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Keys to the offseason: Free agency, draft plans for Oilers, other eliminated teams

May 15, 2023
Keys to the offseason: Free agency, draft plans for Oilers, other eliminated teams

  • Ryan S. Clark

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    Ryan S. Clark

    NHL reporter

      Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.

  • Kristen Shilton

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    Kristen Shilton

    ESPN NHL reporter

      Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

May 15, 2023, 12:40 AM ET

The 2022-23 NHL regular season was a record-breaking campaign for the Boston Bruins as a team and a historic season for Connor McDavid, who scored like it was the early 1990s.

But the eliminations are piling up — both from playoff series losses (including the Bruins), and those who didn’t qualify. Those clubs are now looking ahead to this offseason, where the draft, free agency and trades will help put them in a better position to compete in 2023-24.

Read on for a look at what went wrong for each eliminated team, along with a breakdown of its biggest keys this offseason and realistic expectations for next season. Note that more teams will be added to this story as they are eliminated from the playoffs.