It is officially the dog days of summer. Free agency and the draft have come and gone, now teams and fans eagerly await the beginning of training camps and preseason. Once again, the Eastern Conference, specifically the Metropolitan Division, projects to be a gauntlet. What teams have improved? Which have gotten worse?
Carolina Hurricanes
Arrivals: Dmitry Orlov, Michael Bunting, Brendan Lemieux
Departures: Shayne Gostisbehere, Calvin de Haan, Max Pacioretty, Mackenzie MacEachern, Maxime Lajoie
Verdict: Better
Analysis:
The mighty just keep getting mightier. General manager Don Waddell is going all in on this core group. Max Pacioretty had only played eight games with the club after tearing his Achilles tendon. The rest of the players the team lost can be described as “depth” pieces.
Additionally, Carolina kept their own. The club re-signed Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta for $5 million combined. Captain Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast also signed new deals to remain with the club. But even with that, the club added to their existing roster.
Adding Dmitry Orlov gives Carolina another top-four defenseman that excels in both end of the ice. Orlov and his ability to transition the puck forward fits head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s system to a tee. For a team that was one of the worst finishing teams during the regular got reinforcements up front.
Michael Bunting helps add more juice to an already solid top six. Bunting emerged on the scenes with Toronto and is coming off back-to-back 23-goal seasons. It is a huge boost to their depth. Brendan Lemieux is not the best producer. However, he brings added toughness and grit to the bottom of the lineup.
Oh, not to mention, they are rumored to be one of the squads in the Erik Karlsson sweepstakes.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Arrivals: Damon Severson, Ivan Provorov, Adam Fantilli (draft)
Departures: Michael Hutchinson, Jon Gillies, Lane Pederson, Gavin Bayreuther
Verdict: Better
Analysis:
The Columbus Blue Jackets stayed quiet in free agency. The players they lost to the open market were depth players. However, they were active in the trade market.
The first order of business was revamping the blue line. After parting ways with Vladislav Gavrikov at the deadline, adding pieces was a need. Acquiring the rights to Damon Severson and signing him to a long-term deal was huge. Severson will likely be paired on the top pair with captain Zach Werenski.
Daniel Briere began to rebuild in Philadelphia and traded Ivan Provorov to Columbus in a three-team trade. Provorov had a down season, but a change of scenery could help. Not to mention, the team got a steal in Fantilli at the draft as well.
Despite the small improvements, expect the Blue Jackets to still be a bottom dweller in the division.
New Jersey Devils
Arrivals: Tyler Toffoli, Colin Miller
Departures: Yegor Sharangovich, Miles Wood, Mackenzie Blackwood, Ryan Graves, Damon Severson, Tomas Tatar
Verdict: Better
Analysis:
The New Jersey Devils saw key names leave. Not so much because the team did not want to keep them, but emerging rookies are set to take those spots. The time for Luke Hughes, potentially Simon Nemec, and depth forward such as Nolan Foote have arrived.
While losing his role on the roster, the Devils turned Yegor Sharangovich into 30-goals scorer Tyler Toffoli via trade. For a fifth-round pick, the Devils acquired underrated defenseman Colin Miller to bolster a strong defensive core on paper.
The real work was general manager Tom Fitzgerald keeping the band together. Restricted free agent forwards Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier signed long-term deals. In addition, depth forwards Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian, and Michael McLeod are all staying.
After a historic season and one point from winning the division, the Devils project to be very strong for years to come.
New York Islanders
Arrivals: Julien Gauthier, Karson Kuhlman
Departures: Josh Bailey, Zach Parise
Verdict: Worse
Analysis:
The Islanders are simply bringing back the same team from last season. With little wiggle room financially, minor depth moves were all the club could do. General manager Lou Lamoriello did ship out Josh Bailey in a salary cap dump to the Chicago Blackhawks.
With that recouped money, Lamoriello brought back every pending free agent he had. Semyon Varlamov, Pierre Engvall, and Scott Mayfield are all returning to the team. The consolation prize was signing Ilya Sorokin to an eight-year extension.
New York Rangers
Arrivals: Blake Wheeler, Jonathan Quick, Nick Bonino, Erik Gustafsson, Riley Nash
Departures: Tyler Motte, Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane, Niko Mikkola
Verdict: Same
Analysis:
General manager Chris Drury put all his chips in the middle and his result was a first-round exit. Like the Islanders, wiggle room financially was very little. Bargain shopping it is. Despite this, the Rangers got older and slower all at the same time.
The prime years of Jonathan Quick are gone. However, he won’t be relied on heavily as he backstops Igor Shesterkin. Blake Wheeler might be a shell of himself, but to sign him for under $1 million is a solid depth move. He brings a leadership presence to the locker room.
Gustafsson should slot on the third pair next to Braden Schneider. With the core of this team locked in place, reinforcing it with depth was key. However, the team still needs to sign Alexis Lafreniere to a new deal. With the key departure, the younger guys will need to step up.
Philadelphia Flyers
Arrivals: Garnet Hathaway, Marc Staal, Ryan Poehling, Victor Mete, Calvin Petersen, Sean Walker, Matvei Michkov (draft)
Departures: Kevin Hayes, James van Riemsdyk, Ivan Provorov
Verdict: Worse
Analysis:
Finally, the Philadelphia Flyers are going to rebuild and do it properly. New general manager Daniel Briere has gone on to ship out talent in Kevin Hayes and Ivan Provorov. The rebuild is only beginning.
It is all about the quality depth and turning the roster over to the younger players. Garnet Hathaway is a bruising fourth-line player that fits the mold of the Flyers’ identity. Walker comes in as part of the three-team Ivan Provorov trade. He is young and should see an increased role in the lineup.
Petersen will be a complimentary backup to Carter Hart. Poehling and Mete are simple depth moves. The Flyers are not going to be very good. But seeing what you have with the youth is a good start. This is only the beginning to a full blown makeover in Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Arrivals: Ryan Graves, Noel Acciari, Matt Nieto, Lars Eller, Alex Nedeljkovic, Reilly Smith, Vinnie Hinostroza, Andreas Johnsson, Will Butcher
Departures: Jason Zucker, Nick Bonino, Brian Dumoulin, Ryan Poehling, Josh Archibald, Drake Caggiula, Dmitry Kulikov
Verdict: Better
Analysis:
New general manager Kyle Dubas wasted no time making his mark on the club. Dubas went on to revamp the bottom six with Lars Eller, Noel Acciari, and Matt Nieto. His biggest impact was acquiring scorer Reilly Smith. What a boost that’ll be to Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. With the departure of Dumoulin, Dubas brought in Ryan Graves. Graves is a capable top-four defenseman evident by his time in New Jersey.
The rest of the moves were minor depth moves. But Dubas did bring back Tristan Jarry on a five-year deal. After missing the playoffs, the revamped Penguins added better depth to their lineup and are still in the mix for Erik Karlsson.
Washington Capitals
Arrivals: Max Pacioretty
Departures: Connor Brown, Conor Sheary, Craig Smith, Matt Irwin, Carl Hagelin
Verdict: Worse
Washington is in a cap crunch. But as long as Alex Ovechkin is playing they will not be rebuilding. Given the minimal cap space, the team made very few moves.
In a low-risk high-reward potential move, the club signed Max Pacioretty to a one-year deal. With goal-scoring a problem last season, adding a five-time, 30-goal scorer to the mix is huge. Whether Pacioretty plays with Nicklas Backstrom or Evgeny Kuznetsov, the club has another scoring winger.
Washington re-signed their entire blue line to new deals during the regular season. It will be the same team returning and a healthy Tom Wilson to go with it.