7 NHL Teams with Plenty of Changes Still to Make This Summer

There are many NHL teams that still have changes to make to their roster if they want to meet expectations this season and put the best possible team on the ice.

With so many contending teams still having lots of room under the salary cap to work with, there won't be many excuses for teams that underachieve.

Let's look at seven teams that still have plenty of changes to make.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Notable Additions

James van Riemsdyk (trade)

Jay McClement (free agency)

Notable Departures

Luke Schenn (trade)

Jonas Gustavsson (free agency)

Colby Armstrong (free agency)

The Leafs have been remarkably quiet throughout the summer in regards to major free-agent signings.

General manager Brian Burke will have to hope that newly-acquired forward James van Riemsdyk remains healthy next season, but judging by his recent injury issues, the Leafs would be smart to add some more forward depth.

Joffrey Lupul and van Riemsdyk are going to be two major parts of the Leafs' success this season, but if they miss games due to injury, there isn't anyone capable of replacing their offensive production.

Burke has built a good blue line with some impressive young talent, but adding another scorer needs to happen for the team to actually have a chance at making the playoffs this year.

Detroit Red Wings

Notable Additions

Jordin Tootoo

Jonas Gustavsson

Mikael Samuelsson

Notable Departures

Brad Stuart (trade)

Nicklas Lidstrom (retirement)

The Red Wings still have a bit over $13 million in salary cap space, according to Capgeek, but it's hard to imagine general manager Ken Holland using this space before the season starts.

There's just not anyone still available on the free-agent market who could make a profound impact on the Wings this season.

Regardless of when they decide to make improvements, Detroit must add a veteran defenseman, a top-nine winger and a power forward to compete for the Stanley Cup next year.

Philadelphia Flyers

Notable Additions

Ruslan Fedotenko (free agency)

Luke Schenn (trade)

Bruno Gervais (free agency)

Notable Departures

Matt Carle (free agency)

Jaromir Jagr (free agency)

General manager Paul Holmgren will need to make a few significant changes to this Flyers team for them to be legitimate Stanley Cup contender this season.

Injuries to key defensemen such as Andreas Lilja, Andrej Meszaros and Chris Pronger will be a major problem for the Flyers this season. If Philadelphia doesn't acquire a No. 1 defenseman before the trade deadline, they won't make it past the second round of the playoffs.

The Flyers need more defensive depth and a top-nine forward if they want to remain among the top three to four teams in the Eastern Conference.

New Jersey Devils

Notable Additions

Krys Barch (free agency)

Notable Departures

Zach Parise (free agency)

Alexei Ponikarovsky (free agency)

The Devils will enter the new season without a few key parts of their team that made a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

Zach Parise is obviously an enormous loss at both ends of the ice and in the locker room, but the loss of Alexei Ponikarovsky will also be felt.

Ponikarovsky scored 14 goals and added 19 assists for the Devils last season, and was a forward that gave the team some nice depth. He signed with the Winnipeg Jets for just $1.8 million for the upcoming season, which isn't a lot of money, even for a team with financial problems like the Devils.

Losing two forwards like Parise and Ponikarovsky and not replacing them with a top-six player could cause the Devils to finish fourth, or even last in the Atlantic Division next season. New Jersey needs another top-tier forward and a veteran defenseman if they want to return to postseason play next year.

Edmonton Oilers

Notable Additions

Justin Schultz (free agency)

Notable Departures

None

The Edmonton Oilers haven't done enough this summer to ensure they will compete for a playoff spot throughout next season.

Their blue line needed a ton of help, but thus far, top NCAA prospect Justin Schultz is the only notable addition. Even though he's a really exciting talent, Schultz can't be the reliable, two-way defenseman on the top pairing that the franchise needs since he's only a rookie.

If they upgrade their blue line, the Oilers will be able to make a run at the seventh or eighth seed in the Western Conference next season with the spectacular offensive talent they have.

However, it doesn't seem like any major blue line upgrades will be made any time soon.

New York Islanders

Notable Additions

Brad Boyes

Matt Carkner

Notable Departures

P.A. Parenteau

The Islanders' two biggest needs this offseason were to add a top pairing defenseman and to surround superstar center John Tavares with more talent.

Thus far, general manager Garth Snow has accomplished neither of these goals. If the Lubomir Visnovsky trade does not go through, the Islanders will still need to make major changes to their blue line.

The two most notable acquisitions the Islanders made this summer were Brad Boyes and Matt Carkner, which just isn't good enough. Those guys won't replace P.A. Parenteau's production in the lineup, and neither brings much speed or power play ability to the team. They will bring more toughness and physical play, but those weren't two huge weaknesses of the team from last season.

The Islanders still have many more moves to make if they want to reach the playoffs next season.

Nashville Predators

Notable Additions

Chris Mason (free agency)

Notable Departures

Ryan Suter (free agency)

Anders Lindback (trade)

Andrei Kostitsyn* (hasn't re-signed yet)

With about $16.5 million in salary cap space, according to Capgeek, the Nashville Predators have the financial flexibility to make some moves to improve their offense before next season.

Right now, the Predators would not get out of the first round with the lack of scoring they have on their roster. General manager David Poile needs to add some power play help to his team, but unfortunately for Nashville, there are limited options in free agency.

From a defensive standpoint, the Predators shouldn't suffer too badly as a result of Suter's departure, since he's not a shutdown defenseman, but they don't have anyone from within the organization to give them the scoring needed to contend in the Western Conference.