Doan, 39, bounced back from a disappointing 2014-15 season, by scoring 28 goals (his most since 2008-09) with 19 assists (47 points) in 72 games. Entering his 21st year with the Coyotes, Doan sits 96th in NHL history with 945 points, just 55 points short of 1,000 for his career. He will take a shot at 1,000, but hasn’t registered 55-plus points since 2010-11.
Oleksiak, 23, was unable to land a full-time spot with the Stars in 2015-16, appearing in just 19 games and eight others with Texas (AHL). The 2011 14th overall pick is a huge body (6’7” / 260 lbs) but doesn’t possess a lot of offensive upside. Oleksiak will push for a regular role on the Stars’ blueline in training camp.
Rask, 23, is coming off of his second full NHL season and it was a good one. After a solid rookie campaign, Rask notched 21 goals and 27 assists for 48 points, which was tied for second on the team. Rask has settled in as the Hurricanes’ second-line centre behind Jordan Staal and should push for 50 points in 2016-17.
Dowd, 26, forced the Kings to give him a look this year, after collecting 48 points (14G / 34A) in 58 games with Ontario (AHL). In his brief, five-game stint with the Kings he failed to record a point. Dowd will try and crack the NHL roster in training camp, but there’s a good chance he starts the year back in the AHL.
Forbort, 24, was the 15th overall pick in 2010 and cracked the NHL roster in 2015-16. He spent the majority of the year with Ontario (AHL), collecting 10 points and 40 PIMS in 40 games, but he dressed in 14 contests with the Kings where he had one goal and one assist. Forbort will look to crack the Kings roster in training camp this Fall.
The Kings acquired Campbell from the Stars back in late June and have secured him for the net two seasons. Campbell was drafted 11th overall in 2010 but has failed to make it to the NHL and took a step back last year, splitting his time between the AHL and the ECHL. Look for him to start the 2016-17 with Ontario (AHL).
Ferraro, 24, appeared in a total of 68 NHL games last season with the Red Wings and the Bruins. He was originally drafted by the Red Wings, but they lost him on waivers to Boston, where he recorded 10 points (5G / 5A) in 58 games with the Bruins. Ferraro will look to crack the Blues roster in training camp this fall.
Kichton, 24, has yet to make it to the NHL, but is coming off of a strong year with Manitoba (AHL). The former seventh-round pick had 41 points (11G / 30A) in 68 games and will once again find himself in Manitoba to start the 2016-17 season.
Scheifele, 23, the former seventh overall pick (2011) is coming off of his best season as a professional, having collected 61 points (29G / 32A) in 71 games. The 6-foot-3 centre emerged as the Jets’ top-line centre and this extension will keep him in that role for many years to come. If Scheifele can stay healthy in 2016-17, he could approach the 70-point plateau.
MacKinnon, 20, was the first overall pick in 2013 and is coming off of three strong seasons to start his NHL career. In 2015-16, MacKinnon had 21 goals and 31 assists (52 points) in 72 games. He has missed 28 games over the three years, but has scored at a strong pace—22 goals, 35 assists per 82 games. Entering his age 21 season, expect MacKinnon to take another step forward.
Bernier, 27, was originally acquired from the Kings to be the goalie of the future in Toronto, but that never really panned out. Bernier was 59-68-17 with a 2.80 GAA and .915 SV% in 140 starts and 11 relief appearances with the Maple Leafs over three seasons. This summer the Leafs brought in Frederik Andersen from Anaheim to be their new starter, now Bernier is headed the other way to serve as John Gibson’s backup.
Markstrom’s NHL career didn’t get off to a great start, but he seems to have settled in in Vancouver. He was excellent with Utica (AHL) two years ago and went 13-14-3 with a 2.73 GAA and .915 SV% in 32 games with the Canucks last season. Markstrom will battle with Ryan Miller for starts as the Canucks’ No. 1 netminder.
After posting 18 goals in back-to-back seasons, Perreault’s nine goals in 2015-16 was disappointing. In his first two years with the Jets he has posted back-to-back 41-point seasons and should be expected to be back in that range again in 2016-17.
Wilson, 25, split his 2015-16 season between the AHL and NHL. Wilson, a former fourth round pick (107 overall in 2009), had no points in 29 games with the Panthers despite posting 20 points (7G / 13A) in 37 games with Portland (AHL). Look for him to start the 2016-17 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Kelly, 35, is a bottom-6 forward that can play centre or wing that the Senators are very familiar with. He was drafted by the Senators back in 1999 and spent the first six and a half years of his NHL career in an Ottawa uniform. He the last five and a half years in Boston, but was limited to just 11 games in 2015-16 because of a fractured left femur.
Palmieri 25, had the best season of his career in his first year in New Jersey. He entered 2015-16 with a career-high of 14 goals, but burst out for 30 goals along with 27 assists (57 points) in 82 games. Palmieri should benefit from the Devils adding Taylor Hall to the mix for 2016-17.
Claesson, 23, was a fifth round pick (126th overall) in 2011 and finally made it to the NHL in 2015-16. He spent most of the year with Binghamton (AHL), but appeared in 16 NHL games, but collecting just two assists. During his time in the AHL, Claesson had 10 points (3G / 7A) in 55 contests. He will look to crack the Senators’ opening night roster in training camp.
Coreau, 24, was 29-15-2 with a 2.43 GAA and .922 SV% in 47 games as the No. 1 option in Grand Rapids (AHL). Coreau is a monster netminder, standing in at 6-foot-6 and 220 lbs. He fits the mould of the modern era NHL netminder, but as long as Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard are ahead of him on the depth chart, he will likely only see AHL duty.
MacKenzie is a quality fourth line centre, that will not do a lot of scoring. He led the Panthers in face-off percentage (54.8%) and was second in hits per game with 2.4. MacKenzie’s value lies in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill, where he led all Panthers’ forwards with a 2:38 PK/TOI per game.
Kalinin, 25, recorded 15 points (8G / 7A) in 78 games in his first NHL season after playing five seasons in KHL before hand. Kalinin is a big centre (6’3” / 200 lbs) who should find himself in a third line role in 2016-17.
