Missed the postseason for the first time since 2020
Additions: F Jay Beagle (acquired from VAN), F Travis Boyd, F Ryan Dzingel, F Loui Eriksson (acquired from VAN), F Dmitrij Jaskin, F Bokondji Imama (acquired from LAK), F Andrew Ladd (acquired from NYI), F Liam O’Brien, F Antoine Roussel (acquired from VAN), D Shayne Gostisbehere (acquired from PHI), D Cole Hults (acquired from LAK), D Vladislav Kolyachonok (acquired from FLA), D Anton Strålman (acquired from FLA), D Conor Timmins (acquired from COL), G Carter Hutton, G Josef Korenar (acquired from SJS)
Subtractions: F Michael Bunting (signed with TOR), F Brayden Burke (traded to LAK), F Derick Brassard (signed with PHI), F Michael Chaput (signed with PIT), F Christian Dvorak (traded to MTL), F Conor Garland (traded to VAN), F John Hayden (signed with BUF), F Dryden Hunt (signed with NYR), F Tyler Pitlick (expansion, SEA), F Lane Pederson (rights traded to and signed with SJS), F Emil Pettersson (KHL), F Tyler Steenburgen (traded to LAK), F Nathan Sucese (signed with Iowa Wild, AHL), D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (traded to VAN), D Alex Goligoski (signed with MIN), D Jordan Gross (signed with COL), D Niklas Hjalmarsson (retired), D Jordan Oesterle (signed with DET), G Adin Hill (traded to SJS), G Darcy Kuemper (traded to COL), G Antti Raanta (signed with CAR)
Still Unsigned: F Frédérik Gauthier, F Marian Hossa (retired, contract expired), D Jason Demers, D Aaron Ness
Re-signed: F Hudson Fasching, F Blake Speers, D Cam Dineen, D Dysin Mayo
Offseason Analysis: Arizona took on a bunch of contracts this offseason, but still has about $11.946 million in cap space as Coyotes General Manager, Bill Armstrong, put on a masterclass of how to effectively clean house to rebuild.
The Coyotes are paying a combined $1.500 million this season for the services of Carter Hutton and Josef Korenar in the crease after signing Hutton in free agency and acquiring Korenar and a 2022 2nd round pick via a trade with the San Jose Sharks that sent Adin Hill in return.
Antti Raanta, meanwhile, left for the Carolina Hurricanes, seeking a career resurgence after a rocky, injury filled, tenure in Arizona, while Darcy Kuemper was traded the same day free agency began on July 28th to the Colorado Avalanche for defender, Conor Timmins, a 2022 1st round pick and a conditional 2024 3rd round pick.
Whereas the Buffalo Sabres viewed goaltending as an afterthought this offseason, the Coyotes, uhh, planned this?
Hutton had a 1-10-1 record in 13 games for the Sabres last season and recorded a 3.47 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage in that span, while Korenar made his NHL debut for the Sharks and went 3-5-0 in 10 games with a 3.17 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.
But goaltending wasn’t the biggest focus for Arizona this offseason as they completely stripped down their roster and planned for a major reset between now and next summer.
Only 19 players throughout the organization are signed through the 2022-23 season, including six players currently on the NHL roster.
After trading Hill and a 2022 7th round pick to the Sharks for Korenar and a 2022 2nd round pick on July 17th, Armstrong made sure to add salary to work his way to the cap floor that same day by acquiring Andrew Ladd from the New York Islanders in addition to a 2021 2nd round pick that originally belonged to Colorado (60th overall, Janis Jerome Moser), as well as a conditional 2023 3rd round pick for future considerations.
Ladd’s been buried in the American Hockey League (AHL) in recent years with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (now Bridgeport Islanders) and last played at the NHL level in four games with New York in 2019-20– scoring one goal that season.
As crazy as it sounds, Arizona might use Ladd on their roster. At 35-years-old, he’s in his final run, but with two years remaining on his contract at a $5.500 million cap hit, he’s one of the few players left on the team entering 2022-23– unless he’s moved before then or retires.
Philadelphia saw what the Islanders did and said “hey, we can do that too” and traded defender, Shayne Gostisbehere, to the Coyotes with a 2022 2nd round pick and a 2022 7th round pick in exchange for future considerations.
Arizona takes on Gostisbehere’s remaining two years of his current contract at $4.500 million per season and looks to resurrect his offensive game from the blue line since his career-high 65 points in 78 games with the Flyers in 2017-18.
Last season, Gostisbehere bounced back from 12 points in 42 games in 2019-20 with a respectable 20 points in 41 games, but it’s not enough to justify his price tag amid a plethora of defenders looking to crack Philadelphia’s lineup on a regular basis, so the Coyotes are glad to give Gostisbehere a warm welcome.
A day after acquiring Gostisbehere, Arizona made waves when they traded their captain, Oliver Ekman-Larsson with the rights to then restricted-free agent forward, Conor Garland, to the Vancouver Canucks for Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, a 2021 1st round pick (9th overall, Dylan Guenther), a 2022 2nd round pick and a 2023 7th round pick in return on July 23rd.
Ekman-Larsson’s production has been in decline since recording 21-34–55 totals in 75 games with the Coyotes in 2015-16. He followed that season up with 39 points in 79 games in 2016-17, and 42 points in 82 games in 2017-18, before signing an eight-year extension with an $8.250 million cap hit on July 1, 2018, that would go into effect for the 2019-20 season.
In 2018-19, Ekman-Larsson had 14-30–44 totals. In 2019-20, he had 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in 66 games and just last season, Ekman-Larsson had 24 points (three goals, 21 assists) in 46 games for Arizona.
So the Coyotes packaged him with Garland to a team that Ekman-Larsson had expressed a desire in being traded to entering last offseason (Ekman-Larsson would only accept a trade to the Boston Bruins or Vancouver, but Arizona held out and kept him for the 2020-21 season).
Garland signed an extension with the Canucks, while Arizona also retained 12% of Ekman-Larsson’s salary (about $990,000 per season through 2026-27) in the aftermath of the deal.
Meanwhile, Eriksson, Beagle and Roussel are looking for a fresh start in a new market– though they each have one-year remaining on their contracts, so they probably shouldn’t get too comfortable.
Eriksson managed to earn one assist in seven games last season for Vancouver, while Beagle was limited to 30 games due to injury and had 1-4–5 totals and Roussel chipped in four points (one goal, three assists) in 35 games.
So they’re not offensive powerhouses, but the Coyotes aren’t going for a Cup ring this season– they’re going for a complete reset as they continued to wheel and deal this offseason.
Arizona swapped minor leagues with the Los Angeles Kings in a trade on July 24th, then took July 25th off before acquiring defender, Anton Stålman, from the Florida Panthers for a 2023 7th round pick on July 26th.
Strålman fell out of favor in Florida after scoring 19 points from the blue line in 69 games in 2019-20 before dropping to nine points in 38 games last season with the Panthers.
Needing cap space, the Panthers moved on from Strålman, dropping him and his $5.500 million cap hit, along with defender, Vladislav Kolyachonok, off with the Coyotes for the 2021-22 season, where the 35-year-old defender is hungry to keep his playing days alive in the twilight of his career.
With a few new faces on defense, Arizona is ready for life in a post-Niklas Hjalmarsson world, since the 34-year-old native of Sweden retired after five points (all assists) in 41 games with the Coyotes last season.
On July 28th, Arizona executed the Kuemper trade, then the phone lines went silent for about a month until the Carolina Hurricanes signed Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet that the Montréal Canadiens wouldn’t match.
Montréal inquired the Coyotes about the availability of Christian Dvorak on the trade market and he was shipped off the Habs on Sept. 4th for a conditional 2022 1st round pick (the worse of the Canadiens’ own or Carolina’s) and a 2024 2nd round pick.
By the way, Arizona hired a new head coach this offseason, naming André Tourigny as the designated leader to guide the rebuild down to the depths and back to the surface of playoff contention.
That should be fun.
At least Tourigny has a good repertoire among major junior players and can settle into the NHL level with whoever the Coyotes draft in 2022.
Offseason Grade:A-
Look, just because the offseason grade says “A-” doesn’t mean this team will actually be competitive.
Yes, the Coyotes are going to finish last in the Central Division– by the way, they’re new to the Central this season since the Seattle Kraken joined the league and took Arizona’s spot in the Pacific Division.
But it’s also true that Armstrong made most of the right moves that aligned with Arizona’s offseason philosophy– embrace the tank.
The Coyotes are loading up on draft picks, prospects and whatever scraps you can find with other teams’ bad contracts and should turn things around in the next few years.
Of course, there’s the fact that this seems to happen way too often in Arizona and the concern among the fanbase that things might not go as planned with their expected relocation from Glendale to Tempe, Arizona as the City of Glendale has booted the team out of their space at Gila River Arena after the 2021-22 season– opting out of their current lease agreement, as the city could in accordance with agreed upon clauses.
But for all things considered, the Coyotes have a plan. The same can’t be said for Buffalo.
Missed the postseason for the fourth-straight year
Additions: F Pontus Åberg, F Andrew Agozzino, F Scott Sabourin, F Kole Sherwood, D Michael Del Zotto, D Dillon Heatherington, D Nick Holden (acquired from VGK)
Subtractions: F Vitaly Abramov (KHL), F Michael Amadio (signed with TOR), F Artem Anisimov (signed to a PTO with COL), F J.C. Beaudin (signed with Laval Rocket, AHL), F Evgenii Dadonov (traded to VGK), F Jonathan Davidsson (HockeyAllsvenskan), F Ryan Dzingel (signed with ARI), F Jack Kopacka (signed with Toronto Marlies, AHL), F Zachary Magwood (ICEHL), F Matthew Peca (signed with STL), F Derek Stepan (signed with CAR), D Olle Alsing (KHL), D Mikael Wikstrand (SHL), G Joey Daccord (expansion, SEA), G Marcus Högberg (SHL)
Still Unsigned: F Logan Brown (RFA), F Micheal Haley, F Brady Tkachuk (RFA), D Brandon Fortunato, D Cody Goloubef, D Erik Gudbranson
Re-signed: F Drake Batherson, F Clark Bishop, D Victor Mete, D Artem Zub, G Anton Forsberg, G Filip Gustavsson
Offseason Analysis: Ottawa announced a multi-year extension on Tuesday for their General Manager, Pierre Dorion, that runs through the 2024-25 season and Dorion proudly exclaimed that “[t]he rebuild is done”.
Well, we’ll see.
It’s not hard to admit there’s a lot to like about the Senators’ roster. Drake Batherson is coming off of a career-year so far with 17-17–34 totals in 56 games last season and signed a six-year extension worth $4.975 million per season, which will eat up a couple of years of potential unrestricted free agency.
I cannot emphasize enough how good of a contract Batherson’s team-friendly deal is, considering he is only 23-years-old and playing first line minutes.
It was also his first full season, technically, but 34 points in 56 games is a 50 point pace in a full 82-game schedule. That’s some solid production from a first year player.
Brady Tkachuk led the Sens in scoring last season with 17-19–36 totals in 56 games and is currently an unsigned restricted free agent, while Connor Brown and Josh Norris each tallied 35 points in 56 games to round out the top-three in team scoring.
Ottawa took their time to construct a younger roster over the last few years by a combination of high draft picks and trading for quality prospects and now might see the fruits of their labor begin to blossom.
Tim Stützle left many in the crowd and press box awestruck by his spin moves, skillful hands and 12-17–29 totals in 53 games last season after being drafted 3rd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Signing Tkachuk to a bridge deal, at least, is of the utmost priority for the Sens to keep their band of youth infused with experience together and striving for more this season, despite Ottawa’s roster being made up of an average age of 26.3.
Had their been an 82-game schedule in 2020-21, it’s not hard to see that the Senators’ late season surge might have put them into playoff contention with the special “top four teams per division qualify for the playoffs” playoff format for last season.
Can Ottawa make it back to the playoffs in 2022? It’s possible, but they’ll also be facing a lot more teams than just the six other Canadian teams they faced through 56 games last season.
How will the Senators stack up against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion and fellow Atlantic Division rival, Tampa Bay Lightning, for instance?
The Sens should improve, but they’re best bet might be playing spoiler with a side of forward progress.
Michael Del Zotto’s re-emergence as a solid bottom-pairing defender in the league brings experience and stability to the blue line of a team that had a minus-33 goal differential last season.
Del Zotto had four goals and nine assists (13 points) in 53 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and was a plus-five rating.
Along with the acquisition of Nick Holden in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov that also brought a 2022 3rd round pick to Ottawa, Del Zotto and Holden bring over 1,200 NHL games of experience to the Sens defense as a pair of low-risk, high-reward moves (though, again, not as your surefire first pairing superstars).
As a bonus in the acquisition of Holden from the Golden Knights, Dorion rid himself of Dadonov’s $5.000 million cap hit through 2022-23 and his continuing decline from 70 points in 82 games with the Florida Panthers in 2018-19, to 47 points in 69 games with Florida in 2019-20, to a dismal 20 points in 55 games with the Senators last season.
At the end of the day, the Sens are building towards something.
They should be more competitive, but they can’t quite win a Cup just yet. They could make the playoffs, but they shouldn’t make it out of the First Round.
Alternatively, they could miss and land another lottery pick.
Regardless, an important question remains in the crease– can Matt Murray rebound from his 10-13-1 record in 27 games last season– as well as his 3.38 goals-against average, .893 save percentage and two shutouts in that span– or will Filip Gustavsson emerge as the expected “goaltender of the future” in Ottawa?
Gustavsson went 5-1-2 in nine games with a team-best 2.16 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage in that span. He also had a 5-7-1 record in 13 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL) last season.
It might be throwing him into the fire, but if it’ll help keep Ottawa’s overall goals against down, then a little healthy competition for the starting job can’t hurt anyone.
Offseason Grade:B-
Dorion’s extension for Batherson could be praised as one of the best contracts in the league in the next couple of seasons for its value. That said, getting a deal done with Tkachuk is paramount for Ottawa’s young, developing, chemistry.
The Senators didn’t snatch any big names via free agency or trades, so they didn’t “win” the market in that sense this offseason, but they quietly went about patching some needs.
Now it’s a matter of whether or not things will pan out as the Sens look to improve off of last season’s late surge and gain momentum towards being a competitive playoff team with the end goal of opening a Stanley Cup window while their younger players are only just entering their prime.
If anything, Dorion deserves credit for not tearing things apart or making matters worse this offseason and that alone can get you an above average grade– stay the course and be a spoiler at worst or a competitor at best.
Missed the postseason for the second-straight year
Additions: F Nick Bonino, F Andrew Cogliano, F Nick Merkley (acquired from NJD), F Lane Pederson, D Jaycob Megna, G Adin Hill (acquired from ARI), G James Reimer
Subtractions: F Kurtis Gabriel (signed with TOR), F Fredrik Händemark (KHL), F Maxim Letunov (signed with CAR), F Marcus Sörensen (SHL), F Alex True (expansion, SEA), D Christian Jaros (traded to NJD), D Greg Pateryn (signed with ANA), G Martin Jones (buyout), G Josef Korenar (traded to ARI)
Still Unsigned: F Ryan Donato, F Noah Gregor (RFA), F Patrick Marleau
Re-signed: F Rüdolfs Balcers, F Joachim Blichfeld, F Jonathan Dahlén, F Dylan Gambrell, F Matt Nieto, F Jeffrey Viel, D Nicolas Meloche
Offseason Analysis: The Sharks have been quiet– too quiet– this offseason for a team that proclaims they’re “definitely not rebuilding” and “totally going to be back in the playoffs in 2022”.
Whether you buy into the speculation that Tomas Hertl is going to be shopped by the team or not, there is some uneasiness in the dressing room as Evander Kane’s bankruptcy court ongoings continue to unfurl in public amidst separation from his wife while San Jose is tight against the salary cap with about $3.361 million in cap space heading into the 2021-22 season.
Erik Karlsson’s made it known that he doesn’t want to experience another rebuild in his career– having been dealt to the Sharks originally as a casualty of the Ottawa Senators’ demise and subsequent retool/rebuild.
It’s not hard to feel empathy for the precarious position that Doug Wilson is in as General Manager, though it’s through much of his own doing.
For starters, Karlsson carries an $11.500 million cap hit through the 2026-27 season, which contributed to Joe Pavelski leaving for the Dallas Stars via free agency on July 1, 2019, and with it San Jose’s character amongst the Sharks’ leadership core.
Kane carries a $7.000 million cap hit through 2024-25, though he may reach a termination agreement at any point in time with San Jose to restructure his debt and may or may not end up signing for much less as a result with the Sharks if he isn’t forced to take a step back from hockey to focus on that whole debt thing that keeps getting mentioned.
Seriously, we’re hoping for the best here.
Forced to make minor moves due to a stagnant salary cap, Wilson signed Matt Nieto to a two-year extension worth $850,000 per season and continued to fill out his middle of the lineup/bottom-six forwards with Andrew Cogliano and Nick Bonino via free agency.
Cogliano received a one-year, $1.000 million deal, while Bonino earned a two-year contract that carries a $2.050 million cap hit.
Nieto recorded three consecutive seasons of 20 or more points with the Colorado Avalanche from 2017-18 through 2019-20 as he experienced a career resurgence as a bottom-six forward, prior to amassing 5-2–7 totals in 28 games last season with San Jose before a lower body injury cut his 2020-21 season short.
After spending the last few seasons in Dallas, Cogliano left the Stars for the Sharks in free agency after managing 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 54 games last season.
At this point, the 34-year-old center is just trying to hold onto what is likely the twilight of his career and looking for a way to either spice up his remaining playing days and extend his tenure in the league or find a way to be moved by the trade deadline to a Cup contender as the 14-year NHL veteran has only been to one Stanley Cup Final in his career thus far– losing in six games with Dallas to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020.
Bonino, on the other hand, brings some Cup winning experience to San Jose’s dressing room as the 33-year-old center won his first of two Cup rings with the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games against the Sharks in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.
After winning back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017, with Pittsburgh, Bonino made his way to the Nashville Predators and, most recently, the Minnesota Wild, where he had 10-16–26 totals in 55 games while the Wild rose to prominence and endured a seven-game First Round series loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bonino may be at the point where he bounces around the league every other season or so, but he’s shown that he can still prove to be a valuable piece down the middle as a glue guy, which is welcome news for San Jose as they look for Logan Couture and Hertl to remain steady as a 1-2 punch at center on the first and second lines.
Drafting William Eklund 7th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, then signing him to a three-year entry-level contract was another quality move made by Wilson in the ongoing restructuring of the organization’s depth and future foundation.
Ranked as the No. 1 European skater by NHL Central Scouting, Eklund fell to the Sharks in the draft and could end up playing this season for San Jose. Sure it might be throwing him to the fire a bit early, but if he’s as good as he looked with Djurgårdens IF, then it’s worth it to spur the *ahem* rebuild in San Jose as he managed to have 11-12–23 totals in 40 games in the SHL last season.
But the biggest change this offseason for the Sharks comes in the crease, where San Jose has bought out Martin Jones– freeing themselves from his 15-13-4 record in 34 games last season, with a 3.28 goals-against average, an .896 save percentage and one shutout in that span– and traded for Adin Hill before signing Hill to an extension and landing James Reimer in free agency.
Jones will carry a $1.917 million buyout penalty on San Jose’s cap through the 2026-27 season, but at least he’s the Philadelphia Flyers’ reclamation project now.
In the meantime, Hill was acquired in exchange for Josef Korenar and a 2022 2nd round pick back on July 17th.
The 25-year-old former Arizona Coyotes goaltender was given a two-year extension worth $2.175 million per season and went 9-9-1 in 19 games last season, recording a 2.74 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and two shutouts in that span.
It’s important to note that he had a 2.62 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage in 13 games in 2019-20 with the Coyotes and has shown that, perhaps, in a better defensive situation, he just might improve.
Meanwhile, Reimer reunites with the Sharks for the first time since San Jose’s 2016 Stanley Cup Final appearance as he was acquired by the team on Feb. 28, 2016, with Jeremy Morin for a 2018 3rd round pick, Ben Smith and Alex Stalock in return to the Toronto Maple Leafs back in the day.
Since then, Reimer had a stop with the Florida Panthers and, most recently, with the Carolina Hurricanes as a tandem duo with Petr Mrazek.
The 33-year-old goaltender might have an edge going into the season over Hill as Reimer managed to record a 15-5-2 record in 22 games last season for Carolina and had a 2.66 goals-against average, as well as a .906 save percentage in that span.
He signed a two-year deal worth $2.250 million per season with the Sharks on July 28th.
In both cases, it’s a low-risk, high-reward move that Wilson can defend simply as a placeholder if it all goes south while searching for a long-term solution in net.
Offseason Grade: C-
It’s time for the Sharks to make some serious roster decisions in a proactive manner instead of forcing their own hands tied and reacting to the alarming situation that may only worsen as the team desperately tries to avoid using the term “rebuild”.
San Jose’s unprecedented success in the regular season throughout the 2000s and 2010s meant that the team never really had to rely on the uncertainty of going through growing pains and struggles, but for the first time since franchise’s infancy it appears that it’s inevitable once more.
Whether removing Wilson is something to be done sooner rather than later or not hinges upon whether or not Sharks ownership is informed of a solidified plan.
There cannot be any wavering any longer for a team that, sure, finished ahead of the Anaheim Ducks last season, but is expected to bottom out in the Pacific Division by virtually every expert and analyst on paper going into 2021-22– and that’s even with the uncertain nature of the expansion, Seattle Kraken, to consider.
San Jose is close to getting a “D+”, but cutting their losses and buying out Jones now brings them up to a “C-“.
Missed the postseason for the first time since 2016
Additions: F Sean Kuraly, F Zac Rinaldo, F Jakub Voracek (acquired from PHI), D Jake Bean (acquired from CAR), D Adam Boqvist (acquired from CHI)
Subtractions: F Cam Atkinson (traded to PHI), F Zac Dalpe (signed with FLA), F Mikhail Grigorenko (KHL), F Mikko Koivu (retired), F Ryan MacInnis (signed with BUF), F Stefan Matteau (signed with COL), F Cliff Pu (ICEHL), F Kole Sherwood (signed with OTT), F Daniel Zaar (KHL), D Adam Clendening (signed with PHI), D Michael Del Zotto (signed with OTT), D Seth Jones (traded to CHI)
Still Unsigned: F Brandon Dubinsky, F Calvin Thürkauf (NL, CBJ reserve list)
Re-signed: F Patrik Laine, F Alexandre Texier, D Gavin Bayreuther (expansion, SEA, then signed as UFA with CBJ), D Mikko Lehtonen
Offseason Analysis: First off, where do we even start with how hard this offseason has been for the Blue Jackets organization?
The loss of Matiss Kivlenieks is paramount in how Columbus approaches the season– honoring their fallen teammate along the way– as well as where they go from here with respect to future decisions in the crease.
Kivlenieks had potential to be selected by the Seattle Kraken at the expansion draft. He had potential to become the Blue Jackets’ backup in the near future if the team had moved Joonas Korpisalo or Elvis Merzlikins prior to choosing one or the other next July anyway as both Korpisalo and Merzlikins are pending-unrestricted free agents.
In what’s become an all too familiar reminder lately, tragedy, as with death, is part of life.
He was a kind soul that was taken from us too soon.
Columbus welcomed home Dublin, Ohio native, Sean Kuraly on a four-year contract worth $2.500 million per season as the 28-year-old departed his bottom-six role with the Boston Bruins for more money and a change of scenery as his production dropped from 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 69 games in 2019-20 to nine points (four goals, five assists) in 47 games last season.
The Blue Jackets are hoping Kuraly’s arrival will feature a resurgence unlike when Riley Nash left Boston on a high-note and faltered in his Columbus tenure before being traded at last season’s trade deadline to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Whereas Mikko Koivu joined Columbus for the 2020-21 season prior to retiring from the NHL after seven games in a Blue Jackets uniform, Blue Jackets General Manager, Jarmo Kekäläinen, can count on Kuraly to patch up the bottom-six– especially the fourth line– without the prospect of sudden retirement.
There’s a familiar face in town this season as Jakub Voracek is back in a Blue Jackets jersey for the first time since the 2010-11 season after Kekäläinen dealt Cam Atkinson to the Philadelphia Flyers in a one-for-one trade as the Flyers looked to save some salary for other important areas.
Voracek, like Kuraly, could use a bit of a resurgence as of late after his numbers dropped from 66 points in 78 games with Philadelphia in 2018-19 to 56 points in 69 games with Philly in 2019-20 and, most recently, 9-34–43 totals in 53 games with the Flyers last season.
Interestingly enough, the 32-year-old forward has never scored more than 23 goals in a season (set back in 82 games in 2013-14 with Philadelphia) and had three consecutive seasons of 20 or more goals from 2012-13 through 2014-15 and again from 2016-17 through 2018-19.
Columbus also grabbed the rights to Jake Bean in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes and signed Bean to a three-year extension– incorporating the 23-year-old defender as part of the Blue Jackets’ blue line reform in the aftermath of one of the biggest trades this offseason.
After stating that he wouldn’t sign an extension with Columbus, Seth Jones was dealt to Chicago with a 2021 1st round pick (32nd overall, Nolan Allan) and a 2022 6th round pick for Adam Boqvist, a 2021 1st round pick (12th overall, Cole Sillinger), a 2021 2nd round pick that was when flipped to Carolina for Bean and a conditional 2022 1st round pick.
If Chicago wins one of the 2022 draft lotteries, then the 2022 1st round pick becomes a 2023 1st round pick and in any case, the Blue Jackets aren’t paying Jones $9.500 million per season when his new extension kicks in next season.
Except Columbus then turned around and gave Zach Werenski a six-year extension worth $9.583 million that goes into effect starting with the 2022-23 season through 2027-28.
At the very least, it shows that the Blue Jackets are willing to commit dollars and term to a player in their organization, though with the steep prices paid by teams for defensive talent via free agency, trades and in extensions this offseason, only time will tell if it was truly worth it.
Werenski is 24-years-old and will be turning 31 shortly after this extension expires.
The good news is that it’ll cover his defensive prime, as long as he can stay healthy and at that high level of competition.
The bad news is that Columbus could be playing with fire if their ongoing overhaul doesn’t pan out soon enough.
Speaking of the changing of seasons, Brad Larsen went from being an assistant coach with the team to being named the 10th head coach in franchise history after John Tortorella was told his contract would not be renewed.
Larsen’s been around in the Blue Jackets organization since the 2010-11 season when he was named as an assistant coach with the Springfield Falcons (AHL). He spent two seasons in that role before becoming the Falcons’ head coach from 2012-14, prior to being called up to being behind the bench in Columbus as an assistant coach from the 2014-15 season through 2020-21.
Perhaps Patrik Laine can get a chance to relax and play his game his way– as with the rest of the young Blue Jackets players– growing and developing in accordance with their preferred styles instead of being told to conform to a universal 200-foot style game.
That’s not to say that Tortorella’s tenure with Columbus wasn’t worth it, but rather to point out that it takes the right kind of players to perform under a certain structure and the Blue Jackets shifted away from that over the years.
Offseason Grade:C
Columbus didn’t do anything irrational and avoided the potential salary cap hell that might come with Jones’ extension in Chicago given his recent decline.
That said, they also then willingly gave Werenski what Jones was asking for and then some because surely they weren’t afraid of history repeating itself or anything.
Regardless, Kekäläinen still has about $10.4 million in cap space for 2021-22, which means they won’t necessarily be good enough for playoff contention, but that’s the point.
Either Columbus will get lucky and strike it rich with what they’ve got, the systems Larsen develops and the new additions here and there or they’ll fall further in the standings and get lucky in the 2022 Draft Lottery.
Additions: F Mason Appleton (from WPG), F Nathan Bastian (from NJD), F Colin Blackwell (from NYR), F Joonas Donskoi (from COL), F Jordan Eberle (from NYI), F Yanni Gourde (from TBL), F Morgan Geekie (from CAR), F Luke Henman, F Calle Järnkrok (from NSH), F Marcus Johansson (UFA from MIN), F Jared McCann (from TOR), F Jaden Schwartz (UFA from STL), F Brandon Tanev (from PIT), F Alexander Wennberg (UFA from FLA), D Connor Carrick (UFA from NJD), D Mark Giordano (from CGY), D Haydn Fleury (from ANA), D Adam Larsson (from EDM), D Jeremy Lauzon (from BOS), D Jamie Oleksiak (from DAL), D Gustav Olofsson (UFA from MTL), D Carson Soucy (from MIN), G Antoine Bibeau (UFA from COL), G Joey Daccord (from OTT), G Chris Driedger (from FLA), G Philipp Grubauer (UFA from COL)
Subtractions: F Tyler Pitlick (traded to CGY), F John Quenneville (NL), D Gavin Bayreuther (signed with CBJ), D Kurtis MacDermid (traded to COL), G Vitek Vanecek (traded to WSH)
Still Unsigned: D Dennis Cholowski (from DET)
Re-signed: F Kole Lind (from VAN), F Alexander True (from SJS), F Carsen Twarynski (from PHI), D Will Borgen (from BUF), D Vince Dunn (from STL), D Cale Fleury (from MTL)
Offseason Analysis: The NHL’s newest franchise is set to take to the ice for their first season on Oct. 12th as the Kraken pay a visit to the Vegas Golden Knights to kickoff a five-game road trip before hosting the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 16th in the first home game in the freshly renovated Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Vegas didn’t do Seattle any favors in terms of establishing new-age expansion team expectations, since the Golden Knights found a way to make the 2018 Stanley Cup Final in their first season, but Kraken fans are just happy to have a professional hockey team competing for the Cup back in the city for the first time since the Seattle Metropolitans folded in 1924.
The Kraken are going to draw many comparisons to the Golden Knights despite adopting different strategies in roster compesition.
Vegas hit the ground running with a “win now” mentality, while Seattle’s built to grind their opponents down by rolling four lines similar to how the New York Islanders play a modified version of “the trap”.
Kraken General Manager, Ron Francis, has a great scouting department down the hall and knows how to construct a foundation for the future.
Francis’ track record as the General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes prior to Don Waddell’s arrival saw the likes of Martin Neceas, Morgan Geekie, Jake Bean, Julien Gauthier, Noah Hanifin, Sebastian Aho, Nicolas Roy, Haydn Fleury, Alex Nedeljkovic, Warren Foegele, Lucas Wallmark, Elias Lindholm, Brett Pesce, Brock McGinn and Jaccob Slavin rise through the ranks to the NHL– whether they still remain in a Canes uniform or not.
The future is bright for Seattle, while Dave Hakstol is getting a second chance behind the bench of an NHL team after a brief stint as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs most recently.
Hakstol’s time as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers followed the rollercoaster that the organization’s been stuck in since Ron Hextall vacated the net.
One year showed promise, the next year was average, but then Hakstol and the team found another gear and were on the rise again– finishing 3rd in the Metropolitan Division in 2017-18, before his ultimate downfall and firing– though Philadelphia’s revolving door of goaltenders may have been a contribution.
Yanni Gourde had 17-19–36 totals in 56 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season en route to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.
He will miss the start of the 2021-22 season, though, which could put a damper on the expectations that he’ll be a breakout player in a Kraken uniform.
That said, glue guys like Joonas Donskoi, Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Tanev and Mason Appleton should compliment the roster well and help fill the void, while Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz work on solidifying a top-six forward group.
On defense, Mark Giordano provides a touch of leadership and experience with Jamie Oleksiak and Adam Larsson on an otherwise young blue line filled with the likes of Will Borgen, Vince Dunn, Haydn Fleury and Jeremy Lauzon.
In the crease, Seattle signed Philipp Grubauer after selecting Chris Driedger, Vitek Vanecek (later traded back to the Washington Capitals) and Joey Daccord in the expansion draft.
Driedger was the expected starter until Grubauer came along and left the Colorado Avalanche after the last three seasons.
Grubauer had seven shutouts to go with his 30-9-1 record in 40 games played last season, as well as a 1.95 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage in that span.
While Driedger’s 2.07 goals-against average and .927 save percentage was pretty great for the Florida Panthers last season, his 14-6-3 record and three shutouts pale in comparison to Grubauer.
That said, the two should make a dynamic duo as one of the most promising goaltending tandems on paper entering the 2021-22 season.
Seattle may or may not make the playoffs in their first season, but they’re sure to be better than a lot of expansion teams before the Golden Knights came around and flipped the script.
Offseason Grade:B-
Both the Golden Knights and the Kraken benefitted from some of the most generous expansion draft rules in league history– though Seattle dealt with the aftermath of Vegas’ wrath in swindling other teams via side deals in 2017, and couldn’t make a trade at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft itself as a result.
Admit it, you would’ve taken Alex Ovechkin, Carey Price, Gabriel Landeskog and Vladimir Tarasenko if they were made available to you in an NHL 22 fantasy draft– salary cap be damned.
But that’s just it– a fantasy.
Even Vegas was laughed at for some of their expansion draft choices, but both the Golden Knights and Kraken experienced quite a turnover between when they filled out a roster for the first time on paper and when they hit the ice.
For having to put together a team from scratch, Francis didn’t do a bad job. For trying to win a Cup in their first season, well, the jury’s still out on that one, Seattle.
In any case, the city has more Stanley Cup rings before the Kraken even existed than 11 other current NHL teams thanks to the Metropolitans winning it all as the first American team to win the Cup in 1917.
Additions: F John Hayden, F Vinnie Hinostroza, D Will Butcher (acquired from NJD), D Robert Hagg (acquired from PHI), D Ethan Prow, G Craig Anderson, G Aaron Dell, G Devon Levi (acquired from FLA)
Subtractions: F Jean-Sébastien Dea (signed with MTL), F Steven Fogarty (signed with BOS), F Sam Reinhart (traded to FLA), F C.J. Smith (signed with CAR), D Will Borgen (expansion, SEA), D Matt Irwin (signed with WSH), D Jake McCabe (signed with CHI), D Casey Nelson (retired), D Rasmus Ristolainen (traded to PHI), G Michael Houser (signed with Rochester, AHL), G Carter Hutton (signed with ARI), G Stefanos Lekkas (signed with Fort Wayne, ECHL), G Linus Ullmark (signed with BOS)
Still Unsigned: F Dawson Dipietro, F Casey Mittelstadt (RFA), F Tobias Rieder, F Riley Sheahan, D Rasmus Dahlin (RFA), D Henri Jokiharju (RFA)
Re-signed: F Rasmus Asplund, D Brandon Davidson, D Casey Fitzgerald
Offseason Analysis: Apparently the Buffalo Sabres have never heard the phrase “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” except in this case it’s not even about making the playoffs– it has everything to do with the makeup of their roster this offseason.
For starters, the 1st overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Owen Power, is sticking around at the University of Michigan for another season, which is honestly for the better. He can develop as a defender at his own pace and avoid wracking up an insurmountable minus-rating.
When it seemed like Sabres General Manager, Kevyn Adams, could count on somebody, anybody, wanting to stay in Buffalo, well…
Turns out after an 18-game losing streak last season, a lot of players don’t want to be back.
After a disastrous 2020-21 season that featured six goaltenders making at least one appearance in a Sabres uniform, including Linus Ullmark, Michael Houser, Carter Hutton, Dustin Tokarski, Jonas Johansson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Adams was left with some difficult decisions to make as only one goaltender recorded a goals-against average below a 3.00.
Ullmark had the only winning record for the Sabres last season– amassing a 9-6-3 record in 20 games, while posting a 2.63 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage in that span.
He was interested in signing an extension during the season, despite Buffalo’s defensive struggles and offensive inefficiency, but the Sabres wouldn’t budge and opted to kick the can down the road for a renewal in the offseason.
Adams didn’t want contract negotiations to distract his only productive goaltender, it seemed.
That didn’t sit well with Ullmark, though, as the Boston Bruins courted him away on a four-year contract worth $20 million shortly after Hutton departed Buffalo for the Arizona Coyotes on a one-year, $750,000 deal earlier in the day when free agency opened on July 28th.
Going into free agency, the Sabres could afford to lose Hutton as he struggled through 13 games in 2020-21, with a 3.47 goals-against average, an .886 save percentage and a 1-10-1 record in that span.
Hutton never really made the jump from being a backup with the St. Louis Blues to being a legitimate starting goaltender for Buffalo, but with Luukkonen as the “goaltender of the future” for the franchise, Adams probably thought he could lose Hutton and keep Ullmark around for the transition of power in the crease– until they couldn’t.
With Hutton and Ullmark now out of the picture, Adams passed on re-signing Houser, who made his NHL debut and played similar to Hutton in that he had a 3.46 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage– though Houser had a better record (2-2-0) in four games played.
Houser will still be in upstate New York for the 2021-22 season, though, as he signed an AHL contract with the Rochester Americans.
Johansson was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche ahead of the trade deadline and Tokarski couldn’t hold things down in the NHL, but still has a year left on his contract with the Sabres.
The Seattle Kraken landed Philipp Grubauer. The Avalanche traded for Darcy Kuemper. Toronto and Carolina swapped goaltenders even though it wasn’t a trade– it was just a product of free agency!
But don’t worry, the Sabres didn’t forget to sign a goalie in the offseason– they actually remembered to sign two goaltenders.
Both received one-year deals worth $750,000 and one of them put off retirement to play for Buffalo.
That’s right, Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell are the new guys in the crease for the Sabres for 2021-22.
At 40-years-old, Anderson isn’t as limber as he used to be, but he managed to put up a 2-1-0 record in four games played with the Washington Capitals last season. He also had a 2.13 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage in that span.
Meanwhile, 32-year-old Dell had a rough time rotating as the third-string goaltender with the New Jersey Devils last season– amassing a 1-5-0 record in seven games and a 4.14 goals-against average, as well as an .857 save percentage.
Given the league’s COVID-19 protocols and taxi squad rules for last season, both goalies were a safety net option in the event of an injury or COVID-19 outbreak.
The two goaltenders played a combined 11 games last season in a 56-game schedule and that’s the only big story out of the Sabres this offseason.
Yep. Nothing else going on between the end of 2020-21 and the start of 2021-22.
Surely Jack Eichel is happy with– wait, what?
That’s right, Buffalo still has to work on trading Eichel– their once cornerstone player turned injured and fed up modern-day Matt Duchene at the end of his tenure with Colorado saga (part 2, kind of).
Plus, Adams shipped out Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers and Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers via trades this offseason.
Reinhart became a casualty of a rebuilding team still going through another rebuild, but at least the Panthers gave Buffalo a 2022 1st round pick and goaltending prospect, Devon Levi, in return.
Ristolainen had been wanting out of Buffalo for at least a year or two now and finally got his wish, while helping the Sabres rob the Flyers of a 2021 1st round pick (Isak Rosén), a 2023 2nd round pick and defender, Robert Hagg.
Draft day trades and free agent defenders went for a premium this year.
The Sabres also added Will Butcher and a 2022 5th round pick in a salary cap dump move from the Devils in exchange for future considerations while New Jersey went on to sign Dougie Hamilton to a long-term deal in free agency.
Butcher should be an upgrade on the blue line (think Colin Miller, but better), though there’s not much else around him– especially with Rasmus Dahlin still waiting on a new contract.
Offseason Grade:D
The Sabres should receive an “F” for not having cashed in on Eichel yet, but the return on Reinhart and Ristolainen in separate trades is promising.
At the very least, Adams knows he can command a high-value yield for young players that have shown NHL-caliber talent (at the very least) and are in demand– albeit Ristolainen in Philadelphia is a reclamation project, but we’ll save that for the Flyers preview.
Since Eichel is a star player, Buffalo automatically loses out on an inevitable trade, but anything less than what they got for Reinhart or Ristolainen is worthy of firing Adams this early in his tenure as GM.
Nothing– absolutely nothing– went well for the Sabres last season. An 18-game losing streak will do that to you.
The good news is that it appears they’ve reached rock bottom. The bad news is that they could still be at rock bottom this season.
Buffalo can only go up, but it’s a question of when.
Apparently the National Hockey League’s Board of Governors were up to something this month as it was reported by Sportico on Tuesday that the Board unanimously approved ads on the front of NHL jerseys beginning with the 2022-23 season.
The ads will be no bigger than a 3-inch-by-3.5-inch rectangle, which is slightly larger than the ads featured on the front of National Basketball Association (NBA) jerseys.
It was only a matter of time before the NHL followed the NBA in generating additional revenue by doing what professional hockey leagues outside of North America have been doing for many years, as well as what’s been done for at least a few seasons now in the American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL minor league levels on this side of the pond.
As always, hockey Twitter is taking the news well.
Let’s embrace the chaos for a moment and pick some sponsors for all 32 NHL teams that would make so much sense they’ll obviously be overlooked for, well, actual revenue generating streams instead.
Anaheim Ducks
What we want: Disney+ or TCL
What we’ll get: Honda
The Ducks play at Honda Center and, yeah, there’s really nothing besides Disney swooping in and sponsoring the team that they used to own as a means of cross promoting both the Ducks and The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers on Disney+, so we’re stuck with a Honda logo at center ice and on the front of Anaheim’s jerseys.
In any case, Honda’s red logo works pretty well with the Orange County orange featured as an accent color on Anaheim’s home and road jerseys.
NHL teams have a tendency to go back to the well with their partners– think of how many teams have either the same helmet sponsor as another team or just slapped on the same brand as their venue’s naming rights deal– but if we want to expand the playground a little bit perhaps TCL could be of interest for the Ducks.
Come to think of it, that’s probably a better option.
*Opens up Photoshop*
Arizona Coyotes
What we want: P.F. Chang’s or Cold Stone Creamery
What we’ll get: Fry’s or something, probably
Believe it or not the Los Angeles Chargers won’t be the only team tweeting about P.F. Chang’s for long as the restaurant chain was founded in 1993, and opened their first location in Scottsdale, Arizona, so it only makes sense to go back to their roots and toss an ad on the Coyotes’ jersey.
Also founded in Arizona– Cold Stone Creamery.
We figured that’d probably make sense on an AHL team’s jersey, though, despite the obvious cold ice, cold ice cream connection.
The Coyotes had Mountain America on their helmets at home and Dignity Health on their road helmets in 2020-21, so in reality we’ll probably get one of those two on the front of their jerseys in 2022-23.
Boston Bruins
What we want: Dunkin’ or bust
What we’ll get: TD Bank or O.R.G. Packaging, probably
What could possibly be more Boston than a Bruins jersey with a Dunkin’ logo on it?
Their AHL affiliate– the Providence Bruins– already play in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Rhode Island and have a Dunkin’ ad patch on their jerseys. Why not call it up to the major league?
That said, with some NBA teams earning up to about $20 million in jersey ad space revenue, the B’s likely will reach for a brand with deeper pockets than doughnuts and coffee.
Delaware North likes their relationship with a certain bank from Toronto (TD Bank) and has had one of the league’s longest relationships with a Chinese company (O.R.G. Packaging) as part of the NHL’s intended growth beyond the continents of North America and Europe, so one of the two brands is more likely to appear on a Bruins jersey.
Buffalo Sabres
What we want: Super Chexx
What we’ll get: KeyBank
The Sabres could use some fun in their lives these days and you know what really helps put the mind at ease? Bubble hockey.
That’s right, Innovative Concepts in Entertainment, Inc. (ICE)– the manufacturers of the popular bar and arcade classic, Super Chexx, that your rich friend down the street growing up also had in the comforts of their home– is based outside Buffalo and would be a match made in heaven right about now.
Especially as Sabres fans are looking for something to do while the game’s on TV.
So yeah, we’re definitely going to get KeyBank, Tim Horton’s or something else entirely instead.
Calgary Flames
What we want: WestJet or Duraflame
What we’ll get: Scotiabank
If you, as an American, can name any other Canadian airline other than Air Canada, then congratulations. If you can’t, then may I introduce you to WestJet?
WestJet’s headquarters are next to Calgary International Airport and it’d be nice to prove to the world that Canada is more than just a land of Tim Horton’s, Roots, Canadian Tire, Rogers, Scotiabank and Mr. Sub.
If Duraflame isn’t available, then you might as well dip into the low-cost airline industry as a means of attracting tourists to Banff National Park, Calgary Stampede or whatever it is that sets Calgary apart from the rest of Alberta (so… not being Edmonton).
Carolina Hurricanes
What we want: Surge
What we’ll get: PNC, Diehard, maybe Cheerwine or something else
This should be obvious, but if you haven’t paid attention to the Hurricanes for at least the last few seasons now they do a “Storm Surge” celebration after every win on home ice in the regular season (and sometimes playoffs).
Surge (the soda) is one of those drinks that makes headlines every few years for being pulled straight out of the vault and placed back on grocery store shelves– speaking of which, does anyone know if it’s currently available?
If not, it’ll definitely be back by the 2022-23 season.
Yes, it’s hard to envision where an ad will be placed on the road jersey as the prime real estate is used up by the diagonal “CANES” letters and– for a few players– the captain’s “C” or alternate captain’s “A”.
Chicago
What we want: Portillo’s
What we’ll get: United
Look, between Walgreens, Sears and Portillo’s there’s a few legendary brands that Chicago could partner with as their first jersey ad in franchise history (not including practice jerseys).
Obviously only one of the three mentioned above is the right choice and its the one that might lead you to Walgreens later if you have a weak stomach. Besides, Sears is fading from our collective memory whether it is out of business already or not.
Clark Griswold would be proud of Portillo’s proudly being displayed on a, well, if a WHL team can rebrand, so can you, Chicago.
Colorado Avalanche
What we want: Chipotle or Coors
What we’ll get: Ball
Look, whether or not Nathan MacKinnon eats Chipotle is a debate for another day, but one thing’s for sure– both Chipotle and MacKinnon started their careers in Colorado.
Though Coors or Coors Light would make more sense, we have to consider the fact that kids might be wearing these jerseys to the game and we haven’t heard whether or not the jerseys that are sold in the proshops in 2022-23 and beyond will include the front jersey ad or not.
If they do, then we probably can’t market beer to children.
I’m pretty sure there’s a law about that and it’s also the reason why all my 1:64 scale diecast Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. cars from when I was a kid said “Team Rusty” and “Dale Jr.” on them, respectively, instead of Miller Lite and Budweiser.
Columbus Blue Jackets
What we want: Wendy’s
What we’ll get: Nationwide
Coinciding with the uptick in Columbus born and raised players on the Blue Jackets roster, it would be a great idea to add Wendy’s– which was founded in Columbus in 1969– to the team in such a way that perhaps Jack Roslovic and Sean Kuraly star in local commercials to the Blue Jackets viewing area during the 2022-23 season.
I know that’s assuming Roslovic signs an extension, but the pending-restricted free agent at the end of the 2021-22 season helped facilitate the Pierre-Luc Dubois for Patrik Laine trade with the Winnipeg Jets by forcing Winnipeg into trading him to his hometown team.
Unlike several recent stars that left the city via free agency, Roslovic will stick around for the long term.
Especially if there’s some goods in kind involved with a Wendy’s sponsorship. I mean, I would at least.
Dallas Stars
What we want: Whataburger
What we’ll get: AT&T
Though Whataburger would be a welcome party in the burger wars when Columbus and Dallas would “meat” up, there’s no beef to be found in this hypothetical because AT&T has already made that decision for us.
Sometimes you just can’t think too hyperlocal and AT&T fetches a more national audience than a regional chain that primarily serves Texas.
Besides, if you go to Dallas for a Stars game, you can always just get Whataburger then. It’s not like they’re going to send you a meal with a jersey if ads are on the jerseys sold to fans in 2022-23.
Detroit Red Wings
What we want: Little Caesars
What we’ll get: Little Caesars
The last few teams have all involved food and we’re going to be stuck on this theme for at least one more team after this.
Both the Red Wings and Little Caesars are owned by the Ilitch family and if you think adding one more connection between Detroit and pizza is a bad thing then you clearly don’t understand the marketing behind this.
Kids love pizza. Adults love pizza. There’s a lot of good memories involving pizza.
Plus, with General Manager, Steve Yzerman, in charge, the Red Wings are on the rise, which will only further tap into the nostalgia from when Detroit was doing what the Tampa Bay Lightning are currently doing to the rest of the league.
Edmonton Oilers
What we want: Boston Pizza
What we’ll get: Rogers
Edmonton thought they could replicate the success Ken Holland had in Detroit by hiring Holland as their General Manager and when they see that we’ve got a pizza establishment heading for the front of the Red Wings’ jersey, then the Oilers will think it’s also a good idea to snag a slice.
That’s where Boston Pizza comes in.
Whether or not they’ll get Connor McDavid to do an ad read or be left with whatever scraps surround him on the Oilers roster remains to be seen.
In all likelihood, Rogers Communications will probably just get to slap their logo on another element of Edmonton’s brand.
Florida Panthers
What we want: Royal Caribbean International
What we’ll get: Baptist Health or something
The Blockbuster guy (the late Wayne Huizenga) founded the team and almost named them the “Florida Block Busters”, so it’d be neat to incorporate an homage to the days of Blockbuster (rest in peace) with the almost Blockbuster-like colors of Royal Caribbean International on the jersey.
Plus, who among us hasn’t uttered the words “I need a vacation from my vacation” before?
If you’re an out of town fan visiting the Panthers in Florida or watching the Panthers come to your town— there’s a cruise line for you even if you wouldn’t go remotely near a cruise before the ongoing pandemic began.
Los Angeles Kings
What we want: Dollar Shave Club
What we’ll get: Anschutz Entertainment Group
Never doubt for a second that a team owner wouldn’t give up the chance to toot their own horn, which is why it’s quite possible that one of the world’s biggest entertainment entities would slap their own logo on the front of a Kings jersey.
If you’re not able to finagle a way to write things off as a deduction, then Dollar Shave Club presents a unique opportunity despite the fact that shaving isn’t something that’s in Drew Doughty’s vernacular (or any hockey player, for that matter, when the Stanley Cup Playoffs roll around).
Manscaped could also make a run here and in any case, fine.
Minnesota Wild
What we want: Target or General Mills
What we’ll get: Xcel Energy
When you think of Minnesota what’s the first thing you think about?
That’s right, the very place where you could be standing right now reading this while you’re waiting for a cash register to open up or aimlessly perusing the aisles for those impulse purchases you somehow always make at Target.
It fits the Wild color scheme well and if we’re not going to get General Mills involved then at least getting more than the standard 5% discount for having a Target RedCard via goods in kind might be enough to convince Kirill Kaprizov to stay in Minnesota long-term.
Montréal Canadiens
What we want: CCM and/or Molson
What we’ll get: Bell
CCM makes more than just jerseys, but it’s not like adidas would be just fine with a CCM logo appearing on the front of an adidas ADIZERO jersey.
So, we’re left with two obvious choices– Molson or Bell.
If there’s nothing against a Canadian team bearing an alcoholic beverage on the front of their jersey with the potential for that brand to be marketed towards kids, then perhaps Molson– whose family ties own the Habs– might make an appearance near the crest.
That or we’ll just get more airtime for Bell. Either way, Montréal would be attractive enough as a franchise to bring in more than one jersey ad sponsor if the league doesn’t have any specific rules outside of the size of the ad.
Nashville Predators
What we want: Curb Records or CMT
What we’ll get: Fifth Third Bank
The music city could attract a music label if they wanted to, but Fifth Third Bank loves investing in Nashville for some reason– like, a lot, despite being headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and primarily serving Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida more than all of Tennessee.
In any case, good for the Predators. They’ll have some deep pockets to reach into while other teams surely will have to squabble for seven figures related to the going rate for the prime ad space.
Still feels like we’d be missing out on a sweet Curb Records patch close enough to the guitar pick on the right shoulder though.
New Jersey Devils
What we want: Honestly, just Prudential is fine
What we’ll get: Prudential
The Devils are overlooked and let’s admit it, you couldn’t think of something distinctly New Jersey either– besides not being allowed to fill your own gas tank.
Bruce Springsteen is not sponsoring the Devils alone.
Whether it’s settling on an old reliable or simply making use of what’s trustworthy and already available, Prudential and New Jersey just seem like a good fit.
New York Islanders
What we want: Gorton’s
What we’ll get: Not Gorton’s
“We want fishsticks!”
O.K., you got them. Take that, Rangers fans. The Islanders are cool now because they’re steering into the skid.
They just won’t go as far as bringing back the fisherman jersey from the dead, but alas, they’ll show a spark of creativity and even crack a smile on Lou Lamoriello’s face with the real Gorton’s fisherman making an appearance on the jersey.
Obviously this will never happen.
New York Rangers
What we want: Liberty Mutual if they’re bringing back the “Lady Liberty” jerseys as an alternate
What we’ll get: Chase for sure, maybe New York Life too
Liberty Mutual (a Boston company) on the “Lady Liberty” jersey would be a sight to see, but New York will never let it happen.
Instead, Chase, which already has quite a great partnership with the team, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, etc. will likely just step up and foot the bill for one– if not all– of the jerseys in full.
That’s fine. The Rangers will suffer the same consequences of having a diagonal wordmark on their jersey like Carolina’s road jersey, but at least New York’s pretty much always been this way so they should have some ideas of how to work around that.
Ottawa Senators
What we want: Canada Post
What we’ll get: Bell, Scotiabank or Canadian Tire
Canada’s capital city gets the honor of having Canada Post on their jerseys because it breaks up the trend of having the same three or four companies sponsoring all seven Canadian teams (like how their helmets were for 2020-21).
In reality, we’ll probably get more of the same from the Sens and either Bell, Canadian Tire or Scotiabank will make an appearance on Ottawa’s jersey.
At the very least, Canada’s postal service sponsoring a team is more economically viable than the United States Postal Service sponsoring a team.
Philadelphia Flyers
What we want: Wawa or Audacy
What we’ll get: Comcast or GlaxoSmithKline
Remember how I said you don’t want to go too local for a jersey ad? Well, Wawa on a Flyers jersey is an exception.
That said, it probably wouldn’t have the staying power to work on a road jersey too, so Philadelphia could tap into the artist formerly known as Entercom, since rebanded as Audacy, for more.
Audacy maintained their Philadelphia headquarters and covers a broad range of Internet radio, digital content, regular radio and podcasting platforms, plus their logo is orange which fits the Flyers brand.
It’s either that or Comcast will slap their own logo on the jersey or something.
Pittsburgh Penguins
What we want: Duolingo
What we’ll get: PPG Industries
Duolingo is headquartered in Pittsburgh and as a website and mobile app, every sports league with ads on jerseys needs at least one that makes you scratch your head at first before realizing the connection between the company and the city.
The dating app, Bumble, once was featured on the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers jerseys prior to the Clippers replacing Bumble with their more jersey ad with the online browser extension coupon company, Honey.
Dating and living expenses in Los Angeles are probably harder than learning a few new languages through Duolingo, so combining Duolingo with the Penguins makes perfect sense since hockey players can come from all over and speak many languages.
Besides, it might give your team an advantage if they can communicate with one another in a setting that is more comfortable for them.
St. Louis Blues
What we want: Busch
What we’ll get: Enterprise
I know we’ve been over the whole “can they market beer to kids with these jerseys” thing, but St. Louis is the city of Anheuser-Busch, so it’s only fitting that the Blues get a jersey ad that 1) is Anheuser-Busch related and 2) works with their color palette.
If Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals play in Busch Stadium and get Budweiser by default with red as a primary color for the ball club, then the Blues naturally get Busch blue and Busch beer. I don’t make the rules.
Plus Midwesterners really like the stuff.
San Jose Sharks
What we want: Adobe
What we’ll get: SAP or Zoom
Look, we weren’t going to get away with making these in Photoshop and not having to give Adobe something— and with headquarters in San Jose it only made sense.
The Sharks have a deep relationship with SAP, though, so it’s more likely than not that the team will just go further with the brand that also is featured on their helmets at home and holds the current naming rights for SAP Center.
Plus with the uptick in the use of Zoom, San Jose could double-dip and match SAP on the home jersey with SAP stickers on their helmets with Zoom covering the road set (jersey ad and helmet ads).
Seattle Kraken
What we want: Boeing
What we’ll get: Alaska Airlines
The Kraken already have a deal with Alaska Airlines as the official airline of the franchise, but what’s bigger than an airline itself?
That’s right, Boeing, the company that makes a lot of planes and other aerospace stuff, was founded in Seattle and still has a major presence in Washington as the largest private employer in the state.
Want to see your newest expansion team take flight? Just add some Boeing engineering to the jerseys.
You might have thought Microsoft would make sense for a Seattle-based team, but the league’s agreement with Apple probably puts a quick end to that.
Tampa Bay Lightning
What we want: Accusoft
What we’ll get: DEX Imaging
Every sport with ads on jerseys has that one company that nobody’s really sure what they do, but they appreciate that they’re spending their money on their favorite team.
That just might be Accusoft’s relationship with the Lightning come time for ads on jerseys in 2022-23.
The private computer software company is headquartered in Tampa and was founded back in 1991, as Pegasus Imaging– one year prior to the Lightning’s debut season as an NHL team in 1992-93.
Toronto Maple Leafs
What we want: Swiss Chalet, Sun Life Financial
What we’ll get: Scotiabank, Sun Life Financial
Scotiabank already has a stronghold on Toronto both financially and in the sense that the Maple Leafs play inside Scotiabank Arena and proudly display Scotiabank’s logo on their helmets, so it seems inevitable that Scotiabank would also make an appearance on the Leafs jersey.
But Toronto is strong enough to maximize the value of a 3-by-3.5-inch ad and capitalize on the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) brand.
MLSE already has an agreement with Sun Life Financial on their NBA team’s jerseys and the Toronto Raptors were able to go on to win their first championship in 2019.
Perhaps the key to ending the Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup drought lies within attracting Sun Life Financial to an NHL jersey ad.
Vancouver Canucks
What we want: Hootsuite
What we’ll get: Rogers
Remember when you’d see Hootsuite on just about every tweet with a photo? Am I the only one imagining that?
In any case, Hootsuite was founded and is based in Vancouver and still plays a major role in social media management for brands.
Whereas Rogers is accessible to most every day Canadians, Hootsuite would be more of a “corporate” target audience and you need sponsors at all levels to attract a wide base of potential clients, fans, etc.
That said, the Canucks have had a long relationship with Rogers in that they play in Rogers Arena, so it’s probably going to be Rogers.
Vegas Golden Knights
What we want: Zappos.com
What we’ll get: MGM Resorts International or Allegiant Air
Want to have fun with a local Nevada brand? Zappos is the way to go!
Want to be realistic and attract out of town fans to a destination like Las Vegas? MGM Resorts International is your sponsor and with Allegiant Air as an ultra-low cost airline that’ll gladly bring you to Vegas for a Golden Knights game…
Yeah, it’s inevitable that between MGM and Vegas’ current road helmet sponsor (Allegiant) that there’d quickly be no room for a company like Zappos.
Credit One Bank is on the home helmets for the Golden Knights, so don’t be surprised if they’re a wild card for a jersey ad too.
Washington Capitals
What we want: Marriott International
What we’ll get: Capital One, Custom Ink
Sportswriters rejoice! Your Marriott points may soon reward you with a Capitals jersey or something like that.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Marriott International would make sense from a local and international brand recognition stance.
But you know what we’re probably going to get instead? Sheer confusion as Capital One places an ad on front of a jersey that already says “Washington Capitals”. The Capital One Washington Capitals– live at Capital One Arena!
Either that or Caps owner, Ted Leonsis, might like to make a connection between making custom jerseys for local adult league co-ed softball teams or something and, well, Custom Ink’s logo appearing on Capitals jerseys.
Winnipeg Jets
What we want: A&W or SkipTheDishes
What we’ll get: Canada Life or Bell
A&W was founded in Winnipeg, while SkipTheDishes is headquartered in Winnipeg.
Since it’s 2021, and not 1956, we’re more than likely to see SkipTheDishes on a Jets jersey, but if their helmet ads from 2020-21 are any indication for 2022-23 and beyond, then Bell is probably going to land a spot near Winnipeg’s crest.
Canada Life is taking over as the new naming rights holder for Canada Life Centre where the Jets play, so there’s always a chance they’ll end up with their logo on the front of the jersey too.
This post will be updated as signings are officially announced. Be sure to check our Twitter account (@DtFrozenRiver) for all of the latest signings, news, and analysis.
Free agency begins at noon (technically 12:01 PM ET) on July 28th.
For the second-straight year, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the schedule a bit for the National Hockey League, but after the free agency signing period opens to kickoff the 2021-22 league calendar year, things will be back on track for a full 82-game schedule (albeit about a week later than usual).
All that is known is shown and will be updated throughout the day. More analysis will come as we play catch-up.
ESPN+ is streaming TSN’s coverage of free agency from 11 a.m. ET onward and NHL Network has the Sportsnet/their own feed, probably (we like the former, in all partiality).
Reported free agent signings
These are reported agreements in place that are yet to be confirmed and/or announced by a playing club.
F Kyle Palmieri has likely re-signed with the New York Islanders.
Announced free agent signings
These are confirmed/announced signings by playing clubs.
F Carter Verhaeghe signed a three-year extension worth about $4.167 million per season with the Florida Panthers that goes into effect starting with the 2022-23 season.
The Edmonton Oilers re-signed D Tyson Barrie to a three-year contract worth $4.500 million per season.
The Vegas Golden Knights signed D Alec Martinez to a three-year extension worth $5.250 million per season.
The Carolina Hurricanes signed G Frederik Andersen to a two-year deal worth $4.500 million per season.
G Petr Mrazek signed a three-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs worth $3.800 million per season.
F Nick Bonino agreed to a two-year contract with the San Jose Sharks.
F Brandon Sutter signed a one-year extension worth $1.125 million with the Vancouver Canucks.
G Antti Raanta reportedly signed a two-year deal worth $2.000 million per season with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Los Angeles Kings re-signed F Andreas Athanasiou to a one-year deal worth $2.700 million.
D Dougie Hamilton signed a seven-year contract worth $9.000 million per season with the New Jersey Devils.
F Blake Coleman signed a six-year deal worth $4.900 million per season with the Calgary Flames.
The Montréal Canadiens signed D David Savard to a four-year contract worth $3.500 million per season.
G Brian Elliott signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
D Tucker Poolman agreed to a four-year contract worth $2.500 million per season with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Dallas Stars signed F Luke Glendening to a two-year deal worth $1.500 million per season.
D Andreas Borgman signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $750,000 at the NHL level with the Dallas Stars.
D Travis Hamonic signed a two-year extension worth $3.000 million per season with the Vancouver Canucks.
F Dominik Simon signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
F Charles Hudon signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
D Zach Bogosian signed a three-year contract worth $850,000 per season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The San Jose Sharks signed F Andrew Cogliano to a one-year contract worth $1.000 million.
The Montréal Canadiens signed F Cedric Paquette to a one-year contract worth $950,000.
D Brady Keeper signed a two-year deal worth $762,500 per season with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Vegas Golden Knights signed G Laurent Brossoit to a two-year deal worth $2.325 million per season.
F Jean-Sébastien Dea signed a one-year deal worth $750,000 with the Montréal Canadiens.
The San Jose Sharks signed G James Reimer to a two-year deal worth $4.500 million per season.
F Michael Bunting signed a two-year deal worth $900,000 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
D Patrik Nemeth signed a three-year contract worth $2.500 million per season with the New York Rangers.
F Maxim Mamin signed a one-year deal worth $975,000 with the Florida Panthers.
D Louis Belpedio signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 with the Montréal Canadiens.
The Vancouver Canucks signed F Danila Klimovich to a three-year entry-level contract worth $886,667 per season.
The Dallas Stars signed D Alex Petrovic to a one-year, two-way contract.
F Michael Amadio signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $750,000 at the NHL level with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Vancouver Canucks signed D Luke Schenn to a two-year contract worth $850,000 per season.
F Josh Leivo has signed a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Carolina Hurricanes signed D Ian Cole to a one-year, $2.900 million deal.
F Nic Petan signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $750,000 at the NHL level with the Vancouver Canucks.
D Jake McCabe signed a four-year contract with Chicago worth $4.000 million per season.
The Detroit Red Wings signed D Jordan Oesterle to a two-year deal worth $1.350 million per season.
F Andrew Agozzino signed a two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators.
D Adam Clendening signed a two-way deal with the Philadelphia Flyers.
D Ryan Murphy signed a two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
The Los Angeles Kings have signed D Alex Edler to a one-year contract worth $3.500 million per season.
The Boston Bruins signed F Erik Haula to a two-year deal worth $2.375 million per season.
F Tomas Nosek signed a two-year contract worth $3.500 million per season with the Boston Bruins.
F Phil Di Giuseppe signed a two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Tampa Bay Lightning signed F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to a two-year contract worth $1.000 million per season.
F Matt Luff signed a one-year, two-way, $750,000 deal with the Nashville Predators.
F Jon Lizotte signed a one-year, two-way, contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level with the Minnesota Wild.
F Ryan Getzlaf agreed to a one-year extension with the Anaheim Ducks worth $4.500 million.
F Ryan Dzingel signed a one-year, $1.100 million deal with the Arizona Coyotes.
D Matt Tennyson signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators.
F Mattias Janmark reached an agreement on an extension with the Vegas Golden Knights.
F Josh Ho-Sang signed a PTO with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
F Mike Hoffman signed a three-year deal with the Montréal Canadiens worth $4.500 million per season.
G Linus Ullmark signed a four-year deal worth $5.000 million per season with the Boston Bruins.
G Garret Sparks reached an agreement on a one-year, two-way contract with the Los Angeles Kings worth $750,000 at the NHL level.
F Sam Gagner agreed to an extension with the Detroit Red Wings.
The Red Wings also agreed to an extension with G Calvin Pickard.
D Ryan Suter signed a four-year deal worth $3.650 million per season with the Dallas Stars.
The Columbus Blue Jackets signed F Boone Jenner to a four-year extension.
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed F Evan Rodrigues to a one-year extension worth $1.000 million.
F Patrik Laine signed his qualifying offer with the Columbus Blue Jackets and will make $7.500 million on a one-year deal as a result.
F Eric Robinson agreed to terms on a two-year extension worth $3.200 million with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Philadelphia Flyers signed D Keith Yandle to a one-year deal worth $900,000.
D Alex Goligoski signed a one-year deal worth $5.000 million with the Minnesota Wild.
G Braden Holtby signed a one-year contract worth $2.000 million with the Dallas Stars.
The Minnesota Wild signed F Frederick Gaudreau to a two-year deal worth $1.200 million per season.
D Jarred Tinordi signed a two-year deal worth $900,000 per season with the New York Rangers.
F Justin Bailey signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Vegas Golden Knights signed F Sven Baertschi to a one-year, two-way, contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level.
The Tampa Bay Lightning signed F Gabriel Dumont, D Darren Raddysh, D Andrej Sustr and G Maxime Lagacé to one-year, two-way contracts.
F Gage Quinney signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Ottawa Senators signed D Michael Del Zotto to a two-year contract worth $2.000 million per season.
Chicago signed F Jujhar Khaira to a two-year deal worth $975,000 per season.
F Alexander Wennberg agreed to a three-year deal worth $4.500 million per season with the Seattle Kraken.
The Nashville Predators signed F Anthony Richard to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level.
F Phillip Danault signed a six-year contract worth $5.500 million per season with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Seattle Kraken reached an agreement with F Jaden Schwartz on a five-year deal worth $5.500 million per season.
F Michael McCarron signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level with the Nashville Predators.
G Martin Jones signed a one-year, $2.000 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.
F Nate Thompson signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.
G Philipp Grubauer is signed a six-year deal worth $5.900 million per season with the Seattle Kraken.
F Greg McKegg signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level with the New York Rangers.
F Dryden Hunt signed a two-year deal with the New York Rangers.
The Florida Panthers signed D Brandon Montour to a three-year contract worth $3.500 million per season.
D Chris Wideman signed a one-year deal worth $750,000 with the Montréal Canadiens.
The Columbus Blue Jackets signed F Sean Kuraly to a four-year contract worth $2.500 million per season.
The San Jose Sharks signed F Lane Pederson to a two-year contract worth $750,000 per season.
D Tony DeAngelo signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes worth $1.000 million.
D Gavin Bayreuther signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Edmonton Oilers signed D Cody Ceci to a four-year deal worth $3.250 million per season.
F Kurtis Gabriel signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
F Zachary L’Heureux signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Nashville Predators.
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed F David Kampf to a two-year contract worth $1.500 million per season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed F Brock McGinn to a four-year contract worth $2.750 million per season.
The Arizona Coyotes signed F Dmitrij Jaškin to a one-year contract.
The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed F Jordan Martinook to a three-year contract worth $1.800 million per season.
F Juho Lammikko signed a one-year extension with the Florida Panthers.
G Jonathan Bernier signed a two-year deal worth $4.125 million per season with the New Jersey Devils.
The Buffalo Sabres signed F Vinnie Hinostroza to a one-year contract worth $1.050 million.
F Zach Hyman reached an agreement with the Edmonton Oilers on a seven-year contract worth $5.500 million per season.
G Filip Lindberg signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
F Brayden Point signed an eight-year extension worth $9.500 million per season with the Tampa Bay Lightning that goes into effect starting with the 2022-23 season.
The Boston Bruins agreed to a three-year deal with D Derek Forbort worth $3.000 million per season.
The Boston Bruins signed F Nick Foligno to a two-year deal.
G David Rittich agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.250 million with the Nashville Predators.
G Carter Hutton signed a one-year deal worth $750,000 with the Arizona Coyotes.
The Colorado Avalanche signed D Roland McKeown to a one-year contract.
The Columbus Blue Jackets signed F Alexandre Texier to a two-year contract extension worth $3.050 million.
F C.J. Smith signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level with the Carolina Hurricanes.
G Chris Gibson signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Florida Panthers.
The Detroit Red Wings signed F Pius Suter to a two-year contract.
D Brandon Davidson signed a one-year contract extension worth $750,000 with the Buffalo Sabres.
The Nashville Predators re-signed F Mikael Granlund to a four-year contract worth $5.000 million per season.
The Calgary Flames signed F Trevor Lewis to a one-year deal worth $800,000.
G Jaroslav Halak agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.500 million with the Vancouver Canucks.
Round 1 of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft was held virtually Friday night for the second-straight year as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic delayed the league’s plans for a draft at Bell Centre in Montréal until 2022 at the earliest.
Coverage of this year’s first round began Friday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 in the United States, as well as SN and TVAS in Canada. Rounds 2-7 will be televised on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. ET on NHLN in the U.S. and Sportsnet in Canada.
As always, there were plenty of surprises and (possibly) a lack of trades. Here’s how it all went down.
2021 NHL Entry Draft Round 1
1.Buffalo Sabres –> D Owen Power, Michigan (NCAA)
2. Seattle Kraken –> C Matthew Beniers, Michigan (NCAA)
3. Anaheim Ducks –> C Mason McTavish, Peterborough Petes (OHL)
4. New Jersey Devils –> D Luke Hughes, USA-U18 (USHL)
5. Columbus Blue Jackets –> C Kent Johnson, Michigan (NCAA)
6. Detroit Red Wings –> D Simon Edvinsson, Frölunda HC (SHL)
7. San Jose Sharks –> LW William Eklund, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
8. Los Angeles Kings –> D Brandt Clarke, Barrie Colts (OHL)
28. Colorado Avalanche –> RW Oskar Olausson, HV71 (SHL)
29. New Jersey Devils (from New York Islanders) –> RW Chase Stillman, Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
30. Vegas Golden Knights –> C Zach Dean, Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
31. Montréal Canadiens –>D Logan Mailloux, SK Lejon
32. Chicago (from Tampa Bay Lightning via Columbus Blue Jackets) –> D Nolan Allan, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
Trades made during the first round of the draft:
The DallasStars traded the 15th overall pick to the DetroitRedWings for the 23rd overall pick, 48th overall pick and 138th overall pick in this year’s draft.
The Edmonton Oilers traded the 20th overall pick to the Minnesota Wild for the 22nd overall pick and 90th overall pick in this year’s draft.
The Carolina Hurricanes traded the 27th overall pick to the Nashville Predators for the 40th overall and 51st overall picks in this year’s draft.
Trades made earlier in the day prior to the first round of the draft:
The Buffalo Sabres traded D Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers for D Robert Hagg, a 2021 1st round pick (14th overall) and a 2023 2nd round pick.
F Pavel Buchnevich was traded by the New York Rangers to the St. Louis Blues for F Sammy Blais and a 2022 2nd round pick.
The Arizona Coyotes acquired F Antoine Roussel, F Jay Beagle, F Loui Eriksson, a 2021 1st round pick (9th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick and a 2023 7th round pick from the Vancouver Canucks for D Oliver Ekman-Larsson and F Conor Garland. Arizona retained 12% of Ekman-Larsson’s cap hit (about $990,000) in the deal.
Chicago traded D Adam Boqvist, a 2021 1st round pick (12th overall), a 2021 2nd round pick and a conditional 2022 1st round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for D Seth Jones, a 2021 1st round pick (32nd overall) and a 2022 6th round pick. If Chicago wins one of the 2022 draft lotteries, the conditional 2022 1st round pick becomes a 2023 1st round pick in the transaction.
The Carolina Hurricanes dealt D Jake Bean to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2021 2nd round pick (originally belonging to Chicago).
Down the Frozen River 
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