with them getting so close to the playoffs this year and the Pacific Division looking not especially strong, the Flames aren’t too far off from being back in the postseason. Calgary isn’t the strongest market and they’ve already missed the playoffs for third year – an owner like Murray Edwards will want to step on the gas pedal if the opportunity is there.
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