What Each Team Needs Going Into Free Agency

Atlantic Division

The Atlantic Division, my favorite of course being a Rangers fan, got very interesting near the end of last year. The New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and New Jersey Devils all made the playoffs. In the end, the Rangers were the division and conference regular season champions. The Flyers and Penguins had a hard fought first round battle which saw the Flyers move on. They were then ousted by the Devils, who then removed the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Championship. This was only to move them on to a tough series in which the Kings got the best of the Devils in six games for the Stanley Cup. The New York Islanders, once again, had a rough season with some ups and downs mixed in. All five teams look to improve heading into next season.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils had a great postseason run which not only proved to their team and fans they are a contender, but also gave them some extra cash to help with the debt they have racked up over the past few years. Right now, the only person on the Devils radar is Zach Parise, their captain and face of the franchise. The problem is, nobody really knows what is going on in New Jersey with their ownership situation, therefore, money as well. Parise will demand some big money going into free agency, some say in the area of seven to nine million per year. Besides Parise, the Devils still have some work to do. Their third and fourth lines are virtually all UFA's July 1st. Plus, some of their defense. The Devils have two good lines up front. They will look to sign Parise long term as well as replace a few defenseman they are losing to free agency. Both goalies are free as well. Johan Hedberg will not be coming back but Martin Brodeur will. The Devils need to get a young backup to not only take some games from Marty, but to possibly develop into a starter as their farm system has not produced a big time goaltender in waiting yet.

New York Islanders

So far this offseason, the Islanders have definitely taken a step forward. They are slowly developing into what could be a competitive team in the coming years. The offense, which has yet to stay healthy for a full season, still includes star John Tavares, Matt Moulson, Kyle Okposo, and youngster Nino Niederreiter. The one person the Isles will lose to free agency for bigger money will be PA Parenteau, who played a huge role for the Islanders this season. They will look to replace him by looking for a top nine forward. Matt Martin is a restricted free agent but has been given a qualifying offer by the team. On defense, a healthy Mark Streit will team up with veteran minute muncher and powerplay man Lubomir Visnovsky. They will try and develop some of the younger defenseman. Evgeni Nabakov will be back for another season to alongside the oft-injured Rick DiPietro. Al Montoya will hit the market as a free agent. The Islanders core is mainly intact as they will probably lay low during free agency and pick up some good acquisitions to fit the mold.

New York Rangers

The Rangers looked great all year heading into the playoffs. A few tough matchups left them fatigued as the Devils were able to knock them out of the Eastern Conference Finals. It is the farthest the Rangers have seen playoff-wise in a long time and they will look to build on that this year. Many names swirl at this point around the Rangers as Marian Gaborik will be out of action until November. Rick Nash is on the radar, but so far the price is way to high for GM Glen Sather to even think about making a deal. Then there is Bobby Ryan who may cost a bit less but will attract offers from the Flyers since he is from the area. The other is Justin Schultz, the defenseman from Wisconsin who played with Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh. Otherwise, the Rangers will show a very similar team on paper to last years as they will not lose much. The biggest loss may be Brandon Prust, who will test free agency after not agreeing on a contract number. The Rangers are the only American team on Schultz's list but nobody knows exactly where he will end up. Even then, the Rangers are going to be aggressive this offseason. They will take a look at a number of different options on all sides of the puck.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers made huge moves last summer trading stars Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, who both ended up hoisting the Cup with the Kings at the end of this season. The biggest problem for the Flyers this past season, and in recent years, has been goaltending. Ilya Bryzgalov has not lived up to the 51 million dollar contract he signed as a free agent last summer. With that, the Flyers are handcuffed in terms of goaltending and will have to hope Bryz comes more prepared to play this season. They may make a pitch for Marty Biron if he makes it to July 1st, but he would not be able to handle full time duties by himself. Otherwise, the Flyers have a good offense. They need to get back RFA Jacob Vorachek. They will also look at both Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan to possibly fill in the void for James van Riemsdyk, who they traded to Toronto for Luke Schenn last week. On defense, the biggest concern is getting Matt Carle back under contract, but he is looking for a bigger payday this offseason and may find it elsewhere if the Flyers can't get him soon. 

Pittsburgh Penguins

Then Penguins, heading into the past offseason as a favorite to make a run for the Cup, faltered early as Marc Andre Fleury was awful. The Penguins have already made a huge splash since their exit, trading Jordan Staal for Brandon Sutter and Derrick Pouliot (eighth overall pick) to Carolina. They then traded Zbynek Michalek to Phoenix, where he originally signed from to open up cap space. Today, the Penguins locked up Sidney Crosby to a 12 year deal worth 104 million dollars. With all these moves, the Penguins still have plenty of cap room headed into free agency. They are likely to take big runs at Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to try and lure them. If so, they would easily become the highest ranked team in the NHL heading into September. The likelihood of those players coming is tough to say because Suter would like to stay in the Western Conference and Parise wants to remain in New Jersey. If Parise doesn't, I'd expect him to sign in Detroit or Minnesota. Whatever happens, the Penguins are looking to add offense and defense to an already outstanding core of hockey players. 

The Atlantic, once again, may be the toughest division in the league again with the Central Division in the West. All the teams are either very well off or on their way up. It's really hard to say who will end up where because they all have the capability coming into the season. The Rangers and Penguins, in my mind, will be the top two teams in the division. The Devils and Flyers will also contend and be playoff teams, however, may not be division winning worthy. The Islanders are a tough call but if they stay healthy and have a good run, anything can happen. The Atlantic will sure be an interesting race this season.