Just over a quarter of the way into the NHL season, we're starting to see contenders separate themselves from the field and struggling teams define themselves as more than just slow starters.
Looking through each division, it's clear that some clubs at the bottom of their divisions are already turning to the future and others are looking for measures that will get them back in the race. Both will require smart short- and long-term decisions to be contenders again, sooner or later.
How should these teams handle their situations in the present, the near future and into the next offseason and 2018-19? Let's have a look at a one-week, one-month and one-year fix for eight of the NHL's early strugglers:
Buffalo Sabres
One week: Play Sam Reinhart with Jack Eichel
New head coach Phil Housley has essentially refused to play the two former No. 2 overall picks together, as they have spent just 83 minutes on ice at the same time this season. Last season, Eichel played more minutes with Reinhart than any other forward (522) and his Corsi for percentage dropped by 6.2 percent when away from his playmaking partner. The Sabres have to decide if they are going to sign on with Reinhart long-term. Considering the pair's complementary skill sets -- Eichel is a terrific shooter, Reinhart a savvy passer -- the Sabres may have a Nicklas Backstrom-Alex Ovechkin type connection that they are ignoring. Now is the time to find out.
One month: Trade everything that isn't nailed down
The fire sale can start any time, starting with the goalies. There are a number of teams desperate for a netminder, and the Sabres would be wise to cut bait on Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson in favor of prospects/picks and giving time to prospect goalie Linus Ullmark. As the trade deadline approaches, they can find a suitor for upcoming free agents Evander Kane and Benoit Pouliot.
One year: Stick to the prospect system, be patient
General manager Jason Botterill made a point when he was hired to emphasize the system and rebuilding the AHL club. The Sabres' AHL team is playing well, and the system is stocked with top talent like Alexander Nylander and Casey Mittelstadt, along with players who could have a bottom-six role. They shouldn't take any more big swings in free agency like the Kyle Okposo deal. Of course, Sabres fans want quicker results than that, but it will take some time to undo the bad moves of the past.
Florida Panthers
One week: Trade Alex Petrovic to a needy team
Florida currently ranks in the bottom third of the league in goals, goals against, power-play percentage and penalty-kill percentage. It would be stunning if they got back into the playoff race, despite having some terrific players at the top of their lineup. Now is the time to find teams like the Oilers or Wild, which are desperate for depth on defense to take upcoming free agent Petrovic. It doesn't appear he's part of the long-term plan, and moving him now means having a larger crop of teams in need of a blueliner and sets the market, rather than waiting until it's flooded with selling teams at the deadline.
One month: Find a taker for Nick Bjugstad, find out where youngsters fit
Once upon a time, it appeared Bjugstad would be locked in at a center spot on the second or third line, but his 24-goal season appears more and more to be the anomaly rather than the norm. Since his strong 2014-15, Bjugstad has just 28 goals in 147 games. He's also under contract through 2021. With a limited budget, Florida could make much better use of $4.1 million per season.
They should also aim to find out if anyone in the system will be part of the future. Young center Jared McCann is currently playing just over 13 minutes per game. It's time to bump that number up.
One year: Decide on a front-office direction
Last season, the Panthers appeared to be going all-in on an analytics-based approach, then they flipped the script and let scorer Jonathan Marchessault go to Vegas and traded puck-moving defenseman Jason Demers for grinder Jamie McGinn. As a team that has such a terrific core, the Panthers must decide how they will shape the rest of their roster -- whether it's with young talent, under-appreciated veterans or, yes, even grit/toughness.
Carolina Hurricanes
One week: Make strides on special teams
The Hurricanes shouldn't be as bad as their record. They are the No. 1 team in the NHL in Corsi for percentage and have outscored opponents at even strength. But the Canes currently rank 26th on the power play and 22nd on penalty kill. With their skill on the blue line and finishers like Jeff Skinner and Teuvo Teravainen, they should not be this poor.
One month: Find a coach who can maximize offensive potential
For several years under Bill Peters, Carolina has taken a lot of shots with few of them ending up in the back of the net. The team ranked sixth in Corsi for percentage last season and 11th in 2015-16, yet the Hurricanes haven't even come close to being a contending team. They haven't been able to help their goaltenders and consistently have underwhelming production from forwards. Under Peters, Eric Staal saw his production sink, yet Bruce Boudreau has gotten 88 points in 108 games from him. A change might kick-start the Canes back into contention -- they have the talent to push for a wild-card spot this season in a weak East.
One year: Make a game-changing trade
Of course, the Canes' failure to produce offensively isn't all Peters' fault. Outside of Skinner, Carolina doesn't have an elite playmaker or top-notch scorer. With a boatload of young players built up from drafting high -- especially on defense -- maybe it's time for GM Ron Francis to land a big fish.
Philadelphia Flyers
One week: Don't panic
Yes, the Flyers had a 10-game losing streak. Yes, that's very bad. But it doesn't mean the season is done in Philadelphia or that they should fire head coach Dave Hakstol. Five of the 10 losses came in overtime or shootout, which has proved to be pretty random, and the Flyers have the seventh-best goals for percentage in the NHL. The roster has enough top-end talent to compete, and young players like Ivan Provorov coming along. It's not yet time to start making win-now or fire-sale moves.
One month: Trade Samuel Morin while he still has value
The Flyers' 2013 first-round pick has been in the AHL for three years now and has barely seen any NHL ice time. He's produced only 40 points in 161 AHL games -- a less-than-impressive mark for a top pick playing in the minors. Philly shouldn't buy into the Zdeno Chara fallacy that tall defensemen will someday have the light go on. Instead, they should hope someone else overvalues his size and toughness on the trade market.
One year: Get rid of dead-weight contracts
The Flyers are on a good path. Next season, they will have stars Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek still in their prime and talented young players like Provorov and Nolan Patrick as their core, but they have to find a way to move on from Jori Lehtera and Andrew MacDonald. They are combining for nearly $10 million in cap space through the next two seasons and provide little in the way of production.
Minnesota Wild
One week: Load up the top six
Last season, Bruce Boudreau's bunch had one of the most balanced attacks in the NHL, finding scoring from three lines at any given time. This season, an injury to Zach Parise and depleted depth due to cap issues and the expansion draft has weakened the Wild. They still have enough talent to put together a top six that can compete with anyone on a nightly basis, but Boudreau has been trying to spread out the talent by mixing in forwards like Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno, Daniel Winnik and Chris Stewart into the top six.
Take Mikael Granlund, for example, whose Corsi for percentage dropped from 55.1 percent to 49.6 percent when given time with Winnik, and sunk by even more when he played with Ennis. Center Eric Staal had some small-sample success playing with Foligno, but his Corsi for percentage dipped from 53.0 percent to 46.2 percent with Ennis. Speaking of Ennis:
One month: Find someone to take Tyler Ennis' contract
The Wild's deal to send Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville to Buffalo for Ennis and Foligno has not worked out. Ennis has scored just 12 goals in his past 100 games and carries a $4.6 million cap hit through next season. In fact, had the Wild traded for just Foligno, they would be in better shape than they are now. Maybe they can get a cap floor team like Arizona or Carolina to take Ennis off their hands with an asset thrown in. It's unclear what the Wild saw in Ennis, who scored only eight goals in his previous 74 games before the trade.
One year: Start a youth movement
Ryan Suter's and Parise's contracts aren't going anywhere, so the Wild have to find ways to work around them. The best way is to put the focus on moving young players into key positions next season. Prospects like Joel Eriksson-Ek and Luke Kunin have shown some flashes in their early NHL time, and others like Jordan Greenway should be ready soon. Getting production out of rookie deals is the only way the Wild will be able to afford a new deal for Matt Dumba, who is a restricted free agent next summer.
Colorado Avalanche
One week: Give Nail Yakupov more ice time
This one doesn't take a lot of explanation. If you take a flier on a player who was a No. 1 overall pick, just play him and see what happens. The Avs are dead last in the Central, and have virtually no shot at making the playoffs. Would it hurt to give Yakupov all the power-play time and top-six minutes to see if he can flourish? He currently averages just 12:11 per game and has seven goals.
One month: Keep an eye on the waiver wire
The Avs should have a steady stream of longshots coming into the building as they plan for the future. Sometimes good players get overlooked because of one shortcoming or another. Players like Chris Kunitz, Rich Peverley and Michael Grabner were once waiver pickups that worked out well. As Colorado rebuilds, they should take a bunch of swings on players who hit the waiver wire and see if one connects.
One year: Stay the course
After trading Matt Duchene, the Avs have four draft picks in the first two rounds next year. They also have a star former No. 1 overall pick in Nathan MacKinnon and three other recent top-10 picks in Tyson Jost, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar to build around. It would be a mistake to get overly anxious and spend in free agency or deal a young player for a veteran scorer.
Edmonton Oilers
One week: Find out if Jesse Puljujärvi is ready for a significant role
On draft day 2016, Edmonton was shocked to land the Finnish scorer. At 19, he has already looked the part when given the opportunity. In 10 contests, he has 27 shots and four goals while playing less than 14 minutes per game. Certainly the Oilers do not want to rush the 6-foot-4 prospect, but they are in need of scoring help outside of Connor McDavid. Even if there are some bumps in the road, the Oilers should stick with Puljujärvi to determine whether he can be the answer to some of their offensive struggles.
One month: Sign Patrick Maroon to a contract extension
There's no question that Maroon's goal-scoring numbers can be attributed to playing with McDavid, but that doesn't mean he's only a passenger. McDavid's shot differentials have been better when playing with Maroon during the past two seasons than when he's away. Just as Sidney Crosby used to thrive with Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, it's possible Maroon just has strong chemistry with the world's best player. That said, if the upcoming free agent's demands are too high, the Oilers will simply have to move on.
One year: Find a GM who won't trade away good players
It's astonishing that the Oilers hired a general manager in Peter Chiarelli, who traded away Blake Wheeler, Phil Kessel and Tyler Seguin while he was with Boston, then even more stunning that they kept him after dealing away Taylor Hall (who currently has 27 points in 26 games for the Devils). Chiarelli's Milan Lucic signing already looks poor, and his deal to send Jordan Eberle to the Islanders for Ryan Strome has blown up for the Oilers. Especially if Edmonton doesn't bounce back and make the playoffs, they need to find someone with a better sense for how to build around a megastar.
Arizona Coyotes
One week: Play Dylan Strome in all situations
The Coyotes are slowly getting Strome's feet wet, but they should soon ramp up his playing time to much more than the 12:28 of average ice time he's seen in six games this season. The 2015 No. 3 overall pick is ready for a bigger NHL role after completely demolishing juniors last season and starting out with 26 points in 15 AHL games. If he's going to be a major part of the franchise next season -- during which the Coyotes should be vastly improved -- then Arizona should start working him in all situations as soon as possible, even if he's in over his head at times.
One month: Take on someone's bad contract
Clearly Arizona's situation complicates things, but they have the most cap room of any team in the NHL per CapFriendly.com. They were able to land Jakob Chychrun with a draft pick sent over by taking Pavel Datsyuk's cap hit off Detroit's hands. With many contending teams strapped for cap room, the Coyotes should be on the lookout for players they can take on in exchange for assets.
One year: Find out if Oliver Ekman-Larsson is staying long term
Arizona's elite offensive defenseman is under contract through next season, but the Coyotes would be wise to find out now whether he's in line to sign an extension. Ekman-Larsson would be extremely valuable on the trade market if he's moved this season. If you want proof, look at the bundle of assets the Avalanche received for Matt Duchene. The Yotes would be better off getting huge return now than having him dealt away next season, or losing him for nothing at the end of 2018-19.