6 NHL Teams That Could Look Completely Different Next Season

The NHL offseason officially begins following the completion of the Stanley Cup Final in June. This year, the last possible date for the Cup Final is June 24.

Offseason planning for the 30 teams eliminated before the Cup Final will already be underway by that point. The 16 teams that fail to make the playoffs will have over two months to prepare.

Some teams will only make small adjustments to their rosters. Others, such as the Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights, could make big changes depending on how much salary-cap room they have for next season, how many free agents they decide to re-sign and their roster needs.

With the regular season still going until April 18, it's difficult to determine which clubs could look completely different next season. Nevertheless, we'll make our best guess at six teams that could shake things up following the 2023-24 season for a multitude of reasons..

Do you agree or disagree with our selections? Is there a team you believe belongs on this list? Tell us about it in our app comments below.

This season was supposed to be one of transition for the Boston Bruins. Centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí retired last summer, while trade-deadline acquisitions Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway departed via free agency.

Instead, the Bruins surprised the hockey world by remaining among the top teams in the league, jockeying for first place in the overall standings. However, a handful of offseason changes could significantly affect their roster next season.

Limited salary-cap space last summer forced the departures of Bertuzzi, Orlov and Hathaway. This offseason, the Bruins already have 16 active roster players under contract and are projected to have $21.6 million in cap space. That should be enough to re-sign pending unrestricted free agents like Jake DeBrusk, James van Riemsdyk and Matt Grzelcyk.

However, the Bruins could become big players in this summer's free-agent market. Before the March 8 trade deadline, Boston Hockey Now's Jimmy Murphy reported they were interested in Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin before both players were traded to new clubs. They're each slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer, so Boston could attempt to sign them on July 1.

The biggest change could come in goal following reports that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney explored the trade market for Linus Ullmark. With Jeremy Swayman poised to become the full-time starter and Ullmark having only a year left on his contract, the latter could be moved in a cost-cutting deal to create more cap room for other moves.

Since 2018-19, the Carolina Hurricanes have been a perennial playoff team. They reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2019 and 2023 and finished atop their division three straight seasons from 2020-21 to 2022-23.

However, this season could be the last hurrah for this current version of the Hurricanes. Key players such as Teuvo Teräväinen, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Jordan Martinook and Antti Raanta are due to become unrestricted free agents, as is recently acquired winger Jake Guentzel. Forwards Martin Nečas, Seth Jarvis and Jack Drury are restricted free agents.

Trading for Guentzel was an out-of-character move for team owner Tom Dundon and general manager Don Waddell. They tend to avoid acquiring rental players at the trade deadline. Bringing in Guentzel should provide a boost to their playoff scoring, but it could also signal the urgency of winning the Stanley Cup before the roster changes kick in this summer.

The Hurricanes have $30.7 million in projected cap space for 2024-25, but that won't be enough for them to re-sign everyone. The likes of Guentzel, Teräväinen, Skjei and Pesce could end up testing the free-agent market. If Waddell focuses on re-signing them, he could be forced to trade restricted free agents like Nečas and Drury.

Losing Teräväinen and Guentzel in free agency would leave Waddell searching for replacements via the trade and free-agent markets. The departures of Skjei and Pesce would have the Hurricanes GM shopping around for a new second pairing on defense.

The Chicago Blackhawks have undergone significant changes in their second full rebuilding season under general manager Kyle Davidson. After parting ways with franchise stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews last year, they shed their last links to their glory years between 2009-10 and 2014-15, when they were three-time Stanley Cup champions.

Davidson is focused on building around promising young players such as center Connor Bedard, defenseman Kevin Korchinski and forward Lukas Reichel. Their prospect pipeline includes University of Minnesota center Oliver Moore and defenseman Sam Rinzel and University of Michigan center Frank Nazar.

The Blackhawks also brought in veterans Taylor Hall, Corey Perry and Nick Foligno last summer to help franchise star Bedard. Foligno fit in well and signed a two-year contract extension in January. However, Hall played only 10 games before undergoing season-ending knee surgery, and Perry had his contract terminated following an off-ice incident last November.

Chicago could promote more young players into this roster for next season while continuing to surround Bedard with veteran depth and skill. The Blackhawks don't have to blow all of their projected $38.3 million in cap space for 2024-25, but adding two top-six scorers via trades or free agency could ease the burden on their franchise centerpiece.

Chicago's blue line could also significantly change, as Seth Jones and Connor Murphy are the only notable veteran defensemen under contract for 2024-25. Davidson could let Nikita Zaitsev, Jarred Tinordi and Jaycob Megna depart in favor of better-skilled rearguards to help Jones carry the load and take some pressure off Korchinski.

Poised to miss the playoffs for the seventh straight year, the Ottawa Senators could face significant changes after another disappointing season. With a new owner, general manager and head coach in place since last fall, a roster shake-up could be in the cards this offseason.

The Senators will head into the offseason with young core players like Brady Tkachuk, Jake Sanderson, Tim Stützle, Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot and Jakob Chychrun under contract at least through 2024-25. However, at least one or two could play elsewhere when the puck drops next season.

Following the March 8 trade deadline, Senators general manager Steve Staios told reporters that he'd had some discussions with other clubs that could lay the groundwork for some offseason moves. He's hoping to bring in a few veterans to help their core players.

The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch believes major changes are in order to get the Senators within range of playoff contention. He indicated that Staios never liked how the roster was constructed when he took over the GM role.

Tkachuk, Sanderson and Stützle are unlikely to be moved because of their talent and importance to the club. However, Batherson lacks no-trade protection, while Chabot's 10-team no-trade clause kicks in on July 1.

Chychrun also has a 10-team no-trade clause. He's a year away from becoming an unrestricted free agent and was the subject of recent trade rumors, so he could wind up back on the market this offseason.

The Vancouver Canucks were among the busiest teams in the trade market this season. From Oct. 8 to Jan. 31, they acquired Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Sam Lafferty, and Nick Cicek and shipped winger Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Earlier this month, they finally signed top center Elias Pettersson to an eight-year contract extension, avoiding the possibility of his departure in free agency next summer. However, they now face a busy offseason that could change the look of their roster for 2024-25.

Forwards Lindholm, Lafferty, Teddy Blueger and Dakota Joshua, defensemen Zadorov, Tyler Myers, Ian Cole and Mark Friedman and backup goaltender Casey DeSmith are all slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer. Defenseman Filip Hronek is their most notable restricted free agent. He's a year away from UFA eligibility and has arbitration rights.

Lindholm, Myers, Cole and Friedman will likely depart via free agency in July. Blueger, Lafferty, Joshua and DeSmith should be affordable to re-sign, but at least one could head to the free-agent market as well. Meanwhile, Hronek is enjoying a career year and could seek a big raise over his current $4.4 million cap hit.

The Canucks have $25.5 million in projected cap space next season. That might be enough to keep most of their free agents, though a new contract for Hronek could eat up to $8 million of that cap space. It won't leave Vancouver much room to find suitable blue-line replacements for Zadorov and Myers and fill the gaps on their checking lines.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights could look drastically different next season. They have 15 active roster players under contract for next season but are only projected to have $9.7 million in cap space. They'll get $5 million in additional cap flexibility if goaltender Robin Lehner remains on long-term injury reserve.

Having nearly $15 million in cap space won't be enough to re-sign all their key unrestricted free agents. They include 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault, versatile second-line forward Chandler Stephenson, checking-line winger William Carrier, defenseman Alec Martinez, and recent acquisitions Noah Hanifin and Anthony Mantha.

Stephenson and Carrier could be affordable retentions, but free agency could be tempting. The 36-year-old Martinez likely won't return, while Mantha appears to be a playoff rental.

Marchessault and Hanifin will be expensive to retain. Marchessault is an original "Golden Misfit" and one of their most consistent performers. Poised to reach 40 goals this season for the first time, the 33-year-old winger will likely seek a significant raise over his current cap hit of $5 million, which could result in his leaving Las Vegas this summer.

Sportsnet's Luke Fox reported on mutual interest between Golden Knights management and Hanifin in a contract extension. He reportedly rejected a seven-year offer worth $7.5 million annually from the Calgary Flames, so he might seek more from the Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights can't afford to keep Marchessault and Hanifin unless they make a few cost-cutting trades. If they opt to keep Marchessault, they could lose Hanifin in free agency and vice versa. If both players walk, management will have to scramble to find suitable replacements.

Salary info via Cap Friendly.