Triple Option

By Michael Maynard

Published 7/4/19 @ 1:45 PM CT

For as much attention as NBA free agency generates, with Woj getting every scoop and then breaking it on The Jump, the NHL flies extremely under the radar. While the NBA waits for its marquee Free Agent to make his decision, most of the major NHL moves happened early on, and were buried under the NBA stories. While my NHL coverage is not on the level of my NCAA or NBA coverage, I plan to increase the NHL content going into next season. So here are ten of the biggest stories of the early NHL offseason.

1. Columbus trio all depart

The storyline of the Blue Jackets season last year was how their three top players–forwards Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky–all were on expiring contracts, and none were likely to return. So a franchise looking for its first playoff series win in their brief history went all out by acquiring Duchene from the Senators and holding on to the other two. Columbus just snuck in to the 8th playoff spot, and then out of nowhere swept the regular season juggernaut Tampa Bay Lightning before losing in six to the Bruins. Not the Cup run they anticipated, but certainly not a complete failure.

But now they lost all three for no return, as all three left as UFAs: Panarin to the Rangers, Duchene to the Predators, Bobrovsky to the Panthers. Panarin was the headliner of this free agent class, and got $11.6 million for the next seven years. Bobrovsky got ten for seven and Duchene got eight for seven.

After two rebuilding years, the Rangers move to acquire Panarin means they’re going for it. With 2nd overall pick Kaapo Kakko, the Rangers should move out of the Metropolitan cellar. Same with the Panthers, who after hiring 3-time Cup winner Joel Quenneville embark on a new era of contending, with ideally one of the top three goalies in the NHL providing elite goaltending. Nashville is in a bit of a different spot as a recent contender, and sent PK Subban to the Devils to make cap room for Duchene. Forward depth was a more pressing issue, and Duchene gives the Preds a solid 2nd line center.

Columbus did sign Gustav Nyquist on a smaller deal (4yr. $22M per year).

2. Hurricanes match Aho offer sheet

Montreal broke the NHL unwritten rule of not offering other teams Restricted Free Agents, and as a result the Hurricanes committed a significant portion of their cap to the breakout Fin. For a small market team that doesn’t attract much star power through free agency, retaining Aho at whatever cost was a must, and Montreal, knowing that, offered an Otto Porter esque contract to cause as much a financial burden as possible on the Canes. Mitch Marner and Patrik Laine could receive similar offers, and the RFA may soon be trending in the NBA direction.

3. Dallas adds Pavelski and Perry

After adding the two veteran forwards to a group that took the eventual Cup Champions to double overtime in Game 7, the Stars look like one of the favorites out of the loaded Central division. After the Sharks committed their available cap room to resign Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier, the longtime captain bolted for another warm hockey climate. Perry has been regressing, but gets a one-year change of scenery to resurrect his career. Ben Bishop played like an elite goalie in the playoffs, and the dominant core of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and John Klingberg is still intact. After a somewhat shocking 2019 run, the Stars are probably the favorite in the Central.

4. Avs and Leafs make trade

Speaking of Central favorites, The Avalanche probably should have made the WCFs, and with the electric all-star trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen, the Stanley Cup is the next step. With emerging defensemen Sam Girard and Cale Makar leading the blue-line charge for the foreseeable future, the Avs found Tyson Barrie and his large contract expendable. So they shipped him and Alexander Kerfoot to Toronto–who desperately needs defensemen to pair with their dynamic forwards–and while they have to pay half of Barrie’s remaining $5.5M–which expires after the season, they acquired Nazem Kadri, who fills a hole behind the Avs solid first line for at least three more years.

5. Devils make moves to complete in Metro

After a disappointing season dropping out of the playoffs, the Devils made several additions to gain ground in the Metropolitan. In addition to acquiring a top defenseman in Subban, the Devils added Wayne Simmonds as well as the #1 pick Jack Hughes. Washington and Pittsburg are near locks to make it every year, so the Devils are likely competing with five other teams for at the most three spots. So someone’s going to miss out in the Metropolitan.

6. Hawks sign comeback goaltender Lehner

The Corey Crawford era in Chicago is seemingly over, as the Hawks signed the former Islanders goalie after he put together breakthrough 2018-19 season after battling back from mental health issues. At 1yr/$5M, Lehner should get a definite shot to overtake the oft-injured Crawford, and at the very least the two should form a committee. Meanwhile the Islanders signed former Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov to compete with Thomas Greiss to fill the vacancy left by Lehner, who was a big factor in the breakout season on Long Island.

7. Pacific is Vegas, then the field

Considering the depth of the Central, that division likely gets five teams in the playoffs, so the Pacific basically has two spots open. Vegas could win this divison by 30 games. Calgary and San Jose would obviously be the favorites to return to the playoffs, but as I mentioned earlier, San Jose lost some key pieces and Calgary lost their goalie Mike Smith to Edmonton, and is probably due for some slight regression. Any of the five remaining teams could challenge for a playoff spot, but any of them could also be very bad. Connor McDavid is the Mike Trout of hockey. It’s bizarre that the Oilers have such a generational talent, yet can’t break through and go on a playoff run. It did take a few years for Crosby. Arizona acquired Phil Kessel and Vancouver acquired Kevin Hayes and JT Miller, so both predominantly young teams could put together a solid campaign. On the other hand, Los Angeles and Anaheim both fell off the map last season and are likely both looking at a similar fate this coming season. LA probably has a better shot to return to the playoffs, as they still have most of their core pieces, but Anaheim moved on from Corey Perry, and is struggling to find an identity in their new rebuilding phase.

8. Wild sign Zuccharello

The other big name who I haven’t covered is long time Ranger Mats Zuccharello, who signed with Minnesota. Minnesota had a not great start to the offseason when Kessel vetoed a trade with the Wild for Jason Zucker. Big year coming up in the Twin Cities for a team that’s invested a lot of money into big name players, and it hasn’t translated to playoff success.

9. Blues stand pat

The defending champs resigned most of their depth pieces, and will bring back a roster very similar to the one they made the run with. The looming decision right now is what Pat Maroon does. Maroon famously took less money to come to his hometown of St. Louis and be closer to his family, so it will be interesting what he ends up doing considering his market value offers potential for a nice payday.

10. Window Updates

Closed: Sharks, Blue Jackets

Closing: Jets, Lightning, Maple Leafs, Predators

Opening: Stars, Devils, Rangers, Panthers

With Pavelski and Karlsson on expiring contracts, the Sharks knew they likely have to let one go (Pavelski), and therefore this was probably their best chance to deliver Joe Thornton a Stanley Cup. What has been in previously and should have been a feel-good story this year quickly turned into a rally against the Sharks after they won three playoff games and basically two series on missed calls. As previously mentioned, the Pacific is very bad, and the Sharks have enough good pieces, though at high prices, to make a run. They also either need an upgrade at goalie or more consistency out of Martin Jones.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg regressed this season and are in danger of becoming the Blackhawks with a few expensive big names and little depth. Plus, they very well could be the fifth best team in the Central. Toronto is built for the long-run, but if they lose in the first round for the fourth straight year, impatience may start causing some changes, especially now that the Raptors are the dominant team in Ontario. Tampa Bay has a Virginia feel where after such an impressive regular season and then playoff collapse, they might regroup to go on a run next year.

All the opening window teams I talked about earlier, and probably have a three or four year window. The Rangers are probably a year away from being a year away, but the other three are expected to take the next step next year. For New Jersey and Florida that means the playoffs, for Dallas that means the Cup.

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