Colorado Avalanche's Ross Colton amongst players available via trade this summer

While several players fit this bill going into the summer and leading up to free agency where teams need the cap flexibility to better their team for the 2024-2025 season, here is a look at the top twenty-five who could be and are likely on the move.

1. Mitch Marner Right Wing, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Martin Necas Right Wing, Carolina Hurricanes
3. Nikolaj Ehlers, Left Wing, Winnipeg Jets
4. Linus Ullmark, Goaltender, Boston Bruins
5. Patrick Laine, Right Wing, Columbus Blue Jackets
6. Ilya Mikheyev, Left Wing, Vancouver Canucks
7. Jakob Chychrun, Left Defence, Ottawa Senators
8. Ross Colton, Centre, Colorado Avalanche
9. Filip Gustavsson, Goaltender, Minnesota Wild
10. Juuse Saros, Goaltender, Nashville Predators
11. Rights to Jake Guentzel, Left Wing, Carolina Hurricanes
12. Pavel Buchnevich, Centre, St. Louis Blues
13. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Centre, New York Islanders
14. Reilly Smith, Left Wing, Pittsburgh Penguins
15. One of St. Louis Defenceman: Torey Krug, Nick Leddy, Justin Faulk
16. Brandon Saad, Left Wing, St. Louis
17. Morgan Frost, Centre, Philadelphia Flyers
18. David Savard, Right Defence, Montreal Canadiens
19. Arthur Kaliyev, Right Wing, Los Angeles Kings
20. Elvis Merlikins, Goaltender, Columbus Blue Jackets
21. Jeff Skinner, Left Wing, Buffalo Sabres
22. Andrew Mangiapane, Left Wing, Calgary Flames
23. Christian Dvorak, Centre, Montreal Canadiens
24. Darnell Nurse, Defence, Edmonton Oilers
25. Trevor Zegras, Centre, Anaheim Ducks

While the list seems rather extensive and it's not certain that everyone above will be moved, sometimes a change is good for a player if their current team doesn't feel that they fit in the plans moving forward. If a team that has a player's rights finds a fit that works for them, the hope is whatever team they move that player too can bring out what was lacking or absent.

And sometimes it's just a numbers game where the team doesn't have enough cap space or room on their roster for a player that they like and has served the franchise well during their time with them. But that's the difficult business of professional hockey.