2025 NHL Offseason Mailbag (06/15/2025)

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The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers have completed their two-game home stand in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series is 3-2 currently, while the Oilers look to rebound after last year’s Stanley Cup Finals loss, whereas the Panthers look to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup on Tuesday night.

For the past two weeks, I’ve advertised on X and Instagram that I was writing an offseason mailbag piece, and it was open to all teams. You’ve submitted your questions, and I’m here to answer them.

How much did special teams (PP/PK) contribute to the Winnipeg Jets’ success and struggles in 2024-25? – Dominik Jones via Instagram

This question is interesting because, realistically, the Jets’ penalty kill in the regular season was middle of the pack while the playoffs resembled packing peanuts. Neither was it excellent.

When you look at the Jets’ power play in the regular season, they led the league and could change a game if they were given enough runway. The Jets’ power play was abysmal in the playoffs, and it was one of the daggers that eliminated the Jets from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Getting caught flat-footed at times when the Jets should’ve won races to the puck, or crucial points when the Jets should’ve killed a penalty. Most of it lies in the fact that the Jets’ penalty killers were outplayed, but they also went up against some strong power-play units.

The Jets’ regular season success the Jets had on the power play is abundantly clear, as they won games due to how lethal their regular season power play was. Had that transitioned into the playoffs, there’s a good chance that I’m still covering the Jets’ playoff run right now. Thanks for your question, Dominik!

Who is your sleeper pick for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft? – Anonymous via Instagram

Luka Radivojevic is probably the most slept-on prospect in this year’s draft. I first discovered him in the 2024 World Junior Championship tournament when he played for Slovakia’s U20 group as a 16-year-old. He didn’t look out of place, posting two points (1G, 1A) in five games.

Radivojevic was the captain for the Slovak U18 group this year, and he also rejoined the U20 group in the 2025 World Junior Championship. He’s had a unique journey so far, and he’s played some games professionally for Orebro HK of the SHL before heading to North America to play for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL.

He’s committed to Boston College in the NCAA for the 2025-26 season, so that puts off him joining the professional ranks for at least a couple of seasons.

Most outlets have him anywhere from the late second round to the late third round. I have him ranked at 39th overall, and that’s because of his mobility and the strong defensive game he has developed. The 18-year-old, 5-foot-10 defender will be a great pickup for any team looking for a smaller defender with snarl and a tendency to never back down. Thanks for your question!

Who is your personal favourite prospect in this year’s NHL Entry Draft and why? – Anonymous via Instagram

Roger McQueen, and that’s an easy pick for me. I planned a whole trip back in January to watch a Brandon Wheat Kings and Portland Winterhawks game. If I had done my research, I would’ve seen that McQueen was still injured at the time. Regardless, I still went to the game and enjoyed it, even with the Wheat Kings losing 6-3.

McQueen started the 2024-25 season with a five-goal game. A few games after that, he would get injured, which took a chunk out of his season. At 6-foot-5, the Saskatoon-born forward is an offensive threat, and he’s got the tools to be a long-term fit in the NHL.

He’s considered by many scouts as a highly skilled offensive player, and that is one of the first things you notice about Roger McQueen. The second is how he commands the pace of play, and with good reason. The size and strength that he possesses will go a long way in his NHL career, and if he falls out of the top 10, he will be considered a steal. Thanks for your question!

Because of the last 14 years, are you sensing some Buffalo Sabres players are requesting trades? Might there be other teams having that same problem this offseason? – Ed Helinski via X

Buffalo is a team that I thought would’ve been battling for a playoff spot in the past two years, but they somehow finished near the basement of the Atlantic Division this year and third last in 2023-24.

There’s smoke around JJ Peterka wanting out, and it’s been confirmed by Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas on 32 Thoughts that he’s unhappy in Buffalo, with multiple big-name people mentioning this. It is also important to note that Buffalo won’t make a move unless it knocks their socks off. Now, I don’t think Peterka will be the domino in Buffalo, but I don’t see this being a great thing for the Sabres long term.

A big move that the Sabres made was a trade that came at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, and that was trading Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second-round pick to Ottawa for Jacob Bernard-Docker and Josh Norris.

Buffalo has key players in Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, and Owen Power locked up to long-term contracts. Norris comes in with term on his deal while Bernard-Docker is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

I don’t see the key players being the players who want out, or are looking elsewhere, given Buffalo is trying to improve and make the playoffs. However, I do see younger players like Peterka or even Bowen Byram being some of the guys that may not want to stay long term. It is important to note that Buffalo might make moves with the sole purpose of improving, but that remains to be seen as of right now.

To the second half of your question, I don’t see other teams having a similar spot like Buffalo, where they’re not as competitive as many thought they would be. The only teams I can think might have this problem are Seattle and Nashville. Even then, Nashville would be a lucrative place to play, and they’re a team that underperformed and are due to make necessary changes and additions ahead of the 2025-26 season.

In the case of Seattle, I never thought they’d be as volatile from season to season as they are. The Kraken’s outlook for the 2025-26 season is decent as they’ve made a coaching change, bringing in Lane Lambert to take over the bench boss duties. Their hockey operations saw promotions as their general manager became the President of Hockey Operations, while Jason Botterill was promoted to Executive Vice President and General Manager.

Seattle has a decent group of players, and they brought in Kaapo Kakko during the 2024-25 season. Their defensive group is an above-average group, while their goaltending needs some work, especially at their price tag. Look at the Kraken’s prospect pool. Should they want to make some moves to get immediate help, they have a lot of prospects and draft picks to choose from to make those moves.

Now, with all that in mind, was the 2024-25 season lost due to injury, or was it a multitude of things? That requires a deep dive itself, and one that I won’t get into right now. Thanks for your question, Ed!

Which UFA will be the biggest overpay? – Multiple questions via X and Instagram

I was surprised that I got this question several times, and with free agency around the corner, there’s the potential for many players to get a big payday. The big fish is Mitch Marner, but he’s a 100-point player, so I don’t think that would be an overpay in any sense.

There are other players like Matt Duchene, Nikolaj Ehlers, Sam Bennett, Patrick Kane, John Tavares and Brock Boeser who round out the list. We all know the rumour around Sam Bennett potentially getting $10m+ on the open market, but is there truth to that?

I look up and down this list, and it becomes abundantly clear to me that teams may handcuff themselves in the first two years of a Mitch Marner contract. While the cap is set to skyrocket in a few years, teams have limited space now.

I don’t see any UFA being an overpay, unless they get a Jeff Skinner-esque contract, and that would be a whole different discussion.

Marner walked from his hometown team, per Andy Strickland, and things can change from now until July 1st. Say if a team like Chicago tables an offer of $15 million annually for seven years, that eats just a little over half of their projected cap space. They also have to sign Connor Bedard to his first non-entry-level contract (ELC), which the Blackhawks are eligible to do on July 1st.

How does this help the Blackhawks now, and not a few years from now? Does Marner want to go to a team that pays him the most or a team that can win now?

The other report circulating is that Carolina could sign Mitch Marner. Chicago has roughly $29.2 million in available cap space while Carolina has $28.4 million. The difference between the two teams is the players they have to sign and their long-term outlooks.

Carolina, with the available cap space, has a better structure to build upon, and bringing in Mitch Marner for that hefty price tag may not be as bad as it seems. Now, where it gets dicey is the moves the Hurricanes want to make and what they could do.

With it being mentioned by Friedman and Bukauskas on 32 Thoughts that Carolina has a strong desire to land a big fish this offseason, it isn’t totally out of the question that Mitch Marner could end up as a Carolina Hurricane.

All of this could be smoke and mirrors, and maybe Mitch Marner does end up back as a Toronto Maple Leaf. As I said earlier, there’s a lot of time between now and July 1st, and many things can happen, including a sign-and-trade scenario, which Brad Treliving is no stranger to. Thanks to everyone who submitted this question!

If the NHL were to expand again, which city deserves a team next? – Jason Smith via Instagram

We all know Atlanta is going to get a team at some point, but there’s a certain French-speaking Canadian city that could revive one of the greatest NHL rivalries. They’ve had the arena ready, they’ve enjoyed exhibition games in that arena, and they’ve supported

Getting an eighth team in Canada, should there be interest on the NHL side to expand, would be great. This is also with the fact in mind that the NHL likely won’t be relocating another team like they did with Arizona to Utah. However, having cities ready to go, like Utah, in case relocation happens, isn’t a terrible idea.

Given the landscape of the world at the moment, it seems likely that expansion is next in order, and that surpasses 32 teams, which many like myself say is more than enough. Say if the NHL were to expand to 36 teams, which isn’t as far-fetched as many people think it might be, it would water down the product already, and talent would be spread even more thin across the league.

I’ve had the idea for a couple of years now, if the NHL expands well past 32 teams, could they explore a relegation system like other leagues in Europe have? It would make for some more interesting postseason antics if teams had to stay in the top division of the NHL. Thanks for your question, Jason!

Thanks to everyone who submitted a question, anonymously or not. The next offseason mailbag will be announced at a later date.