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.

Anaheim DucksAn offensive star

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

Boston BruinsMultiple forwards and a right-shot defenseman

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

Trading away JJ Peterka has left the Sabres with a need for more proven scoring. (Harry How / Getty Images)Buffalo SabresMore scoring

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 FlamesGoal scoring

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

Carolina HurricanesTop-six forward

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

Chicago BlackhawksTop-six winger

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

Colorado AvalancheDepth at forward

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

Columbus Blue JacketsA veteran goaltender

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

Dallas StarsA little nastiness

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

Detroit Red WingsTop-four defenseman

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

Edmonton OilersMiddle-six wingers

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

Can the Panthers re-sign pending UFA Aaron Ekblad? (Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)Florida PanthersKeeping the band together

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

Los Angeles KingsA top-of-the-lineup marquee attraction

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

Minnesota WildA faceoff-winning, penalty-killing center

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

Montreal CanadiensTop-six forward

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

Nashville PredatorsHelp down the middle

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

New Jersey DevilsTwo top-nine forwards

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

New York IslandersScoring reinforcements

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. (Sergei Belski / Imagn Images)New York RangersDefensive stability

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

Ottawa SenatorsGoal scoring

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

Philadelphia FlyersGoalie

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

Pittsburgh PenguinsDefensemen

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

San Jose SharksMajor upgrades for the defense

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

Seattle KrakenMore elite talent

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

St. Louis BluesTo sign or trade for a center

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

Tampa Bay LightningReplenish the supporting cast

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

Toronto Maple LeafsTop-nine center/top-six winger

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 MammothDepth in goal/up front

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

Vancouver CanucksTop-six center

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

Vegas Golden KnightsScoring on the wing

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

Washington CapitalsThird-line center

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

Winnipeg JetsNikolaj Ehlers, or a hard-nosed version of the same

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)