Most of the big action around NHL teams this offseason took place on June 30. Mitch Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights and signed the much-anticipated eight-year extension with a $12 million average annual value (AAV). Brock Boeser is staying in Vancouver on a 7×7 deal. The Florida Panthers are running it back, as crazy as that sounds.
This is what stands out from the first day of free agency. There was plenty of transaction volume so it’s hard to catch up on it all. It’s why the team is divided into three categories to help navigate the wild start to free agency.
The Teams That Stood Out
For better or worse, some teams stood out to begin the offseason. They deserve the most focus because they were either the big spenders or made a big trade.
Anaheim Ducks – This is my fifth season covering the NHL. Every season, the Ducks go through the same cycle. They have a promising rebuild, they look poised to make a splash, they miss out on all the big names, and they overpay for veterans over the hill. Mikael Grandlund is this summer’s edition of that.
Boston Bruins – Honestly, what is going on in Boston? The Bruins had a fire sale at the trade deadline, where they moved everyone except a few core players. So, this is a good time to rebuild, right? They acquired Victor Arvidsson, Sean Kuraly, and Tanner Jeannot. It makes no sense.
Carolina Hurricanes – The K’Andre Miller trade is a great move. The signing afterwards wasn’t. The Hurricanes are giving him a lot of money after a down year, and to a skater who isn’t known for offense. The other big move was the Logan Stankoven extension, which is eight years at a $6 million AAV, a steal for the Hurricanes.
Columbus Blue Jackets – Ivan Provorov is an overpay, even with the cap going up. He took advantage of a breakout season but isn’t an anchor of the defense, much less a core player. The Blue Jackets are still missing that spark from the offseason, and maybe the young skaters in the pipeline provide it but a lackluster summer might result in them taking a step back.
Florida Panthers – The Panthers are the real winners of the offseason. They won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles and kept Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad around for a chance at a three-peat. Plus, they signed Jeff Petry to round out the defense. Smart stuff from Bill Zito, as expected.
Los Angeles Kings – Welcome to the Ken Holland era! They spent big on some veterans, including Corey Perry, who, for many reasons, should help them beat the Oilers in the First Round. These moves can backfire and cause the Kings to miss the playoffs, defeating the purpose of bringing them all in to begin with.
New Jersey Devils -The Devils entered the offseason with a need for depth scoring. It makes the Connor Brown signing a home run as he depth skater, does it all, and most notably, scores. They also added Evgenii Dadonov, who is another depth scorer for the lineup.
New York Rangers – Things look concerning with the Rangers. Yes, you can talk yourself into the Vladislav Gavrikov signing. Otherwise, this looks like a team with no direction, and it’s turning Igor Shesterkin into the next Henrik Lundqvist (with a team that isn’t providing much help in front of him).
Seattle Kraken – The Ryan Lindgren deal doesn’t make sense. At 4×4, it’s a good value compared to the other defensemen signed. Yet, it’s hard to know what direction this team is heading in.
Vancouver Canucks – It seemed like Boeser was leaving in free agency. He shocked the hockey world when he decided to take less money and stay with the Canucks (the expectation was he would sign in $8 or $9 million range). It’s not just the Boeser deal but also the Garland contract and the Thatcher Demko deal, keeping a top-six forward and the starting goaltender around. The only question is what happens with Arturs Silovs, the goaltender in the farm system, ready to play at the NHL level?
Vegas Golden Knights – The Mitch Marner sign and trade is the biggest move of the offseason, and that makes sense. The question is, what happens next for Vegas? Marner doesn’t move the needle in the big picture, and it’s why the Golden Knights, as flashy as the Marner addition was, look like the same team that will run into a wall in the playoffs.
Washington Capitals – The Fehervary signing seems like a bit much but that tells you how much the market has shifted. The Capitals went on a heater last offseason, getting Jakob Chychrun, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Logan Thompson, three players who helped them leap to the top of the Eastern Conference. This time around, they didn’t do much, which is a bit of a surprise.
The “I’m Still Waiting Teams”
Most teams had a quiet free agency. For some, it was too quiet. Maybe a splash is coming, maybe it’s not. Either way, the expectation is for something big from these teams.
Detroit Red Wings – The theme of the Steve Yzerman era is that he’s played it safe and not made a big move or taken a swing in free agency. This offseason was no different as he added depth but didn’t make that big move to put them in the playoff conversation.
Edmonton Oilers – While writing this up, the Oilers signed Andrew Mangiapane. Before free agency, they signed Evan Bouchard to a four-year deal. Otherwise, it’s been quiet for the Oilers, and the question is if they are working on something big (like Connor McDavid extension big).
Minnesota Wild – The Kirill Kaprizov extension should come in any day. It will create a chain reaction and possibly allow Marco Rossi to head towards offer sheet territory, where another team can come in and sign him.
Montreal Canadiens – The Canadiens are one of the sleeping giants in the Eastern Conference. It’s why the Logan Mailloux trade is both underwhelming and surprising; it’s the only significant trade they’ve made (and it got them a depth skater, Zach Bolduc, in return).
Pittsburgh Penguins – Eventually, an Erik Karlsson trade should go down, and hopefully this offseason. It will help with the Penguins rebuild.
New York Islanders – Mathieu Darche had quite the start to his GM tenure with the Islanders, trading Noah Dobson, drafting Matthew Schaefer, and signing a few players in free agency. The spending can be defined as his urge to play it safe. Eventually, there should be a big signing or a splash on the way.
Toronto Maple Leafs – After losing Mitch Marner, the expectation was for something big from the Maple Leafs. They took care of some in-house work with the Matthew Knies and John Tavares deals. However, the Maple Leafs looked like a team that would sign Marchand or make a big trade for a top-pair defenseman. They haven’t
Utah Hockey Club – All offseason, everyone was talking about the big moves in the works from Utah. They didn’t make any significant signings.
Silence is Golden (At Least For Some Teams)
For the rest of the league, there wasn’t much going on, and it’s probably for the best, at least for these teams.
Buffalo Sabres – After trading JJ Peterka, it’s probably best for the Buffalo Sabres to stay out of the spotlight. That is, until they inevitably trade Bowen Byram.
Calgary Flames – The Flames have a good thing going and are a team on the rise with a young group that’s only getting better. They didn’t need to make a splash, and it wouldn’t have been good if they did. Instead, they will look to build around Dustin Wolf, their elite young goaltender.
Chicago Blackhawks – After going crazy last offseason, the Blackhawks were more reserved this summer, with maybe a signing or two but not a ton of moves. It looks like they learned their lesson.
Colorado Avalanche – The Avalanche weren’t expected to spend big in this offseason, and they didn’t. Instead, it’s the same core again, just one more year older. You wonder if they can build again around Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
Dallas Stars – The Stars didn’t do much and lost a lot of talent to free agency. To be fair, they had other things prioritized as they introduced Glen Gulutzan as their head coach and brought in a new staff as well.
Nashville Predators – See Chicago Blackhawks.
Ottawa Senators – The Senators are another sleeping giant in the NHL with a talent roster on the rise. After taking a few big swings last offseason, they are quiet this time around. The Senators are probably waiting for the trade deadline to make their move.
Philadelphia Flyers – The Flyers needed a center and a goaltender. They got both with the Christian Dvorak and Dan Vladar signings. Otherwise, it’s all about developing from within and allowing the prospects to develop.
San Jose Sharks – This rebuilding team didn’t do anything stupid. The Sharks didn’t rush things and instead just re-signed William Eklund, brought in Philipp Kurashev, and acquired Alex Nedeljkovic. The Nedeljkovic trade can be seen as a questionable one but otherwise, the Sharks understood the assignment.
St. Louis Blues – The Mailloux trade was a good one for the Blues as they added another two-way defenseman to their blue line. Otherwise, there wasn’t much going on in St. Louis, and it’s probably for the best.
Tampa Bay Lightning – Considering the Lightning are stuck in the murky middle of the Atlantic Conference. It’s why it’s surprising not to see them make a big move to catch up to the Panthers and the top teams in the NHL.
Winnipeg Jets – The Jets are the team that hopefully makes a move of some kind. As Boeser showed, it’s always possible that Nikolaj Ehlers returns and signs a seven-year deal with the Jets.
