Which team needs to go all-in at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline?

With less two months until the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline March 7, we’re delivering at least one deadline-focused story every day at Daily Faceoff.

Today, the DFO Roundtable debates which team(s) should behave the most aggressively on the buyer market in the next six weeks.

2025 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 41 days

We’re still several weeks away from the deadline, but Friday’s bananas Mikko Rantanen deal made it clear that trade season has begun. Aside from the Carolina Hurricanes, who did it Friday night: which team needs to go all-in at the Trade Deadline?

MATT LARKIN: Based on where they sit in their contention window: it’s the Colorado Avalanche for me, and they seem to know it. There’s no way they move out superstar Rantanen with a return of Martin Necas and Jack Drury unless GM Chris MacFarland has another target up his sleeve…right? Necas can directly replace Rantanen on the right wing, while Jack Drury provides bottom six depth, but the net result doesn’t justify losing Rantanen in the short term unless there’s an additional move coming. J.T. Miller? Who knows? After what happened Friday night, anything is possible in my mind.

PAUL PIDUTTI: In the NHL’s smallest market and with attendance concerns bubbling up in recent seasons, going all in might go against the Winnipeg Jets‘ mantra of staying competitive long-term. But if there were ever a season to be in win-now mode, as the late great Bob Cole would say, “Surely that’s gotta be it!” The Jets are sitting atop the Western Conference. Yes, Connor Hellebuyck (age 31), Mark Scheifele (31), and Josh Morrissey (29) are here for the long haul. But based on their ages, this might be the peak of their powers. Impact players Nikolaj Ehlers, Alex Iafallo, and Neal Pionk are all UFAs this summer. Gabe Vilardi will be an RFA seeking a raise on his $3.4 million salary. Sniper Kyle Connor and heart and soul captain Adam Lowry can walk in 2026. In what’s been a nearly flawless, overachieving year to date, the Jets continue to feel like a team of destiny. With a ton of cap space this summer and no major problem contracts, supplementing their forward group and infusing some fresh blood right now is a must. It’s time to get aggressive and creative for Kevin Cheveldayoff.

STEVEN ELLIS: I like the Washington Capitals for this one. With Alex Ovechkin turning 40 next season, they need to get everything they possibly can out of him while he’s still around. The Capitals’ rebuild is going to be painfully slow once he finally calls it quits (which you have to imagine will be after his deal expires in 2026). So if there has ever been a year to go all-in, it should be now – and they’ve got some solid draft capital to work with. Nobody expected the Caps to be this good this year, so they might as well lean into it and go out with a bang.

ANTHONY DI MARCO: The Toronto Maple Leafs for me. Brad Treliving punted on major Trade Deadline acquisitions last year, which was probably the best move, but this year can’t be the same. The defense is the best it has been in 20 years, the goaltending (when healthy) is rock solid and it is the final year before you have to make a major decision on – or hand out a major contract to – Mitch Marner. If I’m Treliving, you can’t afford to punt on another prime year of his top forwards and have to capitalize on the final best year of Chris Tanev. Go out, add a 3C and, ideally, a 4/5 defenseman – no excuses.

SCOTT MAXWELL: For me, it’s the Edmonton Oilers. They’re the oldest team in the league this season, so they only have so many kicks at the can with this team as a whole, particularly while Mattias Ekholm is capable of playing at this level. Sure, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard are the best players on the team and some of the younger ones, but they’re still a respective 28, 29 and 25. Their prime is now, and they’re also very close to being paid as such. Draisaitl’s $14 million cap hit kicks in next year, they still have to re-sign Bouchard after this season, and McDavid’s next contract is up next season. Even with a rising cap, they’ll eat up a lot more than they do now, and the Oilers won’t be able to roll out the same level of teams that they have the past couple of seasons. So they need to go all in this season and try to finally get this core their Stanley Cup, because while their window won’t slam shut afterwards, it will be harder to prop open.

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Which team needs to go all-in at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline?

2025 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 41 days

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