1 Hole Every NHL Team Can Fill In 2023 Free Agency
The time for free agency is nigh.
The hopes and dreams about winning the Stanley Cup next June begin in earnest. Sure, this year's class of free agents may not stand out as one of the best ones in recent memory, but with the right investment and smart scouting, help can be found.
July 1 is always an unofficial holiday in hockey circles, right up there with trade deadline day. Even if the free-agent class might not impress you, let's face it, we're all going to be paying very close attention to who signs where and the ramifications of those moves.
Who doesn't love being a general manager in their own mind? After all, if our favorite teams listened to us specifically, they'd win every Stanley Cup from now until the end of time, obviously. That's why we're going to hand out the advice for free for every team in the league.
Every team has at least one hole that needs to be addressed and others have enough holes big enough to be confused with a block of Swiss cheese. We're going to keep the scope limited to one per team and we'll break it down division by division. Whether it's a little help or a lot, we've got lo ideas to share.
Atlantic Division
1 of 4
Boston Bruins: Re-sign Patrice Bergeron
The Bruins might be in a lot of trouble this summer. Via CapFriendly, they've got less than $5 million in cap space, and they have a lot of UFAs including Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmitry Orlov. What will help them most is making a trade to free up cap space, but the one move they have to hope they can do is re-signing Bergeron, provided he doesn't retire and prepare for his future Hall of Fame enshrinement. Re-signing Bertuzzi would be great, too, but center depth in Boston is rough and Bergeron is still elite. GM Don Sweeney is going to have his hands full.
Buffalo Sabres: Sign Joonas Korpisalo
The Sabres would love to find a veteran goalie to help guide Devon Levi, but they're also on the hunt for a potential long-term partner for Owen Power on defense. The trade route might be the best way to get either, but if the Sabres want to spend some money on outside talent, doing so on goaltending is the way. Joonas Korpisalo had an outstanding season with Columbus and Los Angeles and at 29 years old, he's veteran enough to provide guidance and stability in net. Buffalo's net is very crowded with Levi, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Eric Comrie, but they must have better goaltending next season. Relying on goaltending voodoo to work in your favor is a dicey proposition.
Detroit Red Wings: Add a veteran defenseman
The Red Wings will be in the market for goaltending support, but Ville Husso is their guy. One area of distinct weakness, however, is their defense. They have youth with Moritz Seider and got an out-of-nowhere outstanding season from Jake Walman. They have veterans in Ben Chiarot and Olli Määttä and younger players in Gustav Lindstrom and prospect Simon Edvinsson, but that group needs help, ideally on the right side. A puck carrier would be helpful, too. John Klingberg would be an intriguing idea, provided they're OK with his questionable defensive game. Detroit has more than $30 million in cap space to mess with, so a big fish like Matt Dumba could be possible, too.
Florida Panthers: Sign Matt Dumba
The Cup finalists will have an interesting offseason considering they may not have Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad to start next season on defense because of the brutal injuries they sustained during the playoffs. They may lose Radko Gudas in free agency, but they'll have roughly $10 million in cap space to work with. That's plenty to get into the mix and get funky. Not having Montour and Ekblad for an extended period means not having their top two right-handed defenders. Drastic situations sometimes call for a bold move and signing Matt Dumba qualifies as that. When Montour and Ekblad return it creates a nice problem to have.
Montréal Canadiens: Make the defense stronger
The Canadiens have done some work already by re-signing Sean Monahan to a one-year contract, but the Habs are going to build on what they've got cooking, they'll find a new way to fix their defensive unit. Doing that may require a trade or two to free up their depth chart, but they could use solid veteran assistance on the blue line. Montréal used a lot of young blue liners last year and going super young in that area means there will be struggles. Guys like Ryan Graves or Justin Holl would be solid veterans to team up with younger guys like Kaiden Guhle or Jordan Harris to steady them along.
Ottawa Senators: Get a goalie
The Senators' woes in goal last season were tough to watch. Between injuries and erratic play, it was a major contributing factor to them missing the playoffs once again. Unfortunately, the quality of goalies in free agency isn't very high, but the options are an improvement to what the Sens have internally. If Frederik Andersen or Antti Raanta don't re-sign with Carolina, Ottawa should run to their agents and get a deal worked out. Should those two stay put, Joonas Korpisalo would be a solid, if unspectacular option. Ottawa needs help on their defense too, don't get us wrong, but they have to get their goaltending straightened out in a big way.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Re-sign Alex Killorn
The upside of the Lightning losing to Toronto in the first round of the playoffs is they've gotten to have an extended offseason for the first time in three seasons. After going to the Stanley Cup Final for three straight years, a couple of extra months off to rest and recuperate are huge for a veteran team. They're always close to the cap, but if they chose to run it back next year, it might be a good idea to retain Alex Killorn. The 33-year-old winger has been a brilliant player for years with Tampa Bay and he's forever been a great playoff performer. Losing him and replacing him would be difficult to do and since he's 33, a long contract commitment isn't necessarily needed. Making the money right given they've got $450,000 in cap space at the moment will be the trick. Teams can go 10 percent over the cap in summertime and the Lightning have never shown a lot of fear of dealing with the cap.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Re-sign Ryan O'Reilly
When Toronto acquired O'Reilly from St. Louis at the deadline, it was the best deal they made. O'Reilly brought his solid two-way game and a fiercely competitive attitude to a team that needed more of that. The Leafs are still a relatively young team and O'Reilly said it was a dream to play for the Leafs because he grew up in Southern Ontario. Toronto still has a desperate need for competitors like O'Reilly and making a contract work with him would benefit them greatly. Yes, they could use help on defense, but their forward group doesn't have anyone remotely similar to O'Reilly. At 32, O'Reilly is in a position to find a place that's great for him and that offers the chance to win another Cup. Toronto fits that bill.
Metropolitan Division
2 of 4
Carolina Hurricanes: Strengthen the defense
The Hurricanes can spend a lot of money this summer. They've got nearly $25 million in cap space ahead of re-signing their RFAs and after falling short of making the Stanley Cup Final, they've got areas that could use a boost. They have one of the best top-fours on defense, but it's a group that lacks depth. Carolina could use a physical presence on their blue line to go along with Jalen Chatfield. They're great at making games miserable for opponents by cutting down on their shots and opportunities, but making it a painful night for opposing teams would give them an edge they lacked in the playoffs. Radko Gudas in Carolina would drive everyone batty, as would Connor Clifton or Niko Mikkola.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Sign a scorer
What don't the Blue Jackets need? They need more scoring talent up front, they helped their defense by adding Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov in trades and more cap space to be able to address these needs would go a long way. But it all starts with a single step, and one thing they can do in free agency to get things started is find more goals. Unfortunately, the big scorers in free agency are restricted, but taking aim at guys like J.T. Compher (his 52 points would've tied him for second on Columbus with Patrik Laine) or Michael Bunting whose 23 goals would've been second most on the Jackets. These aren't earth-shattering moves, we know, but Columbus has a big hole to climb out of. It'll take equal amounts of good luck and adding the right people to make a mark next season.
New Jersey Devils: Bring back Tomas Tatar
The Devils have a lot of business to take care of this summer. They've re-signed Jesper Bratt and they're working on getting Timo Meier re-signed as well. They have a handful of their own UFAs that will surely draw interest elsewhere if they get to market: Erik Haula, Tomas Tatar and Miles Wood. Tatar and Haula were both outstanding in their roles with the Devils, but it's Tatar they should absolutely bring back. At 32, Tatar has become an outstanding defensive forward (check his fancy stats with and without different teammates) and he still has the offensive touch that established him in the NHL (20 goals, 48 points last season). He's sneakily invaluable to their success and if he slips away elsewhere, it would be difficult to replace what he does.
New York Islanders: Re-sign Pierre Engvall
The Islanders' offense wasn't exactly one that popped off last season. They play intense hockey and love to frustrate opponents with their full-ice forecheck and physical play. That puts pressure on the offense to help make games more breathable. Having a player that can be productive on offense and provide the physical presence that helps make the Isles go is a huge bonus. That's what Pierre Engvall did for them when he was acquired from Toronto. Despite the small sample size of 18 games, Engvall had the best offensive production of his career on Long Island. The Isles style leans right into everything Engvall provides and re-signing him would, ideally, help show that through.
New York Rangers: Re-sign Patrick Kane
The Rangers went all out last season to try and bolster their offense when they added Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane. While Tarasenko was fine, Kane showed flashes of what he used to do so often in his career during the playoffs. Of course, he was doing all of that on a bad hip that he's gotten surgery on that will keep him out of action for 4-6 months. What that means is that teams don't necessarily need to rush to sign him on July 1 since he'll be on long-term injured reserve and won't count against the cap while he's out. Considering Kane essentially got to choose to go to the Rangers last season, there's not much reason to believe he wouldn't want to return. The Blueshirts are in a tricky spot regarding the salary cap, but Kane certainly won't command the huge salary he had on his previous contract. A healthy and revitalized Kane could be the kind of thing that helps push the Rangers deeper into the playoffs.
Philadelphia Flyers: Defense help
New Flyers GM Danny Brière has a mountain of issues to deal with in trying to right the Flyers, but maintaining a cool head and not trying to chase the dragon by giving one or two of the bigger names available juicy contracts would be prudent. They will have help coming thanks to injury recovery when it comes to forwards. They'll ideally get Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson back, but a little help on defense would be wise. Guys like Scott Mayfield (if the Islanders don't re-sign him) or Ryan Graves would be steady additions. They're not flashy names, but now is not the time for that in Philly. The situation is tough with John Tortorella, and he's gotten them to be an improved defensive team, but they lack depth in a big way.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Get Ivan Barbashev
Things were shambles for the Penguins last season and despite that, they still just barely missed the playoffs. They've got some glaring issues now with Kyle Dubas and Jason Spezza fresh in from Toronto to run things. The goaltending is shaky, the roster is old and their depth is non-existent. What they need most is a spark plug at forward and Ivan Barbashev showed throughout Vegas' Stanley Cup run he's got that kind of jam. The Pens are sticking with their future Hall-of-Fame veterans so they've got to do what they can to keep the dream of one more Cup run alive. Barbashev is the exact kind of player past Pens teams have had great success with. Pittsburgh needs a lot of help, but an addition like this would be a good nod to the fans that they're committed.
Washington Capitals: Bring back Dmitry Orlov
The Capitals had their worst season since 2006 and injuries were a big reason why they struggled. Teams can't fix injuries in free agency, but they can bring back players they traded at the deadline. Coincidentally, Dmitry Orlov is exactly the right guy the Capitals could use to straighten up their defense the way it's supposed to be. They made a great deal with Boston to send Orlov there and now that he's an unrestricted free agent and he loved playing in Washington, it makes too much sense not to do it. That he'd be back there with a healthy John Carlson, Nick Jensen and Rasmus Sandin, whom they got from Toronto in a separate deal, it would make the Caps' defense mobile and dangerous on the attack. It's the right move to make.
Central Division
3 of 4
Arizona Coyotes: Add a veteran defenseman
Despite all the off-ice stuff, the Coyotes have an enticing future ahead of them on it. They've got prospect forwards galore that will arrive in the seasons to come, but their defense corps is severely lacking. This is the main area GM Bill Armstrong has to zero in on come July 1 and landing a more veteran defender would do a world of good. Be it someone like Brian Dumoulin, Scott Mayfield, or Kevin Shattenkirk, strengthening the blue line with guys who have enough experience to help guide the young players would go a long way. It's a tough sell to go to Arizona, understandably, but players interested in more ice time and a challenge would be well-suited.
Chicago Blackhawks: Sign a scorer
Chicago will have Connor Bedard soon enough and that's a big enough development to make them better soon, but they're lacking all over the roster at every position. Picking one hole to fill means the boat will still fill with water, just not as fast, and that's probably OK by them for now. They've got two good veteran defenders in Seth Jones and Connor Murphy, but they don't exactly have a scorer (apart from Bedard) they can count on. There won't be a serious difference maker out there, but going back to a familiar face with someone like Max Domi or selling someone like J.T. Compher on getting on board early to be part of Chicago's new hockey renaissance would at least give them more to work with this season.
Colorado Avalanche: Re-sign J.T. Compher
The Avalanche have quite a handful of free agents they could potentially lose, but arguably the most important among them is J.T. Compher. He's versatile, able to play wing and center well, defends well and can score at a solid clip. Colorado has a lot of money devoted to their star players, and for good reason, but solid support guys like Compher help keep things going when injuries happen. The Avs can use Gabriel Landeskog's LTIR when it's time for the regular season, but if they lose their key depth guys they'll be in a wicked battle in the division once again. Keeping Compher will make life less stressful all around.
Dallas Stars: Sign Jonathan Toews
Let's get a little strange here. The Dallas Stars are really good and there's not much in the way of holes they need to address. They're deep on defense, they're deep up front and they're set in goal. They're a Stanley Cup contender and sometimes that calls for someone who's been there before to help guide the way. This is where Jonathan Toews would make for a solid depth center and give them a star player with something to prove after Chicago decided they were going to part ways with him. Obviously, there are health concerns to keep in mind with Toews after battling Long COVID, but if he's good to go and ready to play, he could be a leader there without having to wear a letter.
Minnesota Wild: Sign Radko Gudas
The Wild's offseason is going to be fascinating. They're still dealing with over $14 million in dead-cap money from the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts, and they've got a couple of key RFAs in Calen Addison and Filip Gustavsson. CapFriendly says they've got a little over $9 million in cap space but have 15 players under contract. That doesn't leave a lot of breathing room to make improvements. The Wild looked like a bit of a lost team by the time Dallas eliminated them from the playoffs, but adding Radko Gudas to their defensive group would prevent that from happening. Gudas' play keeps opponents' heads on a swivel and teammates at the ready for a dust-up. It's not that the Wild need more of that with the number of hard-nosed players they have, but Gudas' version is a different kind of element and he's a solid defender that shouldn't break the bank.
Nashville Predators: Sign Jason Zucker
The Predators have an outstanding defense and an all-world goalie, but they are lacking hard in offense and could stand to use an instant injection of speed and goal-scoring ability and that's where Jason Zucker comes in. The Penguins winger is a UFA and is coming off a 27-goal season that was better than Nashville's leading goal scorer, Matt Duchene, by five goals. Yeah, it was like that in Music City but now with Barry Trotz as GM and stressing he wants high-skill players to get the Predators caught up with the rest of the league, signing Zucker would be a clear signal he means it.
St. Louis Blues: Bring back Ryan O'Reilly
This shouldn't be so difficult for the Blues. They're stuck with Jordan Binnington's contract and they've got to try to get him right no matter what, but at least prospect Joel Hofer is on the way to back up/challenge for games. That's good and it keeps them from perhaps signing a veteran who can't hack it either. When they dealt Ivan Barbashev and Ryan O'Reilly at the deadline, it was clear they were moving on to the offseason. O'Reilly is beloved in St. Louis for helping lead the Blues to their first Stanley Cup and despite a few tweaks at the deadline, they're close to being the same team that's been to the playoffs four of the past five years. Bringing O'Reilly back would solidify them up the middle once again and allow them to have the depth to work with. It makes sense although after O'Reilly's gotten a taste of playing at home, it might be a tough sell to woo him back.
Winnipeg Jets: Sign Michael Bunting
The Jets are a hot mess and may be on the verge of trading Pierre-Luc Dubois. The players were (rightfully) upset with coach Rick Bowness for ripping them after losing to Vegas in the playoffs. They also have a severe lack of scoring depth beyond the likes of Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele. This is where adding Bunting can address that. The irascible forward showed in Toronto he can play a hard-edge game and cash in around the net with regularity. Yes, there are some issues with embellishing and taking bad penalties, but his feistiness would play well in Winnipeg. The tough way he plays would inject a little fire into a lineup that could use it.
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Pacific Division
4 of 4
Anaheim Ducks: Lock up Terry and Zegras long term
Re-signing restricted free agents is often seen as a basic thing that's easy to resolve. But the Ducks were the worst team in the NHL and they have two young exciting stars in Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry who are about to have another young star join them (Adam Fantilli) after the draft. Terry and Zegras are as close to cornerstones as the Ducks have right now and while they were drafted the same year and developed together the way Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf were, Anaheim is at the bottom now and will start to climb out soon with Fantilli on board. Getting Terry and Zegras locked in long-term would be wise because it's hard to imagine their production slipping once Fantilli is with them.
Calgary Flames: Sign Tyler Bertuzzi
The Flames are going to play like a different team next season and that's a great thing to know. With Darryl Sutter out and Ryan Huska in, the mood's about to change for the better. But Calgary also thrives when they play hard hockey at a high pace. It worked pretty well when Matthew Tkachuk was there, but that element was left with him in the trade. Tyler Bertuzzi would get some of that back if he headed north. Bertuzzi's style of play goes perfectly with those Battle of Alberta games against Edmonton and that rivalry can always use a little extra. Getting the Flames back in order with a guy who can score and provide sandpaper would be a great addition.
Edmonton Oilers: Sign Ryan Graves
The Oilers don't have a lot of cap space to work with this summer and while that's not a surprise at this point, it does interfere with their ability to get deeper and to be a much more dangerous team. Scoring is not a problem, and they dominate on the power play, but they need better from their defense. That sounds like a broken record, but it's true. They have a very good top three with Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard, but the inconsistency from the guys behind them shines brightly in the postseason. Ryan Graves quietly showed in New Jersey how good he is in a supporting role. He and John Marino were stellar for the Devils and Graves pairing with Bouchard in Edmonton sounds like a great idea.
Los Angeles Kings: Re-sign Joonas Korpisalo
The Kings were able to excel last season with very average to below-average goaltending from Jonathan Quick and Pheonix Copley. While Copley was strong and took the starting job, they were still motivated to add Joonas Korpisalo at the deadline with Vladislav Gavrikov. With Korpisalo a UFA and the Kings having traded Cal Petersen to Philadelphia, they're lacking NHL experience in goal in the organization. This really puts the stress on L.A. to bring Korpisalo back to Hollywood. He played very well for the Kings and they pushed the Oilers to the limit in the postseason yet again. They're close to getting over the hump but they have to secure their goaltending. Korpisalo would allow them to do that.
San Jose Sharks: Find a scorer
The Sharks' forward depth is frightening and not in a good way. Free agency is not going to help solve those problems. San Jose needs top-six kind of talent to give them a real lift and those kinds of scorers are not really out there. They should make pitches to everyone and cast a wide net for help. Reach out to Jason Zucker, J.T. Compher, Vladimir Tarasenko...anyone who's capable of scoring goals to help out Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. It's tough seeing the Sharks struggle to find people outside of their star players to generate consistent offense, but this is where they are right now. They've got Thomas Bordeleau and William Eklund on the horizon and a veteran scorer to help them along would be a good idea.
Seattle Kraken: Find a backup goalie
It's strange to say the Kraken are sitting pretty right now. They've got incredible scoring depth throughout the lineup and their defense has been superb. They'll need to get a deal done with RFA Vince Dunn, but that shouldn't be a contentious negotiation. After seeing Philipp Grubauer take over the net late in the season, it provides hope that he's turned a corner. With Martin Jones potentially hitting free agency and with Joey Daccord playing phenomenal in the AHL, perhaps they're not looking at goaltending, but that would be a huge risk. Taking a long look at a veteran willing to be a possible 1B to Grubauer's 1A (Cam Talbot? Antti Raanta? Jaroslav Halák?) would be worth the security it would provide.
Vancouver Canucks: Sign Brian Dumoulin
What do you do when you've got around $6 million in cap space before signing RFAs and you've just bought out Oliver Ekman-Larsson thus helping thin out your defense even more? For the Canucks, it means finding a lot of help on the blue line, but needing to do it on a budget. This would be the kind of situation 31-year-old Brian Dumoulin could provide some relief and give them a blue liner who's played top minutes in the past and is good with the puck. He helped Pittsburgh win Stanley Cups so that's an attractive point for Canucks ownership, But when you look at Vancouver's defensive depth chart right now, it's Quinn Hughes, Tyler Myers, Filip Hronek and a lot of question marks after them. GM Patrik Allvin has a lot of work to do.
Vegas Golden Knights: Re-sign Ivan Barbashev
Being in Ivan Barbashev's position would be pretty great right now. He was a monster after Vegas acquired him at the deadline and he teamed up with Jonathan Marchesseault and Jack Eichel to have one of the best lines in the playoffs on the way to winning the Stanley Cup. Playing like that in a contract season is a great way to get paid in a big way. But Barbashev's role with the Golden Knights is so ideal for him and the team and they can absolutely win the Cup again next season with the roster they have and GM Kelly McCrimmon knows that. Vegas is forever tight to the cap so keeping Barbashev would likely take some roster machinations or the player taking a sweetheart deal. The latter seems unlikely, but the player and the team are virtually made for each other, and Vegas should do their best to keep Barbashev.
Financial and contract information provided by CapFriendly.com
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