Top 5 players most at risk of being traded heading into 2025-26 NHL season.

The National Hockey League offseason is quickly drawing to a close with the end of August rapidly approaching, and teams looking to fill holes in their lineup will be forced to turn to trades if they have any hopes of making significant acquisitions for their respective rosters.

The good news for many of those teams is that there is a somewhat unusual number of players who appear to be available via trades at this time of year. Keeping that in mind today I will be looking at the 5 players I believe are the most at risk of being traded either prior to the start of the 2025-26 NHL season, or before that season's trade deadline.

#1 Rickard Rakell - Pittsburgh Penguins

We have really seen the perfect storm come together for a Rickard Rakell trade over the last several months and it seems almost inevitable that he will end up playing somewhere other than Pittsburgh sooner rather than later. Rakell is coming off of a fantastic season in which he had 35 goals and 35 assists for 70 points in just 81 games on a bad Penguins team, and that alone would make him an attractive target.

Combine that with the fact that Rakell is on a very manageable contract, entering the 4th year of a 6 year deal at an average annual value and cap hit of $5 million per season, and you've got a near perfect storm for a trade.

Finally add the fact that Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas appears to be guiding the Penguins towards a clear rebuild and you've got everything you could want for a player that appears #1 on your trade list.

#2 Bryan Rust - Pittsburgh Penguins

Rust would have been at the very top of this list were it not for his teammate Rickard Rakell, and quite frankly for many of the very same reasons.

Rust is also currently on a great deal, with the veteran winger entering the 4th year of a 6 year deal that carries an average annual value and salary cap hit of $5.125 million per season, and is also coming off a strong season on a bad team that saw him put up 31 goals and 34 assists for a total of 65 points in just 71 games.

Quite frankly the only reason I have Rust ranked lower on the list is because of my personal belief that the Penguins will seek a greater return for Rust, a player that has been a part of their core for years now, than they will for Rakell. I suspect that Rust will command a higher price and therefore trading him is likely to prove slightly more difficult.

#3 Mason McTavish - Anaheim Ducks.

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek has traded away what appeared to be several pieces of the Ducks young core in recent years, and it seems that Mason McTavish may be the next domino to fall in that regard.

McTavish is coming off of a career best season that saw him record 22 goals and 30 assists for a total of 52 points in just 76 NHL games last season, but despite that has not reached an agreement on a new contract with the Ducks. McTavish is eligible to sign an offer sheet but the Ducks have the cap space to match any offer that could be made, and that may very well be the reason McTavish has not signed such an offer.

There will be no shortage of teams looking to acquire the former third overall pick from the 2021 NLH Entry Draft, and if McTavish and the Ducks are indeed unable to see eye to eye it seems like only a matter of time before he's gone.

#4 Rasmus Anderson - Calgary Flames.

This one seems like a forgone conclusion with both the Flames and Anderson appearing ready to move on. Anderson is already eligible to sign a new contract with the Flames but rumors suggest that the two sides have been unable to even come close to a compromise in that regard with a trade now appearing to be inevitable.

Anderson, a physically imposing defenseman who plays with an edge, will be entering the final year of a 6 year deal this season, one with an average annual value and cap hit of just $4.55 million per season.

In fact I suspect the only reason he hasn't been traded as of yet is because the Flames believe the offers for their bruising defenseman will increase significantly closer to the trade deadline this upcoming season.

#5 Erik Karlsson - Pittsburgh Penguins.

Similar to his teammates on the list, Karlsson is a highly skilled player on a bad team that is diving head first into a rebuild. Karlsson has been the subject of trade speculation for several months now and it feels like only a matter of time before the Penguins find him a new home.

Although Karlsson has always had his struggles on the defensive side of the puck, he continues to be one of the league's most talented offensive defensemen at 35 years of age. Karlsson is coming off of an 82 games season that saw him put up 11 goals and 42 assists for 53 points.

What lands Karlsson at the bottom of the list is his albatross of a contract, with the defenseman entering the 7th year of an 8 year deal that carries an average annual value and salary cap hit of $11.5 million per season. That number is now down to just $10 million thanks to the Sharks retaining $1.5 million per season following the trade to the Penguins, but the Penguins will no doubt have to absorb a significant portion of that contract as well if they hope to move on from Karlsson any time soon.