3 teams that need to make a smart move
With another NHL season coming to a close Saturday, many teams will be left wondering what went wrong as they find themselves outside of the playoff picture.
So, before you grab a salty snack like Wonderful Pistachios and talk about the offseason with your friends, do a little homework and read up on three teams that need to make a smart move this summer.
Edmonton Oilers
Despite owning the league's most dynamic talent in Connor McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers will miss out on the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. In addition, the Oilers are the first team since the 1989-90 Pittsburgh Penguins to roster multiple 100-point scorers - McDavid and Leon Draisaitl - and not make the postseason.
Before Edmonton makes any decisions on the ice, it has an extremely important choice to make off of it. The team's search for a new general manager continues, and after former GM Peter Chiarelli's mistakes set the team back years, the Oilers can't afford to make any missteps in attempting to surround their stars with an adequate supporting cast.
Interim GM Keith Gretzky, Kelly McCrimmon, Mark Hunter, Dave Nonis, and Sean Burke highlight the rumored candidates for the position. Once the front office is settled, the team will have to make a decision on the fate of coach Ken Hitchcock.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers have cracked the postseason just twice this century and failed again to do so in 2019 despite enjoying career years from blue chippers Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov and boasting the league's eight-ranked offense.
Lackluster goaltending ultimately nullified Florida's strong attack, as the club conceded 3.35 goals per contest and ranks 30th in the NHL with a team save percentage of .891. With veteran netminder Roberto Luongo's future unclear and rookie Samuel Montembeault still unproven, the Panthers need to fortify their situation between the pipes if they want to improve next season.
The team has been tied to Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, who's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Florida could also address its struggles in the crease through a trade with a team such as the Los Angeles Kings, who possess strong depth in goal and face an impending rebuild.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild may have found themselves battling in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they'd been able to squeeze a few more goals out of their offense. They lost nine one-goal games in regulation and were held to a single tally or less on 22 occasions this season.
Minnesota has some key decisions to make up front this summer, as promising young forwards like Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, and rookie Ryan Donato are up for new contracts. The Wild are projected to have a liberal amount of cap space this offseason and must decide if they want to invest it in their youngsters or aggressively target free-agent forwards. Some noteworthy potential options include Jeff Skinner, Matt Duchene, Jordan Eberle, Mats Zuccarello, and Kevin Hayes.
Are you ready for the offseason? Make sure you have lots of snacks handy, like Wonderful Pistachios. Nuts like Wonderful Pistachios are a great option to incorporate into a healthy, balanced diet. Canada’s Food Guide recommends choosing plant based protein foods more often because they can provide more fibre and less saturated fat than other types of protein foods.