If teams around the NHL could ask Santa for just one thing, what would it be?
It's a question that we were asking ourselves before we had an idea. Instead of us coming up with wish lists internally, why not involve B/R's perpetually active and growing hockey community? That's exactly what we did.
We asked, and fans from half of the teams around the league delivered.
All squads are looking at things a little differently as the calendar flips from 2021 to 2022. Some organizations are firmly in playoff positions and looking to add for a postseason run. Others are in the early stages of rebuilds and are looking to move out veteran talent for draft picks.
The middle of the league is still pretty muddy, though, and it's tough to think of a time when there were still this many teams in the hunt for a playoff berth this deep into the season. This is what made this exercise so fun: seeing how fans were feeling about their team's chances of doing some damage in 2021-22.
So how was everyone who responded to our inquiry feeling about their crew? And what would teams hope for if the big man in red visited them this weekend? Let's find out.
Gifts for the Islanders, Blues, Predators and Golden Knights
Scoring is the toughest thing to find in the NHL, and that's reflected in the answers of both @ZSchwartz19 and @EPetey40, who'd like more goals for their teams—the New York Islanders and Nashville Predators, respectively.
The concerns surrounding New York's offense aren't misplaced. Only the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes score less frequently than the Islanders, who find the back of the net an average of 2.19 times per game. That's a shockingly low number for a team that rosters so much talent.
Perhaps a new year will provide this team with enough of a clean slate to get going again. The playoffs are out of reach, but they can still rediscover their identity.
The Predators aren't hurting for offense quite as badly as the Islanders, but they would likely prefer to be closer to the top 10 in terms of offensive production. Right now they have more in common with the Detroit Red Wings than the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Meanwhile, user @Not_DannyDevito would like to see the St. Louis Blues improve in their own end. That's interesting since they have the 11th-stingiest defense when it comes to goal prevention. The Blues only give up 2.68 goals per game but could probably stand to be a bit tougher to play against.
@Just_in_Time wants to see Jack Eichel back out on the ice as soon as possible, but the Vegas Golden Knights could use an extra $10 million more in cap space more than anything.