NHL Free Agency Articles - Page 16

The Philadelphia Flyers nearly made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24. Unfortunately, a late-season collapse prevented them from claiming the spot they held for most of the season. Still, there are a lot of positives for the Flyers to take away from this season. One positive is the continued emergence of forward Travis Konecny. Konecny […]

Many never believed that Steven Stamkos would ever leave the Tampa Bay Lightning. Head coach Jon Cooper certainly wanted him to return to Tampa Bay, as did the fans. However, Stamkos signed with the Nashville Predators in NHL Free Agency. This is not the first time a long-time star left the organization. In fact, it […]

The Carolina Hurricanes have seen a lot of roster turnover this offseason. Players such as Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce found new homes in NHL Free Agency. And they brought in names like Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere to replace them. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how this turnover affects Carolina in 2024-25. But […]

The Montreal Canadiens were largely quiet in NHL Free Agency this summer. This isn’t entirely shocking as they are still a little ways away from competing for the Stanley Cup Playoffs again. Additionally, with only $9 million in cap space, there isn’t a ton they could have done. That said, they did make a splash […]

The Chicago Blackhawks had an active NHL Free Agency this summer. Their most notable moves included signing Tyler Bertuzzi to a five-year contract on July 1. Additionally, the Blackhawks reunited with Teuvo Teravainen after trading him to the Carolina Hurricanes nearly 10 years ago. Chicago set out to make their roster deeper and more competitive. […]

The Nashville Predators made a major statement in NHL Free Agency this summer. One of their major moves was to sign Steven Stamkos to a huge four-year contract once the market opened on July 1. Stamkos spent the last 16 years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he was allowed to test the market after […]

The Detroit Red Wings recently signed Joe Veleno to a two-year contract extension. Since this move avoided arbitration, they received a 48-hour buyout window recently. This allows them to clear additional cap space this offseason as they try to sign Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider to contract extensions. However, there are some Red Wings trade […]

The Buffalo Sabres didn’t live up to their lofty expectations during the 2023-24 season. However, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen emerged as a source of hope despite the down year overall. Buffalo inked an offseason acquisition to a contract on Wednesday. After that, though, they rewarded their young goaltender after his emergence over the last season. The […]

The Nashville Predators spent big in NHL Free Agency this summer. Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault signed with the Predators in free agency, and that alone would have been a big deal. However, they also signed the best defenseman on the market in Brady Skjei. For current Nashville forward Ryan O’Reilly, free agency could not […]

The Vancouver Canucks made an intriguing move late in NHL Free Agency this summer. The Canucks signed Daniel Sprong to a one-year contract after the veteran forward spent weeks on the open market. Sprong joins his third team in as many years. He spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Kraken and Detroit Red […]

The Washington Capitals made the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, it still feels as if their season was an utter disappointment. They could not overcome their offensive woes in the postseason. And while Alex Ovechkin had a great second half, he was very inconsistent. The Capitals set out to fix their uses in a massive […]

The Detroit Red Wings have had an interesting offseason, and they still have things left to do in NHL Free Agency. Detroit needs to sign franchise cornerstones Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond to contracts at some point this offseason. Those should get done at some point, but they aren’t the only restricted free agents in […]

The Vancouver Canucks had an active NHL Free Agency period when the market opened on July 1. The Canucks signed Jake DeBrusk to a seven-year contract while adding depth such as Danton Heinen and Derek Forbort. However, they weren’t done with their activity once July 1 came and went. They recently signed forward Daniel Sprong […]

The Colorado Avalanche wanted to bounce back from a disappointing exit from the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. And to some extent, they did. Colorado finished third in the Central Division behind the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars. They went on to defeat the Jets in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as well. However, they could not […]

The Anaheim Ducks started the 2023-24 season rather well. However, everything quickly came crashing down for this young team. And by the end of the season, they didn’t come close to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Ducks headed into NHL Free Agency with more than enough money and roster space to make some moves. And […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins were extremely active in NHL Free Agency a year ago. New general manager Kyle Dubas made it clear he wanted this team to remain competitive. He had no reservations about giving big contracts to veterans, which he believed would make them a better hockey team. The only issue is that the Penguins […]

The Nashville Predators won NHL Free Agency this summer. They signed Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault in a move to give more firepower to their top-six. And they brought in defenseman Brady Skjei to partner with captain Roman Josi on the backend. These moves certainly make them better, but there could be more moves on […]

The Dallas Stars have one of the most talented teams in the entire NHL. And they proved their worth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. However, they unfortunately ran into the same result they did in 2023. The Stars lost in the Western Conference Finals in six games this year and watched as their […]

The St. Louis Blues put in a late challenge for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. They struggled to begin the year, and even fired head coach Craig Berube after a loss to the Detroit Red Wings before the calendar flipped. But they responded well to interim coach Drew Bannister and challenged […]

The Los Angeles Kings drew the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season. And once again, they could not overcome Connor McDavid and Edmonton’s offensive attack. The Oilers defeated Los Angeles in five games as they went on to make the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. As a result, Los Angeles […]

Veteran defenseman Matt Grzelcyk can trace a lot of career moments to the city of Pittsburgh. The Boston Bruins drafted him in 2012 when the NHL Draft took place in the city. He debuted at PPG Paints Arena in 2016 before scoring his first career goal in that same building in 2017. Now, he will […]

The New Jersey Devils were among the favorites to contend for the Stanley Cup at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. Unfortunately, they didn’t come close to living up to those expectations. They struggled for large stretches of the season and ultimately missed the playoffs entirely. After 2024 NHL Free Agency, though, there is hope […]

The New York Rangers came close to the Stanley Cup Final once again in 2024. New York hoped to go on a deep playoff run when they hired Peter Laviolette as head coach last summer. Now, they are looking to finally get over the hump and actually make the Stanley Cup Final in 2025. They […]

This time last year, Oliver Ekman-Larsson was at a crossroads of sorts. The veteran rearguard had just been bought out by the Vancouver Canucks. And he joined the Florida Panthers in NHL Free Agency hoping to do something to revitalize his career. Now, he is a Stanley Cup champion and recently signed a four-year contract […]

The Vegas Golden Knights were on top of the world just over one calendar year ago, celebrating the first Stanley Cup victory in just the sixth year of their existence since entering the NHL. Essentially, the Golden Knights went from the loveable team that could to the League’s new villain, especially due to their creative […]

The Detroit Red Wings have made some big moves in NHL Free Agency. They kept veteran forward Patrick Kane on a one-year contract and signed two-time Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract. They are likely done shopping the open market, but they have some items left to take care of. One of […]

Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers fell short of the Stanley Cup in 2024. They made a miraculous comeback in the Stanley Cup Final before falling in Game 7. McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy after turning in one of the greatest postseason performances in NHL history. But he and the franchise want to win […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets are looking to turn the corner sooner rather than later. They finished among the worst teams in the NHL this past season. And with a group of young prospects knocking on the door, now is the time for them to strike. In fact, they made one major move in NHL Free […]

The Vancouver Canucks ran into horrible injury luck in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Starting goalie Thatcher Demko was injured in Game 1 of their first round series against the Nashville Predators. Before Game 4, backup Casey DeSmith also picked up an injury. That led to the team turning to 23-year-old Arturs Silvos, who played well […]

The Calgary Flames were active on the trade front during the 2023-24. In a way, they had to be active given their situation. Multiple players were on the brink of NHL Free Agency. And with the team heading backwards, it appeared unlikely that they would retain most of them. Since last summer, the Flames have […]

There is going to come a time when Alex Ovechkin retires and the Washington Capitals inevitably return to a level of mediocrity the franchise hasn’t seen since before The Great Eight was drafted No. 1 overall in 2004. But not this day, say new general manager Chris Patrick and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan. […]

The Dallas Stars were extremely close to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. In fact, they took a 2-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately, they fell just short again. They lost to the Oilers in six games, leaving them searching for answers ahead of NHL Free Agency a few […]

The Chicago Blackhawks did not have a great 2023-24 NHL season. In fact, they finished as one of the worst teams in the league. This landed them the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, which they used on Artyom Levshunov. However, to add immediate support for Connor Bedard, they needed to be aggressive […]

The Vancouver Canucks won the Pacific Division in 2023-24 in rather surprising fashion. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they proved their division win was not a fluke. They defeated the Nashville Predators in the first round as they came within a game of the 2023 Western Conference Finals. They certainly had a lot to feel […]

The Detroit Red Wings seemed ready to make some noise during NHL Free Agency. They cleared cap space by trading Jake Walman to the San Jose Sharks. And while they kept Patrick Kane on a one-year deal, they still had some holes to fill with cap space to spare. Despite this, Detroit was rather quiet […]

The Anaheim Ducks have not made a ton of moves through NHL Free Agency to this point. In fact, most of their notable moves have come through trades, such as trading for forward Robby Fabbri. However, they have done well to sign internal free agents. And they did it again on Monday with defenseman Jackson […]

The Ottawa Senators had some hype around them entering the 2023-24 NHL season. Unfortunately, the season didn’t go quite to plan. Ottawa never came close to contending for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024. This season also saw them hire a new general manager and a new full-time head coach to lead the team. In […]

The New Jersey Devils missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a promising 2022-23 campaign. Many expected New Jersey to put in a real challenge for the Stanley Cup this past season. However, injuries and underperformance led to a down year. Now led behind the bench by Sheldon Keefe, the Devils hope to right the ship […]

The San Jose Sharks have had themselves an interesting offseason. They selected Macklin Celebrini first overall in the 2024 NHL Draft a few weeks back. During NHL Free Agency, the team made some major moves to improve the roster. The Sharks signed winger Tyler Toffoli to a four-year contract and center Alex Wennberg to a […]