The NHL 2021 off season is almost over. A few free agents are still out there but the hockey world is getting its last bit of vacation in before training camp starts.
My grades are not based on how this sets the franchise up for the future. These grades are only based on did the offseason make this team better for the upcoming season. Did the offseason address the teams needs or will the team be worse.
ATLANTIC–
Boston B-, David Krejci went back to the Czech Republic. Nick Foligno was signed. He is a quintessential Bruin but not replacement for Krejci. The Bruins signed Linus Ullmark as insurance for Tuuka Rask.
Buffalo D, The Sabres still have Jack Eichel but they lost Linus Ullmark, Rasmus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart.
Detroit B+, The Red Wings improved they’re goaltending by trading for Alex Nedeljkovic. Nick Leddy improves their backend. Stevie Y getting Pius Suter was a sneaky good move.
Florida B+, The Panthers brought in Sam Reinhart and resigned all of their key players. Joe Thornton believes in the Big Cats because he signed in South Florida to resume his Stanley Cup chase.
Montreal D+, Shea Weber decided to shut it down for at least a year. The mercurial Mike Hoffman was signed to help scoring.
Ottawa A, I’ll give Ottawa an A for giving Pierre McGuire a job and getting him off television.
Tampa Bay C-, The 2 time defending champion Lightning lost their whole 3rd line ( Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow) and their 4th line center Tyler Johnson. Corey Perry, Pierre Edouard Bellemare and Zach Bogosian are nice pickups.
Toronto D +, The Leafs goaltending got weaker by replacing Freddie Andersen with Petr Mrazek. They did not replace Zach Hyman in their top 6.
METROPOLITAN–
CAROLINA C, The Canes got rid all of their goaltenders last year and brought in Freddie Andersen. They are replacing Doug Hamilton with a cheaper committee.
Columbus B-, The Blue Jackets lost Seth Jones and kept Zach Werenski. Firing John Tortorella enables the franchise to move on.
New Jersey B+, Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Graves vastly improve the Devils blueline. Tomas Tatar gives the Devils reliable scoring from the wing.
Islanders C, The Fishermen lost Nick Leddy and Jordan Eberle but more importantly also lost Andrew Ladd’s contract. Richard Panik could add some scoring.
Rangers A, The Blue Shirts addressed toughness acquiring Ryan Reaves and Barclay Goodrow. Patrik Nemeth and Jarred Tinordi add size to their backend. Gerard Gallant is a great coach ready for the big stage.
Philadelphia B+, The Flyers blueline was abysmal last season. Philly added two top four defensemen in Ryan Ellis and Rasmus Ristolainen. Keith Yandle gives blood thirsty Flyer fans someone to boo.
Pittsburgh F, The Penguins lost two top nine forwards, Brandon Tanev and Jared McCann. They lost their third best defensemen , Cody Ceci. The Penguins found nothing resembling replacements for any of them. The Penguins also didn’t address their size, toughness or goaltending issues.
Washington B-, The Capitals lost Brenden Dillon but remain the same team for the most part.
CENTRAL
Arizona F, The Coyotes lost all of their goaltenders ( Darcy Kuemper, Antti Raanta, Adin Hill) , their Captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson and a great young player Conor Garland. The Desert Dogs are also back to laundering bad contracts for the league.
Chicago A, The Blackhawks acquired Vezina winner Marc-Andre Fleury for nothing. Uber defensemen Seth Jones was a more expensive get. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook were jettisoned. Jonathan Toews is coming back but it is for sure a new era of Blackhawk hockey.
Colorado C-, The Avs lost Vezina finalist goalie Phillipp Grubauer but replaced him with the capable Darcy Kuemper. Colorado resigned their Captain Gabriel Landeskog but lost a ton of depth.
Dallas C+, The Stars signed Ryan Suter and Braden Holtby to very team friendly deals.
Minnesota B, The Wild bought out Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. The new era is hold though until Kirill Kaprizov signs his new contract.
Nashville C-, The Predators lost Victor Arvidsson, Ryan Ellis and Pekka Rinne. Rinne should have left a few years ago.
St. Louis B, The Blues signed Brandon Saad and traded for Pavel Buchnevich. They have not found a new home for Vlad Tarasenko yet.
Winnipeg B, The Jets shored up their porous defense by acquiring Nate Schmidt and Brendan Dillon.
PACIFIC-
Anaheim D, The Ducks resigned the Captain Ryan Getzlaf and a few of their kids. Love Superman but that’s all they did.
Calgary B-, The Flames lost their Captain Mark Giordano. The Flames brought in two Darryl Sutter type players in Blake Coleman and Nikita Zadorov.
Edmonton B-, The Oilers brought in Zach Hyman who will help either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl immensely. Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci will do wonders for their defense but their goaltending still stinks.
Los Angeles B, Phillip Danault and Victor Arvidsson give the Kings two new veteran top six forwards. Alex Edler gives them another veteran on the blueline. The rebuild is over, time to make the playoffs.
San Jose D+, The Sharks brought in good guys Nick Bonino and Andrew Cogliano but they still have bad guy Evander Kane.
Seattle B+, The signed Philipp Grubauer hoping he can pull a Fleury.
Vancouver B+, The Canucks got Arizona to give them Oliver Eckman- Larsson and Conor Garland and take back all of Vancouver’s bad contracts.
Vegas D-, The Golden Knights gave away their Vezina winning goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for free. Ryan Reaves and Nick Holden who were also well like left too.
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