Five NHL players who could thrive with their new teams in 2026-27
Sometimes a player and a team just don’t fit. The player can have talent worthy of a large role, and the team could have a great environment where most players excel, but not every player can suit every team’s needs, and vice versa. Maybe the coach doesn’t like something in the player’s game. Maybe something in the team’s system doesn’t work with the player. Maybe there’s just an off-ice problem affecting the player’s performance. The two parties can try to make it work, but sometimes it just doesn’t, and there’s a point where they need to move on.
The offseason sees many instances of players who weren’t fitting with their teams moving on to new ones in hopes of finding better fits in new environments, while the original teams get cap space, roster spots and assets to invest in players who are better fits for them. This offseason was no exception, especially when a rising salary cap means problem contracts aren’t as much of a headache and one man’s trash is more likely to be another’s treasure.
As we find ourselves a few weeks away from training camp and the preseason, which will bring the first look at many players on new teams, let’s explore five who are coming out of situations which didn’t go their way and now find themselves on teams who could better suit their needs and allow them to thrive.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, New York Rangers
I’ve adored Bjorkstrand’s game for a while. He’s consistently driven play well at both ends of the ice, and when he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Seattle Kraken, he produced well for his minutes. So when he was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2025 Trade Deadline, I thought he’d be a perfect fit for them. But it didn’t quite work out. Despite Tampa’s success, Bjorkstrand was kept to a bottom-six role, although he did get a fair amount of time on the top power-play unit as the team’s best right-shot forward. Even though he still drove play well, he just couldn’t produce, getting just nine points in 18 games in 2024-25, and following it up with his worst output in a full season with just 32 points in 2025-26. On top of all that, he played in just four playoff games over the two seasons.
Bjorkstrand’s struggles allowed the Rangers to bring him in on a “show-me” deal at a valuable price when he hit free agency, and they’ll likely give him a better role than he had in Tampa. While the Rangers are much worse than the Lightning, the move does allow Bjorkstrand to play higher in the lineup and give him better opportunities to produce, especially since he’s currently slated to play in the top six. He’ll also be useful for the Rangers for more than just his offense, as his two-way play is much needed for a forward group which has traditionally struggled defensively. Whether he’s playing with Alexis Lafreniere, J.T. Miller, Gabe Perreault, or Mika Zibanejad, they will all need Bjorkstrand’s help to insulate their defensive struggles, so he’ll bring value to the Rangers even if his scoring woes continue.
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Andrei Kuzmenko, Pittsburgh Penguins
Kuzmenko has had as volatile of a career as any NHLer. He entered the league in 2022-23 with the Vancouver Canucks, and he exploded for 39 goals and 74 points. While he benefitted from a high shooting percentage and playing alongside Elias Pettersson, Kuzmenko did show some talent in that season. But aside from a 22-game stretch at the end of the 2024-25 season when he was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings, he hasn’t come close to that level of player again. What he needs is a stint with a team to rehabilitate his game and give him the opportunity to build it back up.
Well, what better place than the reclamation project factory that is Kyle Dubas’ Penguins. Last season, they made a surprise run to the playoffs, largely on the backs of breakout seasons from plenty of buy-low players Dubas acquired during his tenure here. He hasn’t stopped this summer, as Kuzmenko, Nick Robertson, Hendrix Lapierre, Kaedan Korczak and Declan Carlile have all joined the fold. But it’s Kuzmenko who could benefit the most from playing in Pittsburgh. He’s proven he can keep up with talented players based on his Canucks stint, so if given the opportunity to play with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, he could be in for a bounce-back season. Or at least, better than his output from the last few seasons.
Jordan Kyrou, Washington Capitals
There’s no sugar coating how poor Kyrou’s 2025-26 season was. He’s established himself as a player good for 30+ goals and 70+ points, but last season, he was nowhere close to that mark with only 18 goals and 46 points. Whether it was Kyrou’s playstyle or Jim Montgomery’s distrust in Kyrou’s game within the system, he just didn’t appear to fit in with the St. Louis Blues last year. He was even a healthy scratch once. He was on the trade block for a large part of last season as a result, and the Blues found a suitor in the Capitals this summer.
While the Caps gave up a decent amount for Kyrou, especially when they were buying low on him, he could prove to be a sneaky smart addition to the team. For starters, the Capitals are looking quite deep this year. What they lack in a true top line, they make up for with three lines which wouldn’t look out of place in a top six, and even their fourth line has some solid potential to do some damage in easy minutes. Kyrou’s best season came in a similarly deep environment with the Blues, so Washington could be cooking up the perfect situation to return him to form. Also overlooked in Kyrou’s down year was how his defensive game has improved significantly, something the Caps could also use after allowing the ninth-most 5v5 expected goals per 60 minutes last season.
JJ Peterka, Boston Bruins
Peterka was one of the bigger names moved in the 2025 offseason, as the Utah Mammoth swung a deal to acquire the winger from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring. It was a trade that felt lopsided in Utah’s favor at the time, but last season proved otherwise. While Doan went on to have a breakout season with the Sabres, Peterka felt a bit out of place with the Mammoth. Even though he still scored 25 goals, he had 21 fewer points than in 2024-25, and he often jumped between both the top lines without having a locked-in spot in the lineup. On top of that, he was the odd man out among their forward corps, meaning he wound up on the second power-play unit. As a result, the Mammoth cut their losses and shipped him off to the Bruins for two first-round picks.
The Bruins might be as ideal of a landing spot for Peterka as there can be in the league. Boston is lacking in forward depth, especially on the high-end side, so Peterka is much needed for this group. With fewer players in the way, he’s set to get more playing time and possibly play with a top-10 leaguewide talent in David Pastrnak. He could be a great complement to Peterka’s skillset, especially since Pasta has the playmaking chops to set JJ up while also having the shot to not have opposing teams cover Peterka too much. If he also gets time on the top power-play unit, that’s even better.
Mackie Samoskevich, Seattle Kraken
I wouldn’t say Samoskevich was in a bad situation with the Florida Panthers like some of the other players on this list. He has his name on the Stanley Cup because he played enough of the 2024-25 season to earn it, and with how injured the Panthers were at points over the last two seasons, he got plenty of opportunities in a bigger role. But with eight forwards locked up for at least four years and Brady Tkachuk added to the fold right after Samoskevich was dealt, there just wasn’t a place in the Panthers’ lineup for him, at least where he deserved to be. Finding a new home for the 23-year-old made sense.
On one hand, the Kraken will be a downgrade for Samoskevich in terms of the talent he’ll play with. You could argue the Panthers’ third line is close to the same level as Seattle’s first line, so Samoskevich doesn’t have the potential to play with outstanding players like he would with Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, etc. But what the Kraken lack in talent, they make up for in opportunity. Their lineups usually consist of three solid lines, with no player standing out above the rest. Samoskevich could easily work his way up the lineup if he shows more of the potential he showed in Florida and find himself in top minutes if he plays well enough.
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