Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski discusses summer trade talks
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski speaks to media about summer trade talks and his return to the team.
NHL training camps are getting underway, and it’s time to see how all the offseason moves will pan out.
There certainly were plenty, with the U.S. Olympic gold medal team playing center stage. Brady Tkachuk was traded to Florida to join brother Matthew, Columbus’ Zach Werenski turned down a trade and Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck both requested trades.
Big money was the other story. Kirill Kaprizov was scheduled to enter the season as the NHL’s highest-paid player at a $17 milion cap hit, but he was passed by Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson ($18 million offer sheet), Macklin Celebrini ($18.8 million extension) and Cale Makar ($20.4 million extension) during the summer.
Here are grades for all 32 NHL teams on their offseason moves:
Anaheim Ducks
The Flyers’ five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson threw off the Ducks’ salary cap situation. Though Anaheim matched, it had to overpay defenseman Pavel Mintyukov and initially lacked the room to re-sign Cutter Gauthier. The team and Chris Kreider agreed to terminate his contract to create space and Gauthier signed for six years at a reported $13.5 million cap hit. The team’s defensive depth is diminished after Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba and Olen Zellweger left, though Nick Jensen is a good addition.
Grade: C-
Boston Bruins
J.J. Peterka was acquired from the Mammoth, his second trade in a year, for two first-round picks, and Viktor Arvidsson left in free agency. Boston tweaked its defense, reuniting with Connor Clifton in free agency and acquiring Will Borgen in a trade, and also dealt backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo to the Rangers.
Grade: B-
Free agent Alex Tuch left in a sign-and-trade and the Sabres haven’t replaced his 33 goals. They missed out on Patrick Kane but got Zach Benson, Peyton Krebs and Noah Ostlund re-signed. The defense will look different, too, with Bowen Byram traded to Chicago, little-used Michael Kesselring traded to San Jose and trade deadline pickups Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn allowed to go to free agency. Zellweger and Louis Crevier are newcomers on the blue line.
Grade: C-
Calgary Flames
Defenseman Simon Nemec, the 2022 No. 2 overall pick, gets new scenery after a slow start to his career in New Jersey, and Jake Middleton also joins the blue line. Blake Coleman went to Minnesota in the Middleton trade. They’ll be heading for another playoff miss.
Grade: C
Carolina Hurricanes
They traded for John Carlson’s rights but couldn’t get the defenseman signed and he went to Tampa Bay. Frederik Andersen left in free agency, giving the net to Brandon Bussi, who finished off the Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup run. Captain Jordan Staal signed a one-year extension, but restricted free agent Alexander Nikishin is unsigned. The defending champions remain a repeat threat but their offseason was quiet and Seth Jarvis will miss time early.
Grade: C
Chicago Blackhawks
Connor Bedard left money on the table with his five-year, $75 million extension. He became the franchise’s 37th captain, but will miss more than a month after shoulder surgery. Bowen Byram will get a chance to become a No. 1 defenseman after arriving in a trade. His $12.5 million average extension raised eyebrows. Patrick Kane is returning to the franchise he led to three Stanley Cup titles. They’re not a playoff team yet but they’re improved.
Grade: B
Colorado Avalanche
Cale Makar signed an eight-year extension that makes him the NHL’s highest-paid player and first to average $20 million. Having him for nine years boosts the Avalanche’s competitive window. But Colorado has less forward depth after trading Valeri Nichushkin, Ross Colton and Jack Drury. They brought in Jaden Schwartz.
Grade: B
Columbus Blue Jackets
There was chaos surrounding Zach Werenski after it leaked out that the team tried to trade him to Dallas, which he vetoed, but things have settled down and he “ideally” wants to stay with the team long term. Word also leaked that the team was listening to offers on Kirill Marchenko. Columbus is still working to get Adam Fantilli signed. The Blue Jackets did trade for Nichushkin, who can put up points but also misses time. Goalie Cam Talbot was signed to back up Jet Greaves while Elvis Merzlikins recovers from shoulder surgery.
Grade: C-
Dallas Stars
Lots of buzz but little action. Thomas Harley was reportedly offered in a trade for Werenski. Jason Robertson reportedly turned down a sign-and-trade to the Kraken. He filed for arbitration and agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal that will take him to unrestricted free agency in July. Dallas didn’t add anyone and promising forward Mavrik Bourque was traded to Nashville.
Grade: C-
Detroit Red Wings
This has been a tumultuous offseason, with Dylan Larkin requesting a trade and Steve Yzerman stepping aside as general manager. Larkin will report to training camp – without the captain’s C. Detroit brought in Viktor Arvidsson and physical forward Keegan Kolesar, but Kane left for Chicago. Shawn Horcoff will be interim GM while the search continues for a full-time hire.
Grade: D
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers’ long search for a goaltender brought them the 2026 Stanley Cup winner. Frederik Andersen will be a big upgrade if he can stay healthy, but he already will miss training camp. The Oilers’ other big moves were trading Darnell Nurse and bringing in coach Mike Babcock after getting the NHL’s blessing.
Grade: B-
Florida Panthers
The Tkachuk brothers are together after Florida acquired Brady to join Matthew. Radko Gudas and Garnet Hathaway add to the team’s grit. The goaltending will take a step back after Sergei Bobrovsky left in free agency and Florida traded for Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid. In the best news, captain Aleksander Barkov will return after missing last season following ACL surgery.
Grade: B+
Los Angeles Kings
Anze Kopitar retired and the Kings didn’t address the center position. They added aging veterans Mats Zuccarello, Corey Perry and Erik Haula. Coach Peter Laviolette was hired to get the team past the first round since the team’s 2014 Stanley Cup win. He’s known for having success in his first year with a team.
Grade: C
Minnesota Wild
GM Bill Guerin says he’s confident he can get Quinn Hughes signed to an extension, while the defenseman is preaching patience. Though the Wild were on Larkin’s trade list, a deal couldn’t be worked out. The Wild let Zuccarello go to free agency. Coleman will help, but the team still needs better center depth.
Grade: C
Montreal Canadiens
The Eastern Conference finalists signed coach Martin St. Louis to a contract extension and Calder Trophy runner-up Ivan Demidov to an eight-year extension for a little more than a $9 million cap hit. Kreider got a bonus-laden one-year deal to add a veteran presence and power-play help.
Grade: B+
Nashville Predators
The Predators hired general manager Chris MacFarland from Colorado and he proceeded to acquire Avalanche players Ross Colton and Jack Drury, plus Stars forward Mavrik Bourque. They surprisingly traded Luke Evangelista after a breakout year, gaining a first- and a second-round draft pick.
Grade: B
New Jersey Devils
The Devils added Anthony Mantha and Luke Evangelista to give them needed scoring from the wing plus received versatile forwards Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist in the Markstrom trade. Will their goaltending be strong enough?
Grade: B
New York Islanders
Anders Lee left in free agency and Bo Horvat was named the new captain. Otherwise, things were relatively quiet with forward Mattias Macelli and backup goalie Vitek Vanecek joining the team.
Grade: C
New York Rangers
They traded for 30-goal scorer Pavel Dorofeyev and signed him to a seven-year, $77 million deal. Defenseman Sean Durzi was a solid pickup in the Vincent Trocheck trade and they also added blue-liner Marcus Pettersson, forward Oliver Bjorkstrand and Korpisalo.
Grade: A-
The loss of captain Brady Tkachuk will be tough to overcome, but they did trade for 23-year-old forward William Eklund. They also added backup goalie Samuel Ersson, but he had been inconsistent with the Flyers.
Grade: C-
The Flyers swung big for Leo Carlsson with a massive offer sheet, but the Ducks matched it. That means that the Flyers are still looking for a No. 1 center. They doled out extensions for No. 1 goalie Dan Vladar, Trevor Zegras, Tyson Foerster and Jamie Drysdale and upgraded their backup goaltending with Joseph Woll.
Grade: B
Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin is back for another season, and the Penguins signed Andrei Kuzmenko. They’re counting on Dan Muse getting a big season out of him, as he did with Anthony Mantha last season. The Penguins also gave an eight-year deal to Ville Koivunen, who has 14 career NHL points.
Grade: C+
St. Louis Blues
The Blues moved Jordan Kyrou to Washington, getting back Connor McMichael. They also added Mason McTavish for draft picks. Robert Thomas, who was part of trade rumors last season, was named captain.
Grade: B
San Jose Sharks
Macklin Celebrini was briefly the NHL’s top-paid player until Makar passed him. Drafting Ivar Stenberg allowed them to trade William Eklund. Sharks GM Mike Grier raised some eyebrows by adding expensive veteran defensemen Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba. He also added defenseman Michael Kesselring in a trade with Buffalo.
Grade: B
Seattle Kraken
Dallas’ Jason Robertson reportedly turned down a $15 million contract offer, a setback for a five-year franchise still trying to find success. The Kraken acquired forward Mackie Samoskevich for a first round pick.
Grade: C-
Tampa Bay Lightning
Defenseman Darren Raddysh was moved to the Maple Leafs after his breakout season, but they signed John Carlson as a replacement. Newcomer Ilya Mikheyev kills penalties and provides depth scoring.
Grade: B
The Bobrovsky and Raddysh signings are solid but also come with questions. Bobrovsky is a decorated goalie but is coming off his worst season. Raddysh never topped six goals before getting 22 last season. But he’ll get a big role in Toronto as he did last season in Tampa with Victor Hedman missing time. New GM John Chayka also revised the bottom six forward group, and No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna should make an impact.
Grade: B+
The Mammoth boosted their offense with Lee and Trocheck, matched an offer sheet to Barrett Hayton and dealt Peterka after one year with the team. They also acquired promising goalie Sebastian Cossa as a backup.
Grade: B
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks’ biggest move was giving an eight-year extension ($9.38 million average) to Zeev Buium, a key acquisition in last year’s Quinn Hughes trade. Manny Malhotra is the new coach and will try to get the Canucks out of last place. That will be tough.
Grade: C-
Vegas Golden Knights
Ryan Craig is the new coach after late-season addition John Tortorella took the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final but wasn’t brought back. Craig will have to figure out how to replace traded Dorofeyev’s goals.
Grade: C
Washington Capitals
The Capitals brought in three-time 30-goal scorers Alex Tuch and Kyrou and had enough room left over to bring back all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin. Newcomer Boone Jenner can also score and defenseman Vincent Desharnais will help the team cope with the injury to Rasmus Sandin.
Grade: A
Winnipeg Jets
Award-winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck asked for a trade and later made it public. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner is signed long-term, so Winnipeg needs to get a strong return. Free agent signee Stuart Skinner will be the No. 1 goalie if a Hellebuyck trade don’t bring back a goalie. Viggo Bjorck was a solid draft pick.
Grade: C-