Which NHL Western Conference trades and signings have aged best and worst?
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Harman Dayal
Analyzing every Western Conference team's most noteworthy moves from the 2025 offseason and how they've panned out so far.
The offseason is when NHL GMs usually make their biggest, boldest moves. It’s a manager’s chance to finally weaponize cap flexibility, trade chips, dip into the free-agent market and engage in a flowing trade market to execute their blueprint.
We’re approaching the halfway point of the 2025-26 season, which is a sensible time to re-evaluate every club’s biggest offseason acquisitions (we won’t dig into midseason moves or every depth addition). Half a season isn’t long enough to make a final verdict for trades or signings, especially as players acclimate to new cities, teammates and coaches, but it’s enough of a sample to reflect on the early return on investment. Earlier this week, we analyzed the Eastern Conference; now it’s time to look out West.
Let’s dive in.
Note: Stats collected before Friday night’s NHL action. Advanced stats collected before Wednesday’s games.
Anaheim Ducks
Notable additions: Chris Kreider (acquired alongside a 2025 fourth-round pick in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick and Carey Terrance), Mikael Granlund ($7 million x three years), Ryan Poehling (acquired alongside a 2025 second-round pick and 2026 fourth-round pick in exchange for Trevor Zegras), Petr Mrazek (acquired alongside a 2027 second-round pick and 2026 fourth-round pick in exchange for John Gibson)
Early return: GM Pat Verbeek’s summer moves have been a mixed bag. The Ducks’ rise up the standings has largely been driven by internal breakouts (Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke) and a change behind the bench rather than a dramatic offseason makeover.
The good news: Kreider didn’t cost many assets to acquire and has made a solid impact. Yes, his scoring has dried up lately (one goal in his last 18 games), but he’s always been a streaky player and has produced at a near 30-goal pace this season. It’s also notable that his two-way metrics have bounced back — the Ducks have controlled 56 percent of shot attempts with the veteran winger on the ice at five-on-five.
The bad news: The Zegras trade is already a disaster. Anaheim was widely panned for its light return in this trade, a criticism that has only been compounded by Zegras’ 82-point scoring pace in Philly. I actually like Poehling a lot as a speedy bottom-six center, but he and a couple of picks aren’t close to sufficient value for Zegras.
I’m curious to see how the Granlund signing will age. He’s a versatile, impactful middle-six player (17 points in 26 games), but his $7 million AAV feels a tad too expensive, even though the three-year term was reasonable. The Ducks need to pay Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier this summer, not to mention Jackson LaCombe’s $9 million AAV extension kicking in, so they may not be left with a ton of cap flexibility to make meaningful upgrades next summer.
Early return: The Flames made no notable acquisitions last summer despite having ample cap space. That was the wise move — trading future assets for win-now help, or overpaying for middle-of-the-lineup veterans in free agency, would have been a mistake for a team transitioning younger.
Calgary aggressively extended Matt Coronato ($6.5 million x seven years) and Dustin Wolf ($7.5 million x seven years) to long-term contracts, which are savvy decisions given their upside and the skyrocketing salary cap.
Chicago Blackhawks
Notable additions: André Burakovsky (acquired in exchange for Joe Veleno), Sam Lafferty (acquired in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick)
Early return: GM Kyle Davidson has been surprisingly patient in building the Blackhawks back up. Clearly, the plan for this season was to ride the young players and let them sink or swim, with the club making only one notable move.
Burakovsky, offloaded by the Seattle Kraken as an underperforming cap dump, has been a shrewd acquisition for the Blackhawks. He’s always had the speed, size and skill to be an impactful top-six winger, but his time with the Kraken was derailed by injuries and inconsistency. Burakovsky has bounced back, scoring 29 points in 38 games while primarily riding shotgun with Connor Bedard.
It’s easy to roll your eyes and say, “Of course anyone playing with Bedard will produce,” but it’s noteworthy that Bedard’s five-on-five underlying metrics are significantly better with Burakovsky on his line than without him. It’s also nice that Burakovsky’s production hasn’t completely cratered since Bedard’s injury.
Brent Burns is still humming along as a valuable middle-of-the-lineup defenseman. (Matt Blewett / Imagn Images)
Colorado Avalanche
Notable additions: Brent Burns ($1 million x one year, has gained an extra $3 million in performance bonuses), Gavin Brindley (acquired alongside a 2027 second-round pick and a 2025 third-round pick in exchange for Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood)
Early return: At 40, Burns is still humming along as a valuable middle-of-the-lineup defenseman.
The hulking 6-foot-5 right-shot defender leads all Avalanche skaters in short-handed ice time, and is crushing that role, as the team’s 85 percent penalty kill ranks No. 1 in the NHL. Burns is decisively winning his even-strength matchups as well, earning a dominant 58 percent share of expected goals and owning a plus-16 goal differential at five-on-five. He’s even had a bounce-back offensive impact, as his 19 five-on-five points rank top-10 among all NHL defensemen.
Coyle has been terrific in Columbus, but the Avs had to move him and Wood to create cap flexibility last summer. It’s a win/win trade because not only did Colorado gain a couple of valuable picks, but Brindley has shown some sneaky good potential.
A 21-year-old center, Brindley’s raw offensive numbers don’t necessarily stand out (nine points in 30 games), but that’s because he’s only averaged 10:19 per game on a loaded Avalanche forward group. His 1.84 points per 60 at five-on-five is a legitimate middle-six rate. He also passes the eye test with flying colors every time you watch him play, with his intriguing skill and nonstop hustle. Brindley looks like he’ll develop into a key supporting piece for the Avs, especially as he gets older and eventually gains more ice time.
Dallas Stars
Notable additions: Radek Faksa ($2 million x three years)
Early return: With massive new contracts for Mikko Rantanen ($12 million AAV), Jake Oettinger ($8.25 million AAV), and Wyatt Johnston ($8.4 million AAV) kicking in for 2025-26, the Stars had to subtract pieces last summer to stay under the $95.5 million cap ceiling.
That understandably handcuffed their ability to make upgrades, with a Faksa reunion standing out as the only notable addition. Faksa checks many boxes you look for in a premium fourth-line center: he’s elite in the faceoff circle, has a big, strong 6-3 frame and is a top-notch penalty killer. He’s even chipped in with 16 points in 43 games.
Edmonton Oilers
Notable additions: Andrew Mangiapane ($3.6 million x two years), Jack Roslovic ($1.5 million x one year), Ike Howard (acquired in exchange for Sam O’Reilly)
Early return: There’s been a lot of turnover in Edmonton’s middle-six forward group over the last several months, and the net results are mixed.
Roslovic represents management’s biggest win. He had to settle for a bargain one-year deal in early October and has emerged as one of the team’s most important secondary scorers. Roslovic is third on the Oilers with 12 goals in 30 games, which is especially valuable because he isn’t a regular on the first-unit power play.
Unfortunately, there have been a couple of big misses as well. It’s a shame Edmonton committed a decent chunk of its limited cap space last summer to re-signing Trent Frederic to a baffling eight-year, $3.85 million AAV contract. Frederic’s deal is already an albatross as he’s only contributed two goals and one assist in 42 games.
The Mangiapane signing seemed smart and relatively low-risk at the time, but that hasn’t panned out either. The 29-year-old left-winger only has 11 points in 40 games and has seen a couple of recent healthy scratches.
Edmonton’s trade for Howard, which cost the club top prospect O’Reilly, will require a lot more time to judge. The 21-year-old sniper hasn’t been a difference-maker yet at the NHL level, with only three points in 20 games. However, he hasn’t been given a long leash by the coaching staff to show what he’s capable of; he’s lit up the AHL when he was sent down (23 points in 16 games), and he’s still very young. I think there’s a path for Howard to develop into an impactful middle-six scorer; it’s just a matter of how quickly he can hit that potential.
Los Angeles Kings
Notable additions: Cody Ceci ($4.5 million x four years), Brian Dumoulin ($4 million x three years), Corey Perry ($2 million x one year, plus performance bonuses), Joel Armia ($2.5 million x two years), Anton Forsberg ($2.25 million x two years)
Early return: The Kings’ puzzling offseason moves have all but killed the team’s chances of emerging as a Stanley Cup contender. They’re boxed into the league’s mushy middle with no escape.
After disastrous starts, Ceci and Dumoulin have performed significantly better over the last 20 games. Both of them are driving a positive share of shots, scoring chances and goals during this stretch. However, they’re ultimately just bottom-pair-caliber defensemen, and the decision to spend a combined $8.5 million of cap space on them remains confounding. Between Ceci, Dumoulin and Joel Edmundson, the Kings are too old, slow and unskilled on the back end. L.A.’s lack of mobility and dynamic offensive skill on the blue line limits this team’s ceiling.
Up front, the additions have thankfully worked out better. Perry is tied for fourth on the Kings with 21 points in 35 games. He’ll likely cost at least $3.5 million against the cap once his performance bonuses are hit, but he’s still been well worth that price.
Armia, on pace for 18 goals and 32 points, has been a handy pickup as well. He’s been especially outstanding on the penalty kill — he’s scored four short-handed goals and the Kings have only been outscored by one goal during the 64 minutes he’s logged on the PK.
Forsberg has been a reliable backup, playing far better than his 6-6-3 record might indicate. The 33-year-old Swedish netminder is rocking a sturdy .901 save percentage and has saved 7.3 goals above expected.
Vladimir Tarasenko has slowed down over the last couple of years. (Aaron Doster / Imagn Images)
Minnesota Wild
Notable additions: Vladimir Tarasenko (acquired in exchange for future considerations), Nico Sturm ($2 million x two years)
Early return: Tarasenko has slowed down over the last couple of years and probably isn’t worth the full freight of his $4.75 million cap hit. However, there isn’t much to complain about with this move because there was zero acquisition cost, his contract expires at the end of this season, and the cap space that the Wild committed to him didn’t restrict their ability to make bigger swings, as clearly evidenced by the Quinn Hughes trade.
Tarasenko doesn’t drive play anymore, but 20 points in 38 games isn’t shabby, especially since he’s barely played with Kirill Kaprizov or Matt Boldy at even strength. He remains a credible top-nine scorer, even though he’s a bit one-dimensional.
Sturm didn’t make his season debut until late November, but has made an immediate impact as an underrated fourth-line center. He’s given Minnesota’s penalty kill an important lift, performed above-average in the faceoff dot and has registered eight points in 23 games.
Nashville Predators
Notable additions: Nicolas Hague (acquired alongside a 2027 third-round pick in exchange for Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon), Erik Haula (acquired in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick and Jeremy Hanzel), Nick Perbix ($2.75 million x two years)
Early return: After the fireworks they set off during the 2024 offseason, the Predators took a much more subdued approach last summer.
GM Barry Trotz’s most consequential move was prying Hague out of Vegas. The acquisition cost itself was fine — Lauzon is a comparable stay-at-home defender and Sissons is a fourth-liner at this stage in his career — but the four-year, $22 million ($5.5 million AAV) contract they immediately signed him to is quite steep.
Hague is a giant stay-at-home No. 4/5 defender; he’s averaged 19:31 per game and has held his own primarily playing on a pair with Nick Blankenburg. He’s also gained brownie points by dropping the gloves in defense of his teammates (he fought John Beecher after the latter sucker-punched Michael McCarron), but his $5.5 million AAV still seems overpriced relative to his actual on-ice impact.
The Haula trade is working out nicely. The 34-year-old veteran center has been a serviceable middle-six stopgap, scoring 23 points in 43 games. Most importantly, because of how dire the center market is, the Predators should be able to recoup a decent pick for him as a rental at the trade deadline. Haula’s experience, speed and faceoff ability (he’s a career 52.6 percent winner) will make him attractive to buyers looking for bottom-six help down the middle.
San Jose Sharks
Notable additions: Dmitry Orlov ($6.5 million x two years), John Klingberg ($4 million x one year), Jeff Skinner ($3 million x one year), Adam Gaudette ($2 million x two years), Philipp Kurashev ($1.2 million x one year), Alex Nedeljkovic (acquired in exchange for a 2028 third-round pick), Nick Leddy (claimed off waivers)
Early return: Klingberg and Orlov are the exact stop-gaps the Sharks needed on their back end. They’re established veterans with tons of top-four experience, but because they’re near the end of their respective careers, San Jose could get away with handing them short-term contracts. The low-risk nature of these deals is important because some young, up-and-coming teams put themselves in trouble by handing out long-term contracts in free-agency that eventually become problems.
Klingberg had a slow, concerning start to the season, but rebounded impressively over the last several weeks before his recent injury. He’s still a smooth puck carrier, walks the line well and is an experienced first-unit power-play quarterback. It’s important for San Jose’s young forwards such as Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Igor Chernyshov to have an offensive defender that can complement them, especially after losing Jake Walman last year, and Klingberg fits the bill with nine goals and 16 points in 31 games.
Orlov, meanwhile, is averaging nearly 22 minutes per game and has been the club’s most steady two-way defender.
Skinner has been a bust, contributing just five goals in 30 games.
Gaudette has come as advertised as a hard-working bottom-six scorer, chipping in with nine goals and 15 points in 34 games.
Seattle Kraken
Notable additions: Ryan Lindgren ($4.5 million x four years), Mason Marchment (acquired in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and 2025 fourth-round pick), Frederick Gaudreau (acquired in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick)
Early return: Many analysts and fans side-eyed the hefty four-year contract the Kraken gave to Lindgren, who had red flags surrounding his durability and underlying numbers. Half a season in, Lindgren has held his own, even if there are warning signs to be wary of.
The hard-nosed 27-year-old defender has stayed healthy, is averaging 19:05 per game, has brought a robust physical game and fits in well with Seattle’s scrappy defensive identity. I’m curious to see whether this can last, though. Lindgren’s 3.1 expected goals against per 60 rate at five-on-five is the worst mark among Seattle’s defensemen. He has been caved in territorially, but those struggles have been papered over by strong goaltending, with Seattle’s netminders combining for a .941 save percentage during Lindgren’s five-on-five shifts.
In other words, Lindgren has been a serviceable middle-of-the-lineup contributor so far, but his results could begin tailing off if he doesn’t start pushing play in the right direction.
Seattle’s bet on Marchment didn’t work out (just four goals and 13 points in 29 games), but the club salvaged the situation by recouping a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick for him in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Gaudreau has played a slightly bigger role than I expected (averaging 16:16 per game), so clearly the coaching staff trusts him as a smart, versatile two-way forward. His actual on-ice impact has been OK but unspectacular: 11 points in 29 games, along with mediocre play-driving numbers.
St. Louis Blues
Notable additions: Logan Mailloux (acquired in exchange for Zack Bolduc), Pius Suter ($4.125 million x two years), Nick Bjugstad ($1.75 million x two years)
Early return: The Bolduc-Mailloux swap is off to a rocky start for the Blues.
Mailloux has been a liability on most nights with costly turnovers, bad penalties and poor defensive play. St. Louis has been outscored by a whopping 27-8 margin during Mailloux’s five-on-five shifts, which is especially alarming because his usage has been sheltered. Mailloux is 22 and it can take time for defensemen to develop, so this isn’t to say that his long-term future is necessarily doomed, but he’s underperformed expectations in his first taste of NHL action.
Suter is currently sidelined with an injury, but the savvy, low-maintenance 29-year-old has come as advertised. He’s a third-line caliber center who can score around 15 goals per year, drive high-end defensive results and play virtually anywhere in a team’s lineup at either center or wing.
Recent contract extensions for Alexander Wennberg ($6 million x three years) and Christian Dvorak ($5.15 million x five years) are signs that middle-six centers are becoming significantly more expensive with the rising cap. With that in mind, the Blues must be pleased they only had to dish out $8 million in total contract value to Suter last summer.
Utah Mammoth
Notable additions: JJ Peterka (acquired in exchange for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan), Nate Schmidt ($3.5 million x three years), Brandon Tanev ($2.5 million x three years), Vitek Vanecek ($1.5 million x one year)
Early return: It’s going to be really fascinating to track how the Peterka trade ages for both teams long-term. So far, the Sabres likely have the early edge: Doan’s breakout as a top-six winger has made him just as valuable as Peterka this season (they’re tied for points and Doan plays a heavier, more complete two-way game), and that doesn’t even factor in Kesselring, who’s been sidelined by injuries.
With that said, Peterka has mostly held up his end of the bargain. The speedy, dynamic 23-year-old winger is on pace for nearly 30 goals and he’s top-20 among all NHL forwards with 26 five-on-five points, which is tied with the likes of Mitch Marner, Matt Boldy, Cutter Gauthier and Connor Bedard. He’s struggled to produce on the power play (just two points compared to 18 last season), but that’s true for the entire team, as Utah’s man advantage ranks 29th in the league.
Peterka has also cleaned up some of his warts away from the puck, as the Mammoth have controlled 54 percent of expected goals and outscored opponents by 13 goals during his five-on-five shifts.
Schmidt’s signing has been a massive success. The 34-year-old two-way transitional defender has played a bigger role than expected — he’s averaged 20:12 per game, which is the most in his career since 2019-20 — and he’s crushed that assignment. Utah has won Schmidt’s top-four minutes by a fairly dominant margin, controlling 58 percent of scoring chances and carrying a plus-16 goal differential. By the eye test, he’s skating and driving play as well as I’ve seen in years.
Tanev, on the other hand, has been underwhelming. Yes, he adds value with his speed, pesky forechecking and physicality, but he’s been a complete black hole offensively with zero goals and just two assists in 31 games. That’s an issue because Utah has desperately lacked bottom-six scoring, not to mention that the team has been outscored 13-5 with Tanev on the ice at five-on-five.
Vancouver Canucks
Notable additions: Evander Kane (acquired in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick)
Early return: Vancouver had a fairly uneventful offseason, but the work it did accomplish has been disappointing.
Kane has scored just six goals and 20 points in 42 games despite playing in a full-time top-six role. He’s been handed a top-line opportunity for long stretches and was even given a chance on the team’s first unit power-play at the start of the season before quickly playing himself off, presumably because of his turnovers. Kane has also been guilty of some lackadaisical defensive moments, particularly on the back check.
On July 1, the Canucks also circled back on Brock Boeser and signed him to a seven-year, $50.75 million contract. That isn’t looking great either, as Boeser is on pace for only 18 goals.
Vegas Golden Knights
Notable additions: Mitch Marner ($12 million x eight years), Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon (acquired in exchange for Hague)
Early return: Marner has been worth every penny for the Golden Knights. In a perfect world, would Vegas like to see him pick up a few more goals? Probably. However, Marner has dazzled with his playmaking and is still on pace for 86 points. He’s shone playing the point for Vegas’ top power-play unit, which features five forwards and no defenseman.
Marner’s defensive impact has also been elite, both by the eye test and by the analytics. He has driven a near 59 percent share of expected goals and 63 percent of actual goals at five-on-five, which are some of the best marks on the team.
Vegas was also wise to avoid paying Hague a big-ticket contract and instead ship him to Nashville. Lauzon has effectively replaced his role as a bruising stay-at-home defenseman for $2 million, which is less than half of Hague’s current $5.5 million cap hit.
Sissons, meanwhile, has been a fine fourth-line center. He’s slowed down offensively (just six points in 38 games) and his underlying numbers are declining too, but he’s still been excellent in the faceoff dot and performed handily on Vegas’ penalty kill, which ranks eighth-best in the NHL.
Winnipeg Jets
Notable additions: Jonathan Toews ($2 million x one year, plus performance bonuses), Gustav Nyquist ($3.25 million x one year), Tanner Pearson ($1 million x one year)
Early return: The Jets desperately miss Nikolaj Ehlers’ speed and dynamic puck-carrying ability in the middle six. To make matters worse, the forwards Winnipeg targeted have each made a marginal impact.
Toews’ age and the 2½ year break he took from the NHL are showing, as he’s been crushed in middle-six deployment. The 37-year-old and likely future Hall of Famer looks slow, has only scored 13 points in 42 games and his two-way metrics are shaky across the board, with Winnipeg outscored by nine goals during Toews’ five-on-five minutes. And with some of his performance bonuses, Toews will cost the Jets $4.75 million by the time he hits 60 games played.
Nyquist has been a complete dud, with zero goals and just eight assists in 31 games. His lackluster impact has only made Winnipeg’s middle-six scoring woes worse.
