NHL Free Agency: Grading 10 Teams for Their Off-Season Actions – or Lack Thereof
Jonathan Marchessault Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Most of the major UFA signings took place as NHL free agency kicked off Monday.
It quickly became clear which teams deserve a positive grade on their off-seasons thus far and which teams are failing for their actions, or lack thereof, on the trade and free agency fronts.
Here are this writer’s picks for the best and worst grades for 10 NHL teams so far this summer:
Nashville Predators
Predators GM Barry Trotz was not messing around this off-season.
First, he got star goalie Juuse Saros to agree to an eight-year contract extension, keeping him off the trade block during his prime years. Then, Trotz was a superstar in free agency, landing superstar winger Steven Stamkos, another Stanley Cup-winner in forward Jonathan Marchessault, one of the best defensemen available in former Carolina blueliner Brady Skjei and backup goalie Scott Wedgewood.
It doesn’t get any better than that for an off-season, and Trotz has elevated the bar for his team. Full credit for swinging for the fences.
Grade: A+
New Jersey Devils
The Devils were arguably the biggest disappointment in 2023-24, but their core of talent remained well above average. New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald has since remade his roster to give them a leg up on rivals in the highly competitive Metropolitan Division.
He kicked off the changes by acquiring goalie Jacob Markstrom then landed not one but two veteran defensemen in Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon. Finally, he signed a solid worker-bee forward in Stefan Noesen.
That’s a terrific haul by any metric, and the Devils once again have very few roster holes. They’ll be a favorite to finish at or near the top of the Metro, and FItzgerald’s work in this off-season is a big reason why.
Grade: A
Seattle Kraken
The Kraken landed the top blueliner on the UFA market in Brandon Montour and one of the top centers available in Chandler Stephenson.
The two new Kraken players have a combined $13.6-million cap hit, which is a good number for new core pieces.
Seattle now has an improved look at forward and on ‘D,’ and they still have about $9.1 million in cap space to re-sign RFA forwards Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen. Kraken GM Ron Francis has been patient with his team, but these moves ratchet up expectations, and Seattle should thrive next season because of them.
Grade: A-
Tampa Bay Lightning
Sure, it hurt a lot to bid goodbye to captain Steven Stamkos on the UFA market and to defenseman Mikhail Sergachev via a trade with Utah. But Lightning GM Julien BriseBois did very well in remaking the Lightning’s lineup.
He added star winger Jake Guentzel, veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh (via trade) and young blueliner J.J. Moser. BriseBois still has $5.855 million in cap space to re-sign Moser and add a couple of veterans on low-risk, low-money deals.
Sometimes, teams have to make tough choices to stay competitive, and the Bolts have done that this summer. Will it be enough to keep them a playoff team in the Atlantic? We think so.
Grade: B+
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs knew going into the summer they’d once again be tight to the cap ceiling, but Toronto GM Brad Treliving made the most of it. He landed defensemen Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jani Hakanpaa, as well as goaltender Anthony Stolarz for their key UFA acquisitions.
The Maple Leafs did have to say goodbye to cap casualty Tyler Bertuzzi, but they have the internal assets to replace the offense he brought to the table. Toronto identified its main issue of defense improvement, and it did well to address it by adding veterans with a good deal of playoff experience.
The pressure will still be on the Leafs to convert that into playoff success, but Treliving has done yeoman’s work to give his team a chance to be better next season.
Grade: B+
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings were a letdown for the second straight post-season, and the moves they’ve made on the trade front and via free agency aren’t exactly no-brainers.
Yes, getting out from under the contract of Pierre-Luc Dubois is a win for Kings GM Rob Blake, but the players he’s brought in – goalie Darcy Kuemper, forwards Tanner Jeannot and Warren Foegele, and defensemen Kyle Burroughs and Joel Edmundson – aren’t guaranteed needle-movers.
Teams don’t have to hit home runs on every off-season deal they make, but it feels like a series of lateral moves have taken place for them this summer after losing Viktor Arvidsson and Matt Roy as well.
Grade: C+
Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings have made some curious moves in recent years. We’re still not sure why GM Steve Yzerman gave Justin Holl a three-year, $10.2-million contract last summer.
There’s lots of room for questions regarding their moves Monday as well.
Bringing back star winger Patrick Kane on a one-year contract on Sunday is a win, but other than that, their moves came mostly on ‘D’ and in goal.
Goalie Cam Talbot is now 36, and blueliner Erik Gustafson is 32 – oh, and depth signing and good guy Jack Campbell is now fourth on the depth chart behind Talbot, Alex Lyon and Ville Husso. Veteran D-man Shayne Gostisbehere left the team for the Carolina Hurricanes.
All in all, it’s an underwhelming crop of new faces, considering the hype the Red Wings had heading into the off-season and the cap space they cleared. Detroit may once again be on the outside of the playoff picture next spring.
Grade: C
Calgary Flames
We all know the Flames are at a transition point in their competitive cycle. In that sense, GM Craig Conroy did well to move out Markstrom to New Jersey and winger Andrew Mangipane to Washington.
Calgary’s new faces – most notably winger Anthony Mantha and defensemen Jake Bean and Kevin Bahl – aren’t at all intimidating.
The Flames will likely miss the playoffs again next year, and Conroy should start parting ways with many more veterans to get his team back on the right track. Right now, they’re nowhere close to that point, and that’s reflected in their grade here. Good thing they had a heckuva draft.
Grade: D+
Minnesota Wild
The Wild continue to live in salary cap hell, with more than $14.7 million devoted to buyouts Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. But their main move so far this off-season is signing forward Yakov Trenin to a four-year, $14-million contract. If that seems exceedingly underwhelming, that’s because it is.
They also signed forwards Travis Boyd, Brendan Gaunce and Devin Shore as part of the two-way contracts they handed out.
Minnesota wasn’t a playoff team last year with essentially the same group, so there's not much that gives hope things will be any different this coming season. It will be tough sledding for Minny in 2024-25, and nothing that’s happened so far this summer will change that.
Grade: D
Pittsburgh Penguins
If you thought last season was difficult for the Penguins, you might see an even tougher year for them this coming season.
As the rest of the Metropolitan division took big steps toward being playoff teams, Pittsburgh could only acquire 32-year-old center Kevin Hayes, 27-year-old winger Anthony Beauvillier and depth defenseman Matt Grzelyck. Yikes.
There was never any question the Penguins would only go as far as stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang will carry them. But a team’s supporting cast matters a great deal, and the Penguins’ lack of high-quality talent to help take pressure off their core four is a troublesome harbinger of what’s likely to come.
Grade: D-
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