NHL Offseason Grades: Pacific Division
The busiest days of the NHL offseason are officially in the rearview mirror. There is still plenty of work to be done before training camp opens, of course. Plenty of RFAs still need to be signed, a couple of big UFAs linger and there is a lot of talent on the trade block, especially in Winnipeg and Calgary — not to mention the reigning Norris Trophy winner. Some teams still aren’t even cap-compliant.
But the draft and the opening days of free agency have already come to pass. And with those deadlines behind us, we have a pretty good idea of what every team’s roster will look like. Hundreds of millions of dollars were handed out on Canada Day. There were a couple of stunners on the draft floor. And a handful of noteworthy trades as teams desperately try to navigate the final year of a flat cap environment.
For the most part, though, the dust has settled. Teams have answered their biggest questions, or at least attempted though. Their success in doing, of course, varies. The dog days of summer aren’t good for a lot of things hockey-wise, but analyzing those moves is one of them. We’ll go division by division. We already tackled the Atlantic, the Metro and, yesterday, the Central. Today we wrap up this series by visiting the Pacific.
Anaheim Ducks (23-47-12, Missed Playoffs)
Additions: LW Alex Killorn, D Radko Gudas, D Robert Hägg
Subtractions: G Anthony Stolarz, LW Max Comtois
Cap Space: $29.06M (-$7.26M Below Cap Floor)
RFAs: C Trevor Zegras, RW Troy Terry, D Jamie Drysdale
The good news for Anaheim is they have so much cap space there’s really no such thing as a “bad” contract. That’s even accounting for the hefty raises Zegras, Terry and Drysdale are about to get. But the Ducks were much, much farther away from achieving anything than a middle-six forward and a No. 4 or 5 defenseman. Killorn and Gudas are good players, both playing key roles in recent Finals runs. They both bring plenty of physicality to the table.
The problem, however, is two-fold. Both players will be in their mid-late 30s when their deals expire and almost certainly won’t be living up to them in the last year or two. And at four years for Killorn and three for Gudas, there’s a chance they could hurt the Ducks when they’re ready to return to relevancy. Mason McTavish will need a raise next offseason, and if all goes according to plan, so will several of Anaheim’s top prospects in the next year or two. Having that money tied in two aging players who are good but not great could be a costly mistake.
Grade: D+
Calgary Flames (38-27-17, Missed Playoffs)
Additions: C Yegor Sharangovich, D Jordan Oesterle
Subtractions: RW Tyler Toffoli
Cap Space: $2.4M
Craig Conroy talked a big game when he first took over as Flames GM, but now he has to back it up. Toffoli is out the door for an underwhelming return and the futures of Elias Lindholm and (especially) Noah Hanifin are murky at best. Positive regression and having a coach not named Darryl Sutter should work in their favor. But it may not be enough to save the Flames from the difficult decisions they’re trying to avoid.
Grade: D
Edmonton Oilers (50-23-9, Lost in Round 2)
Additions: RW Connor Brown
Subtractions: RW Kailer Yamamoto, LW Klim Kostin
Cap Space: $5.62M
RFAs: D Evan Bouchard, C Ryan McLeod
While trading two under-25-year-old forwards for nothing is never ideal, it was a necessary evil for the Oilers, as their lack of cap space even with Yamamoto and Kostin no longer in the fold shows. Brown is an ideal low-risk, high-reward signing; if he regains the form he showed with Connor McDavid in junior or before his ACL tear, he should have no problems fitting into Edmonton’s top nine. The bigger question is if further roster surgery is needed to clear space for Bouchard, arguably the team’s best defenseman, and a quality bottom-sixer in McLeod.
Grade: B
Los Angeles Kings (47-25-10, Lost in Round 1)
Additions: C Pierre-Luc Dubois, G Cam Talbot
Subtractions: G Joonas Korpisalo, LW Alex Iafallo, C Gabe Vilardi, C Rasmus Kupari, D Sean Walker, G Cal Petersen
Cap Space: -$750K
The Kings made one of the flashier moves of the offseason in the Dubois trade. Bringing him in gives L.A. one of the deadliest center groups in the league and another impact scorer to try and get them past the first round for the first time since 2014. Trusting a 36-year-old goaltender who has only achieved that feat only once as a starter and is coming off a down year to help with that is less optimal. I understand balking at the contract Korpisalo got from Ottawa. But it feels like the Kings would’ve been better off trading for a different Jet who would’ve addressed arguably their one true weakness better than Talbot.
Grade: B-
San Jose Sharks (22-44-16, Missed Playoffs)
Additions: RW Anthony Duclair, LW Filip Zadina, D Kyle Burroughs, G Mackenzie Blackwood
Subtractions: G James Reimer, LW Jonah Gadjovich
Cap Space: $5.46M
If you ignore the elephant in the room, the Sharks have done what a rebuilding team is supposed to do: make smart low-risk, high-reward bets on bounce-back candidates. Duclair is just one season removed from scoring 31 goals. Zadina was the sixth overall pick in 2018 for a reason. Blackwood used to be regarded as one of the league’s best up-and-coming netminders. Time will tell if any of those bets hit, but they’re all smart moves for the Sharks to make (especially Duclair). If they flop, it has no long-term ramifications, and if they succeed, the Sharks can extend them or cash out for futures.
Of course, rebuilding teams are also supposed to trade their expensive veterans who won’t be around when the rebuild ends. And yet Erik Karlsson is still here, and there isn’t a ton of evidence that suggests a move is imminent. It would be a major missed opportunity for GM Mike Grier because Karlsson’s value will almost certainly never be higher. The Sharks may not be able to break the bank with the return, but that isn’t the point – ensuring that Karlsson’s $11.5 million salary won’t be on the books when the team is ready to turn a corner is. By then Karlsson almost certainly won’t be anywhere close to the Norris conversation. The Sharks don’t necessarily need to “win” a Karlsson trade – they just need to make one before it’s too late.
Grade: C
Seattle Kraken (46-28-8, Lost in Round 2)
Additions: D Brian Dumoulin, RW Kailer Yamamoto, C Pierre-Éduoard Bellemare
Subtractions: D Carson Soucy, RW Daniel Sprong, C Morgan Geekie, C Ryan Donato
Cap Space: $9.07M
RFAs: D Vince Dunn
It’s generally not a good thing for a team to get older, but that’s what the Kraken did this offseason. Unless Dunn is getting the sun and the moon on his next contract (he’s probably good enough to get one, but both seem like a stretch), not qualifying Sprong, Geekie and Donato feels like a mistake. All three provided quality play in Seattle’s bottom six and are under the age of 26. Heck, Sprong was one of the league’s most efficient 5v5 scorers. None of them signed for more than $2 million on the open market.
Combine that with an older version of Soucy coming off a down year in Dumoulin and one of Dave Hakstol’s coach’s pets in Philadelphia in Bellemare, and it’s fair to say Seattle may have taken a small step back. Yamamoto is a good buy-low candidate at least.
Grade: C-
Vancouver Canucks (38-37-7, Missed Playoffs)
Additions: D Carson Soucy, D Ian Cole, C Teddy Blueger, D Matt Irwin
Subtractions: D Ethan Bear, D Travis Dermott
Cap Space: -$1.41M
It’s certainly not the flashiest offseason, but credit the Canucks for having a game plan and sticking to it. While it’s felt like they’ve played “pin the $6 million cap hit on the random free agent” in years past, Vancouver didn’t overcommit but still addressed its porous defense, especially on the PK. Soucy, Cole and Blueger should all be a big help in that area, with Irwin also coming on as a depth piece. There are big decisions to make with their forward core – Elias Petterson’s an RFA in 2024 and Brock Boeser and Andrei Kuzmenko are UFAs the year after. But a team that needed a win had one this summer.
Grade: B+
Vegas Golden Knights (51-22-9, Won Stanley Cup)
Subtractions: LW Reilly Smith, G Laurent Brossoit, G Jonathan Quick, RW Phil Kessel, C Teddy Blueger
Cap Space: $1.68M
Of course, Vegas made the biggest addition of anyone this summer, adding their first Stanley Cup to a rapidly filling-up trophy case. It’s sad to see a fan-favorite in Smith go as a cap casualty, but Ivan Barbashev looks to be a great fit and is six years younger than the Golden Misfit he’s replacing. Adin Hill’s extension is a bit pricey ($4.9 million AAV) given his limited track record, but it’s only for two years. None of the other losses sting much, but Vegas needs to figure out Robin Lehner’s future. If they can’t LTIR him, they’re actually $4.18 million over the cap.
Grade: B
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All Advanced Stats are 5v5 and via Natural Stat Trick unless otherwise stated
