NHL Teams with the Most Work Still to Do in 2016 Offseason
The draft is already a distant memory, and the free-agent blitz has quickly quieted, leaving NHL teams time to plot out their next steps in building a contender for the Stanley Cup.
In some cases, it's adding a little depth through a strategic free-agent signing. In others, it's ongoing trade talks, with the potential for a blockbuster to come at any moment. There are restricted free agents who are looking at big salary jumps and pending unrestricted free agents who could be moved before their lame-duck seasons begin.
Not every team has the same list of to-dos at this point of the summer. That goes doubly for some of the top competitors.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, for example, have had a relatively quiet offseason so far, and it's not likely that will change much. They're over the cap, but putting Pascal Dupuis on the long-term injured reserve list will solve that problem. They would like to deal goalie Marc-Andre Fleury but may have lost their best potential partner when the Calgary Flames picked up Brian Elliott at the draft in June.
The Washington Capitals have to sign Marcus Johansson to a new deal, but there's little else to worry about. The same goes for the Buffalo Sabres and Rasmus Ristolainen, the Winnipeg Jets and Jacob Trouba, the New York Islanders with Ryan Strome and the Ottawa Senators with Mike Hoffman and Cody Ceci.
All important moves, but likely the last on their respective general managers' list of tasks this summer. Some teams are unable to simply rest on their laurels at the moment with plenty still to do.
The New Jersey Devils, for example, have done a great job adding players like Taylor Hall and some key re-signings up front, but they have just four defensemen on one-way NHL contracts at the moment.
On that note, we'll kick off our list of the eight NHL teams with the most work still to do in the 2016 offseason.
Tampa Bay Lightning
1 of 8
Signings have been the most pressing need for Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, who managed to lock up captain Steven Stamkos and cornerstone defenseman Victor Hedman but still has a huge restricted free agent to satisfy in Nikita Kucherov.
Kucherov led the Lightning in scoring this season and was their most reliable and exciting player in the playoffs as well. He has racked up 59 goals and 131 points over the past two years and will be getting a massive raise from his entry-level deal. He's not alone there, though. Alex Killorn and Vladislav Namestnikov are the other RFA forwards. Defenseman Nikita Nesterov is also looking for a new deal.
There will be some added work on Yzerman's part to make sure he can fit every contract under budget. Making it even harder is the fact that some big names are coming up for renegotiation next year. Top forwards Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin are all pending RFAs, as is defenseman Andrej Sustr.
Moving goalie Ben Bishop might help with this year's spending. The team is confident in Andrei Vasilevskiy in net going forward if necessary, and the veteran Bishop carries a $5.95 million cap hit for next season.
Detroit Red Wings
2 of 8
After losing superstar Pavel Datsyuk to early retirement, aka defection to the KHL, the Detroit Red Wings have made great efforts to fill in the holes in the lineup. They brought in underrated center Frans Nielsen of the New York Islanders and former Minnesota Wild buyout Thomas Vanek to provide experience and offensive upside to the group. The gritty Steve Ott was signed to toughen up the lower lines.
That was on top of inking their own free agents, including Drew Miller and Darren Helm.
A couple of important free agents remain, with starting goaltender Petr Mrazek and top-four defender Danny DeKeyser both heading toward arbitration hearings, per Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News. Prospect Teemu Pulkkinen also needs a new deal, although that one isn't as pressing.
Mrazek had a .921 save percentage in his first year as an NHL starter and won 27 games to help the Red Wings get into the playoffs. DeKeyser averaged the second-most minutes per game on the team this season and faced top competition on a regular basis. What will make deals challenging is the lack of cap room and the need for more depth on the blue line.
Johan Franzen’s long-term injury status will provide some relief when the season starts, but there may not be much left for a significant addition by training camp. Of course, that all changes if the Red Wings are able to trade backup goalie Jimmy Howard, who owns a burdensome contract worth almost $5.3 million for each of the next three seasons.
Anaheim Ducks
3 of 8
The Anaheim Ducks lost wingers David Perron, Chris Stewart and Jamie McGinn so far in the offseason, making the need for scoring even more glaring. They added Mason Raymond, but the former Flames winger is a risk coming off a four-goal showing in 29 NHL games this season.
A lot has already happened in Anaheim, with the return of coach Randy Carlyle, the makeover in goal with the departure of Frederik Andersen and the new backup for John Gibson in Jonathan Bernier.
So much more is needed, however. New contracts for projected second-line center Rickard Rakell and defenseman Hampus Lindholm are big priorities. Rakell had a breakout 20-goal season and could be a big part of the offense next season. Lindholm is equally as important to the defensive group as a shutdown player who skated more than 22 minutes per game on average this season.
They will suck up most of the approximately $9.5 million in cap space, which leaves Anaheim with no option but the trade route to bring in the offense it needs. The Ducks have a glut of good defensemen to dangle in order to get the necessary pieces.
.png?w=256 "NHL Mock Draft")
.jpg?w=256 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
.png?w=256)
Colorado Avalanche
4 of 8
The Tyson Barrie situation is one with many moving parts and a whole lot of effort involved for the Colorado Avalanche.
They've been busy, signing Nathan MacKinnon to a long-term deal and adding depth defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Patrick Wiercioch, as well as taking a chance on big forward Joe Colborne off his career season with the Flames.
However, it looks likely GM Joe Sakic is preparing to go to court…well, arbitration, anyway. Even though trade rumors have been circling around the team for months, Sakic told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post he wasn't interested in dealing away Barrie, the offensively gifted 24-year-old defenseman.
The same was once said about Ryan O'Reilly and, more recently, P.K. Subban. And we all know how those situations turned out. So it's likely Sakic is fielding calls from teams like the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins, who both have a clear need for a top defenseman.
The Avs could still use a top-six forward, and they have another RFA in search of a new deal in Mikhail Grigorenko. With less than $8 million available under the salary cap, they'll need to be as thrifty as possible in getting a deal done with Barrie. And that won't be easy.
Boston Bruins
5 of 8
The Bruins made a massive splash in free agency by adding former St. Louis Blues captain David Backes to an already impressive haul of centers. However, they are still in desperate need of a top defenseman with Zdeno Chara's skills and speed declining and a huge dip in talent behind the one-dimensional Torey Krug.
Having missed the playoffs the past two seasons with a rapidly aging core group, the Bruins are in danger of missing their window to win again. The top defensemen went quickly in free agency. In fact, Alex Goligoski and Keith Yandle both signed with new teams after their rights were traded ahead of July 1. Jason Demers signed with the Florida Panthers, and there are divergent opinions on the worth of current UFA Kris Russell.
The Bruins would be better off finding a top-pairing guy in a trade. Perhaps Kevin Shattenkirk or Cam Fowler. To do that, though, they'll have to decide what they can afford to part with. David Krejci is a possibility, according to CSN New England's Joe Haggerty.
You can bet GM Don Sweeney is working the phones hard.
Calgary Flames
6 of 8
The Flames have been busy already this offseason but have much work to do. Even after taking care of the goaltending situation by trading for Elliott at the draft and adding Chad Johnson via free agency, drafting and signing stud forward Matthew Tkachuk and adding beefy but skilled power winger Troy Brouwer off the open market, the guys Brouwer is expected to play with both need new contracts.
And they're going to be big. Center Sean Monahan and left winger Johnny Gaudreau are restricted free agents who are set to capitalize on great seasons with long-term deals worth plenty of dough. Gaudreau finished sixth in scoring with 78 points this season. Monahan had 27 goals and 63 points. The sky is the limit for both of these guys, with Gaudreau 22 years old and Monahan 21.
Flames GM Brad Treliving finally has some ammunition to work with thanks to the signings of Mark Scheifele of the Jets, Filip Forsberg of the Nashville Predators and MacKinnon of the Avalanche. Each of those deals came in between $6 and $6.3 million in annual average with terms of six, seven and eight years.
By virtue of his huge season and potential to be one of the best point-producers in the NHL, Gaudreau might see more than $7 million. But does that number upset Monahan's camp? Should they be treated as equals the way Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were?
It's these kinds of conversations that equate to plenty of work remaining for Treliving.
New York Rangers
7 of 8
The New York Rangers were expected to be among the busiest teams at the draft and through free agency. They have no choice but to shake things up with about $12 million in salary-cap space and some important contracts to work on.
None of those are more important than Chris Kreider's. He has back-to-back 21-goal seasons with more than 40 points in each. The 25-year-old is a rare combination of size (6'3", 226 lbs), skill and blazing speed. He has all the tools to be a superstar in the league.
Where a big portion of the work comes in is the contract numbers. Do the Rangers work a shorter-term bridge deal and risk losing him when it's over or lock him up long term like the Devils did with the comparable Kyle Palmieri last week? Palmieri's breakout performance this season landed him the big five-year deal worth $4.65 million annually.
J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes are also in line for new deals, as is defensive prospect Dylan McIlrath. The Rangers' money situation is why they couldn't re-sign Yandle, and they were expected to make big moves to help improve after a disappointing first-round playoff exit.
So far, they've made minor tweaks, signing forwards Nathan Gerbe and Michael Grabner and trading for defenseman Nick Holden. Don't be surprised if someone like winger Rick Nash or defensemen Marc Staal or Kevin Klein are dealt this summer for breathing room and a bit of a fresh start.
The Las Vegas Whatchamacallems
8 of 8
With no name, no logo, no coaching staff and no players, the newest NHL franchise clearly has the most work to do.
The Las Vegas Somethingorothers will have to start with what they're going to call themselves—something billionaire businessman Bill Foley, who spearheaded the Vegas expansion bid and is the franchise's principal owner, is going to work on for this fall after hiring a general manager.
According to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (h/t NHL.com), Foley has two final GM candidates and expects to make a decision and announcement "in a few days."
The league's first expansion team since the Columbus Blue Jackets and Wild came into the league in the 2000-01 season will lean on its new GM to get a full scouting staff in place to help prepare for next spring's expansion draft, where they will pluck one player from each existing NHL club's unprotected list.
Time to get that process moving.
All salary-cap and contract information via GeneralFanager.com. All stats via NHL.com unless otherwise noted.
.png?w=480 "NHL Mock Draft")
.jpg?w=480 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
.png?w=480)
.png?w=600 "B/R NHL Staff Second-Round Predictions 🏒")
