With the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs underway, the eight teams knocked out in the first round have wrapped up their season-end evaluations and media sessions to outline future strategies, lessons learned, and plans for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Below are key questions facing each of these teams—St. Louis, Colorado, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Montreal, and New Jersey—as they look towards the summer off-season.
St. Louis Blues: The Doug Armstrong Question
During moments of struggle this past season, particularly when the playoffs seemed unlikely in early February, several Blues players were rumoured trade candidates. While not a complete fire sale, it suggested the Blues were exploring possibilities.
“I did tell my counterparts in the league coming out of the 4 Nations that if we play .500 hockey or .550 or .600 hockey between then and the trade deadline, we`d likely be sellers because it`s not going to be good enough,” GM Doug Armstrong stated at his year-end press conference.
Interestingly, the Blues then significantly improved, playing .813 hockey over the following weeks and finding themselves just one point out of a playoff spot by the trade deadline.
“They had earned the right to stay together,” Armstrong concluded.
While futures-involved trades were once considered, the team now sees itself on an upward trajectory after pushing the Presidents` Trophy-winning Jets to a thrilling Game 7. Although Torey Krug`s career is likely over, St. Louis acquired Cam Fowler this season, who becomes eligible for an extension on July 1. A core group of forwards is signed long-term, including 33-year-old captain Brayden Schenn, who was frequently mentioned in trade talks.
So, what did Armstrong truly glean from a season characterized by two distinct phases, ultimately ending in a first-round exit?
This summer marks his final one as GM before Alex Steen takes over after next season. Armstrong is setting the stage for the next management era and has shown a willingness to make bold moves, whether through trades or free agency. Last year featured offer sheets; what might he do this time?
“I think the `re-` whatever is ending and we`re becoming who we want to be, and now, how quickly do we move up and continue to expand and grow? We could take a step backwards, but I don`t think we`re going to take a step backwards. That`s not how I view the returning players, as aging players that can`t play.”
Colorado Avalanche: The Martin Necas Decision
Teams typically undergo significant roster changes in the summer, often following in-season disappointment. However, the Avalanche actively reshaped their roster throughout the 2024-25 season, revamping their goaltending, trading a core superstar, and adding key pieces at center. While their playoff elimination method was frustrating, it`s hard to label the season a complete failure—they finished eighth in the league and lost to the fifth-best team in an exciting seven-game series with two overtime losses.
“You go into the playoffs every year, you want to win the Stanley Cup,” Joe Sakic said. “But there`s those years you feel, like 2022, we knew we had the team to do it. We feel like this year`s team was on that level, so that`s why this one`s going to sting, and sting a little longer than other years.”
Pressing contract issues include Brock Nelson, a trade deadline rental who didn`t score in the playoffs. There`s also Martin Necas, acquired as the key piece in the Mikko Rantanen trade. He`s signed for $6.5 million through only next season and could position himself for unrestricted free agency in the deep 2026 class as the salary cap rises. The 26-year-old nearly averaged a point per game for the Avs in the regular season and contributed five points in seven playoff games.
“Martin Necas last year, when Carolina talked contract with him, he was willing to sign for only two years, right to unrestricted free agency and that was it. So one of the things curious about this year is, does Necas feel any differently? Does he commit long term to Colorado or what happens here?” Elliotte Friedman noted.
Considering the recent situation with Rantanen in his contract year—a beloved player developed by the team—a prolonged negotiation with Necas could potentially lead to more trade activity.
Minnesota Wild: Cap Flexibility and Kaprizov`s Future
The Wild`s management can finally breathe easier this summer, released from the financial constraints imposed by the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts. The cap penalties, which approached $15 million in recent years, will drop to just $1.66 million, coinciding with the salary cap`s projected rise towards $113 million over the next three seasons.
“Since I`ve been here, I believe today and moving forward this is without a doubt the best position this organization has been in,” GM Bill Guerin stated. “We`re going to have more flexibility than we`ve ever had here, in my tenure anyway. We`re going to add. We`re going to try to make this team better.”
Guerin expressed his desire to be aggressive this summer, tired of being financially restricted. On the ice, the Wild were already in a promising position, among the league`s top teams until key injuries took their toll in 2025. However, when largely healthy again in the playoffs, the Wild pushed the Vegas Golden Knights in a thrilling six-game series.
The Wild have already secured a significant portion of their core players with long-term contracts, providing cost certainty that strengthens their position and will create more opportunities in the coming years. They must decide the future of Marco Rossi, a pending restricted free agent, who saw his role reduced to the fourth line in the playoffs. Guerin indicated a focus on adding center depth this off-season and openness to trades that could improve the team. It`s possible Rossi, after a career-high 60 points, could become an interesting trade piece.
However, whatever moves the Wild make, much hinges on Kirill Kaprizov. A Hart Trophy candidate before his injury, he was the team`s second-leading goal scorer despite missing half the season. He is under contract for one more year before becoming UFA eligible, making him eligible for a contract extension starting July 1.
“Everyone knows how important Kirill is to the team and to the organization and the market. He`s a star player. That`s priority No. 1,” Guerin emphasized.
Even with players like Connor McDavid also up for contract renewals, it`s not unreasonable to consider that Kirill Kaprizov could end up being the NHL`s highest-paid player after this round of extensions. As promising as the Wild appear now, losing Kaprizov would significantly deflate that optimism.
“This is my agent`s job. We will see. I love everything here. Should be all good,” Kaprizov commented.
Los Angeles Kings: Overcoming the First Round Hurdle
The immediate priority for the Kings this off-season will be finding a new GM to replace Rob Blake. A fourth consecutive first-round exit marked the end of his management era, leaving behind a roster in good shape with many young players developing.
But what direction will the new leadership take? The Kings were one of the league`s best defensive teams this season, ranking second in goals against and shots against per game. Their offense was respectable, 14th in the league. And despite a weak regular-season power play (27th), it converted at 40 percent in the playoffs.
Nevertheless, the outcome was identical for the fourth straight year: a first-round loss to the Edmonton Oilers. This defeat felt particularly painful, as the Kings initially took a 2-0 series lead before dropping four consecutive games.
“We had three of the best lines in hockey, we scored goals, we had a 40 per cent power play — we said we needed to tweak our power play, gotta give credit to our guys, they figured it out,” team president Luc Robitaille said at his year-end media conference. “Some teams have a 60-goal scorer, we don`t, but we have a lot of players who can score goals. We play hard. We forecheck and we don`t sit back.”
Some criticism for the loss was directed at head coach Jim Hiller, for potentially letting the team ease up after gaining a lead, a questionable goalie interference challenge at a crucial moment, or shortening his bench instead of using the full depth. Robitaille indicated no reason why Hiller wouldn`t return but also noted the final decision rests with the new GM.
Robitaille has held his current position since 2017 and has seen the Kings evolve from a non-playoff team to one with Stanley Cup aspirations, yet unable to advance past the first round. So far, only the Oilers have been their playoff opponent, but how will the Kings position themselves to challenge not only Edmonton but also Vegas and other emerging teams?
“I`ve always said that on July 1, if you look at your team and you say `what can we add that can help us win the Stanley Cup,` you`re there, and we`ve been thinking that way for the past couple of years,” Robitaille commented. “It`s not about beating one team or winning one round, this is about winning a Stanley Cup. Rob made tremendous moves in the summer, but it`s not good enough, so we gotta get better.”
Tanner Jeannot, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Vladislav Gavrikov are the most prominent pending UFAs, and the Kings hope to retain all of them. But what specifically will the new vision entail to bring about change and finally move beyond the first round?
