Here are the New Year’s resolutions for all thirty teams. Hopefully this doesn’t take me til the end of January to write.
Anaheim: More John Gibson. Gibson has been the best goaltender for the Ducks by far, and his 1.68 GAA is the best in the league. Allowing him to play more will change it, but the number is telling of how good young Gibson is already and he should be given room to grow.
Arizona: Get fit. Missing some of their key parts they put up five goals against the Blackhawks. Imagine what could have happened had they had Hanzal. The team has gotta get healthier and when they do they’re a team to watch for.
Boston: No more dumb moves. Especially out of Marchand. As the Bruins chase a playoff spot into the new year, they need their best players on the ice. Marchand getting suspended needs to be a warning to one of Boston’s best players. This also means the drafting style of Don “Wild Ride” Sweeney.
Buffalo: Help the Goalie. With Robin Lehner returning to practice this last week, the team needs to learn to help their goaltender. If they can help their number one guy, then they stand a chance of getting into it. They have the talent, and if they can play better in their zone it’s anyone’s game.
Calgary: Wake up Dougie. Hamilton has been MIA so far this season, and they aren’t paying him that contract to be MIA. If Dougie shows up for the Flames, they could have the talented d they were projected to have as well as a more productive point shooting during power plays.
Carolina: Keep Eric Staal. The team might be the most underrated in the league, and they’ve gotten some crucial wins in the past week, including nearly shutting out the Blackhawks and beating the hot streak Capitals. If they keep their captain going into the next season, this will be a team to watch. They’ve certainly proved that you shouldn’t take them for granted.
Chicago: Move Mashinter. Whether it’s down to the AHL or as part of a trade deadline transaction, Mashinter just isn’t good enough to hang with the rest of the squad. Four minutes is nothing, and if the Blackhawks called up Dano or McNeill they should be able to play more than four, taking some pressure off the second line and taken for granted Calder leader Artemi Panarin.
Colorado: Keep Matt Duchene. It seems the threat of moving Duchene has disappeared, but the number one center for the Avalanche and their second leading scorer is a needed player in Colorado, and one that should not be moved, when he could help the team well into the future.
Columbus: Trust in Tortorella. There has so far been little noise made from the loudest coach in the league, but there has been plenty of good things, including fourteen wins after starting 0-10. Torts’ squad has taken more points in games than they’ve taken none, always a good thing. His movement of Saad has also worked, as Saad is back to scoring on the second line. Hopefully it works for Johanson and Foligno as well.
Dallas: Keep On Keeping On. Just do what you’re doing. The Stars are still in the President’s cup chase, and if they can continue their dominance that’s not going to change. The only thing the Stars must make sure they do is keep their one-two punch of Seguin and Benn healthy. If one of them goes down, their chances lessen.
Detroit: Get Younger. With Datsyuk and Zetterberg moving towards the end of their careers, the Red Wings will need to find their long term replacements. It looks like Dylan Larkin could be one of them, if he can come back strong. The Red Wings seem to be one of the oldest teams in the league, and they should get youth to grow with their young coach.
Edmonton: Keep McDavid on the Ice. Edmonton has continued to play woefully without their new superstar, and has fallen back to the bottom of the worst division in hockey. McDavid looked good with the team before he went down, and even though he doesn’t solve all their problems he helps them score.
Florida: Don’t Make Noise. It seems the team does better being underrated, and have found their way to the top of the Atlantic with games in hand over second place Montreal. The young team has everything, and if they continue down this path could be dangerous come April, May, and maybe even June.
Los Angeles: Re-sign Anze. It’s rumored that the Kings and their first center are close to a deal, and if that’s true they need to make sure they get him. Kopitar has been crucial to the Kings’ cup runs and with their window closing, they need to keep their best player around to remind fans they can still go deep.
Minnesota: Win the games in hand. It seems like the Wild have always been a few games back with fewer games played. If the Wild can capitalize on those additional games, they can catch up and maybe even win one of the top three spots in the Central.
Montreal: Get Healthy. Without Price, Gallagher, and now Weise, the Canadiens had been a very unhealthy team in the latter part of 2015. That’s going to have to change in 2016 if the Canadiens expect to contend going into the spring and early summer.
Nashville: Score. The Predators have fallen off as of late, and it’s not the defense at fault for that. The inability of the Predators offense has been well documented throughout 2015, and that needs changing in 2016 if the Preds are going to contend in the elite Central. Neal leads the team with 15 goals and that’s just not enough.
New Jersey: Defy the Odds. There were very few who picked the Devils being in this spot at the end of 2015. They were expected to be in the opposite race. But if they team can continue defying the odds and get to the playoffs, then the youth the Devils already have will be driven to continue the unlikely success.
New York Islanders: Get Nick Leddy a goal. The Islanders’ best offensive defenseman has yet to score so far this season, a rarity for their best blue liner. The Islanders are going to need more offensive production if they’re going to continue to play well, and why not start from their quarterback.
New York Rangers: Finally help Henrik Lundqvist. Honestly, Lundqvist, despite his numbers, should be an MVP candidate. He’s the only Ranger currently playing defense, and his numbers don’t make sense, a 2.41 and a .921. If he was ever given proper defensive help, the team could be winning 2-1 or 1-0 games.
Ottawa: Fix the defense. If the Senators are going to be better in the future and contend this year, the area most needing of address is their defense. Yes they have Erik Karlsson but what makes teams great is their depth. The Sens have yet to find that and will need to this year.
Philadelphia: Ready the Horsemen. Philadelphia’s young defensive prospects including Shayne Gostisbehere (21 games played 14 points) need to be the future of the franchise and they have the capability. Joining Gostisbehere as the season goes on and next should be Ivan Provorov, Samuel Morin, Travis Sanheim, and Robert Hagg. The Flyers already have their defense built well into the future, and it’s time to get them experience.
Pittsburgh: Don’t Overreact. Yes they have already fired their coach, but the talent on their first two lines are still there. The defense has been helped with the addition of Daley, to go along with Maatta and Letang, and while the team still lacks some depth, when Crosby, Kessel, and Malkin are all scoring this is a hot team.
San Jose: Find a new goaltender. As I’ve said, I don’t believe Stalock is their long term solution as backup goaltender. There are plenty of talented net minders available now and in the future. They should be able to go get one of these so in times when Jones is struggling with full time responsibility they have someone ready.
St. Louis: Get a first line center. It’s not Stastny. It’s not Backes. If the Blues can find someone to actually play with Steen and Tarasenko, they will have one of the best teams in the league and may even finally find playoff success. It’s just a matter of drafting well.
Tampa Bay: Re-sign Stamkos. It’s been well noted that the Lightning are currently not healthy. I’ve said get fit and get healthy for other teams on this list, so I’m going to say the Lightning’s number one priority is to extend their captain long term. Stamkos is a large part of the reason the Lightning went to the Stanley Cup Finals. He remains the same player. Sign him long term and relax.
Toronto: Trust in Babcock. Believe in him even as the team fails. He remains one of the three best coaches in the league. He came into a bad team but believed in it enough to leave one of the longest dominant teams in league history. The Red Wings are a playoff team. The Maple Leafs aren’t. There’s a reason the Leafs signed Babs to that massive contract. Trust your personnel and Toronto will see another cup.
Vancouver: Restore their Youth. The Canucks have aged gracefully thanks to the Sedins, but their cup window might be over. Getting more young players like Bo Horvat is a good thing, even if it continues to cost the Canucks old favorites like Dan Hamhuis and Alexandre Burrows.
Washington: Play Competitive. There’s no such thing as over competitive in this league. If the Caps want the President’s Cup it could be theirs. If they want the Stanley Cup they can compete for it and could find their way deep into the playoffs. It’s there for the taking. Washington just has to want it.
Winnipeg: Find the solution. It’s not Ondrej Pavelec. We’ve known this for years. It’s time the Jets find their long term net solution and they better do it quickly, or they could find themselves selling off major pieces at reduced prices for the wrong plans.