Anaheim Ducks: Start with offense. The Ducks ranked dead last in GPG in 2021 with an atrocious average of 2.21, and last in PP% with a success rate of 8.9% (not a typo). Get some help. See if you can lure a Mike Hoffman or Brandon Saad to give Ryan Getzlaf some assistance, and hope that Trevor Zegras blossoms.
Arizona Coyotes: Ditto. Guys like Christian Fischer have been putting up less than 10 points a year for consecutive years running, yet still start regularly due to no better options. See if you can snag the underrated Alex Wennberg, or maybe Paul Stastny or Philip Danault.
Boston Bruins: Re-sign Taylor Hall, David Krejci and Tukka. The window of opportunity is closing fast for the Bruins; Bergeron, Rask and Krejci aren't getting any younger. They also need some help on defense. Jeremy Lauzon's gone, and he was the Bruins leader in ice time in shorthanded situations. Mike Reilly looked pretty good in his brief Boston debut, but he's a UFA too. If you can't resign him, look for an Alec Martinez or Keith Yandle, or even Tyson Barrie or Dougie Hamilton-if you're willing to pay.
Buffalo Sabres: Everything. Get offense, get defense, and get goaltending. But if one thing has to be prioritized above all, get a goalie. You're not going to win many games averaging 3.5 goals allowed a night. Dustin Tokarski is not a long-term solution, and now Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark are FA's. Get James Reimer, Antti Raanta, or even Jonathan Bernier. It's better than what they've got now.
Calgary Flames: I believe Jakob Markstrom will figure things out despite a rocky first season in Calgary, so get him help in front of him, especially with Mark Giordano gone. How about Mike Reilly? He's coming off a season that saw him drastically increase in ice time, and rack up 27 assists.
Carolina Hurricanes: There aren't many glaring needs over here, but with Dougie Hamilton wanting to stay in Carolina, do everything you can to keep him. He's about as good an offensive defenseman as you'll find today. Also, with Reimer and Mrazek likely leaving for more lucrative contracts and possibly starting roles elsewhere, get a quality backup like Devan Dubnyk.
Chicago Blackhawks: The up-and-coming Dylan Strome and Philip Kurashev, along with the emerging Kevin Lankinen, have given a glimmer of hope in Chicago to maybe squeak into the playoffs. To do that, they'll need to improve a D that was 28th in PK% (76.8), and was 7th in goals allowed. Yandle, Martinez, Alex Goligoski-there are a lot of relatively inexpensive options. Get one of them.
Colorado Avalanche: Re-sign Gabriel Landeskog. He's as invaluable off the ice as he is on it. They'll regret it if they don't, not just because of the loss of their triple-headed monster line, but also because of the loss of his leadership, not to mention that with him and Joonas Donskoi gone, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen will suddenly have a lot more weight on their shoulders.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Either sell house, or get everything you can ASAP. They were 29th in goals per game (2.39), and 8th in goals given up. With rumors of Seth Jones being shopped, it seems like the former option is the one being played. So if you're looking for mentors in the lineup, why not get Joel Armia or Travis Zajac? Both are inexpensive, and can provide depth and experience to an unproven group.
Dallas Stars: The Stars weren't bad on D in 2021 (25th in goals allowed), but even with Ben Bishop coming back, you'll need help on the blue line, especially with Oleksiak gone to Seattle's ludicrous contract. Get Martinez or Yandle, who could both play nicely alongside Heiskanen.
Detroit Red Wings: When you average 2.23 goals scored per game (second-worst only to the Ducks), you're not going to win a lot of games. Really, when you also give up 3 goals a game, that's not going to help either. But with Sam Gagner, Luke Glendening and Bobby Ryan all likely leaving, get some offensive help first and sign a relatively inexpensive forward such as Nick Bonino, Tomas Nosek or Erik Haula.
Edmonton Oilers: Fire Ken Holland. Stop paying multi-year deals to 39-year-olds, stop giving 8 year deals with an AAV of 5.5-8 million to Zach Hyman-Zach Hyman!-, and get some real help for McDavid. How about Tomas Tatar or Mikael Granlund? Both can provide quality scoring while being solid wingers on the 2nd line alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Florida Panthers: The one area in which the Panthers seemed to struggle in last year was the penalty kill, finishing 18th in the league in that regard (79.8%), and now Keith Yandle's gone. Mike Reilly would do wonders for that unit, but so could Derek Forbort or, if they wished to sign the 43-year-old, Zdeno Chara.
LA Kings: When you're 27th in goals per game (2.54), and 11th in goals given up, things aren't going well. Address the worse problem first, and get some offense. Mike Hoffman, Jaden Schwartz, Tomas Tatar and Mattias Janmark would all be good options.
Minnesota Wild: The Wild's PP was 24th in the league, with a success rate of just 17.6%, and now Marcus Johansson and Nick Bonino are FA's. Get a Hoffman or a Janmark, or Brandon Saad or Kyle Palmieri.
Montreal Canadiens: Tatar, Danault, Perry and Armia are all FA's, and that means it's time to get offensive help. On the other hand, with Shea Weber's career suddenly in jeopardy, defense now becomes problem as well. I think Montreal needs both a forward and a defenseman, which means taking one of Saad, Schwartz and Stastny, AND one of Martinez, Alex Goligoski or Ryan Suter. If they could get Gabriel Landeskog or Dougie Hamilton, that would be paradise, but I don't think they have the money for either.
Nashville Predators: Re-sign one of Erik Haula and Mikael Granlund, if not both, and get a D-man to replace Ryan Ellis, such as Ryan Suter, who fits in well with Nashville's gritty Islanders-like "defense first" style of play.
New Jersey Devils: The Devils were 26th in GPG, 4th in goals allowed per game, 28th on the power play (14.2%) and dead last on the penalty kill (71.0%). Other than that, they were great. When everything's necessary, it's hard to pin down one area of need. The Devils need all the help they can get without overspending, so that would mean cheaper but solid options such as bringing back Blake Coleman, luring Erik Haula or Mikael Granlund to Jersey, or bolstering the blue line by getting Alex Goligoski or Cody Ceci.
New York Islanders: If they could sign Gabriel Landeskog, Lou Lamoriello would be a magician. If they can't, then see if you can re-sign Kyle Palmieri (who I have faith in despite his lackluster regular season), and replace Nick Leddy by snagging Tyson Barrie or Keith Yandle.
New York Rangers: The Rangers were pretty much about as average a team as you could find last year, thrashing bad teams and losing to good ones, and accordingly missing the playoffs. They could use help on both ends of the ice, but defense seems to be the bigger area of need; an Alex Edler or Ryan Suter would boost the D while adding veteran presence.
Ottawa Senators: Get. A. Goalie. Matt Murray is atrocious, and unless they count on Marcus Hogberg or Anton Forsberg stepping up, they're going to need serious help. See if you can get Antti Raanta, Jaroslav Halak or James Reimer, or perhaps even snag Petr Mrazek (highly unlikely, though).
Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers D resembles something like a loaf of swiss cheese or a Connect 4 board. They allowed an eye-popping 3.52 goals per game, worst in the league (even worse than the Sabres), gave up 16 straight goals to the Rangers over the course of 2 games, and were 2nd-worst on the penalty kill (73.1%). Get as much help as you can-Martinez, Yandle, Suter, Goligoski, Ceci, and Reilly should all be options.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Re-sign Marcus Pettersson. A D that was 19th in the league in GAPG needs him. Also, it's time to get a real goalie. Tristan Jarry is not a long-term option. See if you can sign Petr Mrazek or James Reimer.
San Jose Sharks: The Sharks need to rebuild. Get some veteran presence in there such as Zach Parise or Travis Zajac to mentor Dylan Gambrell and Co., and see if you can trade away Erik Karlsson or Brent Burns, if not both (the D is awful anyways, and it's not getting better anytime soon due to cap constraints, might as well look to the future).
St. Louis Blues: Vladimir Tarasenko is about as much of an unknown as there is in the NHL right now. Regardless, losing Vince Dunn hurts, especially for a D that gave up 2.98 goals a game and was 25th on the PK. Snag Keith Yandle or Ryan Suter (defensive defensemen), and if you can shed Taraenko's contract, go all out for Dougie Hamilton.
Tampa Bay Lightning: With Yanni Gourde and Barclay Goodrow gone, it would be nice to keep Blake Coleman around. If you can't, see if you can snag a quality bottom 6 F in Casey Cizikas or Joel Armia. Also, as superhuman as Vasilevsky is, he can't play every night. Get him a real backup, such as Antti Raanta or Laurent Brossoit.
Toronto Maple Leafs: With Zach Hyman out, it's time for a replacement. Bring in Saad, Janmark, Schwartz or Hoffman.
Vancouver Canucks: The offense should be better with the return of Elias Petersson, so that means patching up a D that allowed 3.34 goals a game and is losing Alexander Edler. Look for Alec Martinez or Keith Yandle.
Washington Capitals: I'm taking it for granted that they'll re-sign Ovechkin, so let's find assistance for Ilya Samsonov now that Vitek Vancek is gone. Devan Dubnyk would be a fine replacement, even better would be James Reimer or Antti Raanta.
Winnipeg Jets: Losing Mason Appleton will hurt, and Paul Stastny and Matthieu Perreault are FA's as well. See if you can't get Danault, or perhaps Granlund or Haula for depth at center.
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