The Missing Piece for Stanley Cup Contenders

The Colorado Avalanche are spending their summers with Lord Stanley. The 31 other teams are licking their wounds and looking to come back stronger. A short list of contenders is on the cusp and could be one or two pieces away from having their turn with the Cup.

The NHL's 31 teams are looking to come back stronger after the summer break. The teams' biggest need is to win the Stanley Cup.

Tampa Bay Lightning lost Ondrej Palat and Steven Stamkos in the playoffs. Tampa used most of its cap space to reinforce their defense. They need more firepower to defeat Colorado. Toronto Maple Leafs need an elite defenseman.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights need a few more playoff heartbreaks to win the Cup. The Calgary Flames need more scoring. Minnesota Wild need better special teams. The Toronto Maple Leafs need to improve their defense. Vegas needs to be healthier. Edmonton needs a better goalie. Calgary needs more scorers. If Kirill Kaprizov can't play for the Wild, they need an extra scorer. They need special teaming. Florida needs experience. Alberta needs another scorer to replace Johnny Gaudreau. Winnipeg needs better penalty kill. Vancouver needs an additional scorer, especially if it loses its top two scorerers.