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Here is each NHL organization’s biggest internal need for the 2024 NHL draft. “Biggest need” in this context is not strictly about the NHL roster. This is about projecting five years down the road, and mostly focusing on what teams have in their farm system.
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Anaheim Ducks: Defenseman
The Ducks have one of the best groups of young forwards in the league, arguably the best. After they traded Jamie Drysdale for Cutter Gauthier, there is a clear need for a premier young defenseman in the organization, which the Ducks will be in a prime position to acquire with the No. 3 overall pick.
Boston Bruins: Defenseman
Boston has a thin system, so I don’t see a true pressing need. Mason Lohrei had a great rookie pro season, but after Lohrei, there isn’t much coming at this position, whereas Boston has a bit more depth up front.
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Buffalo Sabres: Goaltender
Buffalo made a lot of picks in recent years and has young depth at every position. The Sabres have young goalie depth, as Devon Levi and Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen are strong young goalies. If I had to pick a position I’d like to see them add more talent to, though, it would be in net, and continuing to try to find their clear starter of the future.
Calgary Flames: Defenseman
Calgary hasn’t picked a defenseman in the first round since Juuso Valimaki in 2017. The Flames have picked defensemen in other high rounds, but the result has been that their system is more forward-heavy and lacks a clear blueliner of the future for their top four, unless someone such as Etienne Morin or Jeremie Poirier really hits.
Carolina Hurricanes: Center
Carolina has drafted a lot of skilled wingers in recent years, and Scott Morrow looks like a solid defense prospect, not to mention premier prospect Alexander Nikishin. Ryan Suzuki was a promising center prospect at one point, but his development has gone sideways, and after Jack Drury, it’s not clear what else Carolina has coming up the middle.
Chicago Blackhawks: Size at forward
Chicago has had a lot of picks in recent years. The Blackhawks have drafted excellent young forwards and defensemen. I’m tempted to list goalie here, but we’ll see how their high second-round pick, Adam Gajan, develops. Looking at the forwards they’ve drafted, there’s a lot of skill and speed in that group, but they’re mostly small outside of Colton Dach, whom I do like. Ideally, they can add a forward with some size.
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Colorado Avalanche: Defenseman
Colorado has a lot of needs due to its very thin farm system, but given that the Avalanche just traded Bowen Byram and that their only no-doubt NHL player is Calum Ritchie, in an ideal world they would add another defenseman with their first pick if the talent lines up.
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Columbus Blue Jackets: Goaltender
Columbus has had a lot of high picks in recent years. There’s still a lot of work to do in turning around the team, but the Blue Jackets have a great young foundation in place. The one clear hole on the depth chart, though, is in net. They lack a clear goalie of the future.
Dallas Stars: Goaltender
Dallas has done a great job drafting lately. The Stars have very good young forwards and defensemen coming, so it’s hard to find a clear need. I picked goalie because they don’t have a legit prospect at that position now. Jake Oettinger isn’t going anywhere and is only 25 years old, but depth at that position is becoming increasingly important.
Detroit Red Wings: Skill
Detroit has done a good job building out its premium positions. The Red Wings have centers and defensemen of the future, and a strong goalie prospect in Sebastian Cossa. I like the young forwards they have coming, but they truly lack guys in their system who can put the puck in the net and put up points.
Edmonton Oilers: Goaltender
Edmonton can score and it has some young defensemen coming, but the Oilers’ most clear and obvious need, in their farm system and on the roster, is for a goaltender of the future.
Florida Panthers: Defenseman
Florida’s system is bare-bones, but the Panthers at least have some young forward talent, and Spencer Knight in goal. They have a clear and pressing need for some quality young defensemen.
Los Angeles Kings: Center
The Kings had a lot of picks over the last half decade and drafted several quality young skaters who are either on their club or pushing for jobs. My lean to their biggest need being center is based on two questions: Is Quinton Byfield an NHL center or wing? Is Alex Turcotte a full-time NHL player? If the answer to one or both of those questions is no, then they have no clear center of the future.
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Minnesota Wild: Defenseman
Minnesota has a lot of good young players at all positions, but the Wild lack a premium blue-line talent in their pipeline right now. I feel confident that this system will produce at least one or two top-six forwards, and a starting goalie in Jesper Wallstedt, but I don’t see a future top-four defender.
Montreal Canadiens: Center
Montreal has a strong group of young defensemen and wingers coming up. While Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach are very good players, because of the miss on Jesperi Kotkaniemi, it is lacking quality depth at center.
Nashville Predators: Defenseman
For an organization that used to be known as a defense factory, an overwhelming number of the top young players on this team are forwards — or goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. Nashville picked Tanner Molendyk with its second first-round pick last summer, and he is a very good player but the Predators need more than him.
New Jersey Devils: Goaltender
The Devils have had a lot of high picks in recent years and acquired premium centers and defensemen. They have a talented roster but lack some answers in net. They won’t solve that immediate issue in the draft, but ideally they would try to find some talent in goal that, if they hit, could become their future starter.
New York Islanders: Defenseman
The Islanders have a lot of needs in their system, so you could probably list any position for them. After picking a potential bottom-six center in Danny Nelson last summer, I would lean that they need a bit more defense depth.
New York Rangers: Center
The Rangers have done a good job of building depth on defense and on the wing, but they haven’t meaningfully addressed the center position since the 2017 draft. Their current NHL centers are good, but they could add a solid prospect at that spot.
Ottawa Senators: Defenseman
Ottawa needs some of everything, especially after several recent high picks haven’t trended well — Tyler Boucher and Lassi Thomson — but the Senators need more help keeping the puck out of their net, rather than scoring. With the No. 7 pick, they will be under a lot of pressure to draft a defenseman.
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Philadelphia Flyers: Center
The Flyers have a clear and pressing need for current and future centers, with a lot of talent on the wing. In this draft, they should be in a position, at No. 12, to get a good center prospect, although they may lack size.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Defenseman
The Penguins have had little to no draft picks in recent years, although they have made back-to-back first-round picks, center Brayden Yager and defenseman Owen Pickering. Looking at the depth of their system, if I had to pick one position after Pickering, I don’t see much of anything coming on the blue line, although they truly need everything.
San Jose Sharks: Defenseman
The Sharks, especially after drafting Macklin Celebrini with the No. 1 pick, will have a clear need to address their blue line. Teams always say “best player available,” but if they don’t pick a defenseman with the No. 14 pick, I’ll be a little surprised.
Seattle Kraken: Defenseman
Seattle has used a lot of its draft capital, since the franchise started, to add highly talented forwards through the draft. The Kraken picked defender Ryker Evans high, too, but they need a lot more than him in the prospect pool, and at the No. 8 pick, they are in a strong position to help their future blue line.
St. Louis Blues: Defenseman
I thought defense was the Blues’ biggest need going into the last draft, and after using two of their three first-round picks last summer on forwards, it’s arguably even more pronounced now. There may be only so many top-tier defense prospects left by the time they pick at No. 16, however.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Defenseman
Tampa Bay has had so few draft picks in recent years that it’s hard to pinpoint one exact need, because its system needs everything. The Lightning have at least some decent talent coming at forward, but it’s a black hole in terms of their prospect depth on the blue line.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Defenseman
Toronto has used whatever high picks it has had on a lot of forwards of late, and after trading Rasmus Sandin, there isn’t a ton of quality youth in the organization on defense anymore.
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Utah: Defenseman
Utah has a strong group of young forwards, led by a lot of recent high picks, including Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, who had great rookie pro seasons. It picked Dmitri Simashev at No. 6 last season, and Maveric Lamoureux is a very good prospect, but between forward and defense, ideally it would add a defenseman in this draft — and particularly a defenseman who can run a power play in the NHL.
Vancouver Canucks: Center
The Canucks had a need for depth at the premium positions going into the 2023 draft. The Canucks addressed defense in taking Tom Willander, and now I would say their most pressing need is center depth.
Vegas Golden Knights: Center
Vegas has been all-in and has traded a lot of picks and prospects in doing so. It has a lot of needs, but if I had to choose one, it would be up the middle, especially after the recent dealing of prospect David Edstrom in the Tomas Hertl trade.
Washington Capitals: Goaltender
Washington has acquired a lot of talented forwards lately in the draft. I was tempted to say defense here, but the Capitals have some solid younger defensemen in the organization, and since the Ilya Samsonov pick went sideways for them, they’ve yet to secure their clear future goalie.
Winnipeg Jets: Defenseman
The Jets have drafted a lot of forwards with their high picks in recent years, and that, coupled with the fact that their first pick in 2019, Ville Heinola, hasn’t developed very well has led to a depth issue on their prospect blue line outside of Elias Salomonsson. Ideally, that is a position where they add some quality during this draft.
(Top photo: Mike Stobe / NHLI via Getty Images)
