NHL Free Agency: Top winners and losers this offseason

So far in NHL free agency, there have been winners and losers.

Several moves happened throughout the first several days of NHL free agency. While some teams and players struck gold with their recent agreements, others might regret this offseason and their decisions for the next few years.

Either that, or several teams just didn’t sign a player to fill one of their needs on the roster. Today, we will rattle off three winners and losers from the early stages of NHL free agency.

Winner – Alex Pietrangelo

More from Puck Prose

• Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
• This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
• 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
• 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings

The Vegas Golden Knights made a bold move by signing one of the leagues top unrestricted free agents. They  signed the 30-year old defenseman to a 7-year, $61.6 million contract. He is about to get paid $8.8 million per year.

Now, this contract can age very poorly for Vegas. However, Pietrangelo got the big pay day he sought after. He has been one of the more consistent two-way defenseman in the entire league over the course of his career.

Pietrangelo has racked up 109 goals and 341 assists for a total of 450 points in over 700 career games. Knights fans shouldn’t worry about this contract backfiring at least for the first four seasons of it. This move proves the Golden Knights are going all in to win a Stanley Cup.

Loser – Arizona Coyotes

At last year’s trade deadline, the New Jersey Devils traded their superstar winger Taylor Hall. That wasn’t the surprise as the Devils were miserable last year. What was a surprise was the team he went too, the Arizona Coyotes. It was clear that the Yotes were eyeing a deep playoff run. While they got past the Nashville Predators in the play-in round they lost to Colorado in the first round in a quick five game series.

They were taking a huge risk in trading for an expiring contract and it failed miserably. Hall would eventually leave the dessert and sign a measly 1-year, $8 million contract with the Sabres. The Coyotes hired former Blues assistant GM Bill Armstrong as their new general manager and what did he do to replace him? Absolutely nothing.

All he has done was give the team more depth by signing players like Johan Larsson, Dryden Hunt, Tyler Pitlick and John Hayden. To be fair, the Coyotes have no available cap space to make a med-level signing.

They have some contracts that many would expect Armstrong to try and move including Oliver Ekman-Larsson. It is just an unfortunate spot for this team to be in right now. It’s also really sad as it looked like this franchise was on the way up.

Winner – Buffalo Sabres

Let’s just be honest. The Buffalo Sabres have been a mess this past decade. The last time they made the postseason was in 2011, where they were knocked out by the Flyers in the first round. Quite frankly, this franchise has been in the midst of a dark tunnel. However, it seems they have found the light at the end of it.

The team did the unthinkable and was able to acquire superstar winger Taylor Hall. Not only did they make a big signing, they signed him to a bargain. Officially, Hall’s deal is one year for $8 million. If Buffalo does really well next season, he could potentially stay a Sabre.

What enticed him the most was playing on a line with Jack Eichel on the first line. If you add Sam Rinehart to that line, you have one of the deadliest in the NHL. Rinehart is finally coming into his own after three consecutive season with 50+ points.

Add on this potential trio with the team adding depth down the middle Eric Staal and Cody Eakin and you got a pretty good forward core. It is also important to note that they also signed Tobias Rieder to strengthen the depth on the wings. They also brought back Zemgus Girgensons for three more season at $2.2 million per year.

Loser – Boston Bruins

The Bruins lost their second round playoff series to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 5 games. Ever since then, the future has looked bleaker and bleaker as the days have rolled on. The teams’ alarming and puzzling offseason began when they let star defenseman Torey Krug walk. Krug signed with the St. Louis Blues on a 7-year deal worth a total of $45.5 million.

The future of Zdeno Chara in Boston is up in the air as well. They still have Jake Debrusk as a restricted free agent and the only notable signing the club has made is Craig Smith. The forward signed a three year deal with the B’s, but it isn’t exactly one to keep the Bruins at a championship level. This offseason has been nothing but a loss for the Bruins.

Winner – Detroit Red Wings

Let’s be honest. The Red Wings are not even going to be close to the playoffs for a while. However, general manager Steve Yzerman has taken some monumental steps in improving the team. When free agency first opened, the Red Wings struck early, signing winger Bobby Ryan.

The former Ottawa Senator agreed to a one year deal worth just $1 million. The 13-year veteran has played in 833 games, scoring 254 goals and 301 assists for 555 total points. Ryan should be able to add some scoring to a team that ranked last in the NHL last season in the  goals for category.

Another player that should be able to help in that category is Vladislav Namestnikov. He signed a two-year, $4 million deal on October 11. Hopefully, he finds a stable home with his contract.

He played for three different teams last season. Namestnikov still proved he could be a reliable point producer that can play on the third line. He put up just over 30 points last year and has been a consistent 30-40 point player every year.

The team also signed veterans Jon Merrill and Troy Stetcher, hoping to improve the worst defense in the league. The Red Wings gave up the most goals out of all 31 teams. Thomas Griess also signed a contract for two years.

On paper, this is an improvement from Jimmy Howard who had a historically bad year between the pipes last year. Greiss is coming off a deep playoff run with the Islanders recently.

Loser – Florida Panthers

The Panthers have sadly been one of the most disappointing teams in the NHL over the last few seasons. They were supposed to take a huge step after signing marquee free agents such as Brett Connolly and Sergei Bobrovsky.

However, the team looked like it’s usual self. They were out of the playoff picture when the NHL went on pause and were eventually obliterated in the qualifying round by the Islanders. An issue with the team was the defense and in free agency they only signed Radko Gudas.

He is a physical, tough, and hard-nosed defensive defenseman and they needed that but the moves they made seemed like patching things up. They are hoping Carter Verhagae blossoms into a top six forward. The Panthers let Evgenii Dadonov walk to the Senators and Mike Hoffman would most likely walk to play on a better team.