Glaring Issues 8 NHL Teams Must Fix During the 2026 Offseason

For every NHL team but one this season, the ultimate goal will not be reached, and as a result, questions remain. Questions require answers, and that's what every team will be looking for.

The problem with all of that, of course, is that sometimes what needs to be addressed isn't always so easy to pick out. We're looking to examine how teams fell short this season and identify the season-altering glitch today.

We're going to pick out a handful of teams that have something glaring waiting for them in the offseason to fix up, and we're going to give our deeply well-thought-out suggestions for how to take care of them. If nothing else, we're very helpful because we know the pain of a Stanley Cup-less season is a lot to bear.

Edmonton Oilers

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Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram

What they need: Goaltending (Again)

It's incredible to watch the Oilers from afar and see that their biggest issue going into the season was goaltending. And then we saw them make a bold move, trading Stuart Skinner to Pittsburgh for Tristan Jarry. Despite this, many of us predicted they'd still be looking for goaltending by the trade deadline.

And they should've been looking for help at the position then, but GM Stan Bowman was content with Jarry and Connor Ingram to hold it down, only to see it all come apart again, like clockwork, in the playoffs against Anaheim. And now it's the offseason, and Connor McDavid's team again doesn't have a Stanley Cup, and again we're talking about how they need a goalie to fix things.

The Oilers have to get it all figured out next season lest they have to start planning for life after McDavid. The time to be bold is now, and if that means selling out to go after someone like Connor Hellebuyck or another top-tier goaltender, so be it. But they cannot run it back with Jarry and another veteran to compete for starts again.

Florida Panthers

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Brad Marchand and Aleksander Barkov

What they need: Health

Perhaps the thing that will help the Panthers most next season is missing the playoffs this season and the full-body recharge many of their players will get as a result.

A longer offseason did wonders to bring the Tampa Bay Lightning back to form, and the Panthers, going from advancing to three straight Stanley Cup Finals to missing the postseason, could make that short-term pain a long-term gain for them. For all the grave dancing fans did after seeing Florida miss the playoffs, getting Aleksander Barkov fully healthy back will be huge for them.

On top of Barkov returning, a fully healthy Brad Marchand would be helpful, not to mention Matthew Tkachuk getting fully back into form after a long season following surgery. A healthy Niko Mikkola makes their defense better, and if they get Sergei Bobrovsky re-signed, there's no reason to think Florida will stay down.

Yes, they've got a lot to keep in mind with the salary cap and retaining some role players, but their stars coming back fully healthy next season means the Panthers should be right back in the hunt for the Cup.

Colorado Avalanche

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Jared Bednar and Dave Hakstol on the Avalanche bench

What they need: A shake-up

What do you even do with the Avalanche? They did just about everything right during the regular season and through the first two rounds of the playoffs, only to skate headlong into a wall the shape of the Vegas Golden Knights and bring back all the questions we asked of them the past few years.

The problem now is that time starts running against them, and the competition isn't getting any easier. Yes, Colorado ran into injuries as the playoffs wore on, and that very clearly had an impact on their top players, but after coming up short for multiple seasons in a row despite strong management and a great team, something is amiss.

If that means a bold shake of the roster or a switch behind the bench with Jared Bednar, any and all options would have to be on the table to get the Avalanche back to the Stanley Cup Final. It's not as if something is wrong with the team, per se, but they need something to snap out of things.

Montréal Canadiens

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Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovský and Cole Caufield

What they need: A Veteran Influence

The Canadiens' run to the Eastern Conference Final caught a lot of attention and even more people by surprise. Their team of exciting young stars provided a ton of highlights and reasons for Habs fans to be fired up for the years to come.

But the Canadiens were the youngest team in the playoffs and one of the youngest in the NHL and that lack of veteran presence was apparent throughout the playoffs, but especially in the loss to Carolina in the East Final. Young players are great and bring a ton of energy and unpredictability, but a few more veteran guiding hands in those big moments could push the Canadiens even further.

General manager Kent Hughes adding key veterans to their forward and defense groups could give them both the depth and mentorship to help navigate a brutally competitive Atlantic Division, as well as an even deeper playoff run. Going to seven games against both Tampa Bay and Buffalo showed their young guys have earned their stripes now, but with their eyes on the Stanley Cup, those players need a little more to get there.

Philadelphia Flyers

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Christian Dvorak, Dan Vladař and Trevor Zegras

What they need: Depth

Seeing the Philadelphia Flyers rise from the depths to the playoffs this season was a reminder of how fun the NHL can be when they're good. After all, when they're a playoff team, fans all over have reason to get fired up, either rooting for them or hating them with the fire of a thousand suns all over again.

Philly's run to the second round was cool to watch, and the effect coach Rick Tocchet had on them was clear. What that also reminded us of was how the Vancouver Canucks run under Tocchet went, and how, a year after making the playoffs under him, they faded immediately. These Flyers are built a bit differently, but what undid those 'Nucks was a lack of depth, and if the Flyers want to get back to the playoffs and go further next season, they have to make sure that's not a problem.

The need for greater depth while the Flyers are restocking their pipeline makes for a tricky balance for GM Danny Brière. The Flyers are poised to win more now, and with guys like Trevor Zegras, Owen Tippett, Porter Martone, and Matvei Michkov, they've got guys in place to drive play. However, if they lose anyone like that in their lineup, and that goes for all positions, they don't have the players to withstand that kind of blow.

The Flyers' depth could use reinforcement, and there's no doubt Brière knows that much. Toeing the line between continuing to build up their young organizational depth for years to come and getting guys that can support them now will be a great test.

Buffalo Sabres

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What they need: A backup plan for Alex Tuch

Seeing the Sabres go from perpetual doormats to an electrifying playoff team and the joy it brought to Buffalo fans was incredible to watch (especially up close). This offseason has a really big moment at hand, however, in the form of impending UFA Alex Tuch.

Tuch grew up a Sabres fan outside Syracuse, and being a vital part of the team that brought playoff hockey back to Buffalo is a big deal for him. But at 30 years old, with the opportunity to cash in big, it's not something he's lost on him either. For the first time in years, the Sabres also have to be mindful of the salary cap as well, and they're looking at about $12 to $14 million in cap space this offseason.

A new deal for Tuch could come in somewhere around $10 to $11 million a year for however many years, and the Sabres also have RFAs Zach Benson and Peyton Krebs to lock in this summer. Defenseman Bo Byram can be an unrestricted free agent next summer, and he's going to get paid well, too.

If the Sabres and GM Jarmo Kekäläinen can't make a deal with Tuch work, their backup plan for him has to be airtight and involve landing a veteran scorer who can play a similar role on and off the ice. That means making a trade (or two), potentially, since there won't be many (if any) free agents to do that.

San Jose Sharks

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Tyler Toffoli and Macklin Celebrini

What they need: More Veterans

We can all see what the Sharks are building in San Jose with Macklin Celebrini at the forefront. They came so close to making the playoffs this season, and with Celebrini and the rest of their young core being another year older and more experienced, they're only going to get better.

The Sharks were a bit of a one-man team with Celebrini, however, and it was all their young players who carried them as far as they did, and if there was ever a team in need of more of a veteran presence, it's San Jose. Finding the high-end veterans to complement Celebrini and the rest of the roster would help push the Sharks into the playoffs and beyond.

The Sharks will have a boatload of cap space to make use of, and if that leads to adding to their blue line corps and veteran scorer(s), GM Mike Grier will be living the good life. As good as having the No. 2 pick in the draft is, Grier could use that pick to land the players for right now they're looking for. Or he could wait to see if someone like Alex Tuch reaches free agency and make an offer that would be really hard to say no to.

The Sharks need to add, no doubt, but they're in a great position to mold their roster for years to come this summer.

Chicago Blackhawks

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What they need: A Real Plan

If you're a Chicago Blackhawks fan and you've been frustrated watching them not take leaps forward with Connor Bedard at the forefront, just imagine how Bedard feels, three seasons deep into his career, with his team at the top of the draft board again.

Chicago GM Kyle Davidson has tried a couple of different ways to help the Hawks take a leap forward, only to see those options blow up almost immediately. From loading up on character veterans to letting more of their prospects take the reins, nothing has worked to plan yet. You could argue that by not sticking with a plan, they've hurt themselves just as much, but at this point, it's hard to tell at all. And that's bad.

Bedard is due for a massive extension this summer as an RFA, and he's going to get it, but part of that conversation with the team has to have a coherent plan for what they're going to do to ensure they get back to the playoffs and begin challenging for a Stanley Cup again in earnest.

Even though waiting for other young players to reach their potential is hard, surrounding them with proper veterans to help them along and make the team much more competitive is what they have to do. Turning vets around year after year in deadline trades can't be the norm.