The Senators did not have to make Erik Karlsson the highest paid at his position in the league, and this did not drag out all summer and into training camp. Read more »

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are the best two players available in free agency, giving teams who need a forward or blueliner excellent options. Read more »

All in all, this draft produced a couple of likely Hall of Famers (Thornton, Hossa, Luongo) and some others who have had very productive careers that saw them earn All-Star and Olympic berths. Read more »

If Tampa can get near-All-Star goaltending, they would return to being a big threat in the Eastern Conference, and even average goaltending would get them back into the playoffs. Read more »

The Jets averaged the exact same number of shots for and shots against, yet were outscored by 21 goals on the season. Addressing their goaltending situation, while spending to improve their defense should help them take a step forward next season. Read more »

Should they spend $5M-$10M on two or three secondary forwards to alleviate the scoring pressure that falls on Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner, the Hurricanes could make a positive step forward next season. Read more »

The Kings ability to have a total of 18 off days by winning all of their series early will prove to be the difference as their forwards will wear down the New Jersey defense faster than the opposite can happen. Read more »

It seems to be a recurring theme, but the Minnesota Wild simply do not score enough goals to be a playoff team (they averaged a league-low 2.02 goals per game). That was supposed to be fixed entering this season with the additions of Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi. But it is clear that the talent level up front is not up to par. Read more »

This summer is poised to have one of the shallowest pools of quality free agents in years, but the trade market is flush with opportunities to change the landscape of the NHL. Read more »

The top seed in the East has struggled through two seven game series against the eighth and seventh seeds, while the bottom seed in the West has dispatched the top two seeds in nine total games. Read more »

Regardless of what the actual trades look like, Toronto needs to make some. They now boast a stable of A and B rated prospects. What they do not boast is a fan-base and ownership capable of waiting any longer for a playoff appearance. Read more »

Tweaking little things like depth up front and the faceoff success, along with their stars regaining their form, should see Anaheim back in playoff contention next year. Read more »

After an extremely entertaining first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, here are ten things that have nothing to do with concussions, suspensions or brawls. Read more »

Alexander Ovechkin, Ryan Getzlaf, Ray Whitney, Scott Hartnell and Joffrey Lupul are some of the players that had surprising seasonsin 11-12. Read more »

The Isles have a plethora of young talent among their group of forwards, with two more A prospects in the pipeline, but have a big need at the back-end. Read more »

In the blink of an eye, the Montreal Canadiens went from a tough out in the playoffs to a dysfunctional mess. Read more »

It has already been decided that Evgeni Malkin will take home the Art Ross, Steven Stamkos the Rocket Richard and Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott will share the William Jennings Trophy. Read more »

Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson and Jonathan Quick were the top players at their position during the 2011-12 NHL season. Read more »

The Bruins, Red Wings, Canucks, Penguins and Blues round out the top-five. Read more »

Ottawa did not nab the best player in the draft at #1, though they did end up trading for him. Zdeno Chara is heads and shoulders above his contemporaries in this class. Read more »