What Are the Biggest Moves of the 2026 NHL Offseason?

The 2025-26 season saw a lot of the league’s biggest teams and biggest stars take somewhat of a gap year. 

Missing from the playoffs were the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers, the perennial Atlantic-contending Maple Leafs, and Alexander Ovechkin’s Capitals. The Oilers, who appeared in the previous two Cup Finals, made the playoffs but fell in the first round with a quiet performance from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. 

I wouldn’t go so far as to ask for an asterisk on the Hurricanes’ Cup win, but there were a lot of familiar faces missing. 

All of those teams got better following a whirlwind first week of UFA free agency, making moves that’ll likely propel them back to the postseason. 

Here’s a look at the three biggest moves of the offseason so far. 

Brady Tkachuk, F, to the Panthers

The first blockbuster of the offseason came on June 23 when Florida acquired forward Brady Tkachuk in a traded with Ottawa. The Panthers sent two first-round picks in this year’s draft (the ninth and 25th overall picks), a conditional 2029 first-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick to the Senators. 

For just a collection of draft capital, Florida was able to shore up their attempt at getting back to contending in 2026-27 and reunite the Tkachuk brothers. 

It became more and more clear that the relationship between Brady and the Ottawa team had become strained after Brady’s role in the exhausting post-gold-medal political fracus as well as some comments that Keith Tkachuk appeared to make at the expense of the Senators coach and goaltender Linus Ullmark. 

In retrospect a move should’ve been expected and it only makes sense that the Panthers won the sweepstakes. 

Florida adds a left-winger that scored 22 goals and had 37 assists last season in Ottawa. He has more than 200 goals across his eight-year NHL career and is a three-time All-Star. 

Tkachuk will likely slide into Florida’s top-line alongside Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. Or Maurice could create an ‘All-A-Hole’ line with both Tkachuks playing with Sam Bennett at center. 

Whatever way they structure it, the Panthers have become better, more pest-y, and probably the best team in the Eastern Conference. 

Alex Tuch, F, to the Capitals

Former Buffalo forward Alex Tuch was acquired by Washington in a sign-and-trade with the Sabres. 

Tuch was slated to be the most highly sought-after player in free agency, but he came off the market before UFAs were available to sign on July 1. But on June 24, Tuch did his hometown team a solid by allowing them to get some assets back from the Capitals. 

Buffalo received a 2027 third-round pick and forward David Kämpf from Washington. 

The Capitals are getting a player who started 79 games with the Sabres last season, scoring 33 goals and contributing 33 assists. He was a major piece in the team’s return to the postseason. 

Buffalo finished the year with a 50-23-9 record and eventually lost in the second round to Montreal. 

Tuch is another solid piece to a very interesting Washington nucleus that has a mix of veteran talent and up-and-comers, like Ryan Leonard who’ll be entering his third season next year. 

The only slight concern is that a lot of the Capitals forward group is on the wings, Ovechkin, Tuch, Leonard, etc. Washington needs more depth at center to get back to full on contention but the Tuch signing gets them back in position to make the postseason. 

Sergei Bobrovsky, G, to the Maple Leafs

Florida seemingly ran out of money to retain their all-world goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky after the move to acquire Tkachuk.

That meant that any rival team anxious to get a leg up on the Panthers had an opportunity to steal a key piece of their Cup teams. Toronto decided they’d be that team, handing Bobrovsky a three-year, $21 million deal as free agency opened on July 1. 

Bobrovsky’s 2025-26 season may suggest that his best years are behind him. Florida got a 3.07 GAA and a .887 save percentage in 52 starts from Bobrovsky last season. But the Maple Leafs are certainly upgrading over Joseph Well based solely off pedigree. 

The 37-year-old goaltender has a better playoff resume over the last four seasons than Toronto does in the 21st century. 

Assuming there’ll be some regression to the mean for Bobrovsky this season, this is a big piece for the new Gavin McKenna era for the Maple Leafs.