Offseason keys for NHL teams, including draft, free agency

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Ryan S. Clark

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Ryan S. Clark

NHL reporterRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.

Kristen Shilton

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Kristen Shilton

ESPN NHL reporterKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.Apr 15, 2024, 07:30 AM ET

The 2023-24 NHL regular season was an entertaining one, with races for playoff position, point and goal leaders, and major trophies all coming down to the bitter end.

But not every fan base got to enjoy all of it so much.

With eliminations piling up, it’s time to look ahead to the offseason. Clubs that didn’t quite hit the mark this season will use the draft, free agency and trades in an effort to be more competitive in 2024-25.

Read on for a look at what went wrong for each eliminated team, along with a breakdown of its biggest keys this offseason and realistic expectations for next season. Note that more teams will be added to this story as they are eliminated.

Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Metro teams were written by Kristen Shilton, while Ryan S. Clark analyzed the Central and Pacific teams. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Projected cap space per Cap Friendly.

Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BUF | CGY
CHI | CBJ | MIN | MTL
NJ | OTT | SJ
SEA | STL

Non-playoff teams

Projected 2024-25 cap space: $33,755,833
2024 draft picks: 1st, 1st (EDM), 2nd, 2nd (BOS), 3rd, 3rd (PIT), 3rd (SJ), 4th, 6th

What went wrong?

Young teams are going to lose games. What hindered the Ducks is that their defeats came in bunches. An eight-game losing streak in November set the stage for a five-game losing streak in early December. There was the four-game losing streak to start the new year. They had a pair of three-game skids in January and February before going on a six-game losing streak to start March and then losing five straight to end the month.

Injuries didn’t help the Ducks either — especially when it came to Trevor Zegras. The two-time 60-point scorer sustained a lower-body injury in early November that saw him…

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Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/39936448/nhl-offseason-schedule-keys-draft-picks-trades-free-agency-cap-space

Author : Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton

Publish date : 2024-04-15 11:07:09

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