Kevin Allen: Five NHL teams that had the most impressive offseasons

[Roof-Daddy]

On paper the Flames shored up their biggest weaknesses roster wise.

They added two big, gritty, physical right shooting RWers in Brouwer and Chiasson.
They added two proven NHL goalies both of whom were among the save % leaders last season.

Hopefully they picked the right head coach as well.

So yeah, on paper the Flames look to have improved the most IMO, but on paper doesn't mean a damn thing until you see it translated to the ice.

Hopefully it all works out.

[Enoch Root]

I think it's a very good list. No need to comment on the Flames - I don't think many Flame fans would argue with the choice.

I might not have picked the Rangers myself, but they definitely got younger, and getting Vesey for free can't hurt.

Arizona, lots of good moves, and they acquired assets utilizing cap space.

Panthers, sure.

Unlike many, I think Montreal improved a lot. As AB said, they addressed their biggest needs. With Weber and Shaw, they took a couple huge steps towards getting harder to play against. I know Subban is popular, but I'll take Weber every time when trying to build a winner (as does Team Canada).

[Enoch Root]

What teams are missing? Haven't seen anyone offer up alternatives yet.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

What teams are missing? Haven't seen anyone offer up alternatives yet.

Buffalo maybe? Adding Nilsson, Okposo, Kulikov is pretty solid.

SJ maybe? Signing Schlemko, Boedker and acquiring Letunov is pretty solid while only losing Reimer who wasn't doing anything anyways.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

I like the flat out statement that the Radulov signing "is not a Semin situation".

Why isn't it? Just saying it isn't doesn't make it true.

Maybe they used contraceptives this time? Not having the appropriate contraceptives or kleenex always makes for the worst Semin situations.

[Parallex]

The homer fan likes seeing Flames #1 but having Montreal on there pretty much invalidates the whole list IMO.

Trade the better player (same position) for the worse contract = improved? Yeah, I don't think so.

[JD]

Thing is, the Flames' biggest off-season move is probably still pending with Gaudreau yet unsigned. In the end, Treliving will be evaluated on that perhaps more than any other move.

[Mr.Coffee]

I agree with Calgary's offseason probably being the best. Arizona had a good offseason too.

This will be really unpopular here for obvious reasons and pains me to say it, but I actually like what Edmonton did too. I think the removal of Hall is more addition by subtraction even though the trade was not amazing. Larsson will probably be better than Flames fans are giving credit for and it was the move they needed to make for several years, and finally took the plunge. They could probably use a couple more dmen, but at least they determined there is more than one position in the game. So that's a huge improvement in and of itself.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by JD

Thing is, the Flames' biggest off-season move is probably still pending with Gaudreau yet unsigned. In the end, Treliving will be evaluated on that perhaps more than any other move.

Not really, because everyone is certain that Gaidreau will be playing hockey in Calgary this year. There is no improvement or decline to occur.

[Vinny01]

Calgary had 2 major needs coming into the summer. Goaltending and size on the wing. Elliott and Johnson are a big improvement over last year and adding Brouwer, Tkachuk and Chaisson also fills a major need.

The way this team improves is on the backs of the core players.

[JD]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Not really, because everyone is certain that Gaidreau will be playing hockey in Calgary this year. There is no improvement or decline to occur.

Most likely, if you're evaluating solely on the upcoming season.

There is still the possibility the negotiation drags into the season with a holdout. I think that's an extreme possibility, but certainly, if it materializes, I don't think you can give Treliving even a passing grade for his offseason.

In the more likely scenarios where a deal gets done, either Gaudreau will need to be re-signed relatively shortly (bridge deal) or cap space will need to be managed deftly (big long term deal) for future signings.

I'm not arguing it hasn't been a good off season so far, but there is still some work to be done. Probably the most important work with furthest reaching implication.

[Split98]

I'm just really happy to see the Oilers and Maple Leafs not make the list.

Neither deserved to be top-5 improved, and nice to see an article written sans-click bait

[ricardodw]

Would rather the Flames stay off the radar and exceed general expectations than get taken serious right off the hop.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by dammage79

As for FLA and ARZ, meh, I don't know how their D corps will balance out in FLA with losing 3 of their top 4 guys. Seems like a good chance at an adjustment year and a high pick. Reimer was a good snag though. But don't they have a 3 headed monster down there now?

I think Arizona did a fantastic job of tearing down the team of aging veterans and replacing them with younger and more skilled players, all while artificially inflating their cap so that they can run with a younger and cheaper squad. They may not be very good this year, but they could catch lightning in a bottle with all the emerging talent they have in their system. A lot of it will depend on goaltending (what else is new?).

As for Florida, they moved on from Campbell because he's damn old, and outside from still having some decent skating legs (even that is starting to go), he doesn't do anything at a high level anymore. He can still pass, he has decent vision, and lots of experience, but he doesn't hit anyone out there, he has a muffin for a shot, and he's still prone to defensive miscues. Yandle is basically a younger, possibly better Brian Campbell. The contract was pricey, but considering what they spent on Campbell last year it's actually cheaper.

Gudbranson was always supposed to be a good shutdown defender, but he was constantly being pushed back to the 3rd pair, and he was badly exposed in last year's playoffs. While I think he has value, he was going to be hard pressed to get anything more than 3rd pairing minutes this year on this team. Trading him for a young center in McCann was a sharp move. Pysyk is a more than capable replacement for Gudbranson.

Kulikov has always been intriguing. He has skills, he's tough in his own zone, and he's a bit of a playmaker. However, even after all these years in the league, he STILL has major brainfarts at really bad times in games. After his partner Mitchell went down for the season, more and more bad things happened while he was on the ice. He's still a solid 2nd pairing guy, but it looks like Mike Matheson will take his minutes and probably do better with them.

If nothing else, losing Willie Mitchell (likely to retirement) was the hardest thing for the group. Not necessarily for his on-ice contributions, but for his leadership and ability to coach the younger guys. I'm hopeful that the young core is ready to take the next step without him, but there might be some rough patches this year without a steadying influence. Good thing Jagr is still there, among others. I would not be shocked to see Mitchell jump into the coaching ranks somewhere soon if he retires. He seems to have a knack for it. The Demers pickup replaces Mitchell, but he's obviously not nearly as experienced. We'll see how it goes.

The goaltending situation is really, really straightforward to me. Luongo is the starter and Reimer is the backup. But Luongo isn't exactly young anymore, so having someone who can play 25 games competently is a good thing. Luongo is also coming off a surgery in the off-season which might effect his ability to play a lot of hockey in a row, or just flat out hurt his abilities. In that case Reimer is at least a steady, if not flawed, starter. Berra would be his backup, and we know that Berra can fill in now and then and maybe steal you some games. That's all you really need from a 3rd string goaltender.

Look at last year's d-corps and goaltending compared to this year and I think it's a better overall group:

2015/16
Campbell-Ekblad
Kulikov-Mitchell
Gudbranson-Petrovic
Kampfer

Luongo/Montoya

2016/17
Yandle-Ekblad
Demers-Matheson
Pysyk-Petrovic
Kampfer/Kindl

Luongo/Reimer/Berra

Even if the talent replacements are a wash, this year's team has MUCH more depth.

[ricardodw]

I would definitely argue that the Flames 2015 off-season moves were significantly better on paper than 2016.

Had a team that won a playoff series. Had 2 goalies coming off a season that had the same Sv% as Elliot

to this playoff team the biggest loss was Schlemko... they added Hamilton, Frolik and Bennett and were getting Gio back from injury....

This year they have a lottery level team who have players coming off great individual (Gaudreau, Monahan, Gio, Brodie, Hamilton,Backlund, Bennett) seasons.

Out #1RW Hudler, #3D Russell, Top-6 forward Colborne top-9 forward Jones and replaced with -

top 6 forward Brouwer(Hudler), 3rd/4th line grinder Chaisson (Jones) , Wideman coming off injury/suspension(Russell) and 2 NHL 30+ year old level goalies who have been journeymen up to this point in their careers.

are Brouwer, Chaisson, Wideman, Vey, Shinkaruk, Elliott, Johnson >>> Hamilton, Frolik, Bennett, Gio ??

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

Would rather the Flames stay off the radar and exceed general expectations than get taken serious right off the hop.

I agree with you. I remember when the Flames unanimously won the trade deadline when Jokinen was brought over the first time and were considered cup favourites. I remember when the Flames won the UFA race when Bouwmeester signed here and again were considered a favourite.

Obviously expectations are a bit lower now. But I'll actually believe we won the offseason when it translates to success on the ice this upcoming season.

[Monahan For Mayor]

I also don't think MTL had a bad offseason 4th best in the league probably not, but it wasn't bad. I think radulov puts up 30/30 next season so that's probably why I see it in a good light.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

are Brouwer, Chaisson, Wideman, Vey, Shinkaruk, Elliott, Johnson >>> Hamilton, Frolik, Bennett, Gio ??

Beauty of it is the fact that it wasn't a trade, and they still have the four guys on the right!

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

I would definitely argue that the Flames 2015 off-season moves were significantly better on paper than 2016.

Had a team that won a playoff series. Had 2 goalies coming off a season that had the same Sv% as Elliot

to this playoff team the biggest loss was Schlemko... they added Hamilton, Frolik and Bennett and were getting Gio back from injury....

This year they have a lottery level team who have players coming off great individual (Gaudreau, Monahan, Gio, Brodie, Hamilton,Backlund, Bennett) seasons.

Out #1RW Hudler, #3D Russell, Top-6 forward Colborne top-9 forward Jones and replaced with -

top 6 forward Brouwer(Hudler), 3rd/4th line grinder Chaisson (Jones) , Wideman coming off injury/suspension(Russell) and 2 NHL 30+ year old level goalies who have been journeymen up to this point in their careers.

are Brouwer, Chaisson, Wideman, Vey, Shinkaruk, Elliott, Johnson >>> Hamilton, Frolik, Bennett, Gio ??

It's a discussion of off-season moves, not how good the team is.

Bennett, Giordano, Wideman, how good the goaltending was, being a playoff team... none of those things are off-season moves.

Last year, they added Hamilton and Frolik. This season has already been covered.

They had one of the best off-seasons last year, then had the best (arguably) this year. Pretty impressive.

[dino7c]

I don't know how the Flames couldn't be the most improved team in the NHL...league worst goal tending by a country mile to at the very least NHL caliber tending. Significant upgrade at the most important position.