What will the NHL standings look like in three years? We predict the future (2024)

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this ranking was out of order due to a math error. The order has been corrected.

Welcome to this year’s edition of the NHL Future Rankings, where we attempt to predict how the NHL standings will look in three years’ time. This is done by evaluating a team’s current and future players, the market and the people who own and run the team.

Panelists from The Athletic were assigned to different categories. Voters were asked to rate each team on a scale of 1-10 with a view to how this area could impact the team winning games in the 2025-26 season. The following weighting system was used to create an overall score:

Current NHL roster (45 percent): Voted by Dom Luszczyszyn
U23 talent as of Sept. 15, 2022 (30 percent):Voted by Corey Pronman
Ownership/market (12.5 percent): Voted by Mark Lazerus and Michael Russo
Coaching/management (6.25 percent):Voted by Thomas Drance and Shayna Goldman
Salary cap (6.25 percent):Voted by James Mirtle and Harman Dayal

In determining the weighting, the current roster was given the lion’s share because the best predictor of whether a team will be good next season is whether theyare good right now. In discussions with NHL executives, they emphasized that ownership is more important than the value that team executives themselves bring due to how much owners can influence the direction of a franchise and how long they tend to be around. NHL sources also emphasized that while cap space is important, there are ways to create cap space— in other words, this shouldn’t be valued too highly.

Good young players are no guarantee of future success. Buffalo has been near the top of my farm rankings for years, and Tampa/Boston near the bottom. Eventually there will be a changing of the guard though. Pittsburgh and Washington seem like franchises trending in the other direction, while New Jersey and Detroit are teams that are trending up or should trend up.

And now for the rankings:

1. New Jersey Devils

The Devils are the talk of the town right now and it should be no surprise that the voters believe they have a bright future ahead of them after a scorching-hot start to the season and a lot of very young core players on the team. That’s not even considering the fact that two of their best young players, Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes, aren’t on the roster yet. There’s potential for something special in Newark.

Dom Luszczyszyn on New Jersey’s NHL roster: The Devils have arrived as one of the league’s elite teams. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier are turning into one of the game’s best one-two punches and there’s terrific forward depth all around them. Dougie Hamilton is back to Norris Trophy form leading a deep blue line and Vitek Vanecek is proving to be the long-awaited answer in net. The Devils have big potential to be a league powerhouse for years to come.

2. Carolina Hurricanes

The panelists are big believers in what the Hurricanes are doing. They are currently one of the best teams in the league, with good young players such as Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis forming the foundation of the current roster. They do have a solid farm system as well, and their cap space is efficiently allocated. They have put themselves in a position to succeed now and for a while.

Shayna Goldman on the Hurricanes’ coaching and management: Management has done a really good job of building out the cap structure for the Hurricanes. While it’s starting to get crowded, there’s enough creativity in that front office to make moves that will save some cap — whether it’s opting not to invest in heftier deals the team can manage without, or finding under-the-radar options. As for the coaching, Rod Brind’Amour and his staff have implemented a system that works so well for this team. It’s more than just a system — it’s an identity. An even more positive sign is that the coaches are starting to let skaters like Marty Necas play more to their strengths within that system, so as long as the bench can keep evolving to adjust what’s been working, that should continue to be a strength.

3. Colorado Avalanche

The reigning champions have a star-studded roster and we believe they’ll be in Stanley Cup contention for years to come. That’s in part due to big belief in the team and the surrounding infrastructure, with the panelists giving strong marks for management and ownership in Colorado. The Avs don’t have the type of young talent Carolina or New Jersey do, but Bowen Byram, for example, should continue to grow into a top player for them.

Thomas Drance on why the Avalanche scored so high in coaching/management: Colorado’s embarrassment of riches extends beyond the ice and into the boardroom. The club has one of the best, most open-minded coaches in the league in Jared Bednar, a whiz general manager in Chris McFarland and the sage leadership of president of hockey operations Joe Sakic — who had the wisdom to move up the ladder and retain McFarland in the organization. The Avalanche are progressive, have clear alignment between their head coach and management group, their contract work is flawless, their pro scouting has been best-in-class repeatedly and they have stability at every level of hockey operations leadership. Tough decisions loom — the hard cap challenges all successful teams face — but they’re well positioned to navigate those issues in the years to come.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto is one of the best teams in the league currently, led by several star forwards who are in their prime. The three-year projection of the Leafs will depend strongly on extending Auston Matthews, but early signs point to that not being too big of an issue.

Harman Dayal on Toronto’s cap situation: The Leafs will have a lot of cap flexibility to work with. Toronto only has two contracts that span through 2025-26, thanks in part to John Tavares’ skyscraper $11 million cap hit coming off the books. They’ll need a large chunk of that room to keep the core intact because Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander all require UFA deals before the 2025-26 campaign kicks off. Morgan Rielly will be 31 with a $7.5 million cap hit which is fine but not great value considering his defensive question marks. Calle Järnkrok will still be on the books in his age 34 season which isn’t ideal, but he only carries a modest $2.1 million cap hit so that won’t be difficult to navigate around.

5. New York Rangers

The Rangers are off to a bit of a slow start, but they have a talented roster, with good young players on the club and coming up from the pipeline even if the shine has faded from a couple of their top young guys. One thing the Rangers can always lean on is how desirable it is to play on their team and how they are a top target for players.

Michael Russo on the Rangers’ ownership and market: James Dolan is a big deal. Just ask him. But he does have deep pockets and owns an NHL team in the city that never sleeps — a team that plays inside the world’s most famous arena. And who wouldn’t want to play for an Original Six franchise owner who spends to the cap, lets his management make bold decisions and gives his players and staff all the perks of a big-market team?

6. Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas has an older roster, but that roster looks excellent and built to win for the next few years. Our panel also gave the highest marks to their ownership and market, indicating an ownership group that is committed to winning and creating a place players want to play. How they navigate the salary cap is their biggest obstacle moving forward.

Michael Russo on the Golden Knights’ high marks for ownership and market: Bill Foley just seems like the owner you want to play for. Ask anybody about him and they’ll tell you he truly cares for his players and is loyal to them even when his management team has proven to make tough decisions on the future of some guys who thought they’d be there forever. Heck, he even showers them with gifts, like trips to his Montana estate or Canada Goose jackets. As Ryan Reaves said, who needs a Canada Goose jacket playing in Vegas? But that’s just the kind of guy Foley is. He gives Kelly McCrimmon, George McPhee and those in the genius marketing department every resource to run a first-class organization, and the Golden Knights continue to be successful on the ice and in the liveliest, arguably most fun arena and game experience in the NHL.

7. Minnesota Wild

While the Wild haven’t been off to the start they expected, this is a good team led by star winger Kirill Kaprizov and a solid supporting cast. They also have several good players on the way from the farm. It’s debatable whether there’s enough talent here to build a true Stanley Cup contender, but it’s close.

Harman Dayal on Minnesota’s cap situation: The Wild’s financial situation improves tremendously in the 2025-26 campaign as the dead cap penalties for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s buyouts will fall from $14.7 million to $1.66 million. It’s also the final year where Minnesota will control Kirill Kaprizov at a team-friendly $9-million cap hit before he’s UFA eligible, so there’s extra incentive to take advantage. One concern is that the Wild will have significant money tied up to aging defensem*n — Jared Spurgeon will be 36 carrying a $7.575 million cap hit and Jonas Brodin will be 32 with a $6 million cap hit.

8. Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo has some excellent young talent that should only grow into better players with time. They do desperately need help in net and getting some quality veteran adds, especially at that position, will be important for management over the next few years.

Corey Pronman on the Sabres’ under-23 talent: The Sabres have the clear best group of young talent in the NHL. They are a team right now that could be confused with an older college hockey team, but they are among the leading scoring clubs in the league. Rasmus Dahlin is an elite NHL player, while Dylan Cozens is emerging into a true two-way center star in his own right, and there’s plenty of young depth behind them.

9. Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay has a roster full of NHL stars and a farm system that is quite barren after years of going for it. While Tampa’s depth continues to be chipped away every offseason, the panel has a lot of confidence in who is running this team to keep them competitive for the long term.

Mark Lazerus on why the Lightning’s ownership gets a 10: Where this exercise gets tricky is for teams such as the Panthers (a deep-pocketed, fully invested owner in a very difficult market populated by ex-New Yorkers with pre-existing allegiances) or the Blackhawks (a terrific market with a deep-pocketed, fully invested and, as of February, rather toxic owner) or the Senators (in three years, Ryan Reynolds might be the incredibly handsome face of the team when a new arena is being built in downtown Ottawa, or it might just be more of the same). But Tampa is as safe a bet as there is. Jeff Vinik has become the gold standard of ownership, Florida’s player-friendly tax laws aren’t changing anytime soon, and climate change won’t fully submerge the state of Florida for at least a couple of decades. Giving Tampa a 10 is as easy a call as there is on this list.

10. Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings are a team with a lot of strong young players in their organization, led by Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, with the likes of Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper on the way. I think you can have reasonable debates about whether there’s enough talent in the system to be a contender, but I do think Detroit should compete for the playoffs consistently over the next few years.

Thomas Drance on Detroit’s coaching and management: Between his work with Hockey Canada at the Olympics and his work in Tampa Bay, Steve Yzerman is in the running for the most successful hockey operations executive of the past 15 years. Even if you might quibble with some of their moves this past summer, the team has improved and successfully taken the big step forward they were aiming for. There’s a clear plan in Detroit and Yzerman has executed it with discipline to this point. Derek Lalonde is still relatively unproven as an NHL head coach but his early work shows exceptional promise.

11. Florida Panthers

The Panthers have a very talented roster and are one of the better teams in their conference right now. The trade for Matthew Tkachuk gives them breathing room to be good for the future as well. Their biggest challenge is how all-in they’ve gone with their future assets, including moving a ton of premium futures for last year’s playoff run that ended in the second round.

Corey Pronman on the Panthers’ under-23 talent: The Panthers have traded a ton of future assets in the last two years in an attempt to win, including a massive spending spree at the 2022 trade deadline for rentals. The result is a farm system that is barren currently and will be for many years to come. Their top prospects are Mackie Samoskevich and Grigori Denisenko, with the latter’s stock continuing to trend down. They need Anton Lundell and Spencer Knight to be impactful young players because there are no reinforcements coming.

12. Boston Bruins

The Bruins are currently one of the best teams in the league. The future is less cleardue to the age of some of their best players, the uncertainty around whether they’ll retain David Pastrnak, and their thin farm system. Boston finds a way to keep winning year after year though, so it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see them atop the standings in three seasons.

Dom Luszczyszyn on Boston’s NHL roster: Age is always a concern for the Bruins, but that doesn’t take away from what their current roster is: the league’s best. There’s star power at every position supplemented by immense depth that this team has been searching for for years. Right now, this is as close as you can get to a perfect team.

13. Dallas Stars

The Stars have a lot of things going for them. They’re very good right now and have some good young building blocks in players like Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston among others.

Dom Luszczyszyn on the Stars’ NHL roster:The arrival of Jason Robertson as a legitimate MVP candidate has propelled the Stars into the league’s upper echelon. They have one of the league’s best lines, a strong up-and-coming goalie in Jake Oettinger, plus one of the league’s best defensem*n in Miro Heiskanen. If there’s a concern here it’s the team’s depth. Renaissance seasons from Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have helped, as has the addition of Mason Marchment — but the team isn’t as strong around the edges right now as the clubs rated above them.

14. Ottawa Senators

Ottawa is in a similar type of situation to Detroit. The roster is solid but not great yet, but they have some high-end young talent in the organization. It may take some time, but Ottawa should get into a consistent playoff picture especially as Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson enter their primes.

Corey Pronman on Ottawa’s under-23 talent: Ottawa’s young core is fantastic. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle and Jake Sanderson are foundational pieces that can help turn this franchise around, and the depth in the system is quite solid too. There are no guarantees with young players, but the talent is there to help Ottawa become a good team again.

15. Calgary Flames

The Flames may not be off to a roaring start, but you can’t deny thatthey have a talented, deep roster that should eventually lead to wins. The question will be how long the winning can be sustained due to the age of the core players, the significant cap commitments, and the lack of top-tier prospects on the way.

Harman Dayal on Calgary’s cap situation: The Flames have a lot of expensive veteran contracts that will likely start turning sour. Nazem Kadri will be 35 with a $7 million cap hit, Jonathan Huberdeau will be 32 with a mammoth $10.5 million cap hit, Jacob Markstrom will be 35 with a $6 million cap hit and Blake Coleman will be 34 making $4.9 million. Couple that with Calgary likely not having a lot of high-end young talent on cheap contracts and it’s going to be tough for them to navigate the cap.

16. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have been a team trending up and we believe they will remain a playoff-caliber squad for the next few years. They have a strong group of current players, good young talent coming on the way, and a strong infrastructure around the franchise.

Shayna Goldman on the Kings’ coaching and management: The Kings’ management staff has built a strong prospect pool that should lead to sustainable playoff window in Los Angeles. There’s been recognition on how to balance major contracts with entry-level deals, as well as how to use free agency and trades to complement the core they’ve assembled. That bodes for a strong future as long as a goalie plan can be worked out in a few years. This earns the Kings high marks here, more so than coaching, which could be different by then given the tenures of most coaches in this league.

17. Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers being at 17 surprised me a little given they still have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but their roster didn’t get a very high grade due to the lack of a strong supporting cast around their stars. Also, frankly, that’s right around where they are in the league as it stands now.

Dom Luszczyszyn on Edmonton’s NHL roster: It’s disappointing that we’re in Year 8 of the Connor McDavid era and this team’s current roster is rated “good” but not “great.” Last year’s run to the conference final offered optimism, but the team — aside from McDavid and Leon Draisaitl — has taken a collective step back since. There’s time to turn things around and this team should be better, but right now there are too many question marks to call this team a contender. Goaltending and team defense remain the biggest issues.

18. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets have been off to a great start this season, but their roster and overall grades look more like their situation of the last few years — not a top-tier club but not a bottom-out one either. Whether this group has another deep playoff run left in them or is destined to be on the playoff bubble will be interesting to watch.

Harman Dayal on Winnipeg’s cap situation: The Jets currently project to have some of the most cap flexibility of any team by 2025-26. Winnipeg has just over $16 million committed to three players, which includes Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey — who’s rebounded well during the last season and a half — and Adam Lowry’s modest $3.25 million cap hit. There are no contracts to be worried about by 2025-26, which should put them in a unique position to add talent.

19. Seattle Kraken

The Kraken have been off to a strong start this year, but the voters aren’t yet ready to stamp them as a consistent playoff contender, especially given their suspect situation in goal and high team PDO. There’s probably more building left to do in Seattle.

Dom Luszczyszyn on the Kraken’s NHL roster: Seattle has had a surprisingly strong start to the season that has seen the team rocket up the standings. The underlying numbers are good with the team’s depth being its biggest strength. But even with the emergence of Matty Beniers, the team still lacks the high-end talent to be taken really seriously at the moment. That may change if the Kraken keep this up, but for now, the best course of action is cautious optimism.

20. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins being a bubble playoff team three years from now seems more likely, especially since they look like a team who will have to fight to make the playoffs this season. Their stars are still excellent, but eventually time will catch them, be it from their top players falling off or the lack of draft picks over a long period of time.

Corey Pronman on Pittsburgh’s under-23 talent: The Penguins have traded a lot of picks and prospects over the last decade in an attempt to win. They kept their most recent first, which became Owen Pickering, who is a good player, but it’s a long way back for this system to be even decent.

21. Montreal Canadiens

Montreal finished dead last in 2021-22, but there is a lot of top-end young talent in this organization led by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and more recently Juraj Slafkovsky, Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle. There’s still a lot of work to do, though, for the Habs to become a legit playoff team and it may take a few years.

Corey Pronman on the Canadiens’ under-23 talent: Montreal will only find their way back to reputability on the backs of their young players. Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky is a good place to start, and they have several quality young defensem*n in the organization. The Canadiens will probably need a few more major pieces to become a good club, though.

22. Anaheim Ducks

Times are tough right now for the Ducks, but their fans can take some comfort in knowing that their future should be brighter, led by Calder finalist Trevor Zegras. In the junior ranks, Pavel Mintyukov is ripping up the OHL. But it will likely take some time for the new management group to put together a winner.

Corey Pronman on the Ducks’ under-23 talent: The Ducks haven’t won a lottery yet in their attempt to rebuild, but their high picks still look excellent. Zegras is a star and Mason McTavish is an emerging one, while defensem*n Jamie Drysdale and Pavel Mintyukov look like future top-flight players in the league.

23. New York Islanders

Given how good the Islanders have looked early on this season, this feels a tad harsh, but it’s fair to say those on the panel are not full believers yet in this group — mostly due to a high team PDO, a light prospect pool, and a lot of big dollar commitments.

Dom Luszczyszyn on the Islanders’ NHL roster: The Islanders have started the season strong, but that feels like a bit of an Ilya Sorokin-induced mirage. He is standing on his head right now, masking a flawed team that struggles to control the run of play. Sorokin makes this a potential playoff team as one of the best goalies in the world, but there are too many warts otherwise to consider this team to be much better than that.

24. Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver has a decent roster on paper but it’s not an elite one. Combine that with the fact that the Canucks haven’t had many draft picks in the last five years and they have some big contracts on the books, and they may find it a struggle to build a winner in the next few years.

Thomas Drance on the Canucks’ coaching and management: This grade seems low considering Jim Rutherford’s and Bruce Boudreau’s bulletproof resumes. Given the lack of organizational alignment between the coaching staff and management at the moment, we might as well have scored it “incomplete.” There’s just too much uncertainty to fully weigh Boudreau’s impact over a five-year future term. It’s no secret that it would be a surprise were Boudreau to last behind Vancouver’s bench beyond this season. Meanwhile, Rutherford is tried and tested as a Stanley Cup–winning executive in this league, but the rest of Vancouver’s hockey operations group — including rookie general manager Patrik Allvin — is relatively inexperienced. And their work in one full cycle in command of the Canucks organization leaves plenty to be desired. The Canucks could shoot up these rankings 12 months from now depending on how things play out between now and the deadline and who is behind their bench next season. For the moment, it’s hard to score them any higher than this given the churn of misfortune and drama that has characterized the past 12 months in Vancouver.

25. Nashville Predators

The Predators feel like an organization that always finds a way to be somewhat competitive, so seeing them at No. 25 may raise some eyebrows. Their ranking here is mostly due to the middle ground they find themselves in: They have a solid group, but they’re paying top dollar for a league-average team. This led to the voters to criticize the direction of the team’s leadership.

Shayna Goldman on why the Predators’ management hasn’t done enough to build for the future: While David Poile gets credit for his longevity as general manager in Nashville, his recent seasons haven’t impressed. The team hasn’t done nearly enough to build a sustainable future. Instead, when there have been opportunities to step back and quickly re-tool to give the team a legitimate shot in the future, they’re too enamored with a season-saving goalie run and end up once again in the dreaded middle. That’s going to weigh on this team in a few years, especially as their core players continue to age.

26. Washington Capitals

Presumed for over a decade to be a playoff team, the Capitals are out of the top 16 in this exercise. The panel sees an older roster with big cap commitments and not a ton coming from the system and wonders how many more playoff runs this group can get Alex Ovechkin.

Harman Dayal on Washington’s cap situation: It’s hard to see how the Capitals will still be competitive by the time the 2025-26 season rolls around. Most of the existing core will have aged out and Alex Ovechkin will be 40, so it’s fair to wonder if he’ll still be a franchise-quality winger. John Carlson’s $8 million cap hit will be problematic by his age 35 season, considering he’s already inconsistent defensively. Darcy Kuemper will also be 35 by then, making $5.25 million. Washington doesn’t have a ton of money committed, but the investments they have made will likely turn inefficient. That’s the cost every contender justifiably signs up for when they dish out long-term contracts to keep a Cup window open.

27. St. Louis Blues

While the Blues haven’t had the beginning to their season they hoped for, they have been better of late, and it surprised me a little to see them all the way down at No. 25. This reflects a belief by the panel that the roster isn’t elite anymore, which, combined with a light prospect pool and big contracts, could make it difficult to build a contender again in St. Louis in the near future.

Thomas Drance on the Blues’ coaching and management: The St. Louis Blues are off to a slow start and have some storm clouds forming on the horizon, particularly with a blue-line group that seems to be getting long in the tooth in a hurry and has a ton of money and term committed to it for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, Doug Armstrong and Craig Berube provide the Blues with a stellar one-two leadership punch. Armstrong and the Blues have identified pro and amateur talent efficiently with extraordinary consistency over the course of the past decade, and he’s adjusted with the times, making sharp, progressive bets this summer on long-term second contracts for Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas, for example. Berube, similarly, has evolved into one of the most innovative coaches in the game. The Blues shifted after their Cup win to systematically chase efficiency in manufacturing offense, and teams across the league are following suit — the sincerest form of flattery in a copy cat league.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets are enduring a very tough season. I think the fans can take some solace in the team having some very good young players on the roster and on the way, but they’ve heard that song before and I’m sure they’re tired of hearing about the future. I probably wouldn’t call their young player group elite yet either, just very good.

29. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers are in a tough spot as a franchise, with a subpar roster and — outside of Cutter Gauthier — not a ton of premium young players on the way from the system. This could take several years to turn around but the Flyers being a desirable destination for free agents could help speed things up a bit.

Mark Lazerus on the Flyers’ ownership and market: Philly is one of America’s great sports towns, with a singular fan base that never lacks for passion, win or lose. That will never change. After decades of having Ed Snider as the face of the franchise, the Flyers are now owned by Snider’s corporation, Comcast Spectator. Under Snider, the Flyers were in perpetual win-now mode. It remains to be seen whether the current ownership will allow the full-blown rebuild the franchise clearly needs. Regardless, it’s stable ownership in a great sports city.

30. Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago stripped down their roster to build for the future. They have some very good young players in the pipeline, but they need a lot more and the next few years are expected to be painful as they build through the draft.

Dom Luszczyszyn on Chicago’s NHL roster: Terrible by design. The Blackhawks have a desolate and barren roster from top to bottom that has few if any redeeming qualities. With top players Patrick Kane and Seth Jones struggling to start, there is next to nothing to like about this group.

31. Arizona Coyotes

Arizona being near the bottom is not overly surprising. They are clearly a team building for the future, and while their recent draft class looks promising there is a lot more work to do to build up an elite young core. You combine that with a lack of clarity on the rink they play in and consistent drama on the ownership front and the voters are suspect that the Coyotes will be a winning team soon.

Mark Lazerus on the Coyotes’ ownership and market: Alex Meruelo might be the best owner the Coyotes have ever had, which admittedly isn’t a very high bar to clear. We can all point and laugh at the Coyotes’ endless well of misfortune and self-inflicted wounds and unpaid bills, and the fact that they’re playing in a 4,600-seat college rink for possibly four full seasons, but Meruelo’s Tempe project — which will be put to a voter referendum in May — could truly transform hockey in the desert and provide desperately needed long-term stability to the franchise. And a successful, stable franchise in a very player-friendly area (hockey players love playing golf and not paying taxes even more than they love hockey) could be quite a force in the NHL. But it’s all hypothetical right now. And anyone familiar with the Coyotes’ quarter-century history could forgive the universal skepticism lasting right up until the doors open at the new rink. And possibly beyond.

32. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks are navigating murky waters. Sorry, not sorry. The roster is in tough shape and if Erik Karlsson wasn’t having a Norris-caliber year, they’d be having a disaster of a season. They have some good prospects but I wouldn’t call their system stacked by any means, and their cap situation makes it tough to turn this around any time in the near term.

Harman Dayal on San Jose’s cap situation: Despite heading in a rebuild direction, San Jose projects to have around $40 million in cap space tied up to just six players. Nearly all of that money is committed to aging veterans. Marc-Edouard Vlasic will be 38 andstill making $7 million, Erik Karlsson will be 35 with an $11.5 million cap hit, Logan Couture will be 36 with an $8 million cap hit and Tomas Hertl will be 32 carrying an $8.137 million cap hit. It’s hard to see any of those deals providing surplus value, which creates a bad cap foundation for the Sharks to build on.

(Illustration: Sean Reilly / The Athletic; photos: Rich Graessle / NHLI via Getty Images; Jari Pestelacci / Eurasia Sport Images / Getty Images; Jaylynn Nash / NHLI via Getty Images)