NHL Offseason Losers

The NHL preseason is finishing up and the start of the regular season will be here before you know it. The offseason has come and gone. There are some teams who made great moves this offseason, while some teams barely improved the current roster. Some teams were looking to improve in certain areas and did just that, while other teams struggled to fill needs. A majority of teams got better, but some did not do much to improve their needs, whether it was because players went elsewhere or the franchise just decided to give some of their kids a shot a making the roster and impact on the ice.

The following teams did not have a great offseason, even with getting some bigger name players and making improvements. Here are five teams that were among the NHL offseason losers:

1) Detroit Red Wings- Atlantic Division

The Detroit Red Wings is one of the teams that look like they will rely on the young kids. Sure there will be some veteran players in the lineup, but the kids will bring some skill and speed. In the offseason, they lost a ton of veteran leadership when Niklas Kronwall decided to retire. The Red Wings signed Calvin Pickard to a two-year contract and he figures to be the back up goalie. They also signed forward Valtteri Filppula and defenseman Patrik Nemeth in free agency to two-year contracts. 

The team re-signed center Dominic Turgeon, defenseman Joe Hicketts and defenseman Dylan McIlrath to new two-year contracts. They also signed youngsters Joey Veleno and Filip Larsson to entry level contracts. The only trade this offseason was when the Red Wings acquired left wing Adam Erne from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2020 fourth round draft pick. The team didn’t get much better but did add some veteran leadership.

2) Columbus Blue Jackets- Metropolitan Division

The Columbus Blue Jackets will still have a decent team this season after a very disappointing offseason. The Blue Jackets lost free agents Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarin in the offseason. The biggest free agent acquisition was right wing Gustav Nyquist, who signed a four-year deal with the team. Nyquist should replace some of the offense lost with the departures of Panarin and Duchene. They also gave left wing Marko Dano a one-year contract. 

A majority of the offseason was spent re-signing the team’s restricted free agents. Defenseman Zach Werenski signed a new three-year deal as did defenseman Scott Harrington. Adam Clendening and Ryan Murray will be on the Blue Jackets’ blue line for at least the next two seasons. The Blue Jackets have players who can produce, but can they produce enough to get the team back into the postseason? The Metropolitan Division is going to have the most parity this season, and most of the teams have made improvements, but the Blue Jackets lost a ton in free agency.

3) Winnipeg Jets- Central Division

The Winnipeg Jets are an intriguing team heading into the regular season. The team is waiting on a decision from defenseman Dustin Byfuglien on whether he is going to continue to play the game or retire. The team has yet to sign two key restricted free agents in Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. The Jets traded one of its best defenseman in Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers for defenseman Neal Poink and a 2019 first round pick. The team has $23 million in cap space, but can’t use any of it because they need to re-sign the restricted free agents. 

The Jets did manage to extend defenseman Josh Morrissey for the next eight years. The team also extended center Andrew Copp for the next two years. The biggest free agent signings were Mark Letestu, Anthony Bitetto and Nathan Beaulieu, who all signed one year deals. The Central Division will likely be one of the hardest to get through and the Jets did not help themselves this offseason to keep up with the division. 

4) Anaheim Ducks- Pacific Division

The Anaheim Ducks did not land a decent free agent in the offseason. The team focused on grabbing some depth players and signing them to one-year deals. The Ducks are another one of those teams that look like they are going to let the young kids compete to make the roster, and hope that they make an impact. The Ducks biggest offseason moves were buying out veteran Corey Perry, signing goalie Anthony Stolarz to a two-year deal, signing defenseman Michael Del Zotto for the season, and bringing in right wing Andreas Martinsen for one year. 

The Ducks struggled to score goals last season and that should continue this year since the team really didn’t do anything to upgrade the offense. The young kids should help with offensive production, but you never know what to expect out of the youngsters. The Ducks also acquired right wing Nicolas Deslauriers from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2020 fourth round draft pick.

5) Los Angeles Kings- Pacific Division

The Kings will have a good mix of veterans and younger kids on the roster to start the season. The veteran players will need to lead the way and have bounce-back seasons, while the kids just need to go out and play their game. The Kings bought out defenseman Dion Phaneuf in the offseason, which was the team’s one major splash. The team focused on re-signing its own players rather than improving from the outside since it will be going through a rebuild while trying to win some games. 

The biggest offseason additions were center Mario Kempe, defenseman Joakim Ryan and right wing Martin Frk. Jonathan Quick is gong to need to have a great season if the Kings even hope to entertain thoughts of a playoff spot rather than a lottery spot. The team didn’t get much better in the offseason, and they didn’t bring in any key depth players, which could cost them during the season.