The second round of the NHL playoffs is underway, but that also means we’re inching closer toward the offseason. Eight teams have been sent packing and are now shifting to offseason mode. Let’s focus on those eight teams and what they need to address this summer to take a step forward in 2025-26.
The Blues were eliminated from the playoffs in the most heartbreaking fashion possible, but there’s plenty to build on in St. Louis. They looked dead in the water before making a coaching change midseason, but Jim Montgomery righted the ship. The Blues went on a 12-game winning streak in the final month-plus of the season and took the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets to the brink in Game 7.
Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway signing offer sheets worked exactly how offer sheets are supposed to, and Cam Fowler found new life after the Blues acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks. The Blues also have some promising prospects in their pipeline in Dalibor Dvorsky, Jimmy Snuggerud, and more.
There isn’t too much for general manager Doug Armstrong to do, but finding a second-line center to push Brayden Schenn and Oskar Sundqvist down the lineup could help. Schenn did have a solid season, totaling 18 goals and 50 points, but there are signs of decline in his game at five-on-five. The Central Division is the best in the NHL, so finding more middle-six scoring punch would go a long way.
Like the Blues, the Wild are in the best division in hockey, so they’ll need to make some improvements to secure their playoff spot. The Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts won’t be completely off the books this summer, but their dead cap hits will significantly lower. Instead of having over $14 million in dead money tied to Suter and Parise, that number decreases to around $1.6 million. We’ll see how GM Bill Guerin decides to spend the money, but there’s potential.
The injuries to Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek highlighted the team’s struggle to score without those players in the lineup. Even when they’re healthy, the Wild could use more scoring punch in their middle six. Marcus Foligno is a great two-way winger, but you’d rather not play him on the second line if you don’t have to. They’ll also need to find a backup goalie, as Marc-Andre Fleury is retiring. I don’t expect Guerin to go on a spending spree this offseason since a Kaprizov extension is looming, but middle-six help could be in the cards.
The Avalanche were on the cusp of advancing to Round 2, but Mikko Rantanen had other ideas with a performance made of legends in the third period. That sent the Avalanche home early, a disappointing result, considering how they looked in the regular season’s final weeks.
Securing a second-line center will again be a question mark for the Avalanche if they can’t re-sign Brock Nelson. They’ll have one of the best top-sixes in the NHL if they figure out who their second-line center is, but there are other concerns. Their blue line isn’t great outside of Devon Toews and Cale Makar, and they could use some bottom-six depth. They’ll be contenders in the West again, but there is work to do to get back to the top.
Another season, another first-round exit to the Edmonton Oilers, and this one has to sting the most for the Kings. They were up 2-0 in the series and almost went up 3-0, but an ill-fated coach’s challenge in Game 3 turned the tide, and the Oilers never looked back.
Changes are already underway in Los Angeles, as President Luc Robitaille announced that GM Rob Blake and the organization had mutually parted ways. We’ll see if that means coach Jim Hiller will return, but I imagine there’s some more change coming.
The Kings need more game-breaking talent, but that doesn’t grow on trees. Mitch Marner will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 if he doesn’t re-sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but who knows if the Kings will be suitors. Their best option may be to hope their homegrown talent (Quinton Byfield, specifically) takes a step forward. It’d also help if they changed how they play and opened it up offensively. That could benefit players like Byfield, Kevin Fiala, etc.
The Canadiens were among the biggest surprises of the season. They bowed out to the Washington Capitals in five games but are undoubtedly a year ahead of schedule. Now, they have to build on it and hope they can top their results in 2025-26.
The homegrown talent is there for the Canadiens. Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson are pieces to build around, but they need a better supporting cast. Finding a second-line center will be of the utmost importance. Christian Dvorak is a third-line center on a better team, so upgrading that position will likely be a priority for Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes.
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The Canadiens could also use some help on the blue line. Mike Matheson, if not traded, needs to be lower in the lineup, and David Savard is retiring. Even with making the playoffs, the Canadiens were one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL. Perhaps they inject some youth into their blue line, but some more veteran experience would help.
The drought is over in Ottawa, as the Senators made the playoffs for the first time since 2017, when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final. Travis Green helped the team improve tenfold defensively, but scoring goals was a chore for most of the season, specifically at five-on-five.
I don’t see many glaring flaws with this Senators’ roster. Assuming they keep these three together, Tim Stützle, Dylan Cozens and Shane Pinto are a good 1-2-3 punch down the middle. They’ll need a top-six scorer if they don’t re-sign Claude Giroux and perhaps another middle-six scorer, but the future looks pretty bright in Ottawa.
It’s not a surprise that the Lightning lost to the Florida Panthers, but it was stunning that they went out in five games. Granted, the Panthers are the defending Cup champions for a reason, but it was still surprising to see them dominate the Lightning the way they did.
As has been the problem with the Lightning for the last couple of seasons, their forward depth remains an issue. It doesn’t help that Oliver Bjorkstrand missed the series against the Panthers with an injury, but their bottom six could still use improvement. We’ll see if the Lightning bring back Yanni Gourde, who will be a UFA on July 1. But even if they do, they could use a couple of new bottom-six forwards.
The Lightning also need an upgrade on their bottom defense pair. Their core players are still their core players, so it’s not like the roster needs major surgery, but they need to improve their depth and get better around the edges. They only have $8.2 million in cap space to work with, but it’s not hard to find quality depth players for cheap.
Injuries were a significant reason the Devils didn’t have much of a chance against the Carolina Hurricanes, but this roster needs work. Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier are a solid core to build around, but the supporting cast is not where it needs to be for them to be serious threats in the Eastern Conference.
The Devils’ most significant needs are finding a top-six winger for Hughes and a third-line center. They cannot trot out Ondřej Palát in a top-six role next season and expect to have success. Hughes’ health has to be a concern, so any third-line center they target needs to be someone who can play up the lineup in a pinch if they need it.
Though not as pressing a need, it also wouldn’t hurt to shore up the fourth line with some new faces. Overall, the Devils probably need 3-4 new forwards, with at least two coming for the top nine. They only have a little over $14 million in cap space, and that’s without a Luke Hughes extension, so expect there to be movement in the Garden State.
It should be an interesting offseason for most of these teams. The salary cap ceiling is rising to $95.5 million, and it seems GMs are anticipating offer sheets to become more of a trend. Expect plenty of movement, especially for teams that exited the playoffs early and are looking to make deep runs a year from now.
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