In most NHL seasons around the Christmas holiday, it’s pretty easy to see who is expected to be a buyer or seller at the NHL’s trade deadline. The 2025-26 season is not most NHL seasons, however.

One look at the standings tell the entire story. Entering Saturday’s games, all 16 teams in the Eastern Conference were at hockey .500 or above. Even the team in last, the Columbus Blue Jackets, was only six points out of a playoff spot with 48 games left to play. They lost to the Anaheim Ducks Saturday night and are now below .500.

The Western Conference is quite the opposite. The bottom-seven teams in the NHL all reside in the West. Even still, the Nashville Predators were only seven points in back of the second wildcard entering Saturday.

The standings are packed. This is exactly what Gary Bettman and the NHL had in mind when it came to parity and more teams in the race later in the season.

This has created quite a dilemma for several teams in that tier of being within range of the playoffs. How long can they wait before deciding how to handle the trade deadline?

The Blue Jackets late on Friday night acquired Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for two draft picks. That’s the last-place team in the East believing they still have a chance this season. If they’re doing that, imagine what others could do too.

It’s with that background we ask a hard question. Which teams in the NHL should consider selling right now? Only 16 teams are going to make the Stanley Cup playoffs. For certain teams, becoming a seller now could actually work to their benefit.

While there are a couple of teams that have signaled a willingness to sell, the Kraken and the Vancouver Canucks certainly come to mind, this is still a market flush with many more buyers than sellers.

Buyers are looking for roster help. Since there are a lack of sellers, prices are sky high given the extremely high demand and the low supply.

If you’re a team that has any reason to sell, whether it’s their chances of making the playoffs are low as it is or if they want to do something bigger to shake up their roster, now might actually be the right time to sell.

Why? That’s because those willing to sell might be able to get more for their return. The Kraken were able to get both a second and fourth rounder for an underperforming Marchment. That turned out to be a little bit more than what they originally gave up to get him in the first place.

Now let’s make one thing clear here. Most times, selling means there is not focus on making the playoffs. There are times though in which a team can sell and still make a run at the playoffs. An example would be the Phillip Danault trade. The Kings are in a playoff position as of this writing. They were able to get a second rounder while shedding $5.5 million in cap space. That could allow them to explore other opportunities as we move forward.

Phillip Danault was traded to the Montreal Canadiens. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

We’re going to highlight three teams that should seriously consider selling right now for one reason or another and not even wait until the March trade deadline. Teams would have to wait until the roster freeze is over. But now they have some time to consider their next moves.

Let’s start with a team in which the temperature is already at boiling point.

The Maple Leafs got hammered by the Washington Capitals. Coach Craig Berube had a memorable postgame in which the team’s effort was questioned.

This is the first season in recent memory that the Maple Leafs haven’t had Mitch Marner. How would they look without him? They’re one point out of last in the East with a huge game Saturday night in Nashville.

The Maple Leafs had Stanley Cup aspirations coming into the season. That is certainly not changing now. However, they top the list of teams that should consider selling now.

Why?