We briefly talked about the busiest teams of the NHL offseason yesterday, compiling the most comprehensive transfer table in the league. However, this summer there were also modest teams whose activity in the preseason falls within a couple of lines at most: some did not have the resources to reinforce, others did not see the need and others simply got used to working. silent. Today we are talking about those who did not hit the headlines.
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“Buffalo”
Came: HE Johnson (Colorado), h. Clifton (Boston)
Missing: north. Chinostroza (Pittsburgh)
The Blades show a pattern of pinpoint improvements in the summer; however, with their variety of high draft picks, a massive one wasn’t necessary. The picture is clear: the club already has the third largest attack in the league, while one of the youngest in the league, two key centres, Cozens and Thompson, have signed long-term and highly profitable contracts under the new roof. Behind them are two first-round picks, Dahlin has already reached design capacity, Power could well do it next year. It just takes the right veteran role players to bolster the defense and provide the guys with reliable companions.
eric johnson
Photo: JASON FRANSON/AP Photo/TASS
The worst utility last year was for the defender of the third couple Bryson (-24). Yokiharyu, highly valued, did not show that he was reaching the level of the first two pairs. Johnson will most likely be a partner and mentor to Power, who will be able to connect to attacks more often, but Clifton’s advanced stats in dominant Boston were embarrassing, and he remained in the playoffs as a reserve, but for Buffalo, where the competition was between players closer to the AHL, this would be a huge improvement. Now the team has eight defenders with one-way contracts at once, plus Power – competition and depth will be great.
islanders
Came: north Gauthier (“Ottawa”), n. Kuhlmann (Winnipeg)
Missing: north. Bailey (-), no. Paris (-)
Lou Lamorello won the General Manager of the Year award a few years ago. Perhaps a solid chunk of that award could go to Barry Trotz, because his invite was a key (and best) move for the Islanders under a veteran coach. Nearly half of Lamorello inherited from Garth Snow, a highly underrated manager. Even Ilya Sorokin, who became a key hockey player for the Islanders, was once recruited by a former goalie in 2014. After that, Lamorello did some point trading (Pajot, Horvath) and invited people who had played the Devils at some point (Palmieri, Parise, Zeydzhak).
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In the past preseason, Lamorello generally dragged on to the end with the official signing of contracts: de facto everything was known, and de jure it was announced almost before the start of training camps. However, now the team has taken at least one big step: through the mediation of Chicago, it bought the contract of Josh Bailey, who spent 15 seasons in the club “from Ilyich to Ilyich”, but died abruptly in the last season. . The space under the roof was used to spread out its players, and only two power amateur role-players came off the market. The Islanders will obviously flirt with this backbone until retirement.
“Montreal”
Came: north. Newhook, Colorado
Missing: H. Edmundson (Washington). north. Guryanov (“Nashville”), b. Druen (Colorado)
Montreal’s current roster is an incredible salad of bad contracts, exciting youngsters and talent that Quebec wants to recharge. Potentially the worst club in the East has to spend $101 million in salaries this year (not a salary cap!), and this is due to the “heavy legacy of the tsarist regime.” The contracts of Brendan Gallagher ($6.5 million for another four years) or Josh Anderson ($5.5 million for the same period) that have given up abruptly are not needed by the club in the restructuring, and it will not be easy to throw them away without additional payment.
Alex Newhook
Photo: David Zalubowski/AP Photo/TASS
Last year, the Canadiens brought in Kirby Duck, who had been stuck in Chicago (successfully) and an injured Sean Monahan (he did well, but the center got hurt again). At the deadline, the club invested in Denis Guryanov, but let him go due to the huge qualifying offer. Now in Montreal they will be waiting for the full revelation of the potential of Alex Newhook, who in Denver simply did not pull off the role of second center. If Colorado didn’t have a championship window, they could have waited there, but they didn’t wait and were sent to the Canadiens for the first round peak; they still have all the time in the world.
“Minnesota”
Came: north. Garnet (Tampa Bay)
Missing: H. Klingberg (Toronto), h. Curse. Steele (Dallas), no. Sundquist (“Saint Louis”), b. Nykvist (Nashville), b. Reeves (Toronto), no. show (-)
The list of those who left the club is scary, but the vast majority made it to the Wild by last year’s deadline. The loss purely by name is Matt Damba, but the man who at one point acted as a mentor to newcomer Kaprizov has degraded sharply and improbably: There is someone to replace him. A first-rounder, Steele seemed like a cheap center to play with for Kaprizov himself, but even in combination with the team’s leading star, he showed almost nothing.
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The club has only one transfer to the entry, and even then Patrick Maroon replaces the outgoing Reeves. The Club is so short of money that even Marun’s small contract had to be taken with the deduction from Tampa’s salary: thanks to the “tails” of the contracts of Parise and Suter, for Minnesota, this is a party that is always with you. It is possible that the club will allow itself some movement in the market after the extension of the contract with Philip Gustavsson, who is being considered in arbitration: then it will be clear how much space the team has left under the roof.
vegas
Came: No
Missing: v Quick (Rangers), c. Brossois (“Winnipeg”), b. Bluegers (Vancouver), no. Kessel (-), no. Patrick (-), b. R. Smith (Pittsburgh)
“It works, it doesn’t break” is one of the wisest principles in life and sport. Vegas seemed like a near-perfect team in the finals (perhaps in the context of Florida’s woes) and decided to invest in those players who performed well in the playoffs. Ivan Barbashev seems to be a perfect fit for Las Vegas’ gambling philosophy and deserves a five-year deal. Edin Hill, after his exploits, would be strange to let him go on the market, and the eccentricities of the injured Lehner allowed Vegas to keep the champion while he drafted a very suitable contract.
Ivan Barbashev
Photo: Gareth Patterson/AP Photo/TASS
Due to Barbashev’s new contract, the club was forced to give away Reilly Smith, one of the founders of this team, but Vegas has long shown that this is not a sentimental team at all. The Club has no other big losses: the crowd cleared at the goalkeeper position, Kessel left, who initially seemed like a temporary solution, and the unlucky Nolan Patrick, apparently, ended his career. Youngsters like Pavel Dorofeev, who had a great finish to the regular season but didn’t play in the playoffs, will get their chance. Plus, the team even has a space on the roof that can be used for the deadline.
