1 Trade Idea for Every Eliminated NHL Playoff Team

Making the playoffs is always an accomplishment, but it is not the ultimate goal teams are generally looking for. For most teams, if that playoff appearance does not result in a series win or a deep run into the postseason they are not going to be satisfied going into the offseason. They will almost certainly be looking to make changes to position themselves for a better run in the future.

Here we are going to look at the eight teams that were eliminated in the first of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs and suggest one trade idea they should either explore or make to help position themselves for more success in the future.

It might be in an effort to get more depth, improve elsewhere on the roster, create more salary cap space or a combination of all three factors.

Let's go through them.

The New York Islanders did enough to sneak into the playoffs for the second year in a row, and were then beaten in five games and sent home with relative ease by the Carolina Hurricanes.

The bottom line for the Islanders is they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, do not excel in any one particular area beyond goaltending, and need help all over their lineup.

Nelson's name surfaced in some trade speculation prior to the 2024 trade deadline, but general manager Lou Lamoriello did not really have any serious interest in trading him.

He should strongly consider changing that perspective this offseason.

It might seem counterproductive to move one of your best players, but Nelson is easily one of the best trade chips the Islanders have, he is entering the final year of his contract, and as good as he has been there would be a lot of risk in keeping him on his next contract because there is no guarantee he maintains this current level of production.

This might be the time to strike and move him for a strong return that can help make them younger.

With Nicklas Backstrom's career looking finished and Evgeny Kuznetsov now playing for the Carolina Hurricanes, the Capitals have a pretty big hole down the middle of their lineup.

Dylan Strome has been fine playing in a top-six role here, but he is not really a difference-maker and isn't what you expect for a top-line center on a serious contender.

Connor McMichael still has some upside, but has a long way to go before becoming an impact player.

They need more here.

One idea that was recently floated out that seems at least somewhat intriguing is something centered around a Darcy Kuemper for Pierre-Luc Dubois swap. This was originally talked about on a recent 32 Thoughts podcast.

With Kuemper struggling in Washington and losing his starting job to Charlie Lindgren the Capitals would probably like to get out from the remainder of his contract, and even though Dubois has some potentially big red flags and would be on his fourth different organization, he does fit a serious need for the Capitals. They have also shown interest in him in the past.

The upside would be that Dubois gets another fresh start and returns to being the 25-30 goal, 60-point two-way center he has shown he can be and gives the Capitals a bonafide top-six center option.

Assuming no salary was retained on either side it would add around $3 million to the Capitals salary cap number, but that is a manageable number given how many players they already have under contract.

Let's look at this idea from the other side of it.

For one, Dubois' contract is all of a sudden a big issue for the Kings. His first year in Los Angeles was a bitter disappointment, and they might already be looking for ways to get out of it.

One option is a potential buyout, especially if the buyout window opens soon enough for the Kings to potentially buy out his contract at one-third of its price.

The second option is a trade before his no-trade clause begins in early July. Once that happens the Kings might have very limited options on moving him because Dubois will probably be selective on where he wants to end up, severely limiting any option the Kings might have.

The reason a potential swap involving Dubois and Kuemper could be intriguing for Los Angeles is that it not only allows the Kings to get out from a potential mistake, it also helps them address a major weakness on their roster -- goaltending.

Especially since they do not have a single goalie under contract for the 2024-25 season.

It would also reduce their salary cap number by a couple of million (assuming no money is retained) and perhaps open the door for them to make another addition offensively.

Even though Kuemper did not work out as hoped in Washington, he has a track record of playing well behind strong defensive teams (he won a Stanley Cup in Colorado) and the Kings can defend as well as any team in the league. It could be a good environment for him to bounce back and get his career back on track.

The Predators were one of the biggest surprises in the NHL during the 2023-24 season and achieved that despite getting a down year from starting goalie Juuse Saros. If he bounces back, and the Predators can show their 2023-24 progress was for a real, they could be a pretty formidable team next season. That might make trading Saros a potentially counter-productive move.

But it's a lot more complicated than what you see on the surface.

For one, Saros is entering the final year of his contract which puts his long-term future with the team in some doubt.

Nashville also has one of the best goalie prospects in hockey in Yaroslav Askarov who is knocking on the door of the NHL. If he can become a solid starter on an entry-level contract, that is a pretty huge salary cap advantage for the Predators.

All of that makes Saros a potential trade candidate this offseason. Perhaps even a likely trade candidate.

The most obvious team that could, and perhaps should, be involved in trying to get him is the New Jersey Devils. Goaltending was one of their biggest flaws this season, and they have a potential Stanley Cup contending roster when everybody is healthy if they can just get some competent goaltending. They also have some trade chips that might be intriguing to a team like the Predators, including all of their future first-round picks and some good young NHL talent. Maybe Alexander Holtz interests the Predators. Maybe defenseman Seamus Casey. Maybe something really bold involving Dawson Mercer.

There are a lot of potential options and ways to make it work. Depending on the return and how well Askarov can play, this could actually improve the Predators significantly.

Ehlers has been a wonderful member of the Jets organization for nearly a decade now, and been one of their best -- and most underrated -- players. But it might be time for a change within the Jets' core.

For as strong as their regular season performance was, there were some pretty serious issues that were masked by the MVP-level play from starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck. He can not do it all alone, and for as good as he is when he is at his best there is only so far he can take them. It seems to be the first round of the playoffs.

If the Jets are going to be anything more than a team that simply makes the playoffs and then gets beaten by a superior team, they need more around their top core players. Especially defensively in front of Hellebuyck, and especially when they have three pending unrestricted free agents on their blue line.

Ehlers, who is entering the final year of his contract, would be a really intriguing trade chip to float out there to try and add more defensive help and overall depth to the roster.

The suggestion to trade Cernak isn't necessarily because of his play or performance, but because of what the Lightning need to do to make the salary cap situation work.

They only have $12 million in salary cap space entering the offseason and have just 16 players under contract. They not only need to make significant improvements to a roster that has gotten older and slowed down the past few years, but they also apparently still have an interest in re-signing franchise icon Steven Stamkos before he reaches the open market.

There is no way they can re-sign Stamkos, fill out the remainder of their roster and make necessary improvements without clearing more cap space.

Cernak is a natural candidate to try to move.

He is counts more than $5 million against the cap and still has seven years remaining on his contract. But that contract includes a no-trade clause that kicks in on July 1 that could hamper future efforts to potentially move him.

It might be wise to move him ahead of that and clear some salary cap space.

It is time.

It is simply time.

After seven first round losses in eight years, the Toronto Maple Leafs have to try something different with their core, especially now that all four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander are all scheduled to make more than $10 million against the cap.

Marner seems like a prime candidate to be the odd-man out, especially after another disappointing playoff performance individually.

He is also set to enter the final year of his contract.

HIs no-movement clause certainly puts some potential restraints on the Maple Leafs' effort to move him, but it does not completely eliminate the possibility of it.

Maple Leafs fans, however, should limit their expectations for what a potential return might look like. It probably will not be as much as they think given his contract, and how trades -- including those involving star level players -- rarely give you as much as you might expect.

A first-round pick and a top prospect is a starting point, but it could also be a situation where a one-for-one deal is on the table as long as it gives the Maple Leafs a different type of player at a potentially better price. The Maple Leafs not only need changes to their core after so many playoff disappointments, they also need to help clean up their salary cap situation.

There is nothing wrong with spending half of your cap allotment on four or five players as long as they are the right players. The Maple Leafs' players have proven time and time again they are not good enough to take up that much salary cap space and get the team over the postseason hump. It is time to try something new with them.

Given their salary cap situation the Golden Knights are almost certainly going to have to move somebody this offseason, and following a first round exit they are probably going to be looking to make changes anyway.

William Karlsson would be a pretty bitter trade to make given that he is one of the original misfits, played a big role in a Stanley Cup, and is coming off a huge 30-goal, 60-point season in only 70 games.

But that latter point is kind of the inspiration behind shopping him -- his value is probably as close to its peak as it will ever get.

A lot of that goal-scoring output this season was the result of a 17.1 percent shooting percentage which was the second-highest mark of his career. It was also 10 points higher than it was in each of his previous two seasons when he scored just 26 goals total over 149 total regular season games.

It is very unlikely that he duplicates this year's production, especially as he gets further into his 30s.

He counts $5.9 million against the salary cap for another three seasons and that extra cap space could come in handy for the Golden Knights down the road. Especially after this season's additions of Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin.

That addition of Hertl is one of the things that could make Karlsson expendable in a trade as they would still have him and Jack Eichel to center their top-two lines, which would still be a pretty formidable 1-2 punch down the middle.

They have depth at the position, Karlsson's value is probably as high as it will ever get, and they need the cap space. Vegas has never been afraid to make bold moves, and this could be the next one they explore.