The NHL Draft is often different from the NFL and NBA drafts in that most teams are not drafting solely for need. The NHL is a best-player-available kind of situation with most players not reaching the NHL until two or three, possibly more years later. That said, teams are often building their boards with a full knowledge of what their prospect system needs are. If they can address those situations, it’s almost like an added bonus, but they’re not going to go out of their way – in most cases – to just satisfy a void in what they have.

With that in mind, I wanted to look at some of the places where teams could stand to get better. Again, if they do it through this draft, it’s an added bonus. Keep in mind, most teams are not going to be able to address current NHL needs through the draft. I’m assessing their entire prospect system and looking for some gaps, whether it be by position or a type of player needed to help deepen the prospect pool for a given team.

Here’s what I came up with.

Anaheim Ducks: Goal scoring winger

The Ducks are sitting in a pretty good spot right now with a number of young NHLers already making an impact on their NHL roster. They’ll add Mason McTavish to that mix next season and have a number of other players in the AHL that could stand to make an impact in the near future. There’s not any one glaring need, but they could probably stand to continue building up the future of their blueline. They have the No. 10 pick which is going to give them a ton of options at both forward and defense. They’ll get an impact prospect. They’re going to have some real good players down the middle for the foreseeable future, but they need to fill out their scoring depth even more in the second round. There’s Jacob Perreault and Brayden Tracey in the system, but they should be able to find another higher-end option in this draft.

Potential options: Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Joakim Kemell

Arizona Coyotes: Everything

The Coyotes are in a full rebuild and there’s going to be some more short-term pain for long-term gain. They made a pretty good-sized splash with Dylan Guenther in the last draft, but there’s still a lot of holes and not a ton of blue-chip caliber prospects. The Yotes now have a chance to add a rebuild cornerstone with the No. 3 overall pick. Arizona also has two other first-rounders and a whopping four second-rounders. That’s seven of the first 45 picks in this draft. This draft and certainly the next one are going to be two of the most critical moments in the history of this franchise. Patience will be required because there is a long way to go, but GM Bill Armstrong is building a war chest of draft assets that give Arizona a ton of options.

Potential options: Logan Cooley, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cutter Gauthier, Owen Pickering, Lane Hutson

Boston Bruins: Centers

Whether Patrice Bergeron is coming back next season is irrelevant to the draft, but the Bruins need to better prepare for his forthcoming absence because there is a dearth of top-quality centers in their system right now. They probably won’t find their next Bergeron this season, with no picks until No. 54 and six total picks. The system got a good dose of speed and skill last year with Fabian Lysell and the Bruins were aggressive in undrafted free agency, but this is one of the weakest prospect systems in the league overall. They have a lot of needs, but getting the future of their center position is going to be critical over the next few years.

Potential options: Jack Hughes, Danny Zhilkin, Cam Lund, Matyas Sapovaliv

Buffalo Sabres: Right-shot defensemen

The Sabres’ system is starting to look a lot better as they’ve added a lot of young pieces. The left side of their defense looks pretty well taken care of with No. 1s Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power holding it down long term, but there’s not a ton of right-shot rearguards in their system. The Sabres have three first-round picks including No. 9 and No. 16. It might be hard to land one of the top two right-shot blueliners in that range, but it’s something they could hunt for in the later stage of the first or with their one second-round pick. There should be a few options available there.

Potential Options: Ryan Chesley, Seamus Casey, Sam Rinzel

Calgary Flames: Defensemen

The Flames have some decent pieces in their system, but it’s not the deepest and it won’t get any deeper this year. They have just three picks, with No. 59 in the second round their earliest, barring a trade. There are some good recent picks that will help down the line, especially up front and at the goaltending position, but on defense there’s not a ton there. We’re still not sure if Juuso Valimaki is going to get back on track and there are some other promising players, but I think they could make the biggest positive impact on their system if some defensemen, particularly right-shot defensemen, are available in their ranges.

Potential options: Elias Salomonsson, Maveric Lamoureux, Artyom Duda, Ty Nelson

Carolina Hurricanes: Goaltending

The Hurricanes have a lot of goaltending in their system, but I don’t see a goalie of the future in there. Pyotr Kochetkov might have a chance down the road and saw NHL time this year, but the Hurricanes don’t have a ton of other glaring needs. They’ve drafted very aggressively on skill and there’s a lot of prospects that may pan out and plenty others that likely won’t, but the Hurricanes have taken a lot of swings and we’re still going to have to wait to see how successful they all are. That said, putting goaltending here speaks way more to the strength of Carolina’s overall prospect system than it does about their weakness at this particular position.

Potential options: Topias Leinonen, Sergei Ivanov, Reid Dyck

Chicago Blackhawks: Skilled forwards

The Blackhawks have a lot of system needs, but they’re not picking until the second round. While there’s value to be had, it’s tougher to find high-end skill players but a few could be there. With talk of potentially moving on from some of its established stars, Chicago is going to need to find some skill in these next few drafts to help its scoring. The Hawks are long on defensemen in their system, but beyond Lukas Reichel, they don’t have a ton of dynamic guys in their forward prospect pool. Finding ways to address that from a lower draft position would be impressive. The Blackhawks’ goaltending system also needs some more bodies, though I have a lot of belief in Drew Commesso as a potential goalie of the future in Chicago.

Potential options: Filip Bystedt, Rieger Lorenz, Reid Schaefer, Alexander Perevalov

Colorado Avalanche: Goaltending

The Avs have graduated a ton of players to the NHL team and they’ve all looked really good. They should be able to keep that secondary core of young players together for a while. Colorado is pretty solid in a lot of other areas. One area where it’s light is in net. The Avs have a really exciting goalie prospect in Justus Annunen, but after him, there’s not a ton. They don’t have a pick until the third round and I probably wouldn’t start looking at goalies until then anyway.

Potential options: Tyler Brennan, Reid Dyck, Ivan Zhigalov

Columbus Blue Jackets: Goaltending

The Jackets have two top-12 picks in this draft, so they won’t be looking for goaltending that early. Plus, they just re-signed their potential goalie of the future in Daniil Tarasov, but after him, there’s not much left in the system. The last few drafts have been pretty kind to the Blue Jackets as they’ve found players that have been able to play on their roster – and quickly. There are good players at all positions who are either young or are in their system. They’ll be able to continue building on that with their early picks, but even in a weak goaltending year, they should consider adding some puck stoppers with their later picks as it’s a point of weakness in the organization at this point.

Potential options: Tyler Brennan, Topias Leinonen, Hugo Havelid

Dallas Stars: Right-shot defensemen

The Stars have done a phenomenal job drafting of late and have some real gems on the way, but they’re very, very shallow when it comes to right-shot defensemen. They only have one under contract on their NHL roster, could be losing John Klingberg to free agency and have very few right-shots in the system at the moment. With the forwards and the left side looking pretty deep and Jake Oettinger likely the long-term goalie, perhaps the Stars can find some right shot defensemen to bring a little more balance to the system.

Potential options: Ryan Chesley, Sam Rinzel, Maveric Lamoureux, Noah Warren

Detroit Red Wings: Centers

The Red Wings have addressed a lot of system needs with copious draft picks the last few years and now have some cornerstone pieces in place with Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider joining a core that already included Dylan Larkin. In the prospect system, however, the Red Wings have very few natural centers that comfortably project into their lineup in the near term. Detroit should have a great chance to address this gap in its system in the first round this year as there will be options at No. 8. Detroit also has a pair of second-round picks that could prove helpful as well.

Potential options: Frank Nazar, Conor Geekie, Cutter Gauthier, Marco Kasper, Matthew Savoie

Edmonton Oilers: Goaltending

I’m still baffled that the Oilers traded out of a spot that could have landed top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt in the last draft. Now their goaltending system is mostly bare. Stuart Skinner may provide a glimmer of hope in net and Edmonton signed Ryan Fanti out of the NCAA last year, but they also just let Ilya Konovalov walk to the KHL. It’s a glaring need in the organization and has been a point of weakness at the NHL level, too. You can’t get instant help in the draft, but they could probably afford to find some more players to at least get in their system and try to develop.

Potential options: Topias Leinonen, Tyler Brennan, Reid Dyck

Florida Panthers: More secondary scoring

The Panthers picked up a quality prospect in Mackie Samoskevich in the last draft, but there have been a number of prospects in their system that looked really good for a time but are starting to look less likely to make the impact we once thought possible. The Panthers could look for some more impact forwards, especially some with some size. It might help them find some secondary scoring as they try to support their core. It would still be a few years away before anyone the Panthers could get in the draft would contribute, but forwards are a priority.

Potential options: Vinzez Rohrer, Jere Lassila, Michael Milne

Los Angeles Kings: Keep stockpiling

The Kings have quality prospects or young NHL players at all positions. They could probably stand to get better in net, but it’s not an immediate need and they have a few guys still developing in their system. Los Angeles is about to hit that mode where it starts flooring it to get more competitive, so this draft is all about asset collection and trying to make sure it has enough of everything to either develop for its roster or use as trade bait later. The Kings are in a very strong position at the moment.

Potential options: Jagger Firkus, Jimmy Snuggerud, Ryan Chesley, Lane Hutson, Rutger McGroarty

Minnesota Wild: More scoring

The Wild’s next wave of players is exciting. Kirill Kaprizov has changed the dynamic of the franchise, while Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi should help fill out the young core of the team, but they’re going to need even more scoring in the system. The Wild are getting more skilled as an organization and that’s a great thing as they try to escape the NHL’s mushy middle. With a late first-rounder and two picks in the second round, they could find some quality.

Potential options: Ivan Miroshnichenko, Rutger McGroarty, Jimmy Snuggerud, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Filip Mesar

Montreal Canadiens: Center

The Habs have always been looking for a center it seems. They got a good one in Nick Suzuki but need to support him. That’s why I think the Habs will go with Shane Wright with the top overall pick. He looks like he could be a good No. 2 behind Suzuki. Either way, the Habs are in a position where they can grab an impact player that could help them as soon as next season. They just have to make sure whoever they take first overall is well protected and his long-term development has to be the priority as this is a pick you just can’t get wrong.

Potential options: Shane Wright, Logan Cooley

Nashville Predators: Puck-moving defenseman

The Preds have a number of needs in their system, but they look like they’ve got a pretty solid stable of forwards they’ve been building up. Nashville, however, has often made its money at the draft by picking and developing defensemen. They have some solid looking prospects on the back end, but if they can find another good puck-mover in this group, they’d have a little more balance back in their system. Players like Luke Prokop, Ryan Ufko and Spencer Stastney all have some offensive ability and there are some good options in the AHL, but if the Preds can get even better on that back end, they’ll be happy.

Potential options: Pavel Mintyukov, Kevin Korchinski, Denton Mateychuk, Lane Hutson

New Jersey Devils: Skilled winger

The Devils looks like they’re set down the middle for a while. They’ve got some solid young defensemen in their system as well including blue-chipper Luke Hughes. At No. 2, the Devils can do whatever they want, but they should be looking for another scoring winger to complement Alexander Holtz, whom they picked two years ago. Get someone else for Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier to get the puck to and let it rip. That’s probably the best way to really boost a burgeoning forward group that is on the brink of a breakout.

Potential options: Juraj Slafkovsky, Joakim Kemell

New York Islanders: Skill up front

The Isles system is pretty light. William Dufour had a breakout year, Simon Holmstrom is coming into his own in the AHL and Aatu Raty is proving doubters wrong with his play in Finland. There’s just not enough of everything. The Islanders need help on defense in their system, and they need more skill up front on both the NHL roster and in the prospect system. Guys like Raty could be a good start, but there needs to be even more if the Islanders are going to compete in the Metro with all the quality teams in that division.

Potential options: Matthew Savoie, Brad Lambert, Frank Nazar

New York Rangers: Depth

There’s not a lot the Rangers can do this year with limited draft capital. They won’t pick until the third round. The good news is that they’ve got a very strong prospect system with a number of young NHL players already making an impact with the big club. I thought the Rangers were ahead of schedule this year and they have enough players to continue on this path they’re on for the next few years. They just have to try to grab a couple of higher-upside players in this draft and hope for the best. It won’t make or break them.

Potential Options: David Goyette, Devin Kaplan, Dylan James, Mats Lindgren

Ottawa Senators: Dynamic forwards

The Sens have a lot of skill already with their group, but I think they could afford to get even more dynamic up front. Last draft, the Sens went for a lot of size with their picks. This year, they are in a range to grab skilled scoring wingers or centers that can help make them more dangerous up front. The Sens can’t have enough scoring as they enter this new era.

Potential options: Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Joakim Kemell, Matthew Savoie, Cutter Gauthier, Frank Nazar

Philadelphia Flyers: Center

The Flyers are going to have their pick of the second-tier centers or top-tier defensemen in this draft at No. 5. It gives them their best shot at addressing a key need in the system that just hasn’t been adequately addressed in recent years. There have been a few players that looked great, but the Flyers are in need of a future top-two center and they can get it early in this draft.

Potential options: Logan Cooley, Shane Wright, Cutter Gauthier, Matthew Savoie

Pittsburgh Penguins: Everything

This has been the case for a while, but the Penguins prospect system is especially thin and there’s no need to be particularly picky. With a first-rounder, they should be in line to get a quality prospect that could instantly shoot to the top of their system. After that, Penguins scouts will have to mine some gems from the late rounds as they won’t pick again until the fourth round.

Potential options: Rutger McGroarty, Isaac Howard, Owen Pickering, Liam Ohgren, Jiri Kulich, Ryan Chesley, Lian Bichsel

San Jose Sharks: Defensemen

The Sharks have some good young forward prospects in their system and probably are in the range where they can continue to add to that group at No. 11, but they may also want to consider the next wave of defensemen after David Jiricek and Simon Nemec are gone. There’s a good second tier of blueliners in this year’s crop. The Sharks are not often one to draft for need, though. I’d expect they’ll stick with their board and not worry so much about the position, but they won’t pick again until the third round.

Potential options: Pavel Mintyukov, Kevin Korchinski, Denton Mateychuk

Seattle Kraken: Everything

The Kraken are still in build-up mode. They didn’t have a war chest of draft picks in their first go at the NHL Entry Draft, but they have five of the first 61 picks this year with the No. 4 overall and four seconds. This is a big opportunity to go build up their prospect system. That No. 4 pick is important and they’ll have options, whether it’s one of the top two defensemen or getting another of the best forwards in this draft. This is going to be an important year for the future of the expansion franchise.

Possible options: Logan Cooley, Cutter Gauthier, Simon Nemec, David Jiricek, Joakim Kemell

St. Louis Blues: Defenseman

The Blues have done a very nice job of maintaining a fairly strong prospect pool in the wake of their Stanley Cup run in 2019. They’ve had a steady stream of young players and still have a few to look at down the road. So there’s no real glaring need. Perhaps they could strengthen their defensive player pool after loading up on forwards the last few drafts. They’re in a good range in the first round to look at adding to their blueline, too.

Possible options: Lian Bichsel, Ryan Chesley, Owen Pickering

Tampa Bay Lightning: High-upside forward

The Lightning don’t get to pick in the first round a lot. This year they do, if they hold onto the pick. The Bolts have made their name on late draft hits, but this time they should be able to be pretty picky at No. 31. There should be a number of quality forwards available in the late first that will probably still be two to three years away, but the Lightning shouldn’t need them any time soon. Either way, getting some more skill up front to replace some of their recent losses and the forthcoming departures of other veterans could be helpful. The defense could probably use some extra attention as well.

Potential options: Noah Ostlund, Liam Ohgren, Jimmy Snuggerud, Nathan Gaucher, Gleb Trikozov

Toronto Maple Leafs: Size up front

The Leafs have a ton of skill in their system both at forward and on defense. They don’t have a ton of size. That’s not something the Leafs have traditionally concerned themselves with under the current administration, at least when it comes to the draft, though they did land a quality power forward in their last draft in Matt Knies. Toronto is not going to add size just for the sake of adding size. They’re going to want some big guys who have some good skills as well. They should be able to find some of that in the late first round.

Potential options: Rutger McGroarty, Jimmy Snuggerud, Nathan Gaucher

Vancouver Canucks: Right-shot defensemen

The Canucks have a number of needs as they continue graduating their top prospects to the big club. If there’s one area of note where they are particularly thin, it’s among right-shot defensemen. They have some options in the system but not a ton of long-term guys. I don’t think Vancouver is in a good range to address that need in the first round. They are, however, in a good spot to land an impact prospect. So while I’ll say they should be looking to add right-shot defensemen, they can’t force that pick at 15th overall and I don’t think they will. Nonetheless, here are the feasible right-shot options.

Potential options: Ryan Chesley, Sam Rinzel, Maveric Lamoureux, Mattias Havalid

Vegas Golden Knights: Goal-scoring wingers

The Golden Knights won’t pick in the first round this year, but even though they’ve continually dealt draft picks and prospects for roster players, they still have a decent system with good long-term options. They’ve got a lot of natural centers and a good balance among their defensemen. They could probably stand to find some more goal-scoring wingers, though. They have a good one in Brendan Brisson, but they’ll need more than him. It might be harder to find that player with no picks until the second round, but there could be value yet.

Potential options: Rieger Lorenz, Julian Lutz, Paul Ludwinski, Gleb Trikozov

Washington Capitals: Everything

The Caps have a good top prospect in Hendrix Lapierre and a number of other quality pieces that will continue to round out into everyday NHLers, but they don’t have a lot of blue-chippers in this system. There are needs everywhere, so there’s no sense in being picky about it. At No. 20, they should be able to find a quality prospect that slots in behind Lapierre on the prospect depth chart. Goaltending may be an area of focus later in the draft as the Caps don’t have a ton of surefire NHLers in the mix there.

Potential options: Liam Ohgren, Isaac Howard, Lian Bichsel, Owen Pickering, Rutger McGroarty

Winnipeg Jets: Right-shot defensemen

The Jets have drafted well over the years and it’s helped build up their roster. There aren’t a ton of especially desperate needs, but it might be nice if they could add a quality right-shot defensemen to the mix. They have two first-rounders in this year’s draft and can make a splash at No. 14 to help bolster their prospect system, but don’t sleep on that late first as there could be some value to be had there and the Jets have a track record of making the right picks no matter where they’re selecting.

Potential options: Sam Rinzel, Tristan Luneau, Mattias Havelid

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