Off-Season Plans: Metropolitan Edition

Carolina Hurricanes

Roster Count:43

Prospects:66

Picks:19

Roster Salary:$55.0M

Needs:

• Drop some roster spots (Over Roster Cap)
• More Salary to be above the Cap Floor
• Trade some Prospects to become competitive
• Starting Goalie

Thoughts:

• Bright Future with Humangus Big pool of Prospects
• Could move a few pieces to have a competitive team now and still haven enough Prospect depth for generations to come

Columbus Blue Jackets

Roster Count:33

Prospects:15

Picks:6

Roster Salary:$65.4M

Needs:

• 1 Offensive Defensemen
• 1-2 Defensive Forwards

Thoughts:

• Good 1a and 1b goalie tandem
• Great Defensive core with a few scoring touch pieces (Might be a killer combo)
• Need a shootout win, look not further (I’ve never seen so much Penalty Shot skills)

New Jersey Devils

Roster Count:20

Prospects:36

Picks:28

Roster Salary:$36.2M

Needs:

• More Salary to be above the Cap Floor
• Rebuild

Thoughts:

• More Picks than a guitar shop, the rebuild is going to be nice in Jersey
• If the Rebuild is done right, I predict a playoff contender within 2 years

New York Rangers

Roster Count:26

Prospects:15

Picks:8

Roster Salary:$68.5M

Needs:

• 1 Top Pairing Defensemen
• Backup Goalie

Thoughts:

• Top Notch Centers: CHECK
• 4 Forward Lines of 200 Foot Specialists: CHECK
• A Full Complement of Shutdown Defensemen: CHECK
• A Good Young Goalie Entering his Prime: CHECK

New York Islanders

Roster Count:38

Prospects:26

Picks:2

Roster Salary:$65.2M

Needs:

• 1 Defensive Forward
• 1 Offensive Defensemen
• Drop some roster spots (Close to Roster Cap)

Thoughts:

• Perennial GM of the Year candidate is one goal left with this GO-GO-GO Offense which is the Stanley Cup
• I don't see many reasons why this young team of strong puck possession skaters can't make a run of it in Season 10

Philadelphia Flyers

Roster Count:23

Prospects:42

Picks:8

Roster Salary:$55.4M

Needs:

• Center Depth
• Top 6 Scoring

Thoughts:

• Missing a few parts but is built with a solid core of skaters
• Experienced pair of goalies
• Add in a few additional parts and they could be back to their Back to Back Stanley Cup days

Pittsburgh Penguins

Roster Count:21

Prospects:22

Picks:10

Roster Salary:$41.0M

Needs:

• Goaltending Depth
• 2^nd Line Depth
• Defensive Depth

Thoughts:

• Young team but are on the upswing of a possible rebuild
• In a few seasons when these young players mature, they could very well be a force to reckon with

Washington Capitals

Roster Count:24

Prospects:13

Picks:9

Roster Salary:$69.2M

Needs:

• Defensive Depth

Thoughts:

• High flying puck possession team
• Not many weaknesses
• Other teams will need to CAPITALize on their few scoring chances if they intend to win