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Friday, March 29, 2024

The Winners & Losers from the Robust NHL Offseason

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By: Marvin Azrak

The robust NHL offseason following the Colorado Avalanche dethroning the Tampa Bay Lightning in game six of the Stanley Cup final has featured a plethora of league-changing moves with superstars either getting traded or signing elsewhere boosting potential playoff stock for next season. There’s still top free agents out on the market for example star center from the Avs Nazeem Kadri, and hot trade talks surrounding all-stars JT Miller, Pierre-Luc-Dubious and Patrick Kane. However, most teams seem predominately set for 2022-23, while others are in for a tedious campaign.

The following lists two clubs that did well thus far during the offseason and two that fared poorly. It’s part of a series that will continue as the offseason progresses and you can keep track of on theJewishvoice.com.

We’ll examine their notable moves and explain how they improved or weakened their respective rosters as they prepare for the upcoming season which begins on October 7th between the Predators and Sharks in the Czech Republic, with the North American portion beginning on October 11th between the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights, as well as the Rangers hosting the Lightning. The rest of the league will begin play on October 12th, which will feature the Avalanche raising their Stanley cup banner and getting the rings.

 

 WINNER: CAROLINA HURRICANES

Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell bid center Vincent Trocheck(NYR) and winger Nino Niederreiter (NSH) farewell via free agency and dealt disgruntled defenseman Tony DeAngelo to the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2022 draft for three picks. But he reloaded on that market,  by swinging two major trades.

The first saw him acquire defenseman Brent Burns from the San Jose Sharks. A former winner of the  Norris Memorial Trophy(defensive player of the year) the 37-year-old Burns remains among the NHL’s top-scoring defensemen. The Sharks also agreed to retain 33 percent of his $8 million cap hit through 2024-25, so the Canes are only liable for $5.36 million of it.

The Florida Panthers make trade for Tkachuk. Photo Credit: AP

Waddell’s next move saw him address the teams need for a left winger and got Max Pacioretty and defenseman Dylan Coghlan from the salary-dumping Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for future considerations which basically means nothing. The 33-year-old Pacioretty was limited to just 39 games last season by injury but still managed 37 points. He has a year remaining on his contract with a salary-cap hit of $7 million. It’s a gamble, but one Carolina is willing to take. As for Dylan, he’s a youngster that will add depth to the backside.

In both moves, Waddell targeted two clubs with limited salary-cap space looking to move an expensive asset without taking back a significant salary in return. Pacioretty will probably be a one-year playoff rental player, but Burns will be part of the Hurricanes’ plans beyond next season.

By acquiring two skilled veterans in Burns and Pacioretty, Waddell is signaling the Hurricanes are going for it in the coming season as they should be having made the playoffs each of the last four years and were a win away from the Eastern Conference final before being stunned by the Rangers. Bolstering their offense from the blue line and at left wing should make them a serious Stanley Cup contender in 2022-23.

 

LOSER: CALGARY FLAMES

Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving spent the past season trying to convince franchise cornerstone Johnny Gaudreau to sign a new contract. Treliving proposed an eight-year, $84 million deal ($10.5 million average annual value) to keep the 28-year-old left winger in the Stampede City, but it wasn’t about the money for the man they call Johnny hockey.

Gaudreau accepted a lesser deal to join the Columbus Blue Jackets for family reasons, as the jersey native and Flyers fan was close to sticking close to home and agreeing to a 7 year $70 million deal with the Devils, but once Columbus came calling, Gaudreau pressed his agent to get a deal done and they did at 7 years $68.6 million.

It’s a major blow to the Flames offense. From 2014-15 to 2021-22, he was their points leader with 608, including his career-best 115-point performance this past season good for second in hockey.

Losing Gaudreau was bad enough, but moments after, linemate and 24 year old star Matthew Tkachuk requested he’d be traded and informed the Flames organization he wouldn’t be resigning after his contract expired at the end of the 2023 season despite being a restricted free agent, meaning the Flames could’ve matched any deal another team offered him.

However, they did the honorable thing and used the shorts list of teams he gave them to work out a blockbuster deal with the Florida Panthers. The trade featured two century point players from this past season, as Tkachuk (104) was shipped in exchange for Selke trophy candidate Jonathan Huberdau (115 points), with the deal also including top defenseman McKenzie Weegar, a 28-year-old that put up 44 points in 80 regular season games with a whooping +40 goal differential, and a 2025 first round pick, while a 2025 4th round pick went back Florida’s way. I commend Brad for brilliantly dealing with the chips he was dealt and what he got back shows Calgary, coming off a second-round defeat to the Oilers, still plans to stay competitive through at least the trade deadline as Weegar and Huberdau are both on expiring contracts.

Additionally, this was the first sigh and trade in NHL history, as Mathew negotiated an 8-year $76 million extension with Calgary and Florida before the trade went through and his rights were shipped to the states. Expect both ex-Flames to be booed by the fans upon return which is understandable, but it remains unclear how Calgary will fill the void Gaudreau left behind at center going forward. This offseason saw their worst nightmares realized.

 

WINNER: COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

The Columbus Blue Jackets aren’t renowned as a prime destination for sports stars. Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene all left in the 2019 offseason, and it gave the team and the city a reputation as a place that NHL free agents tended to avoid.

That’s why the Jackets snagging Johnny Gaudreau on a seven-year, $68.25 million contract stunned the hockey world on the opening day of the 2022 free-agent market.

The Blue Jackets, however, were the perfect fit, according to Gaudreau. He indicated that he and his wife Meredith felt the city was the perfect place to raise their family after speaking with current and former members of the team, as well as ex Flyers who were Gaudreau’s first choice, but they were unable to clear cap space in time to get him.

The winger was also impressed with the potential of the Blue Jackets’ young players including Patrick Laine, who agreed to a 4-year extension with the Jackets on Monday, and said he’s never been more excited to play hockey in his life.

This was the imperative face in the city of Columbus had been looking for, and now after years of waiting the Blue Jackets have finally struck gold. Adding a high-scoring star in his prime should provide a significant boost to their offense and turn them into a playoff contender within a year or two as the rebuild continues. Gaudreau will still get to play with close friend Erik Gubrandson as the Flame agree to a 4 year $16 million deal with the Blue Jackets with no prior knowledge of the Johnny move. Ti she’s space, the team traded away breakout player Oliver Bjourkstad to Seattle for a third and fourth round pick.

The Jackets are coming off a 37-38-7 season, which was better than expected but, missed the playoffs by 19 points.

 

LOSER: CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Kyle Davidson forewarned that a roster rebuild was coming when he was officially hired on March 1 as general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks. Well, he’s held true to that, as, Davidson traded 40-goal winger Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators for first- and second-round picks (NO7, 39) in this past draft He sent promising center Kirby Dach to the Montreal Canadiens for first (NO13 overall) and a third-round pick, then took goaltender Petr Mrazek off the Toronto Maple Leafs’ hands along with their first round pick at NO25 overall.

Davidson began the draft with no picks in the first round but acquired three that he used to pick promising prospects Kevin Korchinski, Frank Nazar and Sam Rinzel. For the short term, however, those moves left the Blackhawks without a top-line goal scorer and a middle-six center while adding an injury-plagued goalie coming off the worst season of his career.

It was also decided not to extend qualifying offers to forwards Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik, enabling them to depart for nothing as unrestricted free agents. He used the money on other youngsters in Max Domi, Andreas Athanasiou, Colin Blackwell and Alex Stalock.

Davidson’s moves could ensure the Blackhawks will finish with the league’s worst record in the coming season, especially if cornerstones Patrick Kane and Jonathon Towes are shipped at the deadline.

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