With the salary cap rising by only $1 million from last season, teams have been forced into difficult decisions, such as: Still, some potential free agents removed themselves from the market by re-signing with their teams: Filip Forsberg (Predators), Kris Letang (Penguins) and Valeri Nichushkin (Avalanche) among them. The offseason chaos is just getting started. Here’s a guide to all 32 NHL teams, their free agents and what they should be doing as free agency officially begins. Note: Advanced statistics from Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey. Cap and contract information from CapFriendly. Kristen Shilton covered the Atlantic and Central teams, while Greg Wyshynski previewed the Metro and Pacific clubs. Jump to a team:ANA | ARI | BOS | BUFCGY | CAR | CHI | COLCBJ | DAL | DET | EDMFLA | LA | MIN | MTLNSH | NJ | NYI | NYROTT | PHI | PIT | SJSEA | STL | TB | TORVAN | VGS | WSH | WPG

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Key players hitting UFA: F Patrice BergeronKey players hitting RFA: F Jack StudnickaCap space: $2,383,333 What they should do: The Bruins don’t want to rebuild. Therefore, they should be active buyers in free agency. But it’s not so cut and dried for the Bruins. The first issue is Boston’s tough situation with injuries. Brad Marchand (hips), Charlie McAvoy (shoulder) and Matt Grzelcyk (shoulder) all had offseason surgeries with recoveries that will last into at least the first couple months of next season. General manager Don Sweeney has to address those gaps, or Boston risks falling irretrievably behind early. That’s easier said than done, given the second issue of only $2.3 million in cap space with which to work and a key free agent — captain Patrice Bergeron — who’s reportedly ready to re-sign on a one-year deal. Plus there’s Studnicka — one of the club’s top prospects — to retain and potentially use more regularly in the lineup. Sweeney needs to create some cap flexibility, whether via trades or buying out a contract or two. Then it comes down to targeting the right players. Even with Bergeron back, Boston needs better play down the middle and in its bottom six. Can the Bruins swing that on a budget? It’s possible. Unless Sweeney clears a bunch of space, Boston won’t be in the mix on top-end free-agent forwards like Nazem Kadri, but someone like Max Domi or Victor Rask could be realistic. Beyond that, it’s hard to say what the Bruins will manage. There’s a lot hanging on how active Sweeney is in freeing up some flexibility. Key players hitting UFA: NoneKey players hitting RFA: F Victor OlofssonCap space: $32,204,166 What they should do: General manager Kevyn Adams said at last week’s draft that his first priority is a new contract for Olofsson. He was also busy negotiating with Jacob Bryson’s camp to get a deal done, which did come to fruition in a two-year pact (worth $1.85 million per season) announced on Sunday. Even after Adams gets things settled with Olofsson, there will be decent cap space to wield come July 13. Adams has to invest some of that in goaltending. Craig Anderson recently re-signed on a one-year deal, but the 41-year-old is Buffalo’s lone NHL goalie under contract and can’t reasonably be expected to carry the load. Pickings are slim — and expensive — when it comes to free-agent netminders, so Adams would have to work his magic early, and fast. If he comes up empty there, Adams can also go the trade route. Buffalo has some exciting young talents up front, including Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs and Tage Thompson. Adams likely doesn’t need to add much to the forward group. The Sabres’ defense does need a boost. Buffalo has three veteran blueliners reaching unrestricted free agency, and at least one or two of those roles will need to be addressed. Could Adams target Josh Manson or Nick Leddy there? Or would he take a bigger swing and try for Ben Chiarot? Adams has to be strategic in his spending to some degree, because those top-six forwards will need new contracts soon. But bolstering Buffalo in net and on the back end is what Adams must do in free agency to put this team in position to take the next step in 2022-23. Key players hitting UFA: NoneKey players hitting RFA: D Jake Walman, RW Filip Zadina, F Mitchell StephensCap space: $31,021,111 What they should do: General manager Steve Yzerman already checked a big box by trading for the rights to pending unrestricted-free-agent goaltender Ville Husso and subsequently signing him to a three-year, $14.25 million contract. That gives the Red Wings an excellent goalie tandem of Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic for the next few seasons. 2 Related Detroit’s primary area of need now is on defense. Veterans Danny DeKeyser and Marc Staal are both pending UFAs, and should they move on elsewhere, Yzerman will be eyeing different depth players for the back end, with a potentially larger role also going to Jake Walman if he remains in the fold. You could see Yzerman going for someone like Will Butcher or Olli Maatta, or perhaps Ian Cole. Those are capable second- or third-pairing defenders who can support and provide stability for the team’s top defensive talents like Moritz Seider. And they could be signed to relatively inexpensive, short-term contracts for the rebuilding Red Wings. Similarly, there’s room for Detroit to boost its forward depth with some seasoned names like Bryan Rust or Calle Jarnkrok. They’re strong two-way players who can set an example for some of Detroit’s young players with enough offensive upside to be consistent contributors. While the Red Wings are still charting their new course — under new head coach Derek Lalonde to boot — it’s all about staying low-flash in free agency. Key players hitting UFA: F Claude Giroux, F Mason Marchment, D Ben ChiarotKey players hitting RFA: G Jonas JohanssonCap space: $774,166 What they should do: Florida went all-in at the trade deadline this past season, acquiring Giroux and Chiarot. Will either of them remain with the team after that gamble didn’t pay off with the intended playoff success? It doesn’t feel likely given what either player could fetch elsewhere and the Panthers’ comparatively limited cap space. Bringing Marchment back would be a win for Florida. He’s coming off a career-best season (47 points in 54 games) and was among the Panthers’ most reliable forwards throughout the campaign. General manager Bill Zito will want to target some more depth up front for the Panthers after how that failed the team during the playoffs. When Florida’s big guns weren’t firing, the Presidents’ Trophy winners couldn’t muster anything. That can’t happen again. Pending UFAs like Andre Burakovsky and Max Domi have scoring ability and some edge, another factor Florida has been lacking. Given the Panthers’ cap constraints, a player like Kasperi Kapanen might make sense as a reclamation project of sorts, perhaps a short-term contract for a player with great potential to rebound from a poor season. Florida has had too much time to think about how a terrific regular season got it nowhere in the spring. Zito’s best bet is building from a playoff perspective. That is, acquiring free agents who will prevent past roadblocks to success from cropping up again. Key players hitting UFA: NoneKey players hitting RFA: F Kirby Dach, F Rem Pitlick, F Michael Pezzetta, D Kale Clague, G Samuel MontembeaultCap space: $1,173,334 What they should do: Montreal can’t do a whole lot without finessing its cap situation. Then again, general manager Kent Hughes has already made some moves in trading for Dach (who needs a new contract) and Evgenii Dadonov. The Canadiens have more pending RFAs to seriously consider keeping than most teams. That will limit what Montreal is capable of doing in the coming days. There’s always a chance Hughes orchestrates a trade that frees up some cap space, but in their present standing, the Canadiens’ focus will more likely go toward retaining their own talents. If Hughes can do that, Montreal won’t have glaring holes to fill. There is some concern about its back end (the Jeff Petry trade rumors persist) and adding a player on a league-minimum, veteran contract wouldn’t be the worst thing. Now, if Hughes does make a splashier trade of Petry or Josh Anderson, that would obviously change Montreal’s approach to the free-agent market. If the Canadiens believe first overall draft pick Juraj Slafkovsky can have an immediate impact, that gives Hughes more room to operate in terms of potential forward movement. What Montreal should do is partially what it’s done already: be strategic in making early trades and bolster from within. What happens after that, at least at this stage, is gravy. Key players hitting UFA: F Chris TierneyKey players hitting RFA: F Josh Norris, F Mathieu Joseph, D Victor Mete, D Erik BrannstromCap space: $23,869,286 What they should do: General manager Pierre Dorion got his list out early at the NHL draft and added Alex DeBrincat, a true offensive dynamo, into the Senators’ lineup via trade with Chicago. It was quite a pre-free agency fleecing, and positions Ottawa well for what’s ahead. Now, Dorion can turn his attention to signing Claude Giroux. Or so he should, if any of the rumors Giroux is interested in playing for the Senators are true. Adding Giroux would be the best free-agent signing Dorion could make. The former Flyers captain is still a strong offensive talent who would immediately make Ottawa’s top six better. He’s a leader with high character, and if he chose the Senators, it would do a lot for the overall confidence of a team that’s been struggling for any good mojo in recent years. A general area to address for Ottawa is its defense, and potential stay-at-home skaters to complement Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson. Josh Manson or Ian Cole could fill that role nicely. There’s some real excitement building around the Senators after the DeBrincat acquisition. And given DeBrincat is only signed…