NHL Free Agents 2011: 10 Teams with the Cap Room To Improve Next Season

Every team will enter next season looking to build upon the recent successes (or failures).

Some teams are in great positions: They made the playoffs and have money to spend in the offseason.

Others have it more difficult: They are locked into terrible long-term contracts or have problems outside of the arena that need to be addressed before the team can become competitive.

The following are the 10 teams with the most cap room.

All salary-cap projections courtesy of CapGeek.com.

10. Tampa Bay Lightning

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PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 23: Steven Stamkos #91 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates his first period goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Cente

Cap room: $22,853,084

Players signed: 11

The Lightning are in good position.

For the first time since the 2006-07 season, the team made the playoffs, and they have superstars Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis locked down long term.

Their first priority will be making sure RFAs Steven Stamkos and Mike Lundin remain in Tampa.

Simon Gagne, Eric Brewer and Dwayne Roloson are unrestricted free agents, and the team must decide whether to keep them under contract or let them walk.

With the extra cap space, the team will look to add bodies on defense and a goaltender.

However, do not expect the Lightning to spend too much. The team is still recovering financially and will want to conserve cap space for up-and-comers like Victor Hedman.

9. Columbus Blue Jackets

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DENVER, CO - MARCH 22: Goalie Steve Mason #1 of the Columbus Blue Jackets takes a drink during a break in the action against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center on March 22, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Mason collect the loss as the Avalanche defeate

Cap room: $23,060,417

Players signed: 13

Fortunately for Columbus, the team has goaltending sensation Steve Mason locked down for the next two years, because they will have a lot to address in the offseason.

Forwards Chris Clark, Scottie Upshall, Ethan Moreau and defensemen Jan Hejda and Craig Rivet all are set to be UFAs at the end of the year.

The Jackets will want to retain a few of those names, at the right prices. Many of them brought intangibles off of the ice that are difficult to replace.

However, with the team's recent struggles, they are (most likely) not attached to any of those players.

If Mathieu Garon leaves in free agency, the team must find a replacement backup goaltender.

Ultimately, Columbus needs more players like Matt Culvert who are locked into cost-effective three-year deals that can come up and make impacts at the NHL level.

8. Edmonton Oilers

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DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 23: Taylor Hall #4 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates his second period goal against the Colorado Avalanche with Sam Gagner #89 and Ladislav Smid #5 of the Oilers at the Pepsi Center on February 23, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo

Cap room: $23,650,000

Players signed: 13

Fortunately for the Oilers, the team had many pieces locked down for the long term.

Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle are both on their rookie contracts and veterans Shawn Horcoff, Ales Hemsky, Tom Gilbert and Ryan Whitney are all locked into long-term deals.

The team will have to address Andrew Cogliano and Ladislav Smid, both RFAs, and re-sign or replace Jim Vandermeer in the offseason.

Their biggest predicament, however, is goaltender. They may opt to keep Devan Dubnyk in the starting role if Nikolai Khabibulin is sentenced to jail, but they may want to look for a veteran goaltender to play regularly if the Bulin Wall ends up in the joint.

7. Montreal Canadiens

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MONTREAL - NOVEMBER 9: Andrei Markov #79 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his first-period goal during the NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at the Bell Centre on November 9, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Im

Cap room: $25,313,690

Players signed: Nine

Like the Lightning, the Habs are in a great position; they're a playoff team with cap space in the offseason.

Forwards Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta are all locked into long-term deals.

However, the team is going to need to add size up front this offseason after dealing with RFAs Andrei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot.

The defense, which carried the team this season, must be retained.

Andrei Markov, Roman Hamrlik, James Wisniewski, Brent Sopel and Hal Gill are all UFAs.

Finally, Alex Auld's contract is up. The team must re-sign him or find a backup goaltender.

6. St. Louis Blues

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COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 09: TJ Oshie #74 of the St. Louis Blues skates against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 9, 2011 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Cap room: $26,991,668

Players signed: 11

After another disastrous season, St. Louis dismantled its core and will look to make many renovations in the offseason.

RFA forwards TJ Oshie, Patrik Berglund, BJ Crombeen and Vladimir Sobotka will be looking for new contracts, and defenseman Roman Polak may get a serious hike in salary.

If Cam Janssen walks, the team will need to add an enforcer.

Jaroslav Halak will be the starter in St. Louis, but the team needs to address the backup goaltender.

David Backes' new contract kicks in and defensemen Barret Jackman and Carlo Colaiacovo are in their last years of contracts.

Still, with the money the team has available, they must look to get a few difference-makers (especially scoring forwards) so they can get into the playoffs next season.

5. New York Islanders

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UNIONDALE, NY - DECEMBER 29: (L-R) John Tavares #91 and Michael Grabner #40 of the New York Islanders sit on the bench as head coach Jack Capuano watches the action against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Nassau Coliseum on December 29, 2010 in Uniondale,

Cap room: $27,559,168

Players signed: 16

Most GMs would have a field day with $27.6 million to spend and 16 players signed.

However, the Islanders are in a tough position and will remain cap-strapped until they either get a new arena or move.

Expect the team to sit near the cap floor.

John Tavares, who is on a rookie contract, makes more money than every other forward on his team and Rick DiPietro, who plays an occasional game here and there, is getting $4.5 million a year (team high) for the rest of eternity.

After addressing RFAs like Joshua Bailey, Kyle Okposo, Michael Grabner and Ty Wishart, the team will look to the wavier wire (where they have made astute pickups over the last few years) and no-name free agents to stay above the cap floor.

4. Carolina Hurricanes

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WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Jeff Skinner #53 of the Carolina Hurricanes celelbrates with the bench after scoring against the Washington Capitalsduring the third period at the Verizon Center on March 29, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Im

Cap room: $29,016,667

Players signed: 11

The Hurricanes can turn themselves into a playoff team this offseason.

Superstar youngsters Jeff Skinner and Jamie McBain are value players for the next few years.

Brandon Sutter is a RFA worth addressing.

There are many UFAs looking for contracts—Cory Stillman, Erik Cole, Chad Larose, Jussi Jokinen and Joni Pitkanen to name a few—who will reduce the cap number.

However, there is plenty of space left over for the addition of veteran players who could come in and give the team the bump it needs to get into the playoffs.

With the All-Star game and playoff push at the end, the 'Canes have generated interest and should see ticket sales take a hike. The team must capitalize on this interest and get into the playoffs next year.

3. Phoenix Coyotes

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GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 20: (L-R) Radim Vrbata #17, Shane Doan #19 and Keith Yandle #3 of the Phoenix Coyotes react after being defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs a

Cap room: $29,631,250

Players signed: 13

The Coyotes look like a team in position to capitalize on their cap space—they made the playoffs this year and only have 13 players tied down.

However, there is no guarantee that this team is staying in Arizona, and without stable ownership, the Coyotes may not utilize their resources to their potential.

Paramount to the team's success next year will be goaltending...and both Ilya Bryzgalov and Jason Labarbera are UFAs.

Radim Vrbata will be looking for a new contract, and the team must make sure RFAs Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker and Keith Yandle remain with the organization.

The team may opt to let aging star Ed Jovanovski walk.

After trying to keep their two-time playoff team intact, the team may find it difficult to come up with the resources necessary to woo a prized free agent to Glendale—or wherever the team is next season—which is a must if the team wants to get past the first round.

2. Colorado Avalanche

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DENVER, CO - JANUARY 10: TJ Galiardi #39 of the Colorado Avalanche controls the puck against Nicklas Lidstrom #5 of the Detroit Red Wings at the Pepsi Center on January 10, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Red Wings 5-4. (Photo by Do

Cap room: $30,854,167

Players signed: 12

Like the Blues, the Avalanche looked like an up-and-coming value team that was going to enter the playoff picture again this season.

Instead, they fell flat on their face and need to reshape the team once again.

Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly are still under contract, but TJ Galiardi (RFA) will be looking for a hike in salary.

The team will need to spend in order to keep Milan Hajduk and Tomas Fleischmann, who have played well in Denver, on the roster.

Colorado also needs to address goaltending; the contracts of both Peter Budaj and Brian Elliott are up after this season.

If this team is serious about competing, it will have to spend in free agency. The Avalanche will have the cap room; the question is if they think they can put people in the Pepsi Center again.

1. Florida Panthers

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SUNRISE, FL - MARCH 10: Keaton Ellerby #4, Dmitry Kulikov #7 and Tomas Vokoun #29 of the Florida Panthers defend the net against Chris Neil #25 of the Ottawa Senators at the BankAtlantic Center on March 10, 2011 in Sunrise, Florida. The Senators defeated

Cap room: $42,721,666

Players signed: Nine

This isn't a joke...those numbers are correct.

After dealing with notable RFAs Steve Bernier, Nicklas Bergfors and Keaton Ellerby, the Cats have only one major issue to deal with: Tomas Vokoun.

Letting him walk means they got no value for one of the biggest names on this year's free-agent market.

Otherwise, there are no players on the roster that they have to worry about letting walk.

Marty Reasoner and Darcy Hordichuk bring veteran experience, but neither are very productive.

The Panthers would be better off leaving money and ice time available to up-and-coming superstars that the team eventually wants to build around.