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New York Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Submit your questions here for Eric Stephens' Ducks mailbag
It's almost time for hockey again. With training camp starting next month, what do you want to know about the Anaheim Ducks? Submit your questions here, and beat writer Eric Stephens will answer as many of them as possible in an upcoming Ducks mailbag.
New York Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Submit your questions here for Eric Stephens' Kings mailbag
It's almost time for hockey again. With training camp starting next month, what do you want to know about the L.A. Kings? Submit your questions here, and beat writer Eric Stephens will answer as many of them as possible in an upcoming Kings mailbag.
New York Times
15-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
1980s Alberta vs. 2020s Florida: Which 2-team NHL dynasty was more impressive?
At the start of 2025, I worked with Eric Stephens on a post that asked the question: Which state has been the NHL's best of the cap era, California or Florida? It was a fun debate, and at the end, we let you have your say in a reader survey that came out almost exactly 50/50. Then the Panthers rolled to yet another Stanley Cup, and kind of ruined the bit. Finally, a valid reason to dislike that team. Advertisement It's fine, because now it's Slow News Summer and we can get a little more eccentric. So today, I'm going to tackle a question originally posted by a Puck Soup listener a few weeks ago: Has the 2020s state of Florida passed the 1980s Alberta dynasty? It's a tough one. It's also, you could argue, four years early, which is a fair point in Florida's favor. Still, you never know what the future will bring. And it's not like our arbitrary end points don't hurt Alberta too, since they lose the 1990 Cup by a few months, the Flames were still in Atlanta until the summer of 1980, and the decade's first few years are basically a write-off. So let's do this. It's basically a battle of Old School Canada vs. New Era Southern Markets, which means everyone should be very chill and reasonable about it. Off we go … They don't ask how, they ask how many. The case for 2020s Florida: They're sitting at four and counting, with the Lightning winning in 2020 and 2021, while the Panthers won in 2024 and 2025. The case for 1980s Alberta: They won five — four by the Oilers (in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988) and one by the Flames (1989). Of course, the Oilers also won in 1990, which doesn't count for our purposes but still feels like it's worth mentioning. Edge: Alberta leads for now, but four Cups in six years is a better percentage than five in 10. With Florida needing only one more title to tie the score, and having four seasons to find it, this one is still in play. For now, let's call it close to even. They probably should ask how. Specifically, how close did you come in the year when you weren't winning? The case for 2020s Florida: In addition to four titles, the state also has two losses in the final — the Lightning in 2022, and the Panthers in 2023. In other words, the state has been represented in all six Cup finals of the decade so far. The Panthers also won a round in 2022, giving them 12 series wins in the decade. But the Lightning are stuck at 11, having lost in the first round in each of the last three seasons. Advertisement The case for 1980s Alberta: Just like Florida, each team has one Stanley Cup Final loss, with the Oilers losing to the Islanders in 1983 and the Flames losing to the Habs in 1986. (Side note: Each team avenged that loss against the same opponent, which maybe shouldn't count for much but is kind of neat.) All told, the Oilers won 20 rounds, while the Flames add 12. Edge: Alberta, and this time it's by enough of a gap that we can't just assume the Florida teams will catch up over the next four years. I'm a Leafs fan, humor me by pretending this matters. The case for 2020s Florida: Our timeline hurts the Lightning here, as their record-breaking 2018-19 regular season misses the cut. In the 2020s, they actually haven't finished first in their division, peaking with 110 points in 2022, and lately they've settled in around the 100-point mark. The Panthers can claim their Presidents' Trophy-winning 122-point season in 2022, but other than that, they've mostly been a good regular-season team that finds a higher gear in the playoffs. The case for 1980s Alberta: The Presidents' Trophy was created in the mid-80s, and they might as well have just called it the Alberta Award, as the Oilers and Flames combined to win it the first four years, with Edmonton taking it in 1986 and 1987 while Calgary won in 1988 and 1999. The Oilers also had the best overall record in 1984, and were second-best in 1982 and 1985, and were third-best in 1983. Edge: Alberta, and it's not close. If anything, the Florida teams show us how little the regular season matters in the cap era, as both teams seem to have figured out that it's better to pace yourself during the season rather than push for 120 points and an early exit. Team success is great, but it's the players who leave a legacy. We'll break it down by position. Advertisement The case for 2020s Florida: Nikita Kucherov's MVP year came in 2019, but he's won back-to-back scoring titles and was this year's Lindsay winner. He's joined by big names such as Steven Stamkos, Matthew Tkachuk, Brayden Point and Sam Reinhart, but … yeah, this isn't going to be close. The case for 1980s Alberta: Peak Wayne Gretzky is probably enough to win this all on his own, but mix in Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, a 66-goal season from Lanny McDonald and Joe Nieuwendyk's historic rookie year, and I think we can safely call this one. Edge: Alberta by a mile kilometer. Build from the blue line, as they say. The case for 2020s Florida: Victor Hedman's Norris came back in 2018, but he's in the running pretty much every year and is generally recognized as one of the two or three best defensemen of his era. The Panthers have been more of a strength-by-committee group, with Aaron Ekblad as the cornerstone and Gustav Forsling playing the role of underrated stud. The case for 1980s Alberta: Paul Coffey won the Norris in 1985 and 1986 and came close in other years. Sure, he was viewed as a defensive liability, but his offensive numbers were eye-popping — when you're breaking Bobby Orr's records, you're pretty good. Mix in Al MacInnis and Gary Suter in Calgary, plus (ugh) Hall of Famer Kevin Lowe, and Alberta's in good shape here. Edge: Alberta takes this one too, although it's closer than the forwards. I'm told it's the most important position in the sport. The case for 2020s Florida: Six years into the decade and it's basically a two-man show. But both Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy are future Hall of Famers. Their three combined Vezinas all came in the 2010s, but they've been finalists four times this decade. The case for 1980s Alberta: It's much more of a mix, but the two big names — Grant Fuhr and Mike Vernon — are also Hall of Famers. Fuhr won one Vezina in 1988, while Vernon peaked as a runner-up the next year. Advertisement Edge: It's close, but I think this one goes to Florida. Vernon's HHOF induction was a surprise, and while Fuhr had a reputation as a big-game goalie, his numbers don't hold up as well as others from his era. Just kidding. The man who runs the practices, sets the lineups, and most importantly, delivers the wacky postgame soundbites. The case for 2020s Florida: The 2020s Panthers have won a ton with Paul Maurice, while also featuring cameos from Andrew Brunette and Joel Quenneville. The Lightning have been all Jon Cooper, and he'll probably go into the books as the single best coach of his era, even if the Jack Adams voters apparently don't agree. The case for 1980s Alberta: The Oilers' dynasty was basically all Glen Sather (with John Muckler taking over in 1989-90). The Flames were 'Badger' Bob Johnson's team for most of the 1980s, although it was Terry Crisp who won the Cup in 1989. Edge: Somewhat weirdly, given all the winning these teams have done, Sather is the only one to win a Jack Adams. Still, I feel like this one is close to even, and maybe even tilts toward Florida. In the modern era, this means a GM and his team of dozens of assistants, analysts and miscellaneous hangers-on. In the 1980s, it was one old dude and a six-pack. The case for 2020s Florida: Bill Zito has been on a hell of a run in Florida since taking over in September 2020, taking big swing after big swing while basically providing the blueprint for how to build a modern contender. In Tampa, Julien BriseBois inherited a largely prebuilt contender from Steve Yzerman in 2018 but has had to walk a tightrope to keep the core together while aggressively swapping in useful depth. The case for 1980s Alberta: Just two names to know here, with Sather running things in Edmonton for the entire decade, while Cliff Fletcher was in charge in Calgary. If you were going to build a Mount Rushmore of NHL GMs, you could make a solid case that both guys would be on it. Advertisement Edge: Florida has been in fantastic hands, but this one has to go to Alberta. The fact that the Zito and BriseBois even make you stop and think about it for a minute is a tribute to the job they've done. Winning is nice and all, but did you also manage to make the other side feel bad? The case for 2020s Florida: Both of the Panthers' Cup wins have come against the Oilers, including a heart-breaking Game 7 loss in 2024 and this year's anti-climactic rematch. And the Lightning once beat the Flames in the final, although that was back in 2004 and well outside of our time range. The case for 1980s Alberta: Did not win a single game against a Florida-based team in the entire decade. Edge: Huge edge to Florida. Context matters, so let's get into it. The case for 2020s Florida: Look, we can throw all the big names or impressive stats at the case that we want, but the Alberta teams have a massive advantage here. They played in an era where dynasties were the norm, and parity was a pipe dream. If you nailed a few drafts and/or shady personal services contracts with generational superstars, you could build a dream team and then keep that team together. The Alberta era came right after the Habs and Islanders had both won four straight Cups, which is to say that dominance was expected. Compare that to what the Lightning and Panthers have done, in an era where the hard cap is supposed to force the best teams to shed talent. The league loves to brag about 'competitive balance,' which is just fancy corporate speak for forced mediocrity. The degree of difficulty here is almost infinitely higher than it was back in the olden days. If the Panthers and Lightning are even close to the Oilers and Flames, then that should be enough for them to win the debate hands down. Advertisement The case for 1980s Alberta: For starters, the Oilers and Flames didn't run the NHL back then, so it feels unfair to penalize them for the sin of epitomizing excellence in an era that actually celebrated that. Would the Gretzky Oilers have won four Cups in a hard cap era? We have no idea, and never will, because that's not the era they played in. You can only play by the rules put in front of you, and the Oilers (and Flames) dominated that league. Trying to force some sort of era-adjusted thumb onto that scale feels wrong. Edge: Florida, clearly. The question is how much of a conversion rate you want to try to apply. Up to you, of course. Loading… (Can't see the survey? Use this direct link.) (Top photos of Aleksander Barkov and Wayne Gretzky with the Stanley Cup: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images and Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images)
New York Times
30-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What's every NHL team's biggest need ahead of 2025 free agency?
The 2025 NHL Draft is over, and we are just one day away from the start of free agency. Before the free-agent frenzy begins on July 1, The Athletic asked its NHL staff to identify the biggest need for all 32 teams. Here is what they said. Last season, the Ducks' top scorer had 55 points to tie for 104th leaguewide. Their points leader in 2023-24 finished in a tie for 88th. Outside of one-off 37-goal seasons by Troy Terry and Frank Vatrano, Anaheim hasn't had an elite offensive player since Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were in their prime. Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier hold that kind of promise, but the Ducks can use one now. — Eric Stephens Advertisement The Bruins need more volume in their forward group. A play-driving center would be ideal, but the acquisition cost would be enormous. More budget-friendly plays would be on the wings. They also need someone to complement Charlie McAvoy and Andrew Peeke on the right side. — Fluto Shinzawa The Sabres have beefed up their blue line with the additions of Michael Kesselring and Conor Timmins. But trading away JJ Peterka has left Buffalo with a need for more proven scoring. General manager Kevyn Adams said he thinks some of that can come with internal growth from players on the roster, but another outside addition would be prudent. — Matthew Fairburn Calgary nearly made the playoffs last year despite being among the league's worst goal-scoring teams. While the Flames want to ensure their young talents get opportunities to make the roster, the Flames could benefit from an offensive weapon to improve their scoring fortunes and make life easier for Dustin Wolf. — Julian McKenzie The Hurricanes could use an upgrade at second-line center, but the market is thin. If Carolina can't get help down the middle, adding more firepower on the wing is a way to bolster the top six. Mitch Marner is an obvious target, but there are plenty of teams already angling to land the longtime Maple Leafs winger. Nikolaj Ehlers is another big name expected to hit the open market. — Cory Lavalette The Blackhawks could really use another offensive player, especially a winger for Connor Bedard's line. It just doesn't sound like one is coming. The Blackhawks aren't expected to go all in on any free agents and probably don't have enough established players to pull off a trade. Most teams want something more than draft capital. The Blackhawks' plan continues to be to build through the draft. — Scott Powers Advertisement Colorado made the bold decision last season to trade Mikko Rantanen rather than extend him with one of the richest contracts in the NHL, and it seemed to signal that the organization's philosophy will be to build as deep a team as possible instead of a star-studded, top-heavy one. The Avalanche have roughly $9 million in cap space and need several players to fill the forward lineup. — Jesse Granger GM Don Waddell has supported goalie Elvis Merzlikins, saying the 31-year-old won the Blue Jackets more games than he lost them until his late-season unraveling. But the Jackets would benefit from a fresh look in net. We know Jet Greaves will be in Columbus for 2025-26, and we know Daniil Tarasov — traded to Florida — will not be. But the Jackets should be looking for a veteran, either via trade or free agency. — Aaron Portzline On paper, the Stars look like true Cup contenders, year after year. But on the ice, they've been pushed around a bit. The Panthers have shown that depth plus nastiness is the recipe for success. The Stars have the depth. Now they need some sandpaper. If they can make the math work, Florida's own Aaron Ekblad could bring both. — Mark Lazerus The Red Wings have two young defense pillars in Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson, but could really use another veteran in the top four to insulate them. Last year, Ben Chiarot and youngster Albert Johansson did that job most nights. While Detroit can likely get away with running it back on one of those two pairings, they should really push to upgrade at least one of those two spots. — Max Bultman Goaltending is probably the biggest positional need, but Jake Allen is the only option worth considering on the market. The Oilers will almost certainly have to address that position via trade. Instead, shopping for wingers who can complement Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is a good idea. That's especially important with Evander Kane being traded and Viktor Arvidsson bound to follow. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman GM Bill Zito said shortly after his Panthers won the Cup, he would attempt to bring everyone back. With Sam Bennett now signed but Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad on the verge of hitting unrestricted free agency, and only $11 million in cap space and one goalie inked, that looks nearly impossible without another subtraction. But they're going to try to keep at least two of the three, ensuring this is a formidable roster that'll have a shot at a three-peat. — James Mirtle Advertisement Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are sure-fire Hall of Famers. Quinton Byfield could become their most indispensable player. Adrian Kempe is damn good, period. But L.A. has lacked a superstar in the class of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and that has proven decisive in the playoffs. It's tough to get those for sure, but you can't imagine Ken Holland was brought in to rearrange the deck chairs. — Eric Stephens For the 25th season in a row, the Wild need a center. They went into the offseason wanting to improve their depth, but actually ate into it by trading Freddy Gaudreau to Seattle for a fourth-rounder. There are plenty of centers out there who can fill the Wild's needs to win draws and kill: Christian Dvorak, Sean Kuraly, Nico Sturm, Radek Faksa and Colin Blackwell, to name a few. — Michael Russo That should really read top-six center, but there's a supply and demand imbalance there, so the Canadiens would gladly settle for adding a player on the wing to play on their second line with rookie Ivan Demidov and most likely Kirby Dach. That player is more likely to be available via trade as opposed to free agency, however. — Arpon Basu Center options are thin, so it may not be easy for the Preds to address this need. Sam Bennett would have been great, but he was never leaving Florida. GM Barry Trotz took with the No. 5 pick a prospect who has been compared to Bennett, but Brady Martin will obviously take time to get close to that, if he can at all. Blue-line help is crucial this summer for Nashville as well, and acquiring defenseman Nicolas Hague from Vegas and signing him to a four-year contract helps address that need. — Joe Rexrode The Devils need to acquire a third-line center and a top-six wing. They have just over $14 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, but a good chunk of that will have to go to Luke Hughes, who is a restricted free agent. The team has already sent away middle-six forward Erik Haula, so Tom Fitzgerald will have to both replace him and likely add another player. — Peter Baugh GM Mathieu Darche said that he wants the Islanders to play with pace, so he has to build a roster that matches that vision. If the Islanders are going to play a more up-tempo style, they need to find wingers with more foot speed and offensive ability to drive play up the ice. It would help to add another defender who can add a spark from the back end after Noah Dobson was traded to Montreal. — Shayna Goldman The Rangers will have interest in Vladislav Gavrikov should he reach the open market. The team was porous defensively in 2024-25, and New York must hope to address that, both with new coaches (Mike Sullivan is taking over as head coach) and potentially added players. Someone such as Gavrikov would help with that if they are willing to meet his price in free agency. — Peter Baugh Advertisement Ottawa finished near the bottom of the league in goal scoring at five-on-five. There are trade options for the Sens to pursue, but it seems they may try to plug some holes through free agency. Notably, through their fourth line, if Adam Gaudette, Matthew Highmore and Nick Cousins aren't coming back officially. — Julian McKenzie The Flyers had the league's worst goaltending last season. They have Sam Ersson, who they still believe in, but no one else worthy of being in the NHL. Finding another goalie, and one who can play at least 35 to 40 games, considering Ersson's struggles when he's overused, is a must for GM Daniel Briere if he wants the club to start taking steps forward. — Kevin Kurz The addition of Connor Clifton helps the Penguins' depth, but still, the left side very much remains a problem for the defense core moving forward. — Josh Yohe Here is what GM Mike Grier recently said on the team's needs: 'You watched the games, right? We got a lot of work to do up here.' Yeah, the Sharks can use more help everywhere. No place more so than the blue line and Grier knows he's got to start improving it. There is plenty of money to spend. He'll also scour the market for a goalie to pair with talented but young Yaroslav Askarov. — Eric Stephens The Kraken have speed down the middle, a solid starting goaltender and a deep, sturdy defensive group. The thing Seattle lacks is a true offensive driver. A game breaker. The type of player who can elevate the team in close games. There aren't many players that fit that description available in unrestricted free agency, but the Kraken should be jockeying to pitch the true difference-makers. — Thomas Drance The Blues have an underrated No. 1 center in Robert Thomas and a veteran who showed last year he can still fill the No. 2 hole in Brayden Schenn. If they can find someone to supplant Schenn, great, but if not, they desperately need a middle-six center who can provide quality depth. Oskar Sundqvist, last year's No. 3 center, has a lot of miles on him and had just six goals and 20 points last season. — Jeremy Rutherford The Lightning just need to shore up the fringes of the lineup. With another year of Oliver Bjorkstrand, plus a newly extended Yanni Gourde, Tampa Bay only needs one more top-nine forward to solidify the group. Management has to find a Nick Perbix replacement for the third pair. And it wouldn't hurt to have a steadier backup behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. — Shayna Goldman Advertisement Technically, the Leafs' biggest need is still a center. But if they can't find a way to land that player, given the limited-to-nonexistent options in free agency and lack of trade assets, next up is a winger to play in the top six and help replace the departing Mitch Marner. If Brad Marchand doesn't end up sticking around in Florida, he feels like the most obvious target. — Jonas Siegel Utah already addressed its biggest offseason need with the JJ Peterka trade. The Mammoth could shop for a backup goalie behind Karel Vejmelka if Connor Ingram, who entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in March, isn't ready for the start of the season. They could also search for a depth forward with Nick Bjugstad and Michael Carcone likely to depart as free agents. — Harman Dayal The Canucks' preference was to use the No. 15 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to buy a top-six center, ideally a younger veteran player, to bolster their forward group. It didn't work out in the trade market, so Vancouver picked at 15th overall, leaving a significant hole in the middle of their lineup. — Thomas Drance The Golden Knights are strong up the middle of the ice with Jack Eichel, William Karlsson and Tomas Hertl, but could use more scoring punch on both wings, and appear to be aggressively shopping for it. Vegas scored plenty of goals in the regular season — the most in franchise history — but that dried up in the playoffs, ending with a 127-minute goalless drought. Mitch Marner is the obvious target, and the team has already considered trading for his rights before he even hits the market on July 1, according to league sources. They also made the move to trade pending RFA defenseman Nicolas Hague to Nashville as well. — Jesse Granger Like most teams, the Capitals could use another top-six game-breaker. What's more realistic, though, is that they add a quality depth piece down the middle. Connor McMichael could well be their best option, but he broke out as a second-line winger. Hendrix Lapierre had the job out of camp but couldn't hold it. Lars Eller was ineffective after they reacquired him and Nic Dowd works best at 4C. — Sean Gentille The Jets are on track to be good again, but Ehlers' contributions to the power play and middle six should not go underappreciated. Winnipeg needs another forward — ideally a right-shooting, physical, talented winger who can step in and take right-side faceoffs when the situation calls for it. Threading that needle is a daunting task, but the Jets would be stacked if they found a way. — Murat Ates (Top photos of Mitch Marner and Nikolaj Ehlers: Chris Tanouye and Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
New York Times
21-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Each NHL team's best and worst draft pick of the past decade
The Stanley Cup Final is over, and the 2025 NHL Draft is now less than a week away. To get into the spirit, The Athletic asked its NHL staff to look back and identify what they think is each team's best and worst draft pick of the past 10 years. In response, we heard about the hits, misses, steals, busts and even duds between the 2015 and 2024 drafts. Here are the selections. High picks such as Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson have hit. Jackson LaCombe (No. 39 in 2019) took off last season. One day, Carlsson might be the definitive choice here. But they've gotten a lot of mileage out of Terry, who fits under the cutoff as a 2015 draft pick. The fifth-round choice (No. 148) has done well with 101 goals and 237 points over the last four seasons. Advertisement The good thing for Larsson is that, as a 2015 pick, he'll have aged out of a similar future article. The bad thing is that the error-plagued No. 27 pick never found his footing as a consistently solid presence on Anaheim's blue line. After spending time in Ottawa's organization and playing seven games with the Senators, Larsson latched on in Switzerland's National League with SC Rapperswil-Jona. — Eric Stephens Three defensemen went before McAvoy in 2016. He is better than all of them. McAvoy has become a foundational player who should have been picked far earlier than No. 14. Vaakanainen became a third-pair depth NHL defenseman. The Bruins should have gotten a higher-impact player at No. 18 in 2017. Robert Thomas was drafted two slots later. — Fluto Shinzawa The Sabres have hit on some talent at the top of the draft, but the best value pick the franchise has made this decade is finding Hagel in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. Of course, the Sabres botched it by not signing him to an entry-level contract and letting him walk. He's since become a 90-point player for the Lightning and was on Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The No. 8 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Alexander Nylander, played just 19 games and scored only three goals for Buffalo. He has just 49 points in the NHL and has now played for five different NHL teams. Mikhail Sergachev, Charlie McAvoy and Jakob Chychrun all went after him in the top half of the first round in 2016. — Matthew Fairburn A game-breaking talent who can agitate opponents and produce as a first-line option in the regular season and the playoffs. The Flames hit a home run when they drafted Tkachuk sixth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. Unfortunately, the Flames are no longer benefiting from his abilities as a result of the Jonathan Huberdeau-Tkachuk trade. Flames fans are left thinking about what could've been. Advertisement There were a handful of players to choose from and some honorable mentions. But it's second-round Parsons who is one of the biggest draft duds of the last decade. The Flames could've drafted better with some first-round picks, but at least they played games (even Juuso Välimäki). Parsons never got a game in with Calgary, and Filip Gustavsson (a starter in Minnesota) went right after him. — Julian McKenzie Down the road, the answer could very well be defenseman Alexander Nikishin, a third-round pick in 2020, but for now, the clear choice is Aho. Selected 35th overall in the second round of the 2015 draft, Aho is on pace to hold many of the franchise's offensive records and is signed through 2032. Jackson Blake (fourth round in 2021) also deserves mention. Both of the picks former GM Ron Francis made in the 2016 draft were misses, but Bean going 13th overall, ahead of Charlie McAvoy and Jakob Chychrun, makes his selection worse than choosing Julien Gauthier eight picks later. Bean failed to develop into an offensive defenseman, as expected when he was drafted, and has become a No. 6 or 7 in Calgary. — Cory Lavalette DeBrincat would easily be a top-10 pick in a 2016 redraft. The Blackhawks got him 39th overall back then because teams weren't sold on his scoring ability at his size. After 253 goals in 614 NHL games, DeBrincat has obviously proven everyone wrong. The Blackhawks' defense was noticeably on the decline in 2018. With the eighth-overall pick in that year's draft, the Blackhawks had a chance to fix that. With defensemen Boqvist and Evan Bouchard still on the board at their turn, they went with the former. Boqvist played 76 NHL games before being traded. Bouchard is a key reason why the Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final again. — Scott Powers Makar has two Norris trophies and a Conn Smythe as Colorado's most valuable player in its 2022 Stanley Cup run, all before turning 27. The fourth-overall selection in 2017 is the best defenseman in the NHL, on pace to be an all-time great. There was consideration for Mikko Rantanen — taken 10th overall in the stacked 2015 draft — but it's hard to top a Conn Smythe. Advertisement Taken 16th overall in 2018, Czech winger Kaut played only 47 games for the Avalanche, scoring three goals. He spent the vast majority of his five seasons with the organization playing for the AHL's Colorado Eagles before he was eventually traded to San Jose in 2023. He played nine games with the Sharks, then returned home to Czechia, where he has played the last two seasons. — Jesse Granger The Blue Jackets have hit first-round home runs, especially lately. But to land Gavrikov, a top shut-down defenseman, in the sixth round (No. 159 overall in 2015) was a steal. Only six defensemen in that draft have more points than Gavrikov, and only nine have played more games. Sadly, Columbus no longer reaps the fruits of its find. Gavrikov was traded to Los Angeles in 2023. There's still time for this to play out differently, but Jiricek is already on his second organization (Columbus and Minnesota), and he hasn't been able to crack the lineup regularly with either. Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell traded Jiricek and got a first-round pick in the deal from the Wild early last season. Jiricek, the No. 6 overall pick in 2022, has to improve his skating. — Aaron Portzline It's tempting to be cheeky and say Logan Stankoven at No. 47 in 2021 because he landed them Mikko Rantanen, but Oettinger is the choice. Teams are usually reluctant to draft goalies in the first round because they take so long to develop, but getting Oettinger at No. 26 in 2017 is extraordinary value. That they also got Miro Heiskanen (No. 3) and Jason Robertson (No. 39) in the same draft is bonkers. The Stars have done exceptionally well landing high-end talent in the back half of the first round (Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley, for example). But way back in 2016, at the edge of this exercise, they didn't quite nail the 6-foot-6 winger Tufte, who has played just 24 NHL games, 13 with the Stars. Now a tweener for the Bruins, he has two NHL goals and one assist. — Mark Lazerus Steve Yzerman's first draft pick as Red Wings general manager was a complete shock at the time, but it has aged brilliantly. Seider blends punishing physicality with smooth skating, skillful puck moving and unmatched durability. This past season, he also proved he could run a top power play. Seider is now a No. 1 defenseman who will be part of Detroit's foundation for years to come. In 2018, Zadina falling to Detroit at No. 6 looked like a potential coup. Instead, seven years later, the pick is looked back on with regret, as Zadina is no longer in the organization. Meanwhile, three top defenders picked shortly after him — including Quinn Hughes, Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson — are all thriving as All-Star level players. This one still haunts Detroit. — Max Bultman Advertisement Connor McDavid is the most obvious answer, but the Oilers selecting him first in 2015 didn't exactly require much ingenuity. Nabbing Bouchard 10th three years later was a master stroke. Bouchard has become one of the best offensive defensemen of his era and one of the most proficient point-producing blueliners of all time in the postseason. The pending RFA is integral to the Oilers. The Oilers selecting Bourgault 22nd in 2021 was a whiff in so many ways. They traded down two spots when Jesper Wallstedt, a potential franchise goalie, was still on the board. He could have addressed an area of need. Instead, they chose Bourgault with Wyatt Johnston in play. Dallas was the beneficiary. Bourgault hasn't come close to playing in the NHL and was dealt to Ottawa — along with Jake Chiasson — last summer for Roby Jarventie and a draft pick. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman With the 212th selection in 2020, Florida drafted goalie Devon Levi, who popped enough as a prospect to, along with a 2022 first-round pick, help land Sam Reinhart in a trade from Buffalo. Earlier in that draft, though, with the 12th overall pick, they took Lundell — a key down-the-middle piece for a Stanley Cup winner. At 23, Lundell has already played nearly 80 postseason games and gets better each year. Pretty easy one here. Denisenko, a winger who was the 15th pick in 2018, left the KHL in 2020 and played 26 games across three seasons with Florida, putting up just seven points. He's been a productive AHLer, going from Vegas to Nashville after Florida waived him in 2023. No other Panthers pick from that draft has played an NHL game; tough year for the Dale Tallon regime. — Sean Gentille Quinton Byfield (No. 2 in 2020) feels obvious here while Adrian Kempe (No. 29 in 2014) just missed the cutoff. But instead of playing the hits, we're looking at some deeper cuts. Anderson (No. 103 in 2017) has been a shutdown staple next to Drew Doughty on the Kings' top defense pair the last four seasons. Other fine picks: Matt Roy, Erik Cernak, Brock Faber, Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Laferriere. Taken fifth overall in 2019, Turcotte is getting his NHL career going after dealing with injuries throughout his development years. The 24-year-old still has a future as a valuable contributor. But it's hard to overlook what fellow 2019 picks Moritz Seider, Matthew Boldy and Cole Caufield have become, or even the upside of Dylan Cozens, Trevor Zegras and Philip Broberg. — Eric Stephens It took five years to get 'Kirill the Thrill' to the U.S., but since entering the NHL, the 2015 fifth-round steal is third in the league behind Auston Matthews and Leon Draisaitl with 0.579 goals per game. The first legit superstar in Wild history is the face of the franchise. He also may be offered $15 million per year on an extension once he's eligible July 1. Advertisement The 2018 draft was crummy, but we still haven't gotten to the bottom of how the Wild drafted this defenseman at No. 24. But on draft night, Craig Button said, 'I would say that he doesn't do any one thing really well,' and Bob McKenzie said not one scout he surveyed had Johansson as a first-rounder. At least Paul Fenton's replacement, Bill Guerin, got a compensatory 2022 second-round pick for cutting him loose. — Michael Russo There's a reason why Caufield was passed over by 14 teams in 2019. A prolific scorer at the U.S. NTDP, there was a lot of doubt over an undersized winger's ability to translate that to the NHL (sound familiar?). Caufield's 118 career goals are second only to No. 1 pick Jack Hughes among 2019 draftees. This category will be owned by Lane Hutson (No. 62, 2022) very soon, for the exact same reason. There was a lot of pressure on then-Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin to find a center, largely because he had failed to do so for much of his tenure heading into the 2018 draft. The No. 3 pick looked like a golden opportunity to do that, but 2018 was a bad year at the center position. Bergevin still tried to fill that need and chose Kotkaniemi one pick before the Senators took Brady Tkachuk. — Arpon Basu There is nothing of exceptional quality in the past decade of Predators drafting, which speaks volumes about the franchise's current state. Maybe 2023 first-round defenseman Tanner Molendyk has stardom in his future. In the meantime, we'll go with the value of Parssinen as a 2019 seventh-round pick. He turned into an NHL player and the Preds flipped him for a third-round pick and a prospect. Tolvanen wins because of the disappointment relative to the hype, because former Preds GM David Poile let him go for nothing, and because nine spots later in 2017, Jason Robertson went to the Dallas Stars. Yes, everyone missed on how good Robertson would become. But imagine how different things might have been for the Preds in the early 2020s. — Joe Rexrode The Devils managed to nab Bratt, a point-per-game winger, in the sixth round in 2016. He's fifth in the draft class in points, sixth in games played and eighth in goals. In a redraft, he'd certainly go top 10 and maybe even top five. The Devils picked Holtz at No. 7 in 2020, and several strong NHLers went in the ensuing selections. Holtz had 16 goals for the Devils in 2023-24, but he never fully earned the trust of the front office or coaching staff. Tom Fitzgerald packaged him with Akira Schmid and sent him to Vegas last summer for Paul Cotter and a third-round pick. The Devils got only 110 games from Holtz. — Peter Baugh Advertisement The Isles entered the 2015 first round without a pick and came away with a cornerstone player, pouncing at No. 16 after the Bruins passed Barzal by three straight times. General manager Garth Snow traded Griffin Reinhart to the Oilers for the 16th and 33rd picks, then grabbed Barzal. Wahlstrom's up-and-down run as an Islander ended last season, when the Bruins claimed him off waivers. The No. 11 pick in a pretty mediocre 2018 draft wasn't a total disappointment, but the selection here is more about the missed opportunities for the Islanders in Lou Lamoriello's first draft. They had four picks in the top 43, and only Noah Dobson at No. 12 panned out. — Arthur Staple The Rangers picked Cuylle at No. 60 in 2020 — an excellent draft class for the Rangers — and he emerged this past season as a hard-nosed two-way player capable of scoring goals. He had 20 goals and 45 points and represented Canada at the World Championship. There's a lot to like about his game; he seems poised to have a long career as a middle-six forward. I was between Kravtsov (No. 9 in 2018) and Lias Andersson (No. 7 in 2017). Both top-10 picks did very little with the Rangers, but New York was able to trade Andersson for the pick that became Cuylle. It salvaged that situation. Kravtsov, meanwhile, played only 48 games for New York and netted just a seventh-round pick and William Lockwood in a trade with the Canucks. — Peter Baugh The Senators have spent the last near decade accumulating talent through the draft. But Stützle carries the highest superstar potential of them all. A standout pick from a stellar 2020 draft class for the Senators. He's the team's de facto No. 1 center, creating offense with his dynamic play and skill and is actively improving his defensive game. The Sens have only one player drafted after 2020 who has played NHL games. (Zack Ostapchuk, now in San Jose). There's not much time for Boucher to turn his game around, and he hasn't shown enough promise to justify taking him 10th overall in 2021. There are other Sens draft duds in the last decade, but none drafted higher than Boucher. Wyatt Johnston, Cole Sillinger and Matt Coronato were available. — Julian McKenzie The Flyers knew they wanted Michkov headed into the 2023 draft, but had no idea if he would drop to seventh overall. When he did, Daniel Briere leapt at the opportunity to snag the skilled winger who now looks like a franchise cornerstone. Michkov's early arrival and standout season, in which he led NHL rookies in goals with 26, have only made this pick look better since it was made. Advertisement While we could have gone with the 22nd overall pick in 2016, German Rubtsov, who played all of four NHL games, Patrick takes the cake as the second overall pick a year later. The Flyers bypassed Miro Heiskanen (third), Cale Makar (fourth) and Elias Pettersson (fifth) in order to select Patrick, who ran into injury issues. — Kevin Kurz He hasn't made his NHL debut yet, but the Penguins saw enough from the 44th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to believe that Brunicke is going to become a highly impactful defenseman sooner rather than later. They love him. Poulin was selected 21st overall in the 2019 NHL Draft but has never made a dent at the NHL level. Given how infrequently the Penguins kept their first-round selections during that era, the selection is even more glaring. While he has some attributes of a good player at the NHL level and has been a solid AHL contributor, Poulin's skating has long been a problem. — Josh Yohe It's true that he was the No. 1 overall and there might be some recency bias here, but Celebrini's rookie season as a Calder Trophy finalist and trajectory as a franchise cornerstone and potential captain gets the edge over some good choices in Timo Meier (No. 9 overall in 2015) and William Eklund (No. 7 in 2021). Mario Ferraro (No. 49 in 2017) has also worked out pretty well as a deeper pick. Touted as a dynamic skater and puck mover with significant offensive skills, Merkley wasn't dynamic enough to overcome the defensive issues that were red flags when he was chosen with the 21st pick in 2018. The 24-year-old played 39 games with the Sharks before being moved. He's been in the KHL for the last two seasons. Meanwhile, K'Andre Miller went to the Rangers with the very next pick. — Eric Stephens Shane Wright took a significant step this season and looks like a potential steal at fourth overall for the Kraken at the 2022 NHL Draft. Wright's two-way intelligence and skating speed popped off the ice for Seattle this season, and hinted strongly at the sort of difference-maker that Wright has an opportunity to develop into in the years to come. Other issues have held Seattle back from succeeding right off the hop, but the Kraken have drafted well in their existence to this point. The only players they selected in the first two rounds of the 2021 and 2022 NHL Drafts who haven't tracked well and already played NHL games are David Goyette and Jagger Firkus, both of whom had flashed in the AHL as 21-year-olds this past season. — Thomas Drance Advertisement In 2016, Blues goalie Brian Elliott wanted to be a No. 1 netminder and asked the team to facilitate a trade. General manager Doug Armstrong obliged, sending him to Calgary in a deal that included a second-round draft pick (No. 35) coming the other way. The Blues used it to select Kyrou, and since the start of the 2019-20 regular season, he leads the franchise with 150 goals. That's tied for ninth among all players drafted in 2016. In 2017, Klim Kostin slipped in the first round and was worth a shot. In 2018, Scott Perunovich was a Hobey Baker winner and had upside. That year, the Blues also traded up to get Dominik Bokk in the first round but were able to package him in a deal with Carolina for Justin Faulk. So the vote goes to Fitzpatrick, a second-round pick in 2016 (No. 59) who played 11 AHL games for the organization. Norris winner Adam Fox went seven picks later. — Jeremy Rutherford The Lightning have only drafted a handful of players over the last 10 years who have become impact players at the NHL level, and no one comes close to Cirelli's value. Over the last eight years, he developed into one of the best shutdown centers in the league — and now he is finally starting to get some Selke hype for it. That's excellent value for a third-round pick. Contending comes at a cost, which has depleted the Lightning's draft pool. Tampa Bay has only had one first-rounder in the last five years, which stresses the need for gems later in the draft. But management hasn't found many in recent years, so it's hard to pinpoint the worst when the last four or five years have overall been disappointments. — Shayna Goldman Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were obviously great picks, but also obvious, especially in the case of Matthews. Knies was the 57th overall pick in 2021, and he was in the NHL less than two years later. It was clear right away, when Knies joined the team in the 2023 playoffs, that the Leafs had found something special. He's only gotten better since. Korshkov was the 31st overall pick in 2016 and the first selection of the second round. He played in exactly one game for the Leafs. What makes it all worse is all the players who went after him — Jordan Kyrou (35th), Alex DeBrincat (39th), Adam Fox (66th) and Brandon Hagel (159th), among others. It was a big swing and a miss for the Leafs. — Jonas Siegel The Arizona Coyotes struggled at the draft table a lot over the years, at times due to a lack of resources put into scouting, especially in the bankruptcy years. But at the 2016 draft, they plucked a face of the franchise in Keller at seventh overall and a top-pairing defenseman (Chychrun) at 16th. Many of the picks around those two were misfires, so Arizona did well to find surplus value that season. Advertisement Hayton has turned into a solid player, but when he was picked fifth overall in 2018, it was a big reach up the board, and he is unlikely to ever justify that aggressiveness. The bigger problem is Quinn Hughes was far more highly regarded that year and went two picks later to Vancouver, which is a pretty tough miss given he's one of the best players in the league. (And Evan Bouchard went 10th, too.) — James Mirtle The Canucks landed the best player in the 2018 NHL Draft at seventh overall when Hughes fell past the Red Wings and the Coyotes and landed in their lap in the top 10. You expect a top-10 pick to become a future NHL-level contributor, but you don't expect him to become a consistent Norris Trophy-level blueliner the way Hughes has. The Canucks were dead set on drafting a defender in the 2016, got take lock on Juolevi, and couldn't adjust even as the draft board unfolded ahead of them in surprising fashion (when Columbus shocked the league by selecting Pierre-Luc Dubois). Passing on Matthew Tkachuk to take a defender who never turned into an NHL-level contributor is a tough one. — Thomas Drance With 55 goals over the last three seasons, Dorofeyev has scored more for the Golden Knights than any draft pick in team history. Vegas took the Russian winger in the third round of the 2019 draft and he has developed into an excellent offensive weapon. He led the team with 35 goals this past season, 13 of which came on the power play. Taken sixth overall in 2017 as the first draft pick in Golden Knights history, Glass entered the organization with hopes of being a franchise cornerstone for years to come. He fell short of those expectations, producing only 22 points in two seasons marred by injuries. He was traded to Nashville in 2021 for little return. — Jesse Granger With all due respect to Washington's current crop of prospects — Ryan Leonard, Andrew Cristall and the like — the pick here has to be Protas. The 91st overall pick in 2019, Protas had established himself as a useful piece even before his 30-goal breakout in 2024-25. Getting a player in the late third round of his caliber, with a skill set that diverse, was a huge win for the Caps' front office. Johansen, a defenseman who was the No. 28 pick in 2016, had some crummy injury luck in his seven seasons with the organization, but nine overall NHL games is tough. The players picked immediately after him, Trent Frederic and Sam Steel, both grew into relevant NHL players, too, which makes missing on a first-round pick a little tougher. He spent last season with Vegas' AHL affiliate. — Sean Gentille Advertisement Connor has scored the eighth-most goals and 22nd-most points in the NHL since 2017-18. The Jets got him at 17th overall in the loaded 2015 draft after three straight Boston picks plus the Islanders' selection of Matt Barzal, and he's sixth in scoring from that draft class. Connor has led Winnipeg in scoring in three out of the last four years, playing key roles and big minutes. Winnipeg's three best candidates for 'worst pick' — Vesalainen, Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola — were all taken close to where Bob McKenzie's consensus rankings placed them. Even in Stanley's case, where they traded up, the Jets picked him close to his projection, so we'll go with the least impressive career: Vesalainen got into 70 games, scoring five points, and now plays in Finland. — Murat Ates (Top photos of Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes: Steph Chambers / Getty Images and Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
