Which NHL Teams Should Sell Before The Olympic Roster Freeze?

As the NHL speeds toward its participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics, there’s a pressure point soon to come that could change the makeup of many teams – and that pressure point is the Feb. 4 Olympic roster freeze.

In less than a month, teams will be locked in until the freeze ends Feb. 22. So it’s safe to say that some NHL GMs will want to give players they trade for an extended “break” in which they could more easily assimilate to their new environment, off and on the ice.

But while the league’s parity makes it less than clear what teams will be buyers by or before the Olympic roster freeze, it’s much clearer which teams will be sellers – or, at least, which ones should be sellers.

The first team that should be selling is the team at the very bottom of the standings – the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks have been brutal for the most part this season, and Canucks GM Patrik Allvin and fellow executive Jim Rutherford have already made the most significant blockbuster move in recent years when they dealt superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild. 

If the best player on the Canucks isn’t safe from being traded, should anyone in Vancouver feel completely secure? Rutherford has a history of making deals well in advance of the deadline, and he and Allvin could decide to set the market by peeling off forward Kiefer Sherwood for starters, and hearing teams out on just about everybody else on the Canucks’ roster.

Meanwhile, another team that should be selling is the Calgary Flames. The Flames had a surge in the standings in December, but they have lost four of their past five games – and in three of those four losses, they lost by three goals or more.

Reality should be setting in for Calgary GM Craig Conroy, who can’t allow veteran defenseman Rasmus Andersson to leave town for nothing via free agency. As the best blueliner believed to be available, Andersson will almost assuredly get Conroy a wealth of assets in a trade.

There will also be teams inquiring about the availability of veteran Flames forwards Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman. It’s much more likely that Coleman gets moved before Kadri does, but Kadri checks a lot of boxes as to what teams are looking for – snarl, skill and Stanley-Cup-winning experience – and Conroy could get a king’s ransom for him. Kadri will be well-rested over the Olympic break, so you can see why it may turn out to be the case that he’s dealt sooner than later.

Finally, the Pittsburgh Penguins should be sellers before the Olympic break. Yes, we’re aware this Penguins team just saw its six-game win streak snapped, but keeping the Pens together because of a relatively short burst of solid play would be to miss the forest for the trees for Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas. The short-term shouldn’t be prioritized over the long-term.

The Penguins may be overachieving in the moment, but Dubas has at least two veterans who would fetch an amazing return in wingers Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. Star defenseman Erik Karlsson and star center Evgeni Malkin could also speed Pittsburgh’s evolution from one generation to a new generation if Dubas asked to put them on the trade block.

It might seem counterintuitive to hamper the Pens’ current playoff push by trading away key veterans, but doing so would allow the Penguins to transition to a new era more easily than if they held on to everyone.

The Canucks, Flames and Penguins all ought to be ready, willing and able to make significant trades, and getting a head start on competitors by selling off assets before Feb. 4 would set the tone for each team’s young players they do keep and build around.

For different reasons, Calgary, Pittsburgh, and Vancouver should all be selling, and as they say, the early bird gets the worm. So making moves sooner than later shouldn’t be a surprise for these teams.

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