Without totally embracing a rebuild project, the Ducks are still recovering from the salary-cap purge that followed their 2007 Cup run. So they could use some depth, and have the luxury of two first-round picks this year — their own pick at number 12, and Philadelphia’s at number 29, which they acquired in the Chris Pronger trade. They’ll have seven picks total.

 

Anaheim tends to err on the side of big, strong and North American in their drafting. However, if either of their smaller and faster cornerstones – winger Teemu Selanne and defenseman Scott Niedermayer – decide to retire, general manager Bob Murray knows exactly what he’ll need in the first round. Unfortunately for Murray, he won’t find an immediate replacement at either 12 or 29, or any NHL-ready player for that matter.

 

Even if Niedermayer stays, there’s more of a need for youth on the back end. Forward prospects Dan Sexton and Nick Bonino reached the NHL earlier than expected last season, while defensemen Brett Festerling, Brendan Mikkelson and Brian Salcido have yet to secure full-time jobs despite extended looks.

 

After taking two centers in the first round last year, expect Anaheim to target an offensively-gifted defenseman like Cam Fowler – if Murray can trade up – or Mark Pysyk.

  

Another team with a franchise star nearing retirement, the Stars would love to find the next Mike Modano with the 11th overall pick.

 

That’s not likely to happen, nor should there be quite that level of urgency, with Mike Richards the established successor to Modano’s throne. Dallas’ AHL affiliate and ECHL affiliates both reached their respective finals, suggesting there’s plenty more talent waiting in the wings – even if the parent club underachieved last season.

 

Still, the last few drafts reveal a glaring deficiency of defensemen in Dallas. All five of the Stars’ 2009 picks, and all eight of their 2007 picks, were spent on forwards. They selected a goalie (Tyler Beskorowany) with their first pick in 2008 and only have two blue-liners to show for their last three drafts.

 

There is no Victor Hedman – a standout puck-moving, European defenseman in the Stars’ mold – in this draft class. Reports suggest they could target Derek Forbort of the U.S. National Development Team or Dylan McIlrath of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

 

Dallas has only four picks (one in the first, second, third and fifth rounds) and may try to acquire more.

 

The Kings are in the enviable position of letting the hockey world come to them – the draft will be at Staples Center for the first time ever – and also being able to take the best player available whenever they’re on the clock.

 

Their best defenseman is 20-year-old Drew Doughty. Their best forward is 22-year-old center Anze Kopitar. Dustin Brown (24), Wayne Simmonds (21), Jack Johnson (23) and Jonathan Quick (24) round out the team’s young nucleus. Their AHL team, the Manchester Monarchs, made the Eastern Conference finals with a roster full of young prospects.

 

With organizational depth at every position, it’s hard to imagine Los Angeles using all nine of its picks. General manager Dean Lombardi isn’t the type to make a blockbuster trade, but one of those picks might not be as valuable to this team as, say, an established stay-at-home defenseman or a speedy winger to replace Alexander Frolov.

 

One position to watch carefully is goaltender. There’s been heavy speculation that Lombardi will trade either Quick or former first-round pick Jonathan Bernier for a high-scoring forward. Two other respected prospects, Jeff Zatkoff and Martin Jones, are in the system. If the Kings use one of their first five picks (all in the first three rounds) on a goalie, look for someone to be shipped out.

  

A bold prediction: Whoever the next owner of the Coyotes is will want to keep the team’s payroll low.

 

Why does it matter here?

 

The Coyotes’ wacky ownership saga and 13 impending free agents – eight unrestricted – are bound to impact how the team approaches the draft. If they haven’t already, someone at Ice Edge Holdings (the presumptive next owner) might at least give GM Don Maloney a ballpark payroll figure. That would help answer the question of who he can afford to bring back, who he can’t, and whether he should try to add or subtract from his total of five picks.

 

Phoenix gets the 13th overall pick from Calgary (for Olli Jokinen) and holds its own pick at number 22. Maloney would be wise to use one of those on a goaltender. Too few quality goalies have emerged from Phoenix’s recent drafts that, while Ilya Bryzgalov is an enviable No. 1 at the NHL level, his long-term successor is not obvious.

 

Beyond that look for the ‘Yotes – who drafted defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson with the sixth overall pick last year – to ambitiously pursue a top-six forward. It’s the toughest position to fill, and a necessity for a team that figures to be replenishing its ranks on a regular basis.

 

There was an easily overlooked silver lining to the Sharks’ 2009-10 season. Several of the organization’s top prospects (notably Jason Demers, Logan Couture, Jamie McGinn, Frazer McLaren, Benn Ferriero and Derek Joslin) got long looks in San Jose.

 

The bad news is that the Sharks fell short of the Stanley Cup again, and 15 players who appeared in at least one game last season become free agents, including 10 UFAs.

 

The good news is that the future looks bright on several fronts. Expect GM Doug Wilson to take a best-player-available approach, beginning with the No. 28 overall pick. Amazingly, the Sharks haven’t taken a player in the first round since 2007 (Couture). With a possible roster overhaul in the wings, and since Wilson only owns a total of four picks, that should change.

 

The cupboards are stacked at the center position, but the organization’s need for wingers will be exacerbated if UFA Patrick Marleau or RFA Devin Setoguchi wind up elsewhere in 2010-11. San Jose might want to invest in a physical defenseman, a role the team has typically addressed on the free-agent market, but a greater area of need now that Rob Blake has retired.

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