It has already been a very busy offseason for Vegas who have swung 17 trades already as well as building their team via the expansion draft.  Despite that, GM George McPhee still has some work to do before the puck drops on their inaugural season.  Here are some remaining keys to their offseason.

Finish Shaping The Defense

While McPhee has trimmed down the number of blueliners since the draft down to 10 (they drafted 13), that’s still too many to work with given that the maximum roster size is 23.  At least one if not two still need to be moved out before the season gets underway.

The player that many expected to be moved is Luca Sbisa.  He was a bit of a surprise pick from Vancouver given that he carries a cap hit of $3.6MM for one more year and doesn’t appear to be in their long-term plans.  On the surface, it would appear that he was picked with the idea of flipping him but the post-expansion trade market for blueliners hasn’t exactly been robust as teams appear to be waiting McPhee out.

It’s only mid-July so there’s still plenty of time but it will be interesting to see if other teams are able to outwait McPhee and pick up someone at a bargain or if the market will pick up as more free agents come off the open market.

Build Minor League Depth

Although the Golden Knights will employ a shared minor league affiliate (with St. Louis), they’re still the primary feeder for AHL Chicago.  As things stand, they have around 15 players that are likely earmarked for the Wolves.  Even with the Blues sending some players there, that’s still not enough, especially when you consider the expectation of injuries not to mention the anticipated trades in-season for the nine pending unrestricted free agents that they currently have.

Though many of the top two-way free agents off the market now, there are still enough of them out there for McPhee to add a few more to the fold.  Alternatively, they could pick those players up via trades for some of the blueliners they’re likely going to be trading over the next couple of months.  It’s not a pressing need but they would be wise to set themselves up with more depth before the season gets underway.

Rent Their Space

As a result of dealing away players like Marc Methot and Alexei Emelin after the Expansion Draft plus the acquisition of LTIR-eligible David Clarkson and Mikhail Grabovski, Vegas will have plenty of wiggle room when it comes to the salary cap – about $8.6MM per CapFriendly as things currently stand.  The big names are pretty much gone in free agency but there are certainly teams that are still looking to free up cap space and the Golden Knights could conceivably swing another move or two to add some assets that way.  It wouldn’t be to the extreme of getting a top prospect or a first rounder but given that they’re not expected to contend right away, it would still be worth doing.

The other space they have is contract room.  Teams are permitted a maximum of 50 contracts and as a result of not having a full complement of minor league players, the Golden Knights sit well under the limit at 37 (although that will jump to 40 when their RFAs sign).  No team is at the maximum already but quite a few project to be within two or three of that limit when the season gets underway.  Some of those teams will want the flexibility to make in-season additions (or even sign college UFAs late in the year) which would give Vegas a chance to build some depth and add perhaps a pick or two if they use their contract slots that way.  They’re still at a spot where they will want to add as many assets as possible and this is another method that they can do so.

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Last offseason, the Penguins were able to keep the bulk of their Stanley Cup winning team together and it paid dividends as they once again took home the title in 2016-17.  However, there have already been several changes to the roster as this time the salary cap has necessitated some departures.  While some moves have already been made, GM Jim Rutherford still has some work to do.  Here are their remaining offseason keys.

Fill Out Their Bottom Six Centers

At first glance, it seems hard to believe that a team that features Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as their top two centers could have a bit of an issue down the middle.  However, the depth they have behind those two is lacking.

This past season, Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen were their third and fourth pivots respectively.  Bonino, as expected, left in free agency, inking a four year, $16.4MM deal with the Predators.  As for Cullen, he remains a free agent and hasn’t decided if he wants to return for another season.  If he does decide to play, the Wild are another team that has already shown an interest in his services.

In terms of internal options, rookie standout Jake Guentzel has spent some time down the middle but he’s probably better served on Crosby’s wing.  Carter Rowney played as the fourth center at times last season but at the age of 28, he has yet to establish himself as an NHL regular.  Rutherford suggested last weekend that he’s more likely to go the trade route to replace Bonino.  As for Cullen, they will probably have to wait for him to decide about his future before they can look to fill that spot.

Re-Sign Dumoulin, Sheary

Of the 28 players that have filed for arbitration and have yet to sign new deals, Pittsburgh has a pair of notable ones in defenseman Brian Dumoulin and winger Conor Sheary.  Dumoulin is coming off his bridge deal while Sheary has finished his entry-level contract and both players will be in line for sizable raises.

Dumoulin’s case would be an interesting one if it was to go to arbitration.  He doesn’t stand out in terms of the traditional statistics that typically come up in a hearing (he has one goal over the last two regular seasons) but he logged over 20 minutes a game and established himself as a top four player.  In each of the last two postseasons, he has seen his role increase even more which will be something his representatives certainly bring up in contract talks.  He earned just $800K in each of the last two years which made him one of the better bargains on the back end.  That won’t be the case when he signs this next contract.

Sheary signed as an undrafted free agent just two years ago but fit in nicely alongside Crosby in the 2016 postseason and for big chunks of 2016-17.  He finished fourth in team scoring (behind their big three up front) with 53 points in 61 games; his 0.87 points per game mark ranks him third best among all restricted free agents league-wide.  While playing with Crosby undoubtedly contributed to his success, that type of production is bound to earn him a significant raise over the $667K he made the past two seasons.

Add Winger Depth

If Rutherford does make a trade for a center, there’s a good chance that one of their wingers will be on the move and if that happens, they will likely look to replace the one they deal.  Even if that isn’t the case, they could still stand to add a bit more veteran depth on either side.

As things currently stand, the Penguins will be counting on quite a few young players in their bottom six.  While it’s nice to have some youngsters in the wings, having at least one veteran in there (a winger version of Cullen, for example) that could move up the lineup in a pinch would be beneficial as a lot of their current options fit best on a fourth line.

Fortunately for the Pens, this is an area where supply typically outweighs demand and they certainly have some marketability in terms of having won two straight titles plus the potential to play with Crosby or Malkin at times.  As the offseason progresses, there are typically bargains to be had on the wing on one year deals and assuming that they don’t spend all of their remaining cap space filling the first two keys, they should be well positioned to land one of those bargains as we get closer to training camp.

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While things didn’t get off to too good of a start for Nashville as they narrowly made it into the playoffs, they saved their best for last, giving the Penguins all they could handle in the Stanley Cup Final before Pittsburgh prevailed in the end.  Now, GM David Poile is tasked with trying to put the final pieces in place to help the Preds take that last step forward.  Here are some of the ways he can try to accomplish just that.

Replace Neal

Unable to strike a protection deal with Vegas, the Predators were hit hard at the expansion draft as they lost winger James Neal to the Golden Knights.  While Neal hasn’t blossomed into a high end top liner like some had hoped for, he has still hit the 20 goal market in every season of his nine year career which makes him one of the more consistent secondary scorers out there.

While Nashville’s forward depth stepped up in the playoffs, it’s tough to expect someone to step in and take over that level of production right away.  They have youngsters like Kevin Fiala or Pontus Aberg that could potentially fit the bill but the more prudent course of action would be to find a veteran replacement and allow the youngsters to ease their way into that role (or wait for more injuries to strike).

To that end, Poile has shown considerable interest in trading for Matt Duchene this offseason.  However, he hasn’t been willing to move one of his top four blueliners which has stalled talks.  The recent signing of Scott Hartnell basically replaces the production of Colin Wilson and with most of the top free agents now signed, the trade route is looking like a likelier course of action now whether it winds up being Duchene or someone else.

New Deal For Johansen

One of the big questions that came up when the Predators and Blue Jackets swapped center Ryan Johansen and defenseman Seth Jones back in early 2016 was Johansen’s contract situation as he was in the middle of his bridge deal.  For starters, he was going to be due a sizable qualifying offer of $6MM, one they recently extended to retain his rights as expected.

The bigger potential concern is where Johansen sits with regards to unrestricted free agency.  Although he’s only 24, the fact that he has six years of service time already makes him UFA eligible as of next summer.  If he wants to go that route next offseason, he can simply file for arbitration next week, go through that process, and hit the open market as a number one center in his prime.

Johansen has fit in quite nicely since joining Nashville and is their top pivot, one that they can’t afford to lose.  Because the arbitration filing deadline is fast approaching though, Poile will likely want to make a big push to get a long-term deal done in the coming days to get rid of any uncertainty as quickly as possible.  The early asking price to get that deal done is believed to be $8.5MM.

Short-Term Or Long-Term For Arvidsson?

Winger Viktor Arvidsson was one of the biggest surprises in the league in 2016-17.  After putting up just eight goals and eight assists in 56 games with Nashville the year before, he became a legitimate go-to scorer, tallying 31 goals and 30 assists in 81 games this past season.  He did so at the perfect time as he will hit restricted free agency this weekend.

Poile’s going to have a decision to make with regards to what type of contract to offer the 24 year old.  He sits three years away from unrestricted status so a bridge deal may only be a one year offer.  Given that Arvidsson is only a year removed from spending time in the minors, the safer play is to go short-term and see if his 61 points was a one-time thing or a sign of things to come.

On the flip side, if management is sold on him being able to provide a comparable level of production down the road, this is the time to try to lock Arvidsson up on what could prove to be a team-friendly deal later on.  With nearly $20MM in cap space per CapFriendly, they have the financial flexibility to pick which way they want to go with him.  Because of the big leap in scoring this season, his RFA case is one of the more intriguing ones to watch for this offseason.

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The Senators made a big impression in their first season with head coach Guy Boucher and GM Pierre Dorion at the helm.  Although they didn’t win the Atlantic, they took care of business in the first two rounds before falling to the Cup-champion Penguins in the Eastern Final.  With a lot of players in need of new deals, Dorion will have a lot to accomplish this offseason.  Here are some of the key highlights.

Decide Phaneuf’s Future

While it was understandable that defenseman Dion Phaneuf was believed to be on the block prior to the Expansion Draft, it’s a bit more intriguing that his name has still been out there.  Defenders are in high demand and with it being a shallow free agent market, there are teams still showing interest.

The catch here, of course, is Phaneuf’s contract which isn’t exactly a bargain.  He has four years remaining with a $7MM cap hit and the expectation is that the Sens would have to either retain some salary or take a sizable contract or two in return.  Regardless of what the interest level in the 32 year old is, Ottawa’s willingness (or lack thereof) to retain or match money will go a long way towards determining whether a trade gets done.  Phaneuf also carries some say as he has a 12-team no-trade list.

While Ottawa has some youngsters that are close to making it, it would still be a bit surprising to see the team lose both Phaneuf as well as Marc Methot in the same offseason.  Accordingly, it’s realistic to expect that if they do decide to deal the veteran blueliner (and as things stand, the thought is he’s more likely to stay though that could change depending how the UFA market plays now), they’re going to be looking for a left shot defender in any potential trade return.

Extension Talks For Turris

Center Kyle Turris has been one of the better bargains league-wide in recent years.  He has been Ottawa’s top pivot while only carrying a cap charge of $3.5MM.  Unfortunately for the Senators, that bargain will soon be coming to an end as he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer and will be eligible to sign an extension as of July 1st.

Having hit the 55 point plateau in three of the last four seasons, Turris is going to be in line for a substantial raise.  As a team that typically spends well below the cap ceiling, finding room within their budget will become the biggest question here.

Dorion has done well to build up some depth down the middle with Derick Brassard, Zack Smith, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau but there’s no doubt that if Turris were to depart in 2018, that group would be a weakened unit.  This one may not be on the top of the bucket list at this stage of the summer but it’s something that the Sens will likely want to address sooner rather than later.

New Deal For Pageau

After re-signing Mike Condon earlier today, Pageau is the most notable of their remaining free agents, restricted or unrestricted.  While he didn’t produce as much during the season as he did in 2015-16 (33 points compared to 43 the year before), he still filled an important middle six role while being well above average at the faceoff dot, checking in at 54.8%.

And then there was his postseason run where Pageau scored eight times in just 19 games, further bolstering his reputation as a player with a knack of scoring some key, timely goals.  That playoff performance makes his RFA case a lot more intriguing and he does have arbitration eligibility as well.

Pageau sits two years away from unrestricted free agency status and is coming off his bridge deal now, one that carries a qualifying offer of $1.1MM.  He should easily surpass that on this contract regardless of whether it’s a long-term or a short-term one.  Smith inked a four year, $13MM extension midseason and while those were all UFA years, that should be in the range of a new deal for Pageau.

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Going with the theme of what’s old is new again in bringing back Randy Carlyle paid early dividends for the Ducks who won the Pacific Division and made it to the Western Conference Final this past season before being eliminated by Nashville.  Now, GM Bob Murray is tasked with tinkering with a roster to try to take that next step forward.  After re-signing Patrick Eaves, here are a few other keys to their offseason success.

Extension Talks For Fowler

Defenseman Cam Fowler had a very strong season in 2016-17, setting a career high in goals while putting up his highest point total since his rookie campaign.  He also shouldered a much bigger workload, logging just under 25 minutes per game during the regular season, a number that jumped to 26:30 per night in the playoffs.  This came on the heels of being in trade speculation for most of the previous season and summer.

Fowler is now entering the final year of his contract but instead of there being trade talks, the focus will be shifting towards getting a long-term extension done.  He will assuredly receive a significant raise from the $4MM cap hit he’s carrying on his current deal as he will be looking to be paid as a top pairing defender.

Not only would getting a deal done take away any possibility for a distraction during the season but it would also give them a sense of whether or not they’ll be able to afford to keep the rest of their core defenders intact for the long-term.  If not, that may thrust fellow blueliner Sami Vatanen back to the forefront of trade speculation once again.

Find A Backup Goaltender

Last summer, Murray brought in Jonathan Bernier to push incumbent John Gibson for playing time and he had a pretty solid season (though that will be overshadowed in part by his poor postseason play).  Bernier is set to become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday and will be looking for more money and playing time than the Ducks will be willing to give him.

Veteran Jhonas Enroth is also set to become unrestricted and he was basically brought in as injury depth so it’s not likely that he will be back either.  Dustin Tokarski has some NHL experience but he’s best served as a third string option that can play a few games as needed than a full-time backup.  Accordingly, they’ll be looking outside the organization to find a second netminder.

There are veteran trade options out there but they’re all likely carrying too high of a cap hit to realistically be considered.  Accordingly, it seems likely that Anaheim will turn to the free agent market where there will be several veteran backups to choose from.  Given that Gibson will only turn 24 next month and has just 140 games of NHL experience, they will likely want someone who can handle a bit more of a workload than a typical backup and may have to pay a little bit more to get that insurance.

Add Left Side Offense

Of Anaheim’s top five point producers up front (six if you count Eaves’ full-season totals), precisely zero of them are left handed.  Veteran Andrew Cogliano was their top point getter from the left side and he’s more of a middle six player than a top threat.

While the Ducks won’t complain about goal scoring as long as they get it, they would have a much more well-rounded attack if they could find a left handed forward that could play a regular top line role.  Youngster Nick Ritchie has the potential to fill a spot like that down the road but he’s not ready to take on that spot just yet.

As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Murray pursue a trade or free agent to give them some more balance in their attack.  Typically, it’s harder to find righties than lefties so if they do have to go the trade route, they’ll at least be dealing from a position of strength that a lot of other teams will be coveting.

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After years of continued struggles, everything came together rather nicely for the Oilers in 2016-17.  Connor McDavid built on a strong rookie season with a Hart Trophy campaign while Cam Talbot provided the strong goaltending they had been seeking for a while.  As a result, they made it to the second round, providing plenty of reason for optimism in Edmonton.

GM Peter Chiarelli has been busy already this offseason with the recent trade of winger Jordan Eberle to the Islanders for center Ryan Strome plus the re-signing of Kris Russell.  Even with those off the board, there is still work to be done.  Here are three remaining offseason keys for the Oilers.

McDavid Extension

There has been talk of McDavid’s second contract since the time he signed his first one.  He has more than delivered in his first two seasons with Edmonton and Chiarelli has already indicated that this will be his top priority this summer.

There are two questions in play here – how much will it cost and how long will the contract be?  Regardless of the term, it’s going to be among the highest cap hits in the league and I don’t think anyone on either side would expect otherwise.

The term presents the more intriguing question.  He’s eligible to sign for as many as eight years and he sits four years away from unrestricted free agency eligibility.  While many have expected he’ll take the eight years, it was suggested last month that a five year term would be more preferable to McDavid.  While that would result in a lower pay day now, it would allow him to sign his next contract with all years being UFA ones and likely a higher salary cap at that time.  Whichever way they go, there’s little reason to think this won’t get done around July 1st, the first day he’s eligible to sign.

New Deal For Draisaitl

Edmonton has the highest scoring restricted free agent this summer in center Leon Draisaitl.  The German forward is coming off a breakout season where he tallied 29 goals and 48 assists and has shown himself to be a number one center.

Offer sheets are extremely rare now but given the massive contract McDavid will get on his next deal, some have wondered if Draisaitl could be targeted.  Chiarelli has already stated he’ll match any offer but that might not stop a team from trying.  If an opposing squad wanted to make life difficult for Edmonton cap-wise, they could offer as much $9.8MM for five years with the offer sheet compensation being two first rounders, a second, and a third.

The expectation is that the two sides should be able to work out a deal shortly after the McDavid one is finalized (and it’s that contract that will likely lay the foundation for this one) but if that isn’t the case, there may be a team that decides to try to roll the dice on an offer sheet (assuming Draisaitl is willing to sign it, of course).  Assuming there is no offer sheet, a new deal for the 21 year old should come in around the $7MM per season range.

Add Defensive Depth

The Oilers will be without blueliner Andrej Sekera for a notable period to start next season.  He suffered a torn ACL against the Ducks in the second round and will be out anywhere from six to nine months.  On the shorter end, he’d miss roughly the first six weeks of the season but at the longer end of the scale, that could be half the season.

The team is in much better shape defensively than they were a couple of years ago with both Darnell Nurse and Matt Benning faring well as youngsters but behind them, there isn’t much that’s ready right away.  Griffin Reinhart would have helped in that regard but he was picked by the Golden Knights in expansion.

Veteran Eric Gryba is set to become an unrestricted free agent and while bringing him back would help in terms of depth, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them set their heights a little higher in free agency.  It’s not likely that they will go after the big names – especially with their big two forwards set to receive huge raises – but finding someone capable of playing a fourth or fifth defender role would help ease the pain of missing Sekera early on while giving them strong third pairing options when everyone is healthy.

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2016-17 was an odd year for St. Louis.  Their preseason announcement that Mike Yeo would take over for Ken Hitchcock as head coach starting in 2017-18 drew some raised eyebrows.  They didn’t get off to the best of starts and instead upped the timeframe for the change, installing Yeo midseason as the bench boss.  That gave the Blues a spark as they finished the regular season on a high note and made it to the second round of the playoffs.  Here are some of the keys to a successful offseason for GM Doug Armstrong.

Add A Top Six Center

Unfortunately for St. Louis, this is a need that almost every team has but finding one would do wonders for them.  They have decent depth down the middle in Paul Stastny, Patrik Berglund, Jori Lehtera, and Vladimir Sobotka but none of them are true number ones.  Stastny is being paid like a top player but didn’t produce like one this season with 40 points (18-22-40) in 66 games.  He can handle the minutes but he’s more of a second liner at this stage of his career.

Finding a number one in free agency is basically impossible as there really aren’t any available; even San Jose’s Joe Thornton is better suited with a lesser workload at this stage of his career.  Accordingly, the trade route is going to be the way to go if Armstrong can find a deal for a top pivot.  There are some intriguing youngsters highlighted by Robby Fabbri that could potentially be part of a package if the right fit were to become available.  With a strong core intact, this is the one piece that could take them to that next level for next season.

New Deal For Parayko

In his rookie season, defenseman Colton Parayko made a strong first impression but he still slipped under the radar for the most part.  That’s far from the case now after a solid sophomore campaign.  The hulking blueliner didn’t have a big jump in the points department (33 to 35) but shouldered a bigger workload after the trade of Kevin Shattenkirk and has solidified himself as a core piece of the future.

Parayko is at the end of his entry-level contract and will be hitting restricted free agency for the first time in July.  He’s due a qualifying offer of $925K but will receive considerably more than that regardless of how long this next contract will be.

What may make things a bit challenging for Armstrong when it comes to getting this done is their salary cap situation.  The team has around $68MM in committed contracts for next season and the cap ceiling isn’t expected to rise by a significant amount.  Even though there aren’t many other notable free agents to deal with, that doesn’t leave a lot of financial wiggle room if the two sides want to hammer out a long-term pact.  Accordingly, a shorter-term bridge deal may be the way they ultimately go, especially if they do intend to make a push for a center upgrade as well.

Determine Shared AHL Affiliation Arrangements

It has been a while since an NHL team did not have an AHL affiliate to themselves but that’s the case that St. Louis finds themselves in.  Their AHL team from this past season (the Chicago Wolves0 is now the primary affiliate of the Golden Knights and the Blues won’t have a replacement team joining the AHL next year.

While Vegas will allow the Blues to send a few prospects to the Wolves for next season as a secondary affiliate, that alone won’t be enough for their player development.  It’s unlikely that any other NHL team will allow St. Louis to send half a team worth of players down – something that was more common in the early 2000s – so Armstrong will not only be negotiating with other GMs this summer on potential trade agreements but also in the hopes of determining some more secondary affiliation agreements to get through 2017-18.

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Most teams that are eliminated in the first round would say their season was a disappointment.  Although that was the end result for the Maple Leafs, there is plenty of optimism for next year and beyond as their core nucleus of youngsters made a very positive impression this season.  The timetable has moved forward somewhat and GM Lou Lamoriello will be looking to add pieces to help the team take the next step.  Here are some of Toronto’s keys for the summer.

Free Up More Summer Cap Space

While the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander are all still on cheap rookie contracts, the majority of bonuses that they hit this past season will carry over and count against the cap in 2017-18.  The early indication is that their overage charge will be a little more than $5MM.

On top of that, they will also have to deal with their long-term injured players coming back onto the cap for the summer.  While Joffrey Lupul and Nathan Horton were on LTIR last year, that doesn’t exist in the summer and teams are limited to exceeding the salary cap by no more than 10% throughout the offseason.

Between their committed contracts and expected bonus overage, Toronto already has $67MM committed to 19 players for next season with the salary cap not expected to change much from the $73MM it was last season.  (Note that Horton and Lupul are included in that calculation.)  If the Leafs want to re-sign their free agents and make a splash on the open market, it’s going to be a tighter squeeze in July than it might appear at first glance.  They’ll be in fine shape when next season gets underway and LTIR becomes an option once again but if Lamoriello can shed some money before July, they’ll be in much better shape for free agency.

Add Defensive Help

Scoring goals wasn’t an issue for the Leafs this year and it’s not likely to be much of one for the foreseeable future.  Despite improved goalie play from Frederik Andersen this season, keeping pucks out of their own net was still a concern and projects to be one moving forward as well.

With Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, and Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto has a group of quality players to work with but none of them are a true shut-down defender.  Finding one of those players that can handle a top four role would go a long way towards rounding out their back end.  However, the free agent market is limited so the trade route may wind up being the way to go.

They also face a decision when it comes to their third pairing as both Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak are unrestricted free agents and aren’t likely to return.  Are they content with the likes of Alexey Marchenko and Martin Marincin (plus their prospects) to manage the bottom three spots on the depth chart or will they try to seek upgrades there as well?  If it’s the latter, they should be able to get that help via the free agent market.

Extension Decisions

A pair of key forwards are set to enter their walk years in Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk (plus Leo Komarov as well).  Knowing that their ‘big three’ up front will be needing second contracts before too long (Nylander is now a year from restricted free agency), Lamoriello will need to decide whether he can afford to keep one or both of them long-term and whether the time is right to potentially pursue an extension.

Both players will likely be getting raises on their next deals.  Bozak has a cap hit of $4.2MM while van Riemsdyk checks in at $4.25MM, solid value for players that recorded 55 and 62 points respectively this past season.

If Lamoriello decides not to try to keep them around, the next decision will be whether or not to trade them with the idea of getting something now instead of potentially losing them for nothing later.  Going that route would have been easier had Toronto not made the playoffs and potentially accelerated the timetable this year.  As the Leafs are now viewed as a playoff threat, it would be hard for them to take a step back by dealing one or both of the veterans without getting comparable talent in return.  Even if they can’t agree on extension terms this summer, it’s hard to imagine both players not being back at least to start next season.

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It was a bit of an up-and-down year for the Bruins.  They found themselves scuffling midseason which resulted in long-time coach Claude Julien being let go with Bruce Cassidy taking over.  That seemed to give them a lift as they worked their way into a playoff spot although they were ousted by Ottawa in the opening round.  One key decision has already been made by GM Don Sweeney when he lifted the interim tag off of Cassidy shortly after being eliminated.  What else will Boston be looking to accomplish this offseason?

New Deal For Pastrnak

After not taking a big step forward in his sophomore campaign, David Pastrnak changed that this past season in a big way.  He more than doubled his point production and finished second in the team in goals and points behind only Brad Marchand.  From a contractual standpoint, the breakout couldn’t have come at a better time as he’s slated to become a restricted free agent at the beginning of July.

Fortunately for Boston fans, progress is already being made on a new deal as Sweeney noted last week that talks were “moving in the right direction”.  Both sides are believed to be interested in foregoing the short-term bridge contract and are focusing on a lengthy agreement.

Given the type of season he just had, the 21 year old is going to land a massive raise from the $925K he has earned each of the last three seasons.  Based on some of the comparable contracts signed last summer (such as Calgary’s Sean Monahan, Nashville’s Filip Forsberg, and Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele), there’s a strong case to be made that Pastrnak could see his cap hit around the $6MM mark for next year and beyond.

Decide On Spooner’s Future

After a strong 2015-16 season, expectations were high for Ryan Spooner.  Unfortunately for the Bruins, he didn’t live up to those expectations as his numbers took a dip across the board while seeing his ice time drop and his position changing from center to the wing most nights.  He also found himself a healthy scratch at one point in the playoffs.

As the year progressed, Spooner found himself mentioned in trade talk on quite a few occasions, something that has carried over into the early goings of the offseason as well.  It’s not surprising that there is interest around the league either as he’s just a year removed from a 49 point season and is still just 25 years old.  His time in Boston appears to be at a crossroads though.

Sweeney needs to decide whether or not Spooner is part of the plans long-term.  If so, then they’ll need to work out a new contract as the forward is heading for restricted free agency with arbitration eligibility.  If not, there’s a good chance that he’ll be on the move between now and the NHL Entry Draft later this month and couple be dangled to fill a hole on their back end.

Add A Top Four Left Shot Blueliner

At the age of 40, captain Zdeno Chara has shown that he could stand to benefit from a reduced workload as he enters the final year of his contract.  However, their depth on the left side isn’t particularly strong with only Torey Krug having proven himself as a top four defender.  There is cause for optimism on the opposite side with youngsters Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy so the Bruins can focus on trying to add on the left side of the ice.

The free agent market isn’t particularly deep on the back end and while there are players who could slot into a second line role, most are only shorter-term solutions.  Sweeney has already suggested the team isn’t likely to be too active in free agency which means they’ll likely turn to the trade market.  Reports have Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin as a target although the Wild don’t appear to be ready to make a trade at the moment.

Boston has a lot going for them when it comes to seeking out a fit via trades.  For starters, they have a fair bit of cap space to work with as they have roughly $62.5MM committed to 18 players via CapFriendly with Pastrnak and Spooner as their most prominent players to re-sign.  They also have put together a strong prospect pool and could conceivably flip a couple for the right player.  Sweeney didn’t cash in some of his prospect chips last summer but that could certainly change this time around.

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After making the Stanley Cup Final the previous season, the Sharks took a step back this year as they were ousted by the Oilers in the first round.  Now, the team finds themselves with a bit of cap space to work with this offseason, giving GM Doug Wilson the opportunity to potentially reshape his team.  Here are some keys to San Jose’s summer.

Decisions On Long-Term Veterans

The Sharks have a pair of high priced veterans that they need to decide whether to retain or to let go in Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.  Both have been there long-term (Thornton 12 years and Marleau for 19) and reportedly would like to return but both will also be 38 next season and are on the downswing of their careers.

However, both players are still top six forwards in a free agent marketplace that isn’t brimming with a lot of high end options.  If Wilson decides to go in another direction with both of them, each player should garner plenty of interest on the open market.  However, both will almost assuredly come in well below their contracts from this past year (Thornton at $6.75MM and Marleau at $6.67MM).

That expected interest level makes their contract situations intriguing.  Most players at the age of 38 go year-to-year to avoid any risk of the 35+ penalty.  However, with the duo being among the better free agents available, they shouldn’t have much difficulty garnering a multi-year contract if that’s what they decide to chase down.  It would be surprising if both were to walk but at the same time, it would also be surprising if both were to return as well as that would limit how much money they have to spend elsewhere.

Extension Talks

San Jose has a pair of key players that will hit one year before unrestricted free agency on July 1st.  Goaltender Martin Jones has outperformed his contract ($3MM per season) since joining the team in the 2015 offseason and has emerged as a legitimate starting goaltender.  Accordingly, he’s going to be looking to be paid like a number one starter and as a result, he could stand to double his contract starting in 2018-19.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic is one of the quieter top pairing blueliners in the league as Brent Burns garners most of the attention.  However, the 30 year old has been a significant part of their back end for a long time now and has been a big bargain on their back end for a while now.  He won’t be poised to take as big of a jump as Jones will but he’ll still be due a nice bump from his current $4.75MM cap charge.

Both players will garner long-term extensions and finding ways to get deals done quickly would not only lock up two key parts of their core but would go a long way towards determining whether they will need to pursue long or short-term deals with some of their offseason targets.  Early indications are that progress is being made on new contracts with both players with the hopes of announcing them early in July.

Add Offensive Help

It sounds strange for a team that has the firepower on paper that San Jose did that they would need some help offensively but goal production was a concern at times this past season.  They were in the bottom half league-wide in goals scored while they were well below the league average with the man advantage.  Mikkel Boedker was added last offseason to help their attack but he struggled to make much of an impact.  Youngsters like Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc showed signs of upside during stints with the big club but probably aren’t ready to step into a full-time top six role.

This is where it will get particularly tricky with their two veteran free agents.  Both are still capable of contributing but are on the downside of their careers; it’s hard to expect Thornton and Marleau to significantly outperform their recent numbers which suggests if this core remains intact for next year, the offense may continue to have some difficulties.

As things stand, Wilson has $58.7MM committed for next season to 17 players per CapFriendly which gives them the flexibility to look towards making a bigger move if he sees fit.  They’ll have the money to go after the top names in free agency or make a big splash via the trade market which should help get that offensive lift.  It also makes them a team to keep a close eye on over the course of the offseason if Wilson decides to shake things up.

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After a tough season that saw them out of the playoffs, Montreal made several changes last season, most notably being the Shea Weber – P.K. Subban swap.  The team got off to a franchise-best start and rode that to a division title but it wasn’t enough to get them far in the playoffs as they were eliminated in the first round by the Rangers.  Now, GM Marc Bergevin is faced with retooling the roster once again, though likely not with as significant of moves compared to last summer.  Here are some of the key things on his to-do list.

Extension For Price

While John Tavares has garnered the most headlines among those that are a year away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency, goaltender Carey Price is also in that situation.  Like Tavares, Price is Montreal’s franchise player and they can ill-afford to let him leave for nothing in return.  Bergevin indicated in his end-of-season press conference that trading him is not an option that’s on the table either.

That just leaves one option and that’s to find common ground on an extension.  Price’s case is a particularly interesting one as his new deal will likely be a precedent setter around the league.  Currently Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers has the highest cap hit among goaltenders league-wide at $8.5MM and Price is expected to come in above that.

As is the case with all top players, the argument of taking a little less to ensure there’s enough money left to spend on other needs will undoubtedly come up.  But if Price and agent Gerry Johannson aren’t amenable to that, Bergevin doesn’t really have much of a leg to stand on given Price’s importance to the team.  It’s expected that both sides will look to get an extension done as close to July 1st as possible so the question here will be how much more than his current $6.5MM cap hit will Price receive on this next contract.

Make A Decision On Galchenyuk

Five years ago, Montreal drafted Alex Galchenyuk as the third overall pick, touting him as their center of the future.  Fast forward to today and his long-term position is still up in the air.  While they have tried him down the middle at times, he has been moved back to the left wing every time before too long.  Both Claude Julien and former coach Michel Therrien have expressed some concern about his two-way game which has in part overshadowed his offensive production.

Galchenyuk now finds himself as a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility, something that agent Pat Brisson has suggested as a route they may be interested in taking.  The 23 year old dealt with a knee issue this past season and ended his year on a sour note as he was held without a goal in the playoffs while spending some time on the fourth line.  From their perspective, a one year ‘prove it’ deal may be better for Galchenyuk than signing a long-term deal now.

From Montreal’s standpoint, they need to make a decision as to whether or not he’s still viewed as a top line center of the future or if he is a winger moving forward.  There’s also some question as to whether he is still part of their future plans or if the time may be right to trade him.  Before they even approach contract discussions (short-term or long-term), those are a couple of key questions that need to be answered making his situation one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Address Their Center Concerns

Montreal’s depth down the middle has quickly become an area of concern especially since Galchenyuk hasn’t slid into the center ice position like they were hoping for.  While Phillip Danault had a breakout season, that was offset by long-term veteran Tomas Plekanec having a tough year.  Those two are better served as third liners yet as things stand, they represent their top two.

Unfortunately for Bergevin, the free agent market isn’t exactly full of top six options down the middle let alone top liners.  Accordingly, he may be forced to turn to the trade route but again, available top six centers aren’t readily available and those that are will likely have a premium attached to them.  However, if they aren’t sold on Galchenyuk moving to center, they may very well have to bite the bullet if they intend to take that next step forward.

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Things were looking up in Minnesota at the beginning of March.  They led the Western Conference in points and decided to go all in, adding one of the biggest names available at the trade deadline in Martin Hanzal.  Unfortunately for the Wild, it went downhill from there and they were eventually eliminated in the first round, hardly the outcome they were expecting.  Now GM Chuck Fletcher is tasked with restructuring a team that was built for 2016-17 to be their year.  Here are some objectives he’ll be looking to meet this summer.

New Deal For Granlund

Minnesota isn’t going to have a lot of money to work with this offseason (they have $61.5MM in committed payroll but only 15 players under contract per CapFriendly) but they’re going to have to open the vault for forward Mikael Granlund.  After showing flashes of his potential, he put it all together and became a top line forward.  His timing couldn’t have been better either as he’s eligible for restricted free agency with arbitration rights next month.

The 25 year old had 69 points, quite the platform season considering his career high was 44 which was set in 2015-16.  That makes his case a particularly interesting one.  Did Granlund’s full-time shift to the wing truly represent a significant and sustainable breakthrough or was it more of a ‘perfect storm’ situation where everything went right?  Fletcher’s answer to that question may dictate their approach; if he thinks Granlund has truly turned the corner, he’ll push for a long-term contract.  If not, a one year deal may be most prudent even though it would take Granlund within a year of unrestricted free agency.

Whichever route they do go, the Finnish forward is set to earn a sizable jump from the $3MM cap hit he had on his current deal (he’s due a qualifying offer of $3.2MM).  Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune reports (Twitter link) that while Fletcher and Granlund’s agent met back at the NHL combine, no negotiations took place and they will likely meet again at the draft.

Defensive Decisions

Normally, having too many quality defensemen would be considered a good thing.  However, expansion creates a dilemma for the Wild, who have five blueliners that are worthy of protection.  The standard 7/3/1 route will leave two of those exposed while it’s hard to fathom a team protecting five blueliners and just three forwards, especially considering the no-move clauses they have up front with Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville, and Zach Parise.  No matter what, it’s shaping up that they’ll have to leave at least one above average defender unprotected with that player being a probable selection by the Golden Knights.

That leaves Fletcher with a tough decision on his hands.  Does he bite the bullet and lose one for nothing or does he try to flip one elsewhere via a trade and then protect eight skaters in the hopes of keeping the other four around?

Either way, it’s going to be a tough call with regards to who the odd man out would be.  Ryan Suter has a no-move clause himself so it won’t be him.  Jared Spurgeon has emerged as a strong two-way defender so he’s probably safe as well.  Marco Scandella has been a solid second pairing player and has a good contract with three years remaining at a $4MM cap charge.  The other two, Jonas Brodin and Mathew Dumba, are 23 and 22 respectively and have several years of team control remaining.  Losing any of those players for free (or less than market value) would be a tough pill to swallow but Fletcher is likely going to have to choose which player that happens to.

Find A New Backup Goalie

Devan Dubnyk got off to a strong start this past season but clearly wore down as the season went on.  Part of the reason for that was that head coach Bruce Boudreau didn’t have much confidence in Darcy Kuemper who had a tough season so he opted to overplay Dubnyk as a result.  Kuemper is set to become an unrestricted free agent and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Wild look outside the organization to find his replacement.

Alex Stalock was signed to a two year extension midseason in a move that was primarily expansion-related.  While he is capable of playing in a pinch, he’s best served at this stage of his career as a third stringer that can play a few NHL games if someone gets hurt.

There will be several goalies to choose from in free agency but by the time the Wild get through their own free agents (most notably Granlund and Nino Niederreiter), they’re not going to have a lot of money to work with.  Do they go bargain hunting or do they look for one of the higher end backups in the hopes of getting someone who can help keep Dubnyk fresher for the stretch run?  If they go the latter route, spending that extra money may take them out of the running of doing something else but the trade-off may still be worth it if it keeps their top netminder in top form longer.

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Despite more roster turnover last offseason, most of the core of the Blackhawks remained intact and expectations were still high.  Chicago played well during the season and earned the top seed in the Western Conference but things unraveled quickly from there as they were swept by Nashville in the first round of the playoffs.  GM Stan Bowman has promised more changes to the roster which makes them a team to keep an eye on this summer.  Here are a few keys to their offseason success.

Get Under The Salary Cap

30 of the 31 teams head into the offseason projected to be under the salary cap.  The one team that isn’t is Chicago and not by an insignificant margin either.  They have over $77.5MM already committed per next season per CapFriendly and the cap isn’t expected to jump all that much higher from the $73MM it was this season.  A major factor in their situation was more than $3.5MM in bonuses being reached this year by several players, most prominently winger Artemi Panarin.  As they finished the season at the cap ceiling, the charge for those bonuses being reached will be applied in 2017-18.

As a result, Bowman needs to find a way to trim a fair bit of payroll.  What may prove challenging is that nine different players have some form of no-move or no-trade protection and most of those are their higher paid players.

Among the options to move is center Marcus Kruger.  Earlier this week, it was reported that a deal was being worked on that would move Kruger to Vegas in an agreement that would also see the Golden Knights land young defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk.  Kruger’s cap hit on its own isn’t particularly onerous ($3.083MM) but he’s a bottom six forward and it would make sense to try to free up space there over moving a top six option.  Center Artem Anisimov has also been suggested as a player who could move but that would have a much bigger impact in their top six.  One way or another, they need to free up a fair bit of payroll room.

New Backup Goaltender

With the offseason trade of Scott Darling to Carolina, the Blackhawks need a new backup goaltender.  Their internal options are limited with Jeff Glass being the only other goalie under contract while their two full-time AHL goalies from last season are unrestricted free agents.  As a result, they’ll likely be turning elsewhere to find the right fit.

The trade market is expected to be more robust than usual for netminders over the next few weeks but most of the players changing hands have bigger contracts which will keep Chicago away.  Instead, free agency will be the place to look.

While there are a few bigger names that will hit the open market next month, there are several quality backups to choose from and there should be fewer vacancies than there are goalies available which should bode well for Chicago.  With Corey Crawford entrenched as the starter plus their cap troubles, they aren’t expected to be in the market for the top backups but they should have no difficulty adding an NHL-quality option at a cheap price if they wait out the market.

Add Defensive Help

The back end has been a concern in Chicago for a little while now and it’s projecting to be that way next season as things currently stand.  Unless Brian Campbell wants to take another pay cut, he probably won’t be able to stick around while trade deadline addition Johnny Oduya will also price himself out of what they can afford unless he wants to take a deal that’s well below market value.  Plus, if the Vegas deal happens, they’ll find themselves without another option in van Riemsdyk as well.

The Blackhawks have a strong veteran core in Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Niklas Hjalmarsson but there are plenty of question marks after that.  Gustav Forsling has good potential but only has half a season under his belt while 2016 offseason acquisition Michal Kempny had an up-and-down rookie campaign.  Michal Rozsival remains on the roster but isn’t an option to play a regular role at this stage of his career.

In a perfect world, Bowman would find a way to add another top four option without taking away much from his roster.  That’s probably too optimistic at this point but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them go after a couple of veteran bottom pairing options in free agency to at least try to help the bottom pairing and add some depth.  It’s not the perfect solution but that’s about the only improvement that they can likely afford as things currently stand.

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What a difference a year can make.  After Columbus missed the playoffs in 2015-16, they were one of the top teams in the league in the regular season.  Unfortunately for them, they fell victim to the NHL’s playoff seeding that keeps the first two rounds inside the divisions so their reward for a top four finish league-wide was a date with Pittsburgh (the second overall team) in the first round.  They went down quickly to the Penguins which ended their year on a sour note.  GM Jarmo Kekalainen isn’t likely to make sweeping changes but here are some keys that he’s likely going to look to accomplish this summer.

Free Up Cap Room

The Blue Jackets have a little more than $70MM committed in payroll for next season per CapFriendly which doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room, especially with the salary cap not expected to rise by a significant amount.  It’s worth noting that David Clarkson will be eligible for LTIR once again which will allow them to exceed the cap by up to his $5.25MM cap hit but that alone probably won’t be enough to re-sign their free agents and add some pieces.  It was reported on Friday that Columbus is talking with Vegas in the hopes of getting them to pick the remaining three years of his contract.

Scott Hartnell’s $4.75MM deal is also cumbersome, especially with him primarily playing in a bottom six role.  However, he has a no-move clause and indicated back in training camp that he wasn’t willing to waive it; not only would that end hopes of a trade, it could also play a role in their expansion draft strategy.  Accordingly, he’s a candidate for a buyout which could give them a bit more room to work with; the cost against the cap for doing so would be $1.5MM next season, $3MM in 2018-19, and $1.25MM in the following two seasons.

The emergence of Zach Werenski plus having intriguing youngsters in Markus Nutivaara and Gabriel Carlsson might allow Kekalainen to move a blueliner.  The first one that would spring to mind is Jack Johnson who finds himself a year away from unrestricted free agency.  He’s capable of logging top four minutes and carries a cap hit of just over $4.35MM which should attract some interest around the league and unlike Hartnell, there isn’t any trade protection.  If one of those two players were to come off the books, the Jackets would find themselves in a lot more comfortable of a situation.

New Deal For Wennberg

After a strong sophomore season, Alexander Wennberg followed that up with an even better year in 2016-17, posting career highs across the board.  The timing couldn’t have been much better as his entry-level deal is expiring, setting him up for restricted free agency in July.

Unlike some teams, Columbus hasn’t hesitated to go the bridge route in recent years, doing so with players like Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray (although they were able to hand Seth Jones a six year deal off his rookie contract last summer too).  Part of the rationale for that was likely cap-motivated and their current situation could certainly play a factor in the decision here as well as a long-term deal would likely cost a minimum of $5MM per season.

Regardless of what route they take, Wennberg is set to get a significant raise from the $925K he earned this season (before performances bonuses).  He finished second on the team in scoring and is their top line center which is going to make this contract a top priority for Kekalainen.

Atkinson Extension

Cam Atkinson has been a fairly consistent scorer in recent years but he took his game to another level this past season, tallying a career best 35 goals.  As a result, he led the team in scoring and was one of the better bargains league-wide with a deal that pays him $3.5MM per season.  He is only a year away from unrestricted free agency though and is eligible to sign an extension at the beginning of July.

In a market where very few top scorers even make it to free agency, it’s likely that Kekalainen and Atkinson’s agent, George Bazos, will discuss a new deal at some point this summer.  With goal scoring at a premium at the moment, a long-term contract could hover around the $6-7MM per season range which would make the 27 year old the highest paid skater on the team.  (Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky carries the highest cap hit at $7.425MM.)

Given the fact that there’s another year left on his deal, this may not be at the top of the to-do list for the Blue Jackets but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to ink their top goal scorer before training camp gets underway.

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After the team took some steps back in 2015-16, the Flames rebounded this season and got themselves back into the playoff picture.  That was the good news.  The bad news is that they were ousted about as quickly as they got there as Calgary was swept in the first round at the hand of the Ducks.  As a result, it’s likely that GM Brad Treliving will be looking to make some tweaks to the team this summer.  Here are a few things he’ll be trying to address.

New Goaltending

After a deal fell through with the Lightning for Ben Bishop last summer, the Flames turned to their next goalie on the list, acquiring Brian Elliott from St. Louis.  Elliott had played five strong seasons with the Blues but that success didn’t translate to Calgary as inconsistency and soft goals were problematic.  As a result, he lost the starting job at one point during the season and then did not play well against Anaheim in the playoffs.  As a pending unrestricted free agent, it’s not looking too likely that he’ll be back.

Chad Johnson had a statistically similar season to Elliott which, for someone who was signed to be the backup, wasn’t that bad.  However, he didn’t show that he’s capable of handling the number one role for more than a few games so he’s not the long-term solution either.  Like Elliott, Johnson is also heading for unrestricted free agency but if he’s open to a similar contract to the one he played under this season ($1.7MM), he could be back in a number two role once again.

Between free agency and the trade market which is likely to be buoyed by the expansion draft next month, the Flames should have plenty of options to choose from to give them help in the short-term to bridge the gap to some of their intriguing prospects including Jon Gillies and Tyler Parsons.  Supply should outweigh demand which should work in Treliving’s favor as well.  They had a new goalie tandem in 2016-17 and that could very well be the case again next year.

Bridge Or Long-Term Deal For Bennett?

Sam Bennett is only three years removed from being the fourth overall pick in the draft but he has yet to consistently perform as a top six forward after being selected as a potential top line center of the future.  After a 36 point season in 2015-16, his production actually took a dip to 26 points this past season while he started to drop down the lineup as well.

Bennett’s entry-level contract is up and he is eligible for restricted free agency this summer.  In recent years, teams have largely shied away from giving bridge contracts to their high draft picks but this could certainly be a situation where this goes against the grain.  The short-term deals off entry-level pacts are often viewed as ‘show me’ contracts and after taking a step back this season, it’s likely that the Flames will be challenging Bennett to show them that he can still be a top liner down the road.

Figuring out a long-term deal now would be tricky.  Bennett hasn’t shown enough to command the greater than $6MM contracts that both Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan inked last summer.  However, if the team went much lower than that, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for Bennett to sign as if he believed in his ability to bounce back, he’d be better off taking the bridge deal with the expectation that a much bigger pay day would soon await.  Given that narrow scope to work with, a short-term deal is by far the likeliest outcome.

Retool The Blueline

Last year, the Flames spent over $30MM on their back end (including Ladislav Smid’s $3.5MM on LTIR).  It’s likely that they’ll want to allocate some of that towards their goaltending while trying to add some help up front.

Calgary has a trio of defensemen set to hit unrestricted free agency in Deryk Engelland, Michael Stone, and Dennis Wideman.  Combined, the trio carried a cap hit of over $10MM last season (after factoring in the 50% retention on Stone’s contract by Arizona) so Treliving will have some money at his disposal as he looks to reshape Calgary’s back end.

Wideman isn’t expected to return while Engelland would likely have to take a pay cut from from the $2.9MM cap hit he carried.  Stone is coming off a down year but the soon-to-be 27 year old will still garner plenty of interest around the league this summer and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Flames in the mix.

As things stand, Calgary has more than $17MM tied up in their top three defenders in Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, and T.J. Brodie.  That leaves room for one more notable signing (Stone or someone similar) but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the bottom spots filled by depth players such as Matt Bartkowski or prospects like Rasmus Andersson and Brett Kulak.

With the number of players and money off the books this summer, if there was ever a time for Treliving to give the defense corps a new look, this is it.

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