Now that the Stanley Cup has been handed out to the Vegas Golden Knights, it's time to officially look forward to the NHL offseason and what every team needs to do over the next couple of months to prepare for the 2023-24 season.
Several teams have already got a start on that by hiring new general managers and coaches, and even making some big roster moves with some trades and re-signings.
With that in mind, we're going to take a team-by-team look at some offseason to-do lists, ranging from re-signings that need to be made, buyouts that need to be completed and changes that need to happen.
For some teams, it might only be one thing that needs to be the focus. Others might have multiple pressing needs. Let's get into it.
Anaheim Ducks
1. Get Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry signed
The 2022-23 season was miserable for the Ducks, but there is still some real talent here to build around and a couple of significant cornerstone pieces already in place.
Two of those players are Zegras and Terry, who also just happen to be restricted free agents this summer.
The question for the Ducks will be whether or not they go all-in and give them long-term deals with cost certainty, or if they go with shorter bridge deals.
Terry has turned out to be an excellent player for the Ducks but is probably already in the prime of his career and not likely to get much better than he already is. And that is fine. But Zegras is still only 21 years old and already the team's go-to offensive star and one of the league's most exciting players. Getting him locked in through his prime years and buying out some free agency years should be at the top of the team's wishlist.
2. Land a superstar in the draft
The bad news for the Ducks is they didn't land the top pick in the NHL draft lottery, losing out on a potential franchise-changing player for the second time in franchise history. It was the 2005 draft where they narrowly missed out on a chance to land Sidney Crosby and instead walked away with Bobby Ryan.
This year, they fell short of landing Connor Bedard.
The good news is that, unlike the 2005 class, there is a likely superstar and franchise talent ready to go No. 2 overall. Michigan's Adam Fantilli is the odds-on favorite for that slot, and in most years he would probably be a high-level No. 1 overall pick.
Adding him to a core that already has Zegras and Mason McTavish would do a lot to change the long-term outlook here.