As the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs progresses, the teams that were eliminated in the first round have begun their end-of-season meetings and media availabilities. These discussions aim to dissect the season, identify key takeaways, and formulate plans for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Here are some of the critical questions facing St. Louis, Colorado, Minnesota, and Los Angeles as they head into the summer:
St. Louis Blues: What state will Doug Armstrong leave this team in before Alex Steen takes over as GM in 2026?
When the past season hit rough patches and making the playoffs seemed unlikely in early February, several St. Louis Blues players were mentioned on trade watchlists. While it wasn`t a complete sell-off, it indicated the Blues` willingness to consider trades.
“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.
However, the team`s performance shifted dramatically, playing at an .813 pace over the following weeks, putting them just one point out of a playoff spot by the trade deadline.
“They had earned the right to stay together,” Armstrong concluded.
While trading players for future assets was once a possibility, the team now views itself as ascending, having pushed the Presidents` Trophy-winning Jets to a dramatic Game 7. Though 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 rumored as a trade candidate.
So, what did Armstrong truly learn from a season marked by two distinct halves that ultimately ended in a first-round exit?
This summer will be his last as the primary GM before Alex Steen takes the reins after next season. Armstrong is setting the stage for the next front office era and is known for making bold moves, whether through trades or free agency. Last year, he pursued offer sheets; what strategy will he employ 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: Will Martin Necas sign an extension?
Typically, major roster changes occur in the summer following a season of disappointment. However, the Avalanche significantly reshaped their roster throughout the 2024-25 season, overhauling their goaltending, trading a core superstar, and adding key pieces at center. While their playoff elimination was disappointing in its execution, it`s difficult to label the season itself a “disappointment” overall – they finished as the league`s eighth-best team in the regular season and lost to the fifth-best team in a thrilling seven-game series that included two overtime losses.
“You go into the playoffs every year, you want to win the Stanley Cup,” said Joe Sakic. “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 situations include Brock Nelson, a rental who didn`t score in the playoffs. There`s also Martin Necas, the key return in the Mikko Rantanen trade. He is signed for $6.5 million for only one more season and could position himself for unrestricted free agency in the busy 2026 class as the salary cap is expected to rise significantly. The 26-year-old was just under a point-per-game player for the Avs in the regular season and recorded five points in seven playoff games.
Elliotte Friedman commented on the situation, “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?”
Given the drawn-out negotiation that just occurred with Mikko Rantanen in his contract year – a beloved player developed within their system – a similar protracted negotiation with Necas could potentially lead to further trade activity.
Minnesota Wild: What will Kirill Kaprizov`s contract look like, and when will it be finalized?
The Wild`s management team can finally breathe easier this summer, released from the financial constraints imposed by the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. The salary cap penalties, which neared $15 million in recent years, will drop to just $1.66 million, coinciding with the salary cap`s expected climb towards $113 million over the next three years.
“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 constrained. On the ice, the Wild were already in a strong position, ranking among the NHL`s top teams until key injuries took their toll in 2025. However, once largely healthy again in the playoffs, they pushed the Vegas Golden Knights to a thrilling six-game series.
The Wild have already locked up a significant portion of their core players to long-term contracts, providing cost certainty that strengthens their position and will create more opportunities in the coming years. They will need to decide on the future of Marco Rossi, a pending RFA, who was moved out of the top six and onto the fourth line during the playoffs. Guerin mentioned targeting help at center this off-season and being open to trades that could propel the team forward. It`s plausible that Rossi, after scoring a career-high 60 points, could become an appealing trade candidate.
Regardless of other moves, everything hinges on Kirill Kaprizov. A Hart Trophy candidate before his injury, he finished as the team`s second-highest goal scorer despite missing half the season. He is under contract for one more year before becoming UFA eligible, meaning he can sign a contract extension as of 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 though his contract renewal is due around the same time as Connor McDavid`s, it`s not unreasonable to speculate if Kaprizov could ultimately become the NHL`s highest-paid player after this round of extensions. As promising as the Wild currently appear, if Kaprizov were to leave, much of that optimism would dissipate.
“This is my agent`s job. We will see. I love everything here. Should be all good,” Kaprizov commented.
Los Angeles Kings: How can they finally overcome the Oilers and navigate the Pacific Division?
The immediate priority for the Kings this off-season will be finding a new GM to succeed Rob Blake. A fourth consecutive first-round exit marked the end of this management era, leaving behind a roster that is generally in good shape and features many younger players still developing.
But what vision will the new leader bring? The Kings were one of the league`s top defensive teams this season, ranking second in goals against and shots against per game. Their offense was respectable, 14th overall. And notably, while their power play struggled in the regular season (27th), it converted on 40 percent of its opportunities in the playoffs.
Yet, for the fourth consecutive year, the outcome was identical: a first-round loss to the Edmonton Oilers. This defeat was particularly painful, as the Kings initially took a 2-0 series lead before dropping four straight 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, whether for allowing the team to lose momentum after gaining a lead, a poor goalie interference challenge at a critical moment, or shortening his bench and not fully utilizing his depth. Robitaille stated he saw no reason why Hiller wouldn`t return but also indicated the final decision would rest with the new GM.
Robitaille has been in his current role since 2017, witnessing the Kings transition from a non-playoff team to one with Stanley Cup aspirations that consistently falters in 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 rising 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 explained. “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 specific vision will the new leadership implement to bring about the necessary change and finally overcome the first-round barrier?
Tristan Blackwood