PicoBlog

The NHL free agency period was a little bit different this time around than in summer’s past due to league-wide salary cap issues and a less-than-stellar 2023 free agent class, but that didn’t stop brisk business from happening at the start of July.

It just amounted to a lot more modest one-year deals for veteran players rather than the big term, big money contracts that have been routinely tossed around in offseason’s past.

Some teams improved immensely through trades and signings, some had to be in mostly selling and in bargain mode like the Boston Bruins and others didn’t do much of anything aside from the status quo.

“People will probably take a deep breath here to see where their teams are at, like we will. There have been a lot of conversations leading up to [the NHL Draft] about player movement, maybe there will be a little bit more of it on the other side, but again a lot of teams have addressed needs,” said Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney. “There are some teams that have indicated that they would like to change the composition of their group, and maybe the trade market opens up. There’s no real predicting that, at this point in time, you just go through the conversations and follow up on conversations with the teams you may have had discussions with.”  

Those discussions have led to subsequent moves like Alex DeBrincat heading to Detroit as the Red Wings are really pushing to make a move forward. Including all the transactions at the NHL Draft and free agency, here are our team-by-team grades for the offseasons experienced by all 32 NHL teams:

Anaheim Ducks: I actually really like the signing of Radko Gudas to protect their skill guys like Trevor Zegras. They’re not going to be Stanley Cup contenders next season, but they need somebody to keep other teams from targeting their dazzling offensive guys when they do their lacrosse goal thing. Gudas takes care of that, for sure. And Alex Killorn is a solid pro as well with Stanley Cup-winning experience. Good signing. Grade: B

Arizona Coyotes: I liked the Jason Zucker signing on a one-year deal, but they look awfully thin on the blue line when it comes to high end quality. Adding Alex Kerfoot and Nick Bjugstad will help up front as well. The Coyotes do have cap space to make a big move if it presents itself, but it’s surprising they weren’t a bigger player for any number of defensemen shuttling around the market. Grade: D

Boston Bruins: They didn’t pick until the third round in the NHL Draft, had to sell off Taylor Hall at a discount as a cap casualty and weren’t able to find common ground with Tyler Bertuzzi before losing him in free agency to the Maple Leafs. Bringing Milan Lucic back was a crowd pleaser and addressed a need, but this team is going to be significantly worse if Patrice Bergeron opts to retire. Still a playoff team in an improved East, but they don’t feel like a Cup contender anymore. Grade: C-

Buffalo Sabres: The injury to Jack Quinn was a major blow to a Sabres offseason where optimism is as high as it’s been in a while. Above and beyond that, Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson were the big acquisitions over the last couple of weeks. Clifton will bring some snarl, but it remains to be seen if he can step up into anything more than a bottom pairing role. Johnson will help as a veteran leader for a group of young, talented defensemen emerging in Buffalo. Grade: B-

Calgary Flames: They were rumored to be doing some massive things as Calgary players seem to be jumping ship, but the reality is that the rumors didn’t live up to the Flames keeping it kinda quiet this offseason aside from dealing away Tyler Toffoli. It feels like a lean period might be coming for the Flames, unfortunately. Grade: C

Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes bagged arguably the biggest target on the free agent market while just extending for a two-year contract for Dmitry Orlov, who is going to bring a lot to an already stacked Hurricanes back end. Michael Bunting was a nice add to bring more bite to the Hurricanes as well. The decision to keep Frederik Andersen around for a few more years was an interesting one as they Canes have a really congested goalie situation, but they are definitely better with Orlov in the ranks and the rest of their players back to full health. Grade: B+

Chicago Blackhawks: The drafting of Connor Bedard is a franchise-changer, and the ability of Chicago to scoop up Taylor Hall at a reduced trade rate was a strong pre-draft move getting out ahead of everybody else. Kyle Davidson capped it all off by bringing in good pros Corey Perry and Nick Foligno to shepherd Bedard along as well. Not bad work for “Kyle from Chicago.” Grade: A.

Colorado Avalanche: Good moves for Ryan Johansen and Ross Colton as the Avs continue to replenish their roster, and a massive dice roll with Jonathan Drouin. Maybe he can flourish with all the skill and talent around him in Colorado, or maybe he’s just somebody that isn’t going to live up to his previous hype. Being on his third NHL team isn’t a great sign. Miles Wood could pay high dividends given the hard way he plays going to the net. Grade: B-

Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets got a blue-chip center in Adam Fantilli and that’s a massive piece for a team that’s been looking for long term players to build around Johnny Gaudreau. They also loaded up on the back end with Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson, so Columbus should be much, much better next season. Solid moves. Grade: B+

Dallas Stars: The Stars added more skill and speed with Matt Duchene on a cheap contract, and that should help a team that’s already got an established core group with plenty of talent. Good to see Craig Smith find a home in Big ‘D’ for the next season as well. Grade: C+

Detroit Red Wings: Steve Yzerman continues to slowly build after trading for Alex DeBrincat and Kailer Yamamoto/Klim Kostin and signing JT Compher away from the Colorado Avalanche. Also newly signed Shayne Gostisbehere should bring some back-end offense. Will this be the season they finally break through with all the pieces that they’ve built around Dylan Larkin and their young cast of characters? It remains to be seen, but I like what Stevie Y is doing in Hockeytown. Grade: A-

Edmonton Oilers: The Oil had to unload Yamamoto and Kostin due to salary cap difficulties, so it was subtraction by subtraction. Not ideal for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations that looks like they need more to get over the hump. Grade: D

Florida Panthers: Not a ton of big moves for the Panthers aside from bringing Evan Rodrigues into the fold on a four-year deal and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on a one-year deal. Rodrigues should help provide even more depth to the forward group for a team that made a nice, deep run to the Stanley Cup Final. They will miss the exit of the tough, intimidating Radko Gudas after he signed with Anaheim. Grade: C+

LA Kings: The Kings have up a ton for Pierre-Luc Dubois and have to hope he’s going to be motivated to be there like he didn’t seem to be at times in Columbus and Winnipeg. That’s a big risk on their part, but they’re in a position where they need to gamble a little bit to find a young star player to build around. Maybe the third time is the charm? Grabbing Cam Talbot was a good, needed move. Grade: B

Minnesota Wild: Forget everything else. The Wild acquired Pat Maroon, so they’re going to win the Cup next season. That’s A+ managerial stuff from Bill Guerin up there with saluting Tootsie’s for “keeping everybody hydrated” at the NHL Draft. Grade: A+

Montreal Canadiens: Who knows about first round pick David Reinbacher, but Montreal fans didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory by burying the poor kid on social media after the Habs selected the defenseman instead of taking a hyped Russian player. They did make a nice trade-and-sign with Alex Newhook, who will be a useful piece as the Habs continue to build back to respectability. There may be more to come as Montreal could be looking to move another forward, but we’ll grade them on their current moves. Grade: C

Nashville Predators: The Preds brought in Ryan O’Reilly at just a $4.5 million cap hit and were able to free themselves of Matt Duchene in a real upgrade at the center position when it comes to winning hockey games. And Luke Schenn will bring the toughness. But they could be really short on offense after moving Duchene and Ryan Johanson after Roman Josi had already led them in scoring last season. Grade: C+

New Jersey Devils: The Devils got Tyler Toffoli for next to nothing and re-upped a number of their own players as they are on the upswing while investing in Vitek Vanacek as their established goaltender. Solid moves without getting too complicated with a Jersey team that took a big step last season as currently constituted. Sometimes the best thing to do is get out of the way. Grade: B+

New York Islanders: Clearly, they could use more as they were in the running for Alex DeBrincat, but instead they opted to simply sign incumbent players like Pierre Engvall, Ilya Sorokin, Semyon Varlamov and Scott Mayfield to big contract extensions. Feels like Lou Lamoriello didn’t do nearly enough proactively. Grade: D

New York Rangers: The Blueshirts have moved on from Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko after things really didn’t work out last spring. They got Blake Wheeler, Nick Bonino and Jonathan Quick on cheap contracts that could add some solid veteran leadership inside the Rangers dressing room. Grade: C

Ottawa Senators: The Sens signed goalie Joonas Korpisalo to a long-term contract and will have their first full season with Jakob Chychrun, and they got some useful young players in return back in the Alex DeBrincat deal. They will be better next season after fortifying the goaltending and on defense and that’s really what the offseason is all about while successfully navigating a situation they were forced into by DeBrincat refusing to sign an extension. Grade: B+

Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers unloaded Kevin Hayes and made a bargain bin pickup of Marc Staal after trading Ivan Provorov, so it should be a fairly significant makeover and at least they changed what they wanted to change. Not a ton of adding at this point aside from hardnosed fourth liner Garnet Hathaway as they continue to build from the ground up after changing management last season. Grade: C-

Pittsburgh Penguins: The addition of Reilly Smith is a sneaky good one for the Penguins, but they didn’t make any of the massive moves they were rumored to be involved in. Still, adding Noel Acciari and Lars Eller are solid veteran acquisitions and locking up Tristan Jarry long term was the right move too. Still, doesn’t feel like anything drastic when missing the playoffs perhaps called for it. Grade: B-  

San Jose Sharks: Former Junior Eagles star Will Smith could be a really nice pick as the No. 4 overall selection, but it’s still a long road for the Sharks back to the even line. Mackenzie Blackwood was a good get by the Sharks as they needed help between the pipes, but it remains to be seen if he can be “the guy” in San Jose. Grade: C

Seattle Kraken: Brian Dumoulin is a good add for the Kraken’s back end that was already a strength this past season. But they watched some good role players like Connor Geekie, Ryan Donato and Carson Soucy walk away without making a ton of moves to replace them. Grade: C

St. Louis Blues: The Blues got a top-6 center in Kevin Hayes for a sixth-round pick as the Flyers were looking to unload him. That’s a nice little trade there for Doug Armstrong, who was a bit hamstrung when Torey Krug wouldn’t wave his no-trade clause to go to Philadelphia. Grade: B-

Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning are still shedding salary cap when needed and signing bargain deals like Conor Sheary to a three-year deal for short money. He could be a nice fit given his Stanley Cup pedigree in Pittsburgh and given the expectations with the Lightning. Otherwise, not much to see in Tampa. Grade: C

Toronto Maple Leafs: John Klingberg is a good signing for the Leafs and Tyler Bertuzzi will add some grit and scoring punch after Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari moved on. Ryan Reaves will also bring a ton of toughness and accountability. And Max Domi joining the Leafs is a nice story. But they haven’t substantially improved their defense or goaltending, which makes it feel like it’s going to be the same old problems for the Leafs. Grade: C

Vancouver Canucks: Carson Soucy was the big get from Seattle on a three-year deal, but one wonders if there will be other things percolating in Vancouver later this summer, or once next season gets underway. The same with veteran defenseman Ian Cole, who adds a steady hand on the back end. Teddy Blueger also brings some grit from Pittsburgh. These feel like trimmings around a team that needed more, however. Grade: D

Vegas Golden Knights: The Knights coldly shipped out Reilly Smith to sign Ivan Barbashev and managed to ink Adin Hill in the hopes he can continue his hot playoff performance, and let’s face it they have a quality returning crew after winning the Cup. So they’re playing with house money. Grade: A

Washington Capitals: The Capitals bought low on Max Pacioretty coming off a couple of nasty Achilles injuries but feel like they’ve still got a lot of building to do after selling off Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway last season. Not a ton going on with this team after they missed the playoffs and not sure that’s a good thing. Grade: C-

Winnipeg Jets: The Jets got a boatload for Dubois with Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Vilardi and some draft picks, and really hit a reset on the roster by clearing out Dubois and Blake Wheeler while bringing in some new guys. But it happened because Pierre-Luc Dubois put them in the corner. It feels like they needed a change-over with some players there, and it remains to be seen if Mark Scheifele is on the move at some point as well. Grade: C

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