Keys to the offseason for NHL teams, including draft, free-agency game plans

The 2021-22 NHL season included a great deal of highlights, from the dominance of the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers to the goal-scoring prowess of Auston Matthews and Chris Kreider to spectacular goaltending from Igor Shesterkin, Frederik Andersen and Jacob Markstrom.

But there can be only one team that gets to raise the Stanley Cup. For the rest, this offseason will be a critical time to restock for another playoff run, make that big free-agent signing to get over the hump or continue the slow build back to contention. With 15 teams officially eliminated from the playoffs, it's time to identify their biggest needs as well as some solutions that can be explored.

Read on for a look at what went wrong for each eliminated team, along with a breakdown of its biggest keys this offseason and realistic expectations for 2022-23. Note that more teams will be added to this story as they are officially eliminated from the playoffs.

Go through every team's profile or skip ahead to your favorite team using the links below:

Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Central teams were written by Kristen Shilton, while Greg Wyshynski analyzed the Metro and Pacific teams. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Projected cap space per Spotrac.

Jump to a team:ANA | ARI | BUF | CHICBJ | DET | MIN | MTLNSH | NJ | NYI | OTTPHI | SJ | SEA | VANVGK | WPG

Projected 2022-23 cap space: $9,719,745

2022 draft picks: 1st, 2nd (VAN), 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th

What went wrong?

When it mattered most, Minnesota's stars did their job. The Wild simply didn't get enough out of their depth players. That wasn't a glaring issue for Minnesota in the regular season, but was a defining factor in their