Speculation: Winners and Losers now that the dust has settled

[Steerpike]

Youre not wrong. I think the Avs lost a lot for sure. I think everyone knew that was going to happen going into free agency. Maybe I was too generous with their rating but I was pretty impressed with how they mitigated their losses. They were never going to keep everyone.

Lehkonen and Nuke had massive playoffs and can hopefully fill in for Burakovsky and Kadri as depth players. Kadri is apparently asking for 8M+ and I think moving on from him was the right choice. Same with Kuemper. He looked mediocre in the playoffs and gets injured too much to keep. I know Manson isn't a favorite of analytic gurus but he was exactly the piece they needed on the back end. Keeping him was also a nice keep.

I could see why people have them rated low with how much they lost though. You could in theory give them an F if you compare them to last year. Their saving grace is that they won a cup and were miles ahead of the rest of the NHL. So even if they got worse, they should still be pretty dang good.

The Blues on the other hand didn't really do anything - thus the D. They lost Husso and putting all their faith into Binnington who rocked a .901sv% in the regular season. Sure he looked in 4 games in the playoffs but needs to stay healthy for once. Greiss at 36 is a massive downgrade.

On the backend, Leddy was retained which was kind of a surprise. I didn't think he was the type of defenceman they needed. If this was their big move, they might have been better off doing nothing.

When you add in losing Perron and the Blues are clearly a worse team.

Yeah for the Avs you have to consider that they took on rentals at the trade deadline and went into the playoffs effectively way over the cap in terms of what they knew everyone would be making this season.

It would be insane to imagine the Avs adding pieces instead of just doing a decent job of holding onto their prior acquisitions. The Avs got Nuke for free and were paying him almost nothing. Letting him walk because he just went from the most underpaid player in the league to a fairly paid UFA would be crazy. That's in addition to the Lehkonen and Manson additions which we have also now extended.

The grade shouldn't be whether the team got better or worse, it's on how well the GM did with what they had available.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Yeah for the Avs you have to consider that they took on rentals at the trade deadline and went into the playoffs effectively way over the cap in terms of what they knew everyone would be making this season.

It would be insane to imagine the Avs adding pieces instead of just doing a decent job of holding onto their prior acquisitions. The Avs got Nuke for free and were paying him almost nothing. Letting him walk because he just went from the most underpaid player in the league to a fairly paid UFA would be crazy. That's in addition to the Lehkonen and Manson additions which we have also now extended.

The grade shouldn't be whether the team got better or worse, it's on how well the GM did with what they had available.

That’s the way I view it too. Imo the Avs got a bit worse. The good news is though that the gap between them and the rest of the West remains huge. They just swept the Oilers in 4 straight and none of their competitors in the West improved imo.
And there could also be some internal growth in young players and prospects plus even average goaltending in the playoffs.

 

[Tender Rip]

As for Canes, what improvement is Burns and MaxPac over Trocheck and DeAngelo, really?
The Rangers got Trocheck, but Copp and Strome are gone and they barely have enough money for KK and a 6D. Enough young talent growing that it might still be very good.

On the other hand the Pens, who according to most did nothing, have Geno and Letang for almost 5 million less than last season which has enabled hanging on to Rakell. We’ve certainly lost nothing of note, and the question as always is health at the right time - and goaltending.

Sens surely are a lot better, and so are Detroit, but the latter is still far away. Columbus with the pull of the offseason.


Not much to say about the West. Well, good deal on Kane for Edmonton. If last season sustains at least.

 

[roon]

Winners
Columbus - Yes they got one of the best players in the NHL. Yes they got him below market value. No they did not have to give up any assets. I can't believe I just said all that... Just as important though is for CBJ to shed the :big stars do not want to play there" narrative. Johnny is one piece, a big piece, but only one piece that CBJ need to become an elite team. This is the beginning, not the end for them
Carolina - Pacioretty was a good pickup. Plus they gave up nothing for him. I am mixed on Burns, but I think personality alone will be good for the fanbase. He is getting old but so far so good.
Colorado - This one is a bit mixed, but I thought they had one weak point this year and it was in goal. Now they need to replace him.

Losers
Calgary - It hurts. I know as a CBJ fan because we have been there multiple times. It also hurts that they got nothing for him. CBJ fans are familiar with this as well. The funny thing about this league is that in a year or two it may not matter.
Tampa - It takes an all in strategy to mortgage the future to win the cup in this league. To do it 2 years in a row and be in the finals for 3 years in a row is a huge accomplishment. But at some point that mortgage comes due. Tampa will still be a great team for a few years but the decline has started.

Columbus just are not winners here. Sorry, but 9.75 million for a winger with 3 million and change in remaining cap space with Laine yet to resign? Outside of those 2 - there isn't a lot of talent to speak of. That 9.75 million could have been spent a lot better in other area's of that roster....particularly the C position. This deal will not age well imo.

 

[DangeRouss]

Winner - EAST
Loooser - WEST

and by a large margin
increasingly unbalanced and this is not good for the NHL

 

[MinJaBen]

Winner - EAST
Loooser - WEST

and by a large margin
increasingly unbalanced and this is not good for the NHL

I think you got that backwards. Almost every team in the west has an easier path to the playoffs as it won't take much to make it with a lot of teams falling back to the pack (Avs and St. Louis excluded). In the East, so many teams got better that it will be a bloodbath to make it to the playoffs, let alone be healthy enough to win a Cup.

I wish the Canes were in the West right now.

 

[Maplebeasts]

I mean I probably have the blinders because Edmonton is my team.

1. Edmonton gets a 40 goal scorer in Evander Kane. He has had 20+ goals for 8 straight seasons and lead the playoffs in goals. Meanwhile your team paid 400k less for Mikheyev who just put up 21 goals for the 1st time. I think that is terrific value.
2. Kulak at 2.75M x 4 years is a huge value contract. Gudbranson got 4x4 and hes twice the player he is. His advanced stats are incredible and I think he showed how good he was in the playoffs.
3. Jack Campbell at 5x5 is market value for a #1 goaltender. Adding a #1 goalie without giving up assets is huge. The goalie market was super thin this year and I think Campbell will flourish under Holland who believes in his players, treats them fairly and is loyal.

Who did they lose? Zack Kassian (who clearly had negative value) and a 39 year old Duncan Keith (which gives them 5.5M in cap back).

Edmonton fans should be more excited. We just went to the final four and actually got better. Meanwhile teams like Florida saw a mass exodus of UFAs, Colorado lost a bunch of key pieces and Tampa is going to have some very big cap issues next offseason.

You guys are in for it if you think Campbell is an actual #1. He's better than Koskinen but he was one of the NHL's worst goaltenders from December onward and lost the goaltending duel to a struggling Vasilevskiy in the playoffs.

 

[DangeRouss]

I think you got that backwards. Almost every team in the west has an easier path to the playoffs as it won't take much to make it with a lot of teams falling back to the pack (Avs and St. Louis excluded). In the East, so many teams got better that it will be a bloodbath to make it to the playoffs, let alone be healthy enough to win a Cup.

I wish the Canes were in the West right now.

We totally agree
when I say winners I was only talking about the signings, not their chance to get to the play-offs, and therefore that it further widens the gap between the two conferences

 

[McDoused]

You guys are in for it if you think Campbell is an actual #1. He's better than Koskinen but he was one of the NHL's worst goaltenders from December onward and lost the goaltending duel to a struggling Vasilevskiy in the playoffs.

Hes no Matt Murray.

 

[Maplebeasts]

Hes no Matt Murray.

I don't think Matt Murray's a #1 either so sure.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Gotta give it to the Canes and Sens.

Lots of teams did okay.

Some teams are a cluster F.

CBJ got the big fish in Johnny G but went fully mad and signed Gudbranson to the worst deal of the day. I can't recall a team getting the best player on FA day then turning around and signing the worst deal of the day.

 

[Chardo]

Come back to me in a few years when we see which new contracts are dumped off on Arizona. Then we'll know the winners and losers.

 

[zar]

Winner - EAST
Loooser - WEST

and by a large margin
increasingly unbalanced and this is not good for the NHL

The East... US... no state income tax migration has been slowly happening for the past decade ... Uncle Gary Putin's master plan. He recently added a couple no state income tax expansion teams in the western US to try to "balance" it out.

NHL parity "parody" ... pardon the pun.

 

[ChuckLefley]

You guys are in for it if you think Campbell is an actual #1. He's better than Koskinen but he was one of the NHL's worst goaltenders from December onward and lost the goaltending duel to a struggling Vasilevskiy in the playoffs.

19-5-5. Why would any team want that?!??

 

[Maplebeasts]

19-5-5. Why would any team want that?!??

Because any goalie worth their salt would have had a similar record playing for this team last year. The truth is that Campbell had a great first two months of the season and then fell off a cliff and put up a sub .890 from December onwards and a sub .900 in the playoffs. That is not a starting goaltender.

 

[WhoTagz]

"Agreed Rangers won, that Trocheck contract will be nice"

7 years for a 29 year old in FA never works out. That contract is not nice lmao.

Nick Leddy!

 

[ChuckLefley]

Because any goalie worth their salt would have had a similar record playing for this team last year. The truth is that Campbell had a great first two months of the season and then fell off a cliff and put up a sub .890 from December onwards and a sub .900 in the playoffs. That is not a starting goaltender.

A starting goaltender is one who makes the saves when they are needed to get you wins. Campbell may not have had flashy stats, but he went 19-5-5. A lot of teams would have to loved to have had that record.

 

[kihei]

The Philly franchise loves its image more than it does winning.

Ottawa looks the biggest winner.

 

[Dr Beinfest]

How is everyone not saying Florida is a loser here? We failed to secure any rental. We failed to move any bloated contract and still don’t have Huberroom. We lost Marchment.

 

[WF19]

Sens are the offseason Cup winners

Wings did not too bad themselves

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Ottawa is obviously the big winner. While I'm a Leafs fan, I live here so I see a lot of their games, and they went out and got exactly what they needed - great talent to compliment their young core. As good as the kids are, they played with A LOT of plugs, and Dorion certainly rectified that up front and in nets. Their D still needs a lot of work, but they're the most improved team in the Atlantic.

I'd hesitate to call them losers, and they'll continue to get better over time, but I'm actually not that sold on what Detroit did. Yes, they improved their depth, but the other teams in that division have more high-end talent. I don't think they moved the needle all that much, especially if Husso doesn't work out.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Ottawa Lost the offseason.

 

[trostol]

There were winners...There were losers...then there were the Flyers

 

[Jerkbait]

Keeping hall of famers Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang in the "Crosby window" is huge to me. Pittsburgh still needs to make some changes and get the formula right but I do think they will be better this year if Jarry is healthy in the playoffs. I can see how others would disagree but I think Pens fans would be devastated if they both left.

The Rangers got as far as they did because of the unbelievable play of Shesterkin. I don't see how they improved at the same level as some of the other "B" rated teams. I think Ryan Strome leaving and Trocheck coming in as basically being a wash. Their rating could go from a C to B if they do something with that cap space but nothing has materialized yet.

Leafs lost Campbell and replaced him with... Matt Murray. That would have been an F. However, I think the Samsonov signing has potential (even though he had some of the worst numbers in the NHL). Add in that they lost Mikheyev and Kase. I don't see how they are any better. Solid C range (maybe even then I'm being too generous).

This is all my opinion though and I welcome others to debate.

1. Pittsburgh marches put the same team minus a few plugs that got beat in the first round year after year. They didn't improve at all....zero....older slower ....staying par while gettimg older isn't a good plan of you want to win. Obviously ownership is about selling tickets .

2. The Rangers ate indeed better . Trocheck is an all-round player who is better . Numbers aside his game is more rounded. Not a wash. This is the opposite of the penguins , younger faster and only getting better.

3. Toronto is deeper in Goal then they were a year ago. Overpaying Campbell was going to be a mistake . Murray and Sam are both better than Mrazek. So take your pick is a 1A and 1C better than 2x 1Bs ???? They added some depth and today's signing was decent . The leafs in my opinion are not necessarily better than last year but deeper .

As for Canes, what improvement is Burns and MaxPac over Trocheck and DeAngelo, really?
The Rangers got Trocheck, but Copp and Strome are gone and they barely have enough money for KK and a 6D. Enough young talent growing that it might still be very good.

On the other hand the Pens, who according to most did nothing, have Geno and Letang for almost 5 million less than last season which has enabled hanging on to Rakell. We’ve certainly lost nothing of note, and the question as always is health at the right time - and goaltending.

Sens surely are a lot better, and so are Detroit, but the latter is still far away. Par with the pull of the offseason.


Not much to say about the West. Well, good deal on Kane for Edmonton. If last season sustains at least.

Penguins stayed par while the meteo got better and they already got beat by the NYi and Rangers. Keeping aged slowing players for nostalgic reasons isn't going to win them a playoff round. They need to upgrade thr goaltending and put some grit and skill into the bottom 6.

 

[AMDZen]

Philly won?

I mostly care about the west so yes, Philly also had a bad off-season. The difference is that I didn't see Philly as a contender regardless of what they did. Vegas and Calgary were both contenders and now both are not even playoff teams imo