What Each Team Needs Going Into Free Agency

Northwest Division

The Northwest Division features one top dog with the other teams making strides to get some youth and make strides in the coming seasons. The Vancouver Canucks have been among the elite in the standing the past two seasons, losing in the Stanley Cup in 2011 and losing this year to future Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings. The Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames have all struggled as of late. None of them made the playoffs last year but they are slowly building a solid core of players.

Calgary Flames 

The Flames have struggled in recent years to make an impact in the Western Conference. They have been a part of playoff races yet failed to make it the past three seasons dating back to the end of the 08-09 season. They made a big splash today by trading for the rights, then signing defenseman Dennis Wideman to a big five year contract. It is a bit much to give but shows Jay Bouwmeester's time is dwindling in a Flames uniform. They have a good defense heading into the year with plenty of veterans in the lineup mixed among a few kids who they will teach. Mikka Kiprusoff is always up to the task if the Flames defense can help him a bit. Besides Jarome Iginla, the Flames do not feature another big time scorer. They traded for Mike Cammalleri at the end of last season which should help. They could definitely use some secondary scoring though going into free agency.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche have been going through a youth movement the past few seasons as they unexpectedly made the playoffs in 2010-2011. However, hoping to build on that this year a late string of injuries kept them from gaining a playoff berth this past season. With Matt Duchene signed to a new contract for the next two seasons, the Avalanche are taking a step in the right direction. At this point, the Avalanche probably wish they still had Kevin Shattenkirk on the roster. Eric Johnson has not been bad but hasn't lived up to his overall potential as a number one pick overall. They have youth on the back end as well as in goal. JS Giguere is doing a nice job grooming Semyon Varlamov. Up front, the Avalanche show leadership, skill, and grit in a number of different players. I really like the mix they have on the front end. If the defense and goaltending is there, the Avalance look good headed into the season. They may sure up by getting a veteran defenseman in free agency.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers have stock piled number one draft picks and it's finally time to start using them. They have a young, potent offense with names like Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and  now Nail Yakupov. These names will mesh among some veterans and should produce. It will be up to new head coach Ralph Krueger to come up with the right combinations. The defense is where Edmonton still lacks. They have stable blueliners Nick Schultz and Ryan Whitney with Andy Sutton. That is not enough though to hold down the fort. The Oilers need some youth to step up on defense. They will surely target Justin Schultz heading into free agency this weekend, however, so will 29 other teams. In goal, it is unproven whether Devin Dubnyk can get the job done over the course of a full season. Nikolai Khabibulin is still under contract as well. The Oilers will definitely start to show some upside but they still need help.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild are aiming big heading into free agency. They are going to try and lure Zach Parise and Ryan Suter their way. Parise is from Minnesota and they will try and use that as a bargaining tool, as well as show an upcoming team being built around captain Mikko Koivu. They are also expected to be giving Suter a call. The Wild were first in the Western Conference on December 1st of this past season, but had a horrible second half and didn't even make the playoffs. They have a very well thought out offense that spreads nicely over four lines. Parise would surely be a huge help if they could get him. The defense is a mix of youth and veteran, however, need some help as Tom Gilbert is their best name on the list right now. That's where Suter comes in. They have a very strong one-two punch in net with Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding. The Wild will either go very big and nab a top free agent or two, or completely miss and get nothing this free agency period. 

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks were the Presidents Trophy winners heading into this seasons playoffs but were ousted in five games at the hands of future Cup raisers, the Kings. Strings of injuries didn't help the Canucks, however, nobody saw that early of an exit. They still boast a strong offense that features the Sedin twins and Ryan Kessler. They are deep pretty well throughout the lineup. Their defense is well-off  with Alexander Edler and Kevin Bieksa leading the way. They boast size on the back end pretty well also. Not to mention it's rumored Justin Schultz would like to play near his home in British Columbia. It is yet to be seen who will be the goaltender heading into this season, but it looks as if youngster Cory Schneider will get his chance to be top dog. He is expected to do just as good of a job, if not better, than Roberto Luongo. His contract will be a tough one to move with a no trade clause, however, it's bound to happen if he wants to play.  The Canucks are a strong team heading into this year already.

The Northeast will, my guess, be run again by the Canucks. They are the best team heading into free agency and if the Wild can't get the big names their way, I don't see the Canucks losing the division. The Avalanche, Wild, and Oilers are all getting better and could all finish anywhere between two to four in the division. As for the conference and playoffs, it's a very hard tale to try and predict. I don't see the Flames doing much unless they can make a splash and get some offense to help out.