The highly-anticipated offseason is just around the corner, and NHL teams are beginning to take stock of the money they have to work with this summer.
Some clubs will be pinching pennies with the goal of re-signing their top skaters or dipping into the free agent pool. But the three organizations with the most money to spend have a golden opportunity to make sweeping changes to the roster in order to elevate the team next season.
Anaheim Ducks need to improve puck movement
The Anaheim Ducks jumped 21 points in the standings compared to last season, but there are still some key areas to improve upon headed into the 2025-26 campaign.
The Ducks have the third-most cap space in the league with $38.7 million to spend approaching July 1. This allows GM Pat Verbeek to target the two important things that must get better if Anaheim wants to be competitive: goal-scoring and puck possession.
Anaheim had some of the lowest offensive production in the NHL this season, with the third-fewest goals per game and the worst power play in the league at 11.8%. The Ducks also had the third-worst Corsi for, controlling the puck just 45.9% of the time at 5-on-5.
Going after someone like Nikolaj Ehlers could solve both of those problems. He is strong carrying the puck, and has the ability to make clean passes at all strengths thanks to his playmaking skills. Ehlers could rake in around $8 million on his next contract, and would be well worth it for his tremendous hockey IQ and contributions at both even strength and on the man advantage.
Even better, the Ducks are frontrunners in the Mitch Marner sweepstakes according to rumors from the Scouting Combine. He would immediately provide a ton of scoring walking into the role of first line wing. Marner's elite offensive ability would elevate any lineup, coming off of a career-high 102 points this season, but especially one in need of a standout contributor.
Anaheim had 10 overtime losses, in addition to 11 defeats in one-goal games. But when leading by two goals, the Ducks had a .567 W%. Adding someone who can score timely goals could really push the team in the right direction. With increased offense, the Ducks could quickly emerge as a solid team.