1LD goes with out saying. Has been the teams biggest need since Fox became Fox. I'm game for an "anyone but Lindgren" approach right now but they need a long term solution there. Priority #1 by a long shot.
After that it becomes uh, a bit of a balancing act. I don't think it's a secret that Drury wants this team to become heavier and more capable of playing inside the dots. Thats all well and good and I think they have some interesting internal options for those spots but they also need to be supported by players who can get you the puck in those areas (and get the puck up ice to begin with.)
I don't think Kreider really serves us anymore. I think Zibanejad has to go just from a roster management stand point. The former can be replaced in house, the latter cannot unless Laba just comes out of nowhere and is able to win and hold down a spot but thats a lot to ask of a player coming out of college. A stop gap 3C seems like a likely need along with 1LD.
I think the team would also be better served moving on from Panarin. Freeing up the money is less important this year as the UFA market this summer kind of blows and he comes off the books when real difference makers become available but he's just a massive playoff underachiever. I DO think you need players like him though because as I said, even if guys like to play in traffic it doesn't really matter if the puck doesn't get there. I'd just rather have someone who can do that and is also willing to get to the inside themselves and/or feed and assist a cycle game instead of trying to shoot/pass the puck through 4 layers of defenders trying to make something happen when there clearly isn't anything there.
At the very least it's one more year beyond this one, but I don't really like the idea of essentially punting seasons waiting for guys to finish up their deals either.
