NHL power rankings: Grading each team’s offseason
How has each NHL team done so far this offseason? Let’s check in with them in this week’s NHL Power Rankings.
With free agency starting to slow down, now’s a good time to catch up with each team this offseason. This edition of our NHL power rankings will take a look at how every team has done so far this offseason and hand out some grades.
Let’s get started.
Atlantic Division
Boston Bruins
Players added: Craig Smith, Greg McKegg
Players lost: Torey Krug, Joakim Nordstrom, Alex Petrovic
TBD: Jake DeBrusk, Matt Grzelcyk, Karson Kuhlman, Zdeno Chara (UFA)
The Boston Bruins have been quite inactive in free agency. I like Craig Smith and think he’ll add something to their top-nine forward group. But they’ve got to find a way to replace Torey Krug’s offense. I don’t see how they’re doing it internally.
Grade: C-
Buffalo Sabres
Players added: Taylor Hall, Cody Eakin, Tobias Rieder, Brandon Davidson, Matt Irwin, Eric Staal
Players lost: Marcus Johansson, Johan Larsson, Wayne Simmonds, Jimmy Vesey
TBD: Victor Olofsson, Dominik Kahun, Sam Reinhart, Linus Ullmark
It’s been quite an offseason for the Sabres. They managed to surprise the world by signing Taylor Hall to a one-year deal, which is a huge win. But on the other hand, replacing the eternally underrated Johan Larsson with Cody Eakin isn’t ideal.
The Eric Staal trade was a huge win for Buffalo. Davidson and Rieder are solid depth additions and the Sabres have overhauled the coaching staff in Rochester, which is a good thing.
Grade: B+
Detroit Red Wings
Players added: Vladislav Namestnikov, Thomas Greiss, Troy Stecher, Jon Merrill, Bobby Ryan, Marc Staal
Players lost: Jimmy Howard, Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson, Madison Bowey, Brendan Perlini
TBD: Tyler Bertuzzi, Anthony Mantha
I’m very impressed with what the Red Wings are doing this offseason. They’re signing valuable veterans for bargain prices (minus Greiss). And even Greiss’s overpayment can easily be justified due to the Red Wings lack of organizational depth in goal.
Grade: A-
Florida Panthers
Players added: Carter Verhaeghe, Radko Gudas, Vinnie Hinostroza, Markus Nutivaara, Patric Hornqvist
Players lost: Josh Brown, Evgenii Dadonov, Mark Pysyk, Dryden Hunt, Lucas Wallmark, Mike Matheson, Dominic Toninato
TBD: Brian Boyle, Mike Hoffman, MacKenzie Weegar, Emil Djuse, Mason Marchment, Sam Montembeault, Aleksi Saarela, Erik Haula
Bill Zito has been busy in his first offseason as the Florida Panthers general manager. He’s gambled on the right kind of players, but he’s lost quite a bit of talent if they don’t re-sign Mike Hoffman. Still, Zito’s executing the Panthers’ long overdue retooling quite well thus far.
Grade: B-
Montreal Canadiens
Players added: Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson, Jake Allen, Joel Edmundson, Alexandar Romanov
Players lost: Karl Alzner, Max Domi, Keith Kinkaid
TBD: Charles Hudon, Dale Weise
The Montreal Canadiens have been one of the busiest teams in the NHL this offseason. They’ve added some very nice pieces to their organization, though they still haven’t addressed their biggest problem – goal scoring. The Canadiens have nine forwards who *might* score 20 goals, but I’ll be surprised if more than one of them scores 30.
Grade: B+
Ottawa Senators
Players added: Evgenii Dadonov, Erik Gudbranson, Matt Murray, Joshua Brown, Logan Shaw, Austin Watson
Players lost: Mark Borowiecki, Ryan Callahan, Ron Hainsey, Hubert Labrie, Clarke MacArthur, Scott Sabourin, Craig Anderson, Mikkel Boedker, Andreas Englund
TBD: Anthony Duclair, Connor Brown, Filip Chlapik, Chris Tierney
It’s been quite a fascinating offseason for the Ottawa Senators. I have mixed feelings about their additions, though. The Dadonov signing is great and I didn’t mind the Murray trade. However, Murray’s extension was a bit rich.
Grade: B+
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t done much of anything this offseason. It’s not even worth it to list who they’ve added and lost. The Lightning will have to get very creative to bring back all three of their prime RFAs – Erik Cernak, Anthony Cirelli, and Mikhail Sergachev.
Grade: Incomplete
Toronto Maple Leafs
Players added: Jimmy Vesey, T.J. Brodie, Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, Aaron Dell, Zach Bogosian, Travis Boyd, Alexander Barabanov
Players lost: Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci, Kyle Clifford, Miikka Salomaki, Jeremy Bracco, Frederik Gauthier, Evan Rodrigues
TBD: Travis Dermott, Ilya Mikheyev
I can’t say enough about how good the T.J. Brodie signing is for the Leafs. He’s exactly what they needed. The deal might be a bit long, but well, the Leafs had to address their defense and credit to them, they did. Vesey’s an interesting depth addition. Thornton and Simmonds are both great low-risk, high-reward options. Aaron Dell’s a fantastic third goalie.
Grade: A-
Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks
Players added: Nikita Zadorov, Mattias Janmark, Lucas Wallmark, Pius Suter, Wyatt Kalynuk, Anton Lindholm, Brandon Pirri
Players lost: Olli Määttä, Brandon Saad, Corey Crawford, Dylan Sikura, Drake Caggiula, Slater Koekkoek, Dennis Gilbert
TBD: Dylan Strome
The Blackhawks have lost some good players and haven’t been able to add any good players to replace them. Zadorov isn’t as good as Maatta. Not a good sign. Losing Crawford is especially baffling. He deserved better. And what a surprise, the Blackhawks lost yet another Brandon Saad trade.
Grade: D+
Colorado Avalanche
Players added: Brandon Saad, Dennis Gilbert, Miikka Salomäki, Kiefer Sherwood, Michael Vecchione, Kyle Burroughs
Players lost: Vladislav Namestnikov, Matt Nieto, Colin Wilson, Kevin Connauton
TBD: Devon Toews, Tyson Jost
The Avalanche lost out on Taylor Hall, but they got a solid consolation prize in Saad. Devon Toews is your prototypical Avalanche defenseman. Everything he does well is what the Avalanche value.
Grade: B+
Dallas Stars
Players added: Mark Pysyk
Players lost: Mattias Janmark
TBD: Corey Perry, Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz
It has been a quiet offseason for the Stars, but they were able to re-sign Anton Khudobin to a surprisingly reasonable deal.
Grade: C+
Minnesota Wild
Players added: Cam Talbot, Nick Bonino, Nick Bjugstad, Marcus Johansson
Players lost: Eric Staal, Devan Dubnyk, Luke Kunin, Mikko Koivu, Alex Galchenyuk, JT Brown
TBD: N/A
I have no idea what the Minnesota Wild are doing. They traded a good center (Staal) for a lesser one (Johansson). Bonino’s a decent addition, but the Wild are still very shallow down the middle.
Grade: C-
Nashville Predators
Players added: Mark Borowiekci, Matt Benning, Nick Cousins, Brad Richardson, Tyler Lewington,
Players lost: Craig Smith, Mikael Granlund, Nick Bonino, Austin Watson
TBD: Luke Kunin
The Predators did a great job rebuilding their third pairing, which was abysmally bad last season. However, losing Granlund, Smith, and Bonino is huge. Cousins and Richardson should help offset that a little bit, but ultimately, the Predators need to do more.
Grade: C
St. Louis Blues
Players added: Torey Krug, Kyle Clifford, Steven Santini, Jon Gillies, Curtis McKenzie, Sam Anas
Players lost: Alex Pietrangelo, Jake Allen, Jay Bouwmeester, Troy Brouwer, Mike Vecchione, Andreas Borgman, Derrick Pouliot
TBD: Vince Dunn
Losing Pietrangelo hurts a lot, but replacing him with Krug isn’t a terrible trade off. Gillies is a nice third goalie and could provide some insurance in case Ville Husso isn’t ready to be an NHL backup.
Grade: B-
Winnipeg Jets
Players added: Paul Stastny, Derek Forbort, Nate Thompson, Dominic Toninato
Players lost: Carl Dahlström, Anthony Bitetto, Cody Eakin, Dmitry Kulikov, Cameron Schilling, Logan Shaw
TBD: Jack Roslovic, Jansen Harkins, Sami Niku
Adding Stastny is nice, but the Jets have been surprisingly quiet thus far in free agency. Re-signing DeMelo was a very nice move.
Grade: C+
Metropolitan Division
Carolina Hurricanes
Players added: Jesper Fast, Jeremy Bracco, David Gust, Sheldon Rempal, Joakim Ryan
Players lost: Joel Edmundson, Justin Williams, Sami Vatanen, Anton Forsberg, Trevor van Riemsdyk
TBD: Warren Foegele, Haydn Fleury
I love the Jesper Fast signing. He’s a very versatile forward who can fit in anywhere in the lineup. Should be a perfect fit in their system. Joakim Ryan is a solid depth defenseman. I can’t help but feel the Hurricanes aren’t done yet.
Grade: B
Columbus Blue Jackets
Players added: Max Domi, Mikko Koivu, Kole Sherwood, Mikhail Grigorenko, Cliff Pu
Players lost: Devin Shore, Josh Anderson, Ryan Murray, Markus Nutivaara
TBD: Pierre-Luc Dubois, Ryan MacInnis, Kevin Stenlund
Max Domi is exactly what the Columbus Blue Jackets need. He’s one of the best offensive play drivers in the NHL and he should help increase their scoring. Much like the Hurricanes, you can’t help but feel they’ve got another big move in them.
Grade: B-
New Jersey Devils
Players added: Andreas Johnsson, Ryan Murray, Corey Crawford, Scott Wedgewood
Players lost: Kevin Rooney, Mirco Mueller, John Hayden, Fredrik Claesson, Cory Schneider
TBD: Mackenzie Blackwood, Jesper Bratt, Nick Merkley
Just like last summer, the New Jersey Devils have been busy so far. The Ryan Murray trade is great and so is the Andreas Johnsson trade. Corey Crawford and MacKenzie Blackwood should form one of the NHL’s most effective goalie tandems.
Grade: B+
New York Islanders
Players added: Cory Schneider, Austin Czarnik, Ilya Sorokin
Players lost: Devon Toews, Christopher Gibson, Thomas Greiss, Andy Greene, Matt Martin
TBD: Mathew Barzal, Ryan Pulock
The Islanders haven’t been able to do anything because they have to get Barzal and Pulock locked up. With under $9 million of cap space, they’re not doing anything of consequence until they’re signed.
Grade: Incomplete
New York Rangers
Players added: Alexis Lafreniere, Jack Johnson, Colin Blackwell, Kevin Rooney, Keith Kinkaid, Anthony Bitetto, Jonny Brodzinski
Players lost: Marc Staal, Jesper Fast, Henrik Lundqvist
TBD: Ryan Strome, Brendan Lemieux
Lafreniere should give the Rangers offense a huge spark. Johnson is a simply horrible and horrendous signing, I don’t care if it’s only for one year and $1 million. The Rangers are going to miss Jesper Fast.
Grade: C+
Philadelphia Flyers
Players added: Erik Gustafsson, Derrick Pouliot
Players lost: Matt Niskanen, Tyler Pitlick, Nate Thompson, Andy Welinski, Derek Grant
TBD: Philippe Myers
Matt Niskanen’s retirement clearly caught the Flyers by surprise. They haven’t been able to replace him yet, but Erik Gustafsson brings an element of offense to the table that the Flyers didn’t have last year on their blueline. The Flyers have impressive forward depth, so losing Pitlick, Thompson, and Grant isn’t a huge deal, but I’d expect them to add an extra forward or two soon.
Grade: C+
Pittsburgh Penguins
Added: Michael Matheson, Maxime Lagacé, Frederick Gaudreau, Evan Rodrigues, Josh Currie, Mark Jankowski, Kasperi Kapanen, Cody Ceci
Lost: Matt Murray, Patric Hornqvist, Patrick Marleau, Justin Schultz, Conor Sheary, Dominik Simon
TBD: N/A
The Murray trade was inevitable and I think the Penguins got a fine return for him. They better hope Tristan Jarry is ready to be a number one goalie, though. I didn’t like the Hornqvist trade. Matheson is an expensive third-pairing defenseman and Cody Ceci is simply not good.
Grade: C-
Washington Capitals
Added: Justin Schultz, Henrik Lundqvist, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Daniel Carr, Paul LaDue, Cameron Schilling, Zachary Fucale
Lost: Braden Holtby, Ilya Kovalchuk, Travis Boyd, Radko Gudas
TBD: Jonas Siegenthaler
Overall, this has been a pretty strong offseason for the Washington Capitals. Lundqvist is still a very capable goalie and at just $1.5 million, he’s a very inexpensive one. Schultz is an interesting guy to take a two-year flyer on, but he was a lot better without Jack Johnson last year. TVR is a great addition to their blueline. Some nice depth additions as well.
Grade: B+
Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks
Players added: Kevin Shattenkirk, Andy Welinski, Derek Grant, Vinni Lettieri, Maxim Golod,
Players lost: Erik Gudbranson, Kevin Boyle, Kyle Criscuolo, Matt Irwin
TBD: Ryan Miller
Ryan Miller is a UFA, but all signs point to him either retiring or returning to the Ducks. He’s a very capable backup goalie and might be a future Hall of Famer. I really like the Shattenkirk signing, but I question why the Ducks, of all teams, signed him. Derek Grant keeps coming back to the Ducks. It’s like they’re meant to be.
Grade: B-
Arizona Coyotes
Players added: Johan Larsson, Dryden Hunt, John Hayden, Tyler Pitlick
Players lost: Michael Grabner, Taylor Hall, Brad Richardson Vinnie Hinostroza, Carl Soderberg
TBD: Christian Fischer
The Arizona Coyotes have been surprisingly quiet thus far this offseason. They’re trying to clear cap space, but haven’t been able to do much of that so far. Not giving a qualifying offer to Hinostroza was a big mistake. He’s a very useful top-nine forward. I do like the Larsson signing, though.
Grade: Incomplete. I want to see how they clear the inevitable cap space.
Calgary Flames
Players added: Jacob Markstrom, Christopher Tanev, Louis Domingue, Alex Petrovic
Players lost: TJ Brodie, Cam Talbot, Austin Czarnik, Mark Jankowski, Erik Gustafsson, Derek Forbort, Alan Quine, Tobias Rieder, Michael Stone, Jon Gillies
TBD: Oliver Kylington
Replacing Talbot with Markstrom in net is an upgrade, albeit an expensive one. On the other hand, replacing Brodie with Tanev is a very clear downgrade. Tanev’s contract is quite bad as well. I’m surprised they let go of Czarnik.
Grade: C
Edmonton Oilers
Players added: Mike Smith (re-signed), Tyler Ennis (re-signed), Tyson Barrie, Anton Forsberg, Alan Quine, Kyle Turris, Jesse Puljujarvi
Players lost: Markus Granlund, Josh Currie, Mike Green, Andreas Athanasiou, Riley Sheahan, Matt Benning
TBD: Ethan Bear
The Oilers did well bringing in Barrie. I think he’ll be a very nice fit in Edmonton. Ennis is a very solid bottom-six forward, so I like that they brought him back at a surprisingly reasonable price. The Oilers managed to bring in Kyle Turris and bring back their prodigal son Jeese Puljujarvi as well.
Now, let’s talk about that big, old, pink elephant in the goal – Mike Smith. Why? Why did the Oilers bring him back? Just… why? They managed to fail to find an upgrade in a very loaded goaltending market. Then the Oilers somehow overpaid to bring back Smith. Wow.
Grade: C+. Bringing back Smith dragged it down from a B.
Los Angeles Kings
Players added: Quinton Byfield, Olli Määttä, Mark Alt, Troy Grosenick, Lias Andersson
Players lost: Paul LaDue, Ben Hutton, Trevor Lewis, Joakim Ryan, Tim Schaller, Sheldon Rempal
TBD: N/A
Some quality additions here. Quinton Byfield could play in the NHL next season, though I imagine the Kings won’t let him burn a year of his ELC. Määttä is a perfectly capable defenseman who should help LA improve defensively. Lias Andersson is a nice prospect to gamble on.
Grade: C+
San Jose Sharks
Players added: Devan Dubnyk, Patrick Marleau, Ryan Donato, Matt Nieto
Players lost: Joe Thornton, Jonny Brodzinski, Brandon Davidson, Aaron Dell, Tim Heed, Melker Karlsson
TBD: N/A
I really like the Donato trade for the Sharks. They gave up a third-round pick for a quality, proven goal scorer. Bringing back Long Beach native Matt Nieto is pretty awesome as well. I have time for Devan Dubnyk since he’s so cheap, but yikes, a tandem of Dubnyk and Martin Jones could be terrible.
Grade: C
Vancouver Canucks
Players added: Nate Schmidt, Braden Holtby
Players lost: Tyler Toffoli, Troy Stecher, Jacob Markstrom, Christopher Tanev, Louis Domingue, Josh Leivo
TBD: Jake Virtanen, Adam Gaudette
Nate Schmidt should help the Canucks improve their blueline, but losing Stecher for nothing is awful. They’ve downgraded in net and at forward, though there’s still time left in this offseason.
Grade: D
Next. Seattle Kraken Mock Expansion Draft. dark
Vegas Golden Knights
Players added: Alex Pietrangelo, Dylan Sikura, Danny O’Regan
Players lost: Nate Schmidt, Nick Cousins, Paul Stastny
TBD: N/A
Grade: A-