We're into the final week-plus (for most teams) of the 2021 NHL season, and while 16 of them will be competing for the Stanley Cup this spring and summer, 15 of them will begin to devise their plan to get back in the playoff mix in 2021-22.
Usually, it's a pretty straightforward exercise of determining which free agents to re-sign and which to let explore the market, along with tweaks to be made via trade, and additions to the pipeline courtesy of the draft. This summer, however, there's the added wrinkle of the Seattle Kraken expansion draft -- and any side deals that must be made to sway GM Ron Francis to stay away from choosing certain players to join his roster.