One crucial need to fill for each of Round 2’s four eliminated teams
The second round of the playoffs represents a crossroads for many NHL franchises. If you’ve gotten there, you’re a reasonably serious contender. And yet, if you bomb out in Round 2, it’s a reality check as you’ve made it less than halfway to the Stanley Cup. It forces GMs to scrutinize their rosters and decide whether they need small tweaks over major overhauls to join the elite tier.
Let’s sort through the wreckage of Round 2’s eliminated clubs and identify a key need for each of them to address.
Anaheim Ducks: One or more shutdown players
The Ducks broke through as a playoff team thanks to a dynamic core of young stars, from forwards Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson to defenseman Jackson LaCombe. But this team is still learning to defend. In 5-on-5 play this season, they had the most expected goals against of any Western Conference playoff qualifier, while they struggled on the penalty kill, and defending remained a problem in the postseason, particularly on the PK. General manager Pat Verbeek has a busy offseason ahead with Gauthier and Carlsson set to earn huge long-term deals as RFAs and veteran blueliners Jacob Trouba, John Carlson and Radko Gudas becoming UFAs. Anaheim needs to squirrel aside some room to bring in a reliable checking forward or smothering defenseman. Trading Mason McTavish could help create space there.
Buffalo Sabres: Cap space
The Sabres have some work to do this offseason. Top right winger Alex Tuch is a UFA, key young forwards Zach Benson and Peyton Krebs are RFAs, and a little more than $12 million in cap space isn’t nearly enough for GM Jarmo Kekalainen to re-sign all three, let alone the other free agents deeper in Buffalo’s lineup. If the Sabres want to take a serious run at keeping Tuch, who will earn a seven-figure AAV on his new deal: will Kekalainen explore moving money out? That could mean one of his goalies – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is the most expensive – or perhaps center Josh Norris, whose play and health haven’t justified a price tag of close to $8 million.
Minnesota Wild: A true No. 1 center
The Wild gained ground on the Central Division elite this season largely because they achieved the star power they’ve lacked for most of their history. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy are an elite winger duo, and Quinn Hughes is the best defenseman the franchise has ever had. But from scrappy Ryan Hartman to the effective but brittle Joel Eriksson Ek to the bruising Michael McCarron, all the Wild’s centers play one slot higher on the depth chart than they should. Minnesota had no answer to Nathan MacKinnon because it didn’t have a Nathan MacKinnon; it didn’t even have a Brock Nelson. General manager Bill Guerin can’t wait for a Danila Yurov type to take another step forward; it’s time to shop for a true point-getter up the middle. That means making calls on Robert Thomas or Auston Matthews or any other high-end pivot potentially available.
Philadelphia Flyers: A true No. 1 center
The Wild and Flyers are at different stages of their contention trajectory but need the same thing. Philadelphia forced square peg Christian Dvorak into the round hole at No. 1 center with decent effectiveness for much of this season, and Trevor Zegras got his looks in that spot but, in an ideal setup, coach Rick Tocchet can sort between those two and Noah Cates for the No. 2 and 3 center spots, perhaps with Zegras settling in full-time on the wing. The Flyers need a major play-driver to slot above them on line 1.
_____
POST SPONSORED BY bet365
_____
Recently by Matt Larkin
- 10 star NHLers in salary-cap era who found playoff glory after changing teams
- Is it finally time to trust the Hurricanes in Round 3?
- NHL offseason goalie market: Who’s available, and who needs one?
- What NHL Draft Lottery win means for the Leafs: four possible paths forward
- One crucial need to fill for each of Round 1’s eight eliminated teams