The Vancouver Canucks added Loui Eriksson in free agency, but they want more.

In dire need of goals, Eriksson's going to help. He scored 30 times last season, and will form what should be a formidable all-Swedish first line with the Sedin twins. But Jim Benning knows the Canucks - the only team to score fewer than 200 goals in the Western Conference - need more offense.

While the Sedins are around, Vancouver is going to chase a playoff spot. That much is clear early in an offseason in which the club has tried to get better for the immediate future.

"If I had a crystal ball, I would say we'd try to add a winger who had some grit and size to him, who can score," Benning told The Province's Jason Botchford.

Those players aren't available on the free-agent market, which means Benning is going to have to get what he wants via trade. And that won't be easy. Gone already is forward prospect and 2014 first-round pick Jared McCann, traded to Florida for defenseman Erik Gudbranson.

Here's a look at the Canucks' depth chart up front:

There isn't much to trade from that group. Prospects and/or draft picks could be used to pluck one of the pending 2017 unrestricted free-agent forwards, who are up there in age and who could help in the short term: Patrick Marleau, Patrick Sharp, and Jarome Iginla. None of those players fit the description Benning is looking for, though, with Iginla coming the closest. He scored 22 goals as a 38-year-old last season, so there's still game left on his stick.

While Eriksson's bringing 30 goals to Vancouver, the Canucks are losing Radim Vrbata's 13 goals, and 44 over the last two seasons. Any way you look at it, there's still work to be done, which means the summer may still hold intrigue out west.

- With h/t to Pro Hockey Talk

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With the free-agent frenzy over, and the NHL slowly but surely shifting to offseason mode, we'd thought we'd have a little fun and put together a team of those players still looking for work next season.

Let's get right into it.

Forwards

Notes:

• With all due respect to Brandon Pirri, there isn't much up the middle, so he's the default No. 1 center. Sam Gagner and Cody Hodgson follow him on the depth chart because they're both only 26 years old, and therefore too young to give up on.
• There's some definite firepower up front on the wings in Jiri Hudler, Radim Vrbata, and Kris Versteeg. While it's all but a formality Shane Doan returns to the Arizona Coyotes, the only franchise he's ever known, he's on this squad until he isn't.
• The bottom six is, well, a bottom six. Due to their age, the Joorises and Veys of the world draw into this fictional lineup before the Higginses and Joneses.

Defense

Notes:

• Kris Russell, Justin Schultz, and Luke Schenn should all have jobs by the time July is over. Russell's the most in-demand defenseman still on the market, Schultz will be 26 later this week, and Schenn 27 in November. The latter two are projects, and on this fictional squad, they're top-four defensemen.
• James Wisniewski had 51 points in 2013-14. He's worth a flyer after a knee injury cost him last season.
• Kyle Quincey and Matt Carle are in their early 30s, and can fill out a blue line, while Dennis Seidenberg is the veteran presence on the back end. And on this make-believe team, Dan Boyle gets the fictional title of player and assistant coach. He's here to teach, mostly.

Goalies

Notes:

• Jhonas Enroth is easily the best goaltender still available on the market. He had a strong 2015-16 season in limited action, and owns a career .911 save percentage. His age - 28 - also works in his favor.
• Karri Ramo finished three seasons in Calgary with a .911 save percentage in 110 games. He's 30 years old, so it's clear he'll never be a starter, but he can back up this team.
• Ben Scrivens is a depth signing, pure and simple, because goalies get hurt.

In conclusion, buyer beware.

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Peter Chiarelli expected Edmonton Oilers fans to be upset when he traded Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson.

"I knew I was going to get hammered (for it)," the Oilers general manager told SiriusXM NHL Network Radio on Monday. "The Edmonton fans don't know (Larsson). They don't know what he projects to be, and they know Taylor."

It wasn't just Oilers fans who were shocked by the deal, which was announced during a flurry of major activity around the league last week. Several media members chimed in with critical responses.

Related: Twitter reacts to 1-for-1 Hall, Larsson trade

"You kind of knew there was going to be some backlash, and to a certain degree, it's justifiable because of the stature Taylor had in Edmonton and ... (his) time in the league and what he's done," Chiarelli said Monday.

Hall racked up 132 goals and 328 points in 381 games for the Oilers after being selected first overall by Edmonton in 2010. Larsson - a right-shot defenseman Chiarelli has repeatedly insisted the Oilers needed - was chosen fourth overall in 2011.

"It's a tough business. You make these decisions, (and) whatever you do, social media is going to criticize you ... It's a really public forum, and you just don't look at it, basically."

Chiarelli's social media strategy aligns with Connor McDavid's advice to Canadian players during the World Junior Hockey Championship. McDavid told players to "make your world as small as possible," and to turn off social media apps while in the figurative bubble of the international tournament.

For the Oilers, less is apparently more.

- With h/t to Chris Nichols

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In honor of Independence Day stateside, it's time to acknowledge the growth of hockey in the United States.

The game has spread significantly south of the border in the 20 years since the U.S. defeated Canada to win the World Cup of Hockey, inspiring a whole new generation just as the game grew following the 'Miracle on Ice' in 1980.

Here are five reasons American hockey is blossoming and should only continue to grow.

Patrick Kane

The Chicago Blackhawks star is a lightning rod of controversy off the ice, but his impact on it is undeniable. Kane became the first American-born player to win the Hart Trophy last month after a season in which he claimed the Art Ross Trophy with a career-high 106 points.

He also set the record for the longest point streak by an American-born player, tallying at least a point in 26 consecutive games between Oct. 17 and Dec. 13.

His off-ice legal troubles ensure he won't be the singular face of the league any time soon, but the Buffalo native is arguably the NHL's most dynamic player.

Record-setting draft

The present is promising, but the future looks even brighter for USA Hockey.

A record 12 American-born players were chosen in the first round of the NHL draft last month, including five players who played their youth hockey in St. Louis.

For some perspective, compare that to the 11 Canadians taken in the opening round. Three Americans went in the first seven picks for the first time in 10 years, and 55 U.S.-born players were drafted in all.

At least a handful of them should make major contributions in the NHL for years to come.

Auston Matthews

The first-overall pick won't be playing close to home with the Arizona Coyotes, but the Toronto Maple Leafs' top prospect will be a huge boon for the U.S. program if he excels in the biggest hockey market in the world and continues representing his country on the international stage.

Matthews was the first American chosen with the top pick since Kane in 2007, and no one's doubting he'll have a similar impact.

The centerpiece of the Leafs' youth movement should contribute fairly quickly after spending a season playing professionally in Switzerland.

Encouraging participation numbers

A glance at USA Hockey membership provides further evidence that interest is rising.

There are now more than 542,000 players in the system, a 47 percent increase since the Americans won the World Cup in 1996. The total number of participants in the program (622,833) has gone up 45 percent in that span.

The number of players, coaches and officials is steadily increasing nationwide, and that's a positive sign for the growth of the game in the United States.

California's hockey revolution

The Golden State has seen a surge of interest in hockey in the years since the trade that sent Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988.

The number of collegiate players from the state has nearly tripled since 2003. The Kings' Stanley Cup championship in 2012 and 2014 helped to generate even more interest on the west coast, while the success of the San Jose Sharks and competitiveness of the Anaheim Ducks have strengthened the market.

Hockey hasn't caught on in every southern locale, but California is becoming a major hotbed for hockey, and that could very well have been a factor in the awarding of an NHL franchise to nearby Las Vegas for the 2017-18 season.

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Now that the initial free-agent frenzy has died down, teams are beginning to turn their attention to the secondary market.

Related: Top 5 NHL free agents still available after Day 1

Teams are circling around defenseman Kris Russell, while multiple teams are believed to be interested in forward Kris Versteeg, according to Darren Dreger of TSN.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were reportedly interested in Russell, while his agent has denied the defenseman turned down a significant offer from the club.

The shot-blocking specialist was dealt by Calgary to Dallas prior to the 2016 trade deadline, while Versteeg scored 15 goals in 77 games split between Carolina and Los Angeles last season.

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Matt Martin, the Toronto Maple Leafs lone signing from the first day of free agency, is excited to begin the next chapter of his career.

The bulldozing winger said Toronto's management team is part of what drew him to the team.

"I was able to talk to Lou and Mike on the phone and kind of get a good feel for the direction they're heading," Martin told Dean Blundell of Sportsnet 590 The Fan, transcribed by Chris Nichols of Today's Slapshot. "The management and coaching staff is arguably the best in the league. I'm just excited for the opportunity to play under those guys."

Martin is coming off two-consecutive playoff appearances with the New York Islanders, and although his new team finished 30th in the league, he doesn't think it will take long for Toronto to climb up the ranks.

"I think they're going in the right direction. They're a young team that just got a very good player in Auston Matthews and going through a bit of a rebuild, but with Lou Lamoriello, Brendan Shanahan and Mike Babcock, I can't see that rebuild going too long. I think it's going to be a quick turnaround. They have a lot of great people. A lot of brains behind the bench and the management, and I can't see the Leafs struggling for long."

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Despite some heavy lifting, Steve Yzerman still has some serious work to do.

The Tampa Bay Lightning general manager drew rave reviews for re-signing franchise players in Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman to long-term contract extensions on July 1.

At the same time, winger Nikita Kucherov has grown into a star in his own right, and remains without a new contract as a restricted free agent a few days after the opening of the NHL's free-agent signing period.

"We'll do our best to get (it) done as quickly as possible," Yzerman told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times on July 1. "It's a process, hopefully sooner than later. I'm confident in that at some point, we'll be able to reach an agreement."

The 23-year-old carried a cap hit of $894,166 over the past three seasons, and is due a large raise after averaging 29 goals and 65 points over the past two seasons.

Kucherov is clearly the type of player Yzerman values.

"He's an outstanding player, good in all aspects of the game," Yzerman said. Offensively, defensively, he's a scorer, he's a playmaker, really good defensively, a hard worker. He's still relatively young, three years of pro hockey, he's becoming a leader on our team. Really a go-to-guy for us. He can play in a lot of situations, do a lot of things on the ice.

"Nikita is going to continue to develop. He's determined to be an elite hockey player and a complete hockey player."

Kucherov's early career numbers mirror those posted by 21-year-old Filip Forsberg, who recently signed a six-year, $36-million extension with the Nashville Predators.

According to General Fanager, the Lightning have close to $13 million in available cap space, but with Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Nesterov also in need of new deals as fellow RFAs.

On top of that, a reconciliation between the club and Jonathan Drouin means he'll need a new contract in 2017, with a career season likely on deck.

In beating the Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals en route to a Stanley Cup championship, the Pittsburgh Penguins proved you need depth to succeed in today's NHL.

Having Stamkos and Hedman at the top is fine, but Yzerman needs to lock up the supporting cast, with Kucherov serving as the brightest Bolt of the bunch.

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