The NHL trade deadline is about a month away, and we've already seen some intense deals made with J.T. Miller going to the Rangers, Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver and Mikael Granlund to Dallas.

We've also seen first-round picks as part of those trades, and for teams looking to make a big addition to win now, a first is the easiest way to perk up a general manager's ears. Heck, we've even seen one particular first-round pick traded twice. A first-round pick is the grease that helps the trade wheels move, and there are a lot of teams that could help the gears move a lot more.

We've identified nine teams with first-round picks that could stand to part with them to bolster their chances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs or greatly improve their chances of winning the Cup itself.

Montréal Canadiens

The last time we saw the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they lost in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Covid-truncated 2021 season. Yes, it was a weird year in which the Canadiens became the champions of Canada and then kept upsetting everyone along the way to the Final.

Things have been a bit more difficult since then, and while they've been rebuilding, they've got the momentum of having Cole Caufield, Patrik Laine and rookie Lane Hutson guiding them into the Eastern Conference mosh pit for the wild card. The Habs have two first-round picks in the 2025 Draft—their own and Calgary's from the Sean Monahan trade in 2022 in which they gave up all of nothing to get both.

Both of those picks could end up being lottery picks if Montréal and Calgary miss the playoffs, but the Canadiens don't want to miss out on the fun again, right? The pick from Calgary is essentially found money that can be turned into a player (defenseman? forward?) to help the Habs return to the playoffs to make everyone else in the East say, "Not these guys again..."

Detroit Red Wings

There are a few teams in the Eastern Conference schemozzle for the wild card that have a ton of pressure to get back to the playoffs, and you could argue the team with the biggest weight on its shoulders is the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wings aren't rebuilding anymore, and GM Steve Yzerman has to get them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Their first-round pick in 2025 is slated to be right smack in the middle of the round, and while great players can and will be picked there, that's a player who likely won't help Detroit for a couple of years at least. Detroit needs to make the playoffs now, and using that pick to get help is their best collateral.

If the Red Wings are going to get back to the playoffs, they have to fend off a load of other teams all vying for the opportunity, and there's zero need for them to draw a line at that pick in negotiations.

Utah Hockey Club

Seeing fans in Salt Lake City embrace their shiny, new hockey team has been great, and while Utah management has done its best to put the echoes of their Coyotes past behind them, the best way to prove that this is a new era is to crack through into the Western Conference playoffs.

Utah is on the outside of the wild-card picture by six points behind Calgary and five back of Vancouver. They're close, and while they've got a lot of prospects on the way up, they signaled at the draft last summer that rebuilding is done. When you trade for Mikhail Sergachev, that's what happens.

Yes, having another first-round pick to add to the prospect supply is nice, but after seeing how Vegas and Seattle were able to invigorate their new fanbases by getting to the playoffs ASAP, Utah should try to do their best and accomplish the same thing. A mid-first-round pick won't excite a fanbase; getting a taste of the playoffs would.

Calgary Flames

When we last saw the Calgary Flames in the playoffs, it was 2022 and they were led by Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm and Jacob Markström. If that feels like a lifetime ago, just imagine how Flames fans feel.

The Flames are sitting in a wild-card spot right now, and if they want to keep their rivals—the Vancouver Canucks—off their heels, trading one of their two first-round picks would help do it.

Even though Calgary doesn't own its own first—the Canadiens do—they acquired two others from Florida in the Tkachuk trade and from New Jersey in the Markström deal. Both of those teams are destined for the postseason, which means they're not going to be high picks in the first, but a first makes for great currency in a trade regardless.

The Flames could use help solidifying their prospect depth, it's true, but they're in a playoff race that most of us didn't expect to see them in. Taking advantage of that and going for it is something GM Craig Conroy should embrace.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes could be credited with getting all of the recent trading madness kicked off when they added Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in a blockbuster deal with Colorado and Chicago.

The 'Canes are and have been in a win-now mode for the past few years, and the pressure to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006 is high. Adding guys like Rantanen and Hall shows they're dead serious about bringing the Cup back to Raleigh, and if they feel like they need more help, using their first-round pick to sweeten any deal should be a no-brainer.

Carolina's pick alone won't bring in the kind of player they'd be looking for to be the potential final piece, but it would be sensible to add it to a trade package to make a deal work. Then again, GM Eric Tulsky is much, much smarter than I'll ever be, and if not dealing that first is the smart thing to do, then we'll get better educated.

Vancouver Canucks

To say the Vancouver Canucks have been busy would be a vast understatement.

The Canucks broke the dam at last by sending J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers, and they received New York's conditional first-round pick in the deal. They then took that pick and sent it to the Pittsburgh Penguins to acquire defenseman Marcus Pettersson, their third Pettersson on the roster and first not named Elias.

Even though the Canucks showed they don't fear moving a first-round pick, if they're going to get back to the playoffs again this year, trading their own first might be the thing to help make that happen.

The Canucks may or may not be done making massive deals. Even though it feels like Elias Pettersson is there to stay, if they're going to get back into a wild-card spot and leapfrog Calgary while fending off Utah and St. Louis, adding to the lineup while subtracting their first to do it makes sense despite their need to better solidify their prospect base. With Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford running the show, anything is possible trade-wise.

Winnipeg Jets

Being a team with one of the best records in the league and an honest-to-goodness chance to win the Stanley Cup should mean your first-round pick should be easily available if needed to facilitate a trade. That is definitely the case for the Winnipeg Jets.

Trading their first is the easy call, but what helps make the decision even easier is how they've already seen the Dallas Stars move theirs to add Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from San Jose.

The Jets have a 10-point lead on Dallas in the Central, and they're nine points better than Vegas and Edmonton for the best record in the West. They're in a comfortable spot that can get uncomfortable with an injury, a slump or both. Having a first to use to help make a deal happen makes it a luxury situation for them, but late first-round picks don't get the sellers to come running.

This is shaping up to be Winnipeg's best opportunity to go deep in the postseason and potentially reach the Stanley Cup Final, and parting with that pick is an easy call if it helps land a player who can make the dream happen.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers are still in that weird position organizationally where they're rebuilding but they're also right in the middle of a playoff race. Last season, they ran out of gas down the stretch and missed out, but after they dealt Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to Calgary for Andrei Kuzmenko, they're obviously in position to make more deals to ensure a trip to the playoffs.

The Flyers have three first-round picks in the 2025 draft: their own, Colorado's from the Sean Walker trade last season and Edmonton's after a pick swap last year. Those latter two picks are shaping up to be later in the first round, while their own first could be anywhere depending on how things go. If Philly wants to stay active and make a real push for the playoffs, they've got enough ammo with those picks to make a trade happen.

Being six points back of the wild card with a lot of teams to compete with means they could be buying or selling, but if they want to add, they absolutely can and have the ammunition to do it easily.

Columbus Blue Jackets

There would be no better feel-good story in the NHL than seeing the Columbus Blue Jackets reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 Covid bubble postseason. After the tragic death of Johnny Gaudreau before the season, seeing them land in the playoffs would have everyone pulling for them.

The Jackets are currently in a wild-card spot, but the race for those two spots is highly populated and very competitive. Staving off their competition and maybe making a run at the New Jersey Devils for third place in the Metropolitan Division is on the menu. Columbus has two first-round picks in 2025, their own and Minnesota's after the David Jiricek trade earlier this season.

With two picks to play with, the Blue Jackets can help make some magic happen by using either one of them to bring in forward and/or defensive help to better solidify the lineup to outlast the rest of the teams in the playoff race. The fans in Columbus are among the best in the league, and rewarding them and returning to the playoffs for Johnny would be the kind of story we'd all feel good about.