Atlantic draft strategy | Metropolitan | Central | Pacific
Most NHL teams say they subscribe strictly to the "best player available" theory. In my experience, some are being honest, some do that in the first round (and incorporate their depth charts beyond) and some take position into account from the beginning. If I were running a team, I'd fall somewhere in the middle because of the very marginal differences in prospect value outside the very top.
Team strategies in the draft should be slightly more complex than simply, "Draft the best player." Teams should try to balance their depth chart if the option is within a reasonable talent range, or they can make trades to either address the need or trade to a spot where the player they want would be a better value. In this series, I'll recommend the best strategies for every NHL team going into this year's draft, division by division. For more on the draft prospects mentioned here (and many more), be sure to check in on our Top 100 NHL draft prospects list.
For the purposes of this column, team strengths and weaknesses generally refer to a team's under-23 NHLers, or players who have not lost rookie eligibility. Players not specifically mentioned are included in the evaluation.
Carolina Hurricanes
Strengths: The Hurricanes have a good group of top-end young talent between Jeff Skinner, Justin Faulk, Elias Lindholm and Ryan Murphy. You could do a lot worse for your top group of under-23 NHL players, as these four will be real foundational blocks over the next five-plus seasons.
Weaknesses: The Canes' system is really bad, with no real top-tier talents left in the pipeline until they make their first draft selection, and they could use more quality depth. They have some talent at forward between Victor Rask, Sergei Tolchinsky, Brock McGinn and Phil DiGiuseppe, but that leaves a fair amount to be desired. It's the same issue on defense, as they have a few decent prospects but lack a top talent with Murphy graduated. They also need a better top goalie prospect, as well.
Recommended strategy: Carolina should pick the best player available with their first-round pick (No. 7 overall), but after that, they need to go to work to fix their depth issue. A re-entry pick or two would help if their talent fits at the right slot, with at least one defenseman added in the top four rounds. They need to add another goalie prospect, and may be suited to trade down at some point to get more picks, thus adding to their system's depth.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Strengths: Columbus has great depth down the middle in their system. Ryan Johansen had a breakout season in the NHL, Boone Jenner looks like a promising two-way player, Alex Wennberg is a top prospect and Michael Chaput is decent, as well. Marko Dano can play center but probably moves off to the wing on this depth chart. Barring injuries, Columbus seems reasonably set at center for the next five years. Their system is pretty well-rounded, as they have defensive talent in 2012 No. 2 overall pick Ryan Murray and a few other players. Oscar Dansk is a quality goalie prospect, as well.
Weaknesses: It's hard to pinpoint an exact weakness in the organization right now. They have young talent at all positions between the NHL and the pipeline, although they lack an elite wing prospect (but that's just nitpicking). They have Kerby Rychel, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Josh Anderson (and as stated above, arguably Marko Dano) on the wings, and they are all good prospects.
Recommended strategy: There's no real issue I can see that the Jackets need to address. They probably don't need to draft a center early on, to avoid organizational backlog, but otherwise they should proceed with a mostly best-player-available method.
New Jersey Devils
Strengths: The Devils have a high-end group of young defensemen. Adam Larsson, Jon Merrill, Eric Gelinas, Steve Santini and Damon Severson are a formidable bunch of blueliners. Larsson clearly has not developed as hoped after being selected fourth overall in 2011, but there's still reason to believe in him, even if it's unlikely he'll hit the top of his projection at this point.
Weaknesses: While the development of Reid Boucher has been promising and Stefan Matteau is a good prospect, the Devils do lack real scoring threats coming up. This hasn't been helped by the so-so development of Jacob Josefson and the more or less failed development of Mattias Tedenby (who will play in the KHL in 2014-15, though the Devils retain his NHL rights). They have some talent at goalie in Scott Wedgewood and Keith Kinkaid, but they could use a better top prospect at that position.
Recommended strategy: With the last pick of the first round, the Devils will have to see how the first 29 selections play out and ideally be in a position where the best player available is a scoring forward. I don't think they need to go way off the board to draft for the position, but it's highly preferred that they shore up there in terms of talent and depth. They particularly need to add talent at center, as Matteau probably projects onto the wing as an NHLer.
New York Islanders
Strengths: The Islanders have a pretty well-rounded group of young players. At center, Ryan Strome looks very promising, Brock Nelson had an impressive rookie NHL season, right wing Sebastian Collberg (acquired in the Thomas Vanek trade with Montreal) is talented and the Isles have some nice complementary pieces on the way. Their young defense can go toe-to-toe with most teams. Calvin de Haan had a great rookie NHL season, bouncing back from injuries, while Griffin Reinhart, Ville Pokka and Ryan Pulock are also top defense prospects.
Weaknesses: Though they signed Jaroslav Halak this offseason, addressing one of the NHL team's bigger needs, goaltending in the system isn't great unless they somehow persuade Mikko Koskinen to transfer one day from the KHL. They could use some more depth on the wing, as well.
Recommended strategy: Given that their weaknesses aren't major, or are at a position where they should not be addressed too high in the draft (goalie), the Isles should stick to a mostly best-player-available strategy. They are going to have defense recruits entering the NHL soon, and their top forwards have continued to do so; as a result, they are in a good position just to acquire more top-end talent. If they picked a goalie along the way, it would help, of course. They're a little clogged at center, but Sam Bennett could very easily move off to the wing -- if he gets to No. 5 -- and retain a lot of his value. Otherwise, if both Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl are gone, they should have a pretty good selection of wingers to pick from.
New York Rangers
Strengths: The Rangers are fine at forward in their organization. Chris Kreider's rookie season left positive impressions, while J.T. Miller still needs time but remains a notable prospect. Pavel Buchnevich is the shining star for the Rangers outside the NHL, as he's looked great in the KHL and international play. They have some nice complementary pieces in Danny Kristo, Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fast, among others.
Weaknesses: The Rangers need some reinforcements on defense, particularly a puck mover. Dylan McIlrath's development hasn't been great, Brady Skjei is a good, not great prospect, and while Conor Allen looks like a good college free-agent signing this past season, overall they could really use more quality on D. Netminder Mackenzie Skapski is OK, but they could use another goalie in the system, too.
Recommended strategy: The Rangers' depth at any of the forward positions isn't good enough to lean heavy on defense as a draft strategy. They should probably look to draft the best player available for the most part, and with no first-rounder (thanks to the Martin St. Louis deal), they want to make sure they get some talent out of the draft. With their first pick, ideally they lean to defense if the talent is a tie, but given the depth of the system, it should mostly be a best-player approach.
Philadelphia Flyers
Strengths: The Flyers' strongest area of young players is at center, with NHLers Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn to couple with first-round pick Scott Laughton, who likely makes next year's team. Couturier likely ends up the best of that bunch. They're not great at defense, but they're fine in that area. Robert Hagg is talented, Shayne Gostisbehere had had a huge season in the NCAA and Sam Morin is a big, toolsy defender even if I wasn't a fan of him going top 15 in 2013.
Weaknesses: Outside of the NHL, the Flyers really lack any top-end prospects. Laughton is a good player, but he doesn't project onto a top line. On the wing, they could certainly use some help. Taylor Leier is a fine prospect and free-agent signing Petr Straka is interesting, but they could use a lot more.
Recommended strategy: Ideally, the Flyers should be looking to take a skilled forward with their top pick (No. 17), and since Couturier and Laughton are both two-way forwards, adding a high-offense winger would be a welcome addition to the organization. Given where they pick and how the board likely plays out, the best player available will likely be a forward, unless Haydn Fleury somehow manages to fall. The Flyers are good on defense, but not so strong that they should pass on Fleury if he's still there.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Strengths: The obvious clear strength of the Penguins' system is on defense. Olli Maatta had a brilliant rookie season, Derrick Pouliot and Scott Harrington had very good seasons outside the NHL, and a player like Brian Dumoulin is a quality prospect, as well. Simon Despres hasn't developed as hoped at the NHL level, but he's still a player worth monitoring. As players such as Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik age or leave, there are plenty of options coming.
Weaknesses: On the flip side, the young forwards are an obvious issue for the Penguins. I think it was reasonable to stock up on defenders in the past, given the cornerstones up front in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but doing so has left solving the depth issues somewhat dependent on the development of Beau Bennett. There are forward prospects other than him, such as Oskar Sundqvist and Josh Archibald, but they don't project as above-average NHL forwards.
Recommended strategy: The Penguins have a good five-year foundation of defensemen in their system to couple with the franchise-level forwards they have, but now it's time to get some help up front. They desperately need quality forwards and depth in their system. The Penguins have five picks total, and if three of those -- including the No. 22 overall -- are not used on a scoring player, it won't leave the system in good shape.
Washington Capitals
Strengths: The Capitals don't really have high-end talent on defense, but they have a number of good-to-pretty-good prospects. Connor Carrick, Nate Schmidt, Dmitry Orlov and Patrick Wey all contributed to the NHL team in some form this season. Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos are players I like outside the NHL. They're stronger at forward, between No. 1 prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov and other top names like Andre Burakovsky, Tom Wilson and Riley Barber. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer had an impressive season splitting time between the AHL and NHL, too.
Weaknesses: The Caps' system is top heavy on forwards right now. They have a top prospect at each of the three forward positions, but they don't have a lot after that in terms of quality depth prospects.
Recommended strategy: Given the makeup of their organization and where they pick, Washington will likely be in a position where the best player available will be a forward. In that case, while the NHL team is tilted more toward offense currently, they likely should pick that prospect, given the fact they do have young defensemen on the way. The caveat here is that if they somehow found a reasonable way to get to No. 1 overall for Aaron Ekblad, that would be a logical move, as well. For the rest of the draft, finding some older forwards would be beneficial to round out the depth, so long as the talent merits the draft slot.