Rank Our Division's Offseason

[WildCard]

Rank'm! Does Auston Matthews tickle your pickle fancy? How about some super cheap Stamkos and Hedman? Or maybe it's the Okposo move that makes the Sabres the winner of this year's offseason? Or, who knows, maybe I just want some to look at at work other than Complaint Thursdays

[Randall Flagg]

Tampa had the best offseason.

I like the Sabres', but they didn't fix the defense as much as I'd have liked. Florida had a lot of turnover, tough to tell right now if they're better. Probably, but moreso due to Ekblad and Barkov developing more. Montreal gets a lot better just by the return of Price, and the PK trade shouldn't hurt them THIS year. Ottawa basically treads water to me. Boston is about the same, Backes will improve their center depth even though the contract is bad long term. Didn't fix their defense though, and not sure who will replace Eriksson. (Please not Vesey) 

Toronto adds Zaitsev, Matthews, and probably a boatload of other rookies, as well as Matt Martin. pretty meh outside of Auston. Detroit's roster is gross, they gave Helm a gross contract, and Nielsen+Vanek are not enough to fix that. 

 

 I guess I'd rank them as:
Tampa

 

Buffalo/Florida

 

Toronto

 

Montreal/Boston

 

Detroit/Ottawa

[dudacek]

Ottawa is an interesting team to me.

They have an elite player and can score with anyone.

Brassard for Zibenijad makes them better next year.

 

Most seem to be counting them out, but if a new coach adds some discipline and Anderson recaptures his youth they could be in the mix. They were so bad in their own zone last year.

[Hoss]

Tampa - the contract management has been brilliant

Florida - a lot of changes after one of the best seasons in team history but they added a ton of talent

Buffalo - Okposo at a decent rate, Kulikov adds a new dynamic to the top four

 

Detroit - I forgot them in my original rankings but I like what they did considering the loss of Datsyuk. They did a good job trying to replace him. Didn't add defense, though.

Ottawa - I really like Derick Brassard. Great pickup there.

Boston - Backes will be a good short-term addition (bad deal long-term)

Toronto - didn't blow their money on bad veterans (so far)

Montreal - Short term the Weber deal won't be bad but in time they'll regret it.

Edited July 22, 2016 by Hoss

[3putt]

/\ This is troof.  I concur that TB had the best os if for no they avoided the worst possible outcome with each of their playera.

[pi2000]

I really like what Tampa has done.    However, I will lower their grade if they move Bishop.   I understand he's a pending UFA next season, but IMO he's key to their success.   Vasilevsky has promise, but how many times do we see a young tendy start out hot and then fade into obscurity... seems there's at least a couple of those types every season.     Bishop when healthy is top 5 in the league, combine that with a healthy Stamkos, an upcoming start in Drouin, and what they have on the blueline, they're my favorite to hoist Lord Stanley's cup next June.

[Eleven]

Tampa*

Florida*

Buffalo

Toronto

Boston

Ottawa/Montreal

Detroit*

 

 

*Teams that don't belong in the division.

Edited July 22, 2016 by Eleven

[Hoss]

Tampa*

Florida*

 

*Teams that don't belong in the division.

They're placed here purely for revenue purposes. They want to keep them with the traditional strong hockey markets. (I'm sure you know this and I'm sure that's not a good enough excuse for you haha)

[GASabresIUFAN]

Buffalo is the only truly improved team based on their moves this off-season. Okposo and Kulikov are 2 steps forward.

 

Tampa did a good job of maintaining most of their roster, but they still have 3 RFA's to sign including Kucherov.

Fla dumped all their old D and replaced them with overpaid players. I'm not sure this is an improvement.

Tor is improved because they drafted got Matthews, but they didn't get Stamkos to jump on board and they still have to many bad contracts

Boston added Backes. So! This 32 yr old isn't enough to improve an aging roster and it's a stupid contract.

Ottawa needed better defense and I don't remember them getting any.

Montreal needed better scoring and defense, but does swapping Subban for Weber really accomplish anything other then adding another long-term deal for a great but aging player?

Detroit lost Datsyuk and added 30ish players Vanek and Neilsen. Not exactly a step forward.

[Hoss]

Buffalo is the only truly improved team based on their moves this off-season. Okposo and Kulikov are 2 steps forward.

 

Tampa did a good job of maintaining most of their roster, but they still have 3 RFA's to sign including Kucherov.

Fla dumped all their old D and replaced them with overpaid players. I'm not sure this is an improvement.

Tor is improved because they drafted got Matthews, but they didn't get Stamkos to jump on board and they still have to many bad contracts

Boston added Backes. So! This 32 yr old isn't enough to improve an aging roster and it's a stupid contract.

Ottawa needed better defense and I don't remember them getting any.

Montreal needed better scoring and defense, but does swapping Subban for Weber really accomplish anything other then adding another long-term deal for a great but aging player?

Detroit lost Datsyuk and added 30ish players Vanek and Neilsen. Not exactly a step forward.

Florida replaced Campbell, Gudbranson and Kulikov with Yandle, Demers and Pysyk. Going forward they're better off with Yandle than Campbell, which is why I would take their new group over the old group. I don't know if it makes them better immediately but it gives them more security and talent long-term. I like their offseason because they've been aggressive, and I think they have a definitive playoff team.

 

Backes absolutely improves Boston. There's no such thing as "not enough" to improve a roster if you're still a legitimate NHL player who has a positive impact on his teams, but I don't think they're improved enough to make a real difference in the east.

 

Correct on Ottawa, but it seems like they're counting on Phaneuf improving and Ceci becoming a legitimate top-four defender. Karlsson is still all-world.

 

I like Detroit's offensive offseason considering there's nothing they could do about Datsyuk leaving. They did a good job trying to replace him, but they failed to add defense.

 

 

But remember - the question isn't who improved most. It's who had the best offseason, and the answer is unequivocally Tampa Bay.

[GASabresIUFAN]

 

 

But remember - the question isn't who improved most. It's who had the best offseason, and the answer is unequivocally Tampa Bay.

I disagree.  TB may still lose a few good RFA's, including Kucherov, as they have run out of cap to keep everyone.  In addition, their team, while very good, isn't good enough to win the Cup and they don't have enough cap to add a depth player or two who may put them over the top.  The signing of Cory Conacher doesn't exactly move the needle.  To make matters worse, to try to keep the 3 un-signed RFA's they may have to trade all world goalie Bishop and possibly Ryan Callahan to get cap space.  This is a definite step back.  I like Vasilevsky, but he isn't Bishop and they need Callahan's grit.  Also I believe and the numbers bare it out, that Stamkos is actually a fading asset at 26. In fact his numbers began to fade after he broke his leg.  Think of guys like Dany Heatley, Vinny L, Mike Richards and even Eric Staal.  These guys all started fading at 26/27 when other guys are still reaching their prime.  IMHO while they did lock up most of their core, their off-season is still a work in progress, may not end up as rosy as first thought and in a couple of years the Stamkos contract won't look like much of a bargain.

 

As to Florida, Yandle is already 29 and is a great offensive D, but is a disaster in his own end.  Campbell, while much older still put up 31 pts and is a much better defensive player then Yandle and he would have stayed for considerably less money freeing up cap space to make other improvements. They then replaced Gudbranson (24) and Kulikov (25) with Demers (28) and Pysyk (24).  So for all their moves they are paying more, didn't really get much younger if at all and I don't think they got better on the ice, despite the advanced stats.  The Yandle contract is simply stupid.  A 7 year deal for a defensive liability at 29 years old with a NMC @ 6.35 per season is simply dumb.  How bad will this deal look when he losses his speed.  Ouch!  

 

As to Backes and Boston, adding Backes gives them a 3rd over 30 center (Bergeron and Krejci), but they failed to improve the defense.  As they NHLNetwork analyst said yesterday, he wasn't sure how they were going to get the puck out of their own zone.  The Backes acquisition was adding a name player, but it failed to address any of their actual needs on the ice.

 

Then there is Buffalo.  They netted a great prospect in Nylander, they added a top offensive talent in Okposo for a reasonable price and term, upgraded and balanced their defense with Kulikov and even managed to move up in the 2nd rd to grab a late 1st rd talent that was still on the board.  Once Risto's deal is done and if they get Vesey signed then this is easily the best job any team in the division because they kept everyone they wanted to keep, but made necessary improvements both on D and O.

Edited July 23, 2016 by GASabresIUFAN

[Eleven]

They're placed here purely for revenue purposes. They want to keep them with the traditional strong hockey markets. (I'm sure you know this and I'm sure that's not a good enough excuse for you haha)

 

Right on both counts.  Back when the NHL had a Fried Okra division, it didn't work too well.